I know what I'll be picking up next month, the hour it comes out. If you like true horror, The Incredible Hulk #1is a must read. Even with a plethora of monthly comic choices, Johnson and Klein make this book appointment reading. Read Full Review

The new Incredible Hulk#1 succeeds in setting off an exciting new chapter in the Hulk's journey. This is a well-crafted, expertly paced and highly readable first issue using the man vs. internal monster narrative in its rawest form. Read Full Review

This is just a hell of a lot of fun. The entire creative team comes together to make for the creepiest superhero book in a lot time, and a more than worthy successor to Immortal Hulk. Read Full Review

The Incredible Hulk is a smashingly good new direction for the series. Fans of recent eras get what they want while the creative team takes Hulk in a new but entirely organic new direction. Read Full Review

Klein delivers some brilliant art throughout the issue. The dark elements of the story are perfectly played out in the visuals with awesome depictions of body horror that capture the tone and mood of the story. Read Full Review

After a blistering setup, the overall premise we're left with – where the monsters of the world of are directed towards the Hulk and urged to destroy him by the Mother of Horrors – is pure gold, and I absolutely cannot wait to see where this story goes next. Johnson and Klein have SMASHED it out of the park with this dark, horror-filled tale, and this is one hell of an opening salvo in what promises to be a gruesome, terrifying series. Highly recommended. Read Full Review

Overall, The Incredible Hulk #1 is a classic monster story which reframes everyones favorite mean Green machine. The story by Johnson is eerie. The art by the creative team is gorgeous. Altogether,it's a story that will have you look at the Hulk in a different way, a much more different look than the 1970s TV show. Read Full Review

The Incredible Hulk #1 delivers at being a great first issue of a new Hulk run. From beginning to end, readers get their first glimpse into what Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Nic Klein have in store for Hulk fans in this series, and it looks great. There's horror, tension, and a little bit of action here and there with solid body horror, dark storytelling, and cool monster designs. It helps that Johnson isn't dumping all the big lore additions from Immortal Hulk or brushing over what happened in Donny Cate's Hulk run to tell his story, quite the opposite. He includes them as pieces of the pie in this new “Age of Monsters” story that feels like the best of all worlds for Hulk fans. Overall, this issue is a great jumping-on point for new and hardcore Hulk fans alike. Read Full Review

The Incredible Hulk #1isn't a perfect comic book but in it's best moments, of which there are many, it's an exciting and horrific start to the Hulk's next great foray into the world of Marvel Horror. Read Full Review

Well, breathe a little. I do wish we had more time to follow just Bruce trying to manage his control and at the same time to see more of Charlie and her home life before getting to the great escape. It feels too soon to introduce those that are hunting Bruce, though I understand why, as the prologue is all that I think should have been included here. Honestly, I just wanted more time of seeing gloomy and creepy material from Klein focusing on Bruce, his dreams, and this interpretation of Kentucky at night. Kennedy does a good job of establishing everything and nothing is done poorly here at all, it's quite engaging. I just wanted more space so that it didn't feel so rushed and intense, especially after the prologue set the stage so well and time for new readers to connect with how Bruce is in this state. Read Full Review

The Incredible Hulk #1 provides a captivating premise for what could be a thrilling series, although it's important to understand that it incorporates significant horror elements. Read Full Review

Marvel's latest Incredible Hulk #1 series focuses on strong characterization and horror elements to deliver a subversive debut issue. Read Full Review

The Incredible Hulk #1 builds on the previous couple of runs to establish Banner, once again, as a lonely traveler avoiding contact with humanity. This time, malignant monsters from ancient times want Hulk's body for their own purpose, making for an intriguing new setup. Readers who want their monsters to be scary will have a lot to like in this issue, but the plot leans a little too heavily on the existential aspects of the previous runs, which sets a high barrier for new readers to get hooked. Read Full Review

Great story and art. Outstanding first issue. I like that this ties into Immortal Hulk, one of my favorite modern runs. Good to have the "Horror Hulk" back. Excelsior!

I have never read a Hulk comic before this, which, after reading some other reviews for this book, may be a reason for my high score.

Frankly, I loved this. The body horror was awesome, but so was the distinctly human horror found in the relationship between Charlie and her father. The art was phenomenal, and Matthew Wilson has definitely become my favorite colorist. Truly I was blown away; I had to flip back to the first page and start reading all over again once I finished.

Like I said, I haven’t read any Hulk before, and I only picked this up because I like Philip Kennedy Johnson. I’m aware of the acclaim the Immortal Hulk received, and plan to pick up the omnibus that is releasing soon, though. But obviously this means I am not familiar with Hulk tropes, so I can’t say whether or not this issue breaks any new ground or not. Perhaps for longtime readers this is standard fare, but as a new reader, holy cow, I was blown away. more

Just an incredible start to the next Hulk storyline, Hulk in the best version of the character, a horror character.

This is technically the second Hulk series I have read. The first being the mess that was the Donny Cates run. So I was skeptical going into this one but it blew me out of the water. It was great the story hooked me and I just can’t wait for the second issue.

This is all based off of Hulk trying to retake control of Banner permanently since he was contained during the Donny Cates run. There is this woman trying to catch the Hulk in order to use him to bring forth the mother of monsters. I don’t know a lot of the lore of Hulk or anything so I’m sold to find out more and more.

The Incredible Hulk #1 Review

This is technically the second Hulk series I have read. The first being the mess that was the Donny Cates run. So I was skeptical going into this one but it blew me out of the water. It was great the story hooked me and I just can’t wait for the second issue.

This is all based off of Hulk trying to retake control of Banner permanently since he was contained during the Donny Cates run. There is this woman trying to catch the Hulk in order to use him to bring forth the mother of monsters. I don’t know a lot of the lore of Hulk or anything so I’m sold to find out more and more.

This issue was literally incredible! With all the poor quality books marvel is pumping out, this series already stands out as one of the few to actually get excited about. The whole monster theme Johnson is going for starts off great and has me eager to see where it goes. Plus Klein’s art is just breathtaking and couldn’t fit the tone of the theme better.

Awesome start

The only stuff from Johnson I've read at this point are the three issues of Action Comics when it was the Kal-El Returns "crossover" with Son of Kal-El and the John Stewart backup stories in the current Hal Jordan series. So, I wasn't quite sure what to expect when this was announced. Luckily, this was a nicely-put-together story that generates a bunch of interest from me. Bruce's stuff is intriguing, and Johnson creates a sense of fear and anxiety throughout the book with him. Plus, we had the introduction of Charlene, who becomes a fairly compelling and interesting character in a short amount of time. While the story was engaging, the main reason I was convinced to read this was Nic Klein. I've loved Klein's art for a few years now, and he doesn't miss whatsoever here. I thought Thor was the perfect title for him, but he puts absolute greatness on every page here. While I liked all of his art here, he especially shines when drawing the gorier parts of this book. All things considered, I think this new run shows a lot of promise from the start and I really hope this type of quality can be maintained for however long this goes for. more

The art is amazing from Nic Klein, it really fits the dark tone. Johnson is setting up something epic and brutal, while still having a great layer of mystery. I can’t wait to see how this story develops.

reminds me of Immortal Hulk, which makes sense since Phillip K Johnson has admitted Al Ewing's work has inspired him.

I really like this issue. I cant wait to see what comes next.

The new Hulk is off to a marvelously creepy start. This #1 accomplishes a hell of a lot. It plants a clear flag on a new antagonist and a new conflict. But it also digs deep into the Banner/Hulk relationship.

I admire the way each of these developments respects a prior volume: The antagonist gets strong ties to Immortal Hulk, while the protagonist is dealing with the fallout from the Cates/Ottley volume.

It's all capped with some stellar art that strikes the perfect tone, moody and creepy and body-horrific in its own unique mold. The script often trusts the visuals to tell the story and they're usually successful.

Even in the spots where the meaning is ambiguous, this story is crafted well enough to suggest the uncertainties are intentional.
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Great start. Arts top notch, the hulk transformation scene was dope. The horror elements are very welcome reminds me of Animal Man for some reason.

The art is amazing as it's similar to the great Mark Bagley's. I'm also curious about this new storyline, considering the previous one was cut short due to the writer's personal issues.

A good, intriguing start. I really like how this is a continuation to Immortal Hulk, but doesn't act like Cates' and Ottley's series didn't happen.

Phillip Kennedy Johnson's start in Incredible Hulk brings back the Immortal Hulks's best, although feels a little stuck in Ewing's concepts. But it's a undeniably good and well-drawn comic book, loyal to the 70's tv show spirit.

Art: 4/5
Story: 4/5
Total: 8/10

Reminds me of Immortal Hulk (which is good) but it lacks the gut-punch of the first issue of Ewings. But it's vastly superior than the Cates issues, love the horror theme, and better that a lot of other comics.

I read the latest issue and really enjoyed it, so I thought, why not go back and read the whole run? After all, decent Marvel comics are hard to find these days.
I wasn’t disappointed by this issue. Overall, the story shows some promise and the art fits the horror approach quite nicely, although it’s not exactly my cup of tea. It’s not the sensational first issue I expected, but enough to keep me reading.

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• Gio

Gio - Aug 27, 2025

Nice I will check this out too, Ive been doing the same thing too and Philip Kennedy Johnson is pretty good sometimes when hes allowed to be. He was getting better in Action Comics and right when things were getting good they ended it with a shit Annual instead of continuing his story...

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I can see this going either way. Some people loving it and others hating. It has a very horror feel to it, but it is different. I don't like the way the Hulk is drawn with such a small head, but overall I think it's a decent start. I'll keep it in my pull list for now. I'm interested in the teenager as well.

I like the vibe this book gave off. It has enough to make me me feel hopeful for this series. I just feel like it didn't do anything super unique to really take it up a notch.

Al Ewing’s incredible run on Immortal Hulk feels longer and longer ago with each passing day. After an unsuccessful attempt to relaunch an ongoing title featuring the character with the Donny Cates & Ryan Ottley-led Hulk series, Marvel is back at it again and digging up an iconic moniker to try and set things right. Enter The Incredible Hulk #1 from Phillip Kennedy Johnson & Nic Klein, which released today.

The issue begins with a team of raiders looking to steal treasures from a tomb in Iraq. Unbeknownst to them, they awaken a family of ancient evil beings who appear to be the first main adversaries that we’ll be seeing in the series. — they’re back from the dead to wreck havoc now that the Green Door has been closed. This scene sets the horror tone that will come to permeate the book, and hopefully the series.

We then see a disheveled Bruce at a diner looking for a quick meal so that he can get away. It’s revealed that he’s fighting Hulk from reappearing and trying to keep his distance from everyone else to keep them safe. Things don’t end well for Bruce or the diner as he wakes up from being unconscious to find the Hulk has destroyed the building.

The rest of the book plays out as both the FBI & the ancient entities try to hunt down Hulk. The FBI to contain Hulk from causing more damage, and the ancient entities so that they can use him for their own nefarious purposes — to serve their “Mother of Horrors” and bring in the Age of Monsters!

I recently re-read the ‘Planet Hulk’ & ‘World War Hulk’ storylines so I was feeling a sense of nostalgia in anticipation of this new series. Perhaps that’s why I loved the Klein’s artistic approach in this issue. There is an uneven, chaotic presence to his lines that perfectly match the mindset we initially find Bruce Banner in and the mindset we later see Hulk in. It’s definitely not rainbows and butterflies for our main character. Klein’s approach is also a perfect match for the horror genre of this issue. There is one glory-shot of the Hulk after he emerges that may be one of the best, and scariest, of the Green Goliath in recent memory. The entire book’s colors by Matthew Wilson are just dark and brooding enough to keep it from feeling claustrophobic or washed out.

Overall, I really enjoyed the horror in this issue but I’m not sure I loved it as a Hulk issue. The inner conflict between Bruce & Hulk is overdone and nothing Johnson wrote for those scenes gave us a new perspective on the trope. I found myself more invested in this new group of evil ancient beings and wanting to know more about who they were and who they serve. We could have had Marvel character X as their foil and I would have still enjoyed their story.
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• TSMack

Drasek83 - Jun 21, 2023

Great review!

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