Written by: Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Art by: Nic Klein
Colors by: Matthew Wilson, Nic Klein
Letters by: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover art by: Nic Klein (cover A)
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: July 17, 2024
The Incredible Hulk #14, by Marvel on 7/17/24, finds Banner fighting the tortured psyche of his own mind to escape the Hulk’s capture and get to Las Vegas to save Charlie, but is there another option?
Is the Incredible Hulk #14 Good?
Uhh, did Marvel skip an issue? What is going on? Issue #13 ended with Banner headed for Las Vegas after he and Hulk agreed to work together to free Charlie. How is Banner still trapped in a similar version of the soul prison? Somebody at Marvel needs a good swift kick in the keister to get this tile back on track.
When last we left Bruce Banner and the Hulk in The Incredible Hulk #13, they entered a soul prison to seek the help of a malignant wizard with the power to convert souls into flesh in a bid to save Charlie. When they found the wizard, he couldn’t help, but he pointed the way to somebody who could… in Las Vegas.
In The Incredible Hulk #14, Bruce Banner is still stuck in the monstrous soul prison (somehow), Banner escapes his broken bird cage with the help of the imagined spirit of Rick Jones who turns into a guiding dove. From a distance, Bruce witnesses a monstrous, kaiju-sized beast that calls itself the Hulkscape. The Hulkscape fights other titanic monsters, but Rick urges Bruce to head for a beam of light shining through the clouds as the path to escape.
Right off, the beginning of the issue is jarring, surreal (not in a good way), and completely lacking in context. You get the distinct impression this issue should have come before issue #13 to show more of the soul prison and the struggles Bruce endured to find the wizard.
Bruce manages to evade a plethora of monsters in all shapes and sizes, but he eventually makes it to the shaft of light. At the last moment, the Rick Jones dove reveals it’s actually the Hulk who led Bruce to the light to demonstrate how useless he really is.
Readers get a view into the regret and burden of Bruce’s past mistakes when he sees visions of what he’s done and the consequences of his actions, such as his attempt to free Bett Ross from her gamma radiation exposure and Harpy persona. Ultimately, it was all futile when Bruce was bombarded with gigantic gamma meteors.
Bruce wakes up in a darkened place by the sound of Betty’s voice. She explains how Hulk is headed to Las Vegas to save Charlie on his own, but his approach will result in Charlie becoming a monster. Bruce can save her and her humanity if he disconnects himself from Hulk permanently by casting a spell provided by the Eldest.
What’s great about The Incredible Hulk #14? If you want big, monstrous, surreal horror in a Hulk comic (that doesn’t actually have the Hulk in it), this is it. The bright spot of this issue is Nic Klein’s art. Full stop.
What’s not great about the Incredible Hulk #14? Phillip Kennedy Johnson appears lost and directionless in his story. How did we jump from issue #13 to issue #14? Why is there no Hulk in a Hulk comic?
What is going on? Does Marvel know what’s going on? Does anyone know what’s going on? This title is becoming just plain tiresome.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Final Thoughts
The Incredible Hulk #14 is a confusing, disconnected, pointless mess of a comic. Nic Klein’s surreal horror art is visually interesting, but this issue jumps out of nowhere, and either Phillip Kennedy Johnson or Marvel Editors have no idea where this story is going.
3.5/10
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