Every monster on Earth has been mobilized; sent to find and capture The Hulk. He’s about to find out who… and more importantly, why. Your Major Spoilers review of The Incredible Hulk #3 from Marvel Comics awaits!

THE INCREDIBLE HULK #3

Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Artist: Nic Klein
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Editor: Wil Moss
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: August 30, 2023

Previously in The Incredible Hulk: Hulk investigates the creature being worshipped in an abandoned mining town – and finds a primordial horror as large as the mine itself awaiting him, using the town’s residents as human shields, culminating in a battle between the Hulk and a monster unlike any he has faced before – but that’s only the tip of the iceberg!

SHADES OF IMMORTAL HULK

After a horde of undead zombies dragged Bruce Banner into their unholy church and sacrificed him to their nether lord, it was the Hulk who got up. As the rotting congregation sings their hymns of praise, the green goliath rips them to pieces, shattering not only bone and rotting flesh, but the structure itself. As he exits, a young girl named Charlie who insisted on following Banner in his latest travels tries to get Hulk to “make her strong like him.” The monster laughs her off and leaves her behind, only to change his mind when the collapsing temple causes a sinkhole and drags her in. Leaping to save here, Hulk finds himself underground, face-to-face with a Lovecraftian monstrosity known as Brother Deep.

But all the Hulk really wants is to be left alone.

PUZZLING ART CHOICES

On the surface, this book is clearly continuing the horror take that was established by Al Ewing’s Immortal Hulk series, adding in a rural vibe that feels like something I should like, as it reminds me of Cullen Bunn’s work on Harrow County and The Sixth Gun. For some reason, though, this issue never quite gels for me. The art is part of the reason, featuring a wild-haired, bulbous Hulk that evokes Richard Corben. It’s hard for me to get invested in the central conflict with the late ’90s cartoon vibe, a problem that is exacerbated by oversaturated coloring. Even with a several-story-high Cthulhu impersonator in play, the battle is too stylized (and too short) to get invested in. The end of the issue, with Charlie proving her worth to a bemused Hulk works well, but the pacing throughout most of the issue just doesn’t quite come together.

BOTTOM LINE: NOT QUITE HITTING THE MARK

The premise that the Mother of Horrors is trying to return to reality through our monster hero has promise, but The Incredible Hulk #3 can’t quite put the pieces together, with retro art fighting against the color palette, a plot that lacks some important connective tissue but a strong ending coming together for 3 out of 5 stars overall.

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