THE INFERNAL HULK #10 – The Riddle Game

Creative Team – Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Adam Gorham, Matthew Wilson, VC’s Cory Petit, Nic Klein

Published by Marvel Comics

Catch up with The Infernal Hulk #9!

The Story

This comic will be joint reviewed by Nerd Initiative’s Anthony and yours truly, Megan Nichole!

Anthony – Horror is a lot like comedy. With comedy, you’re either funny or you’re not. When you’re not funny, you’re just corny or cringe inducing. With horror, it’s no different. You either write scary stuff or you write stuff that feels more like Halloween festivities than anything that’s going to keep you up at night. Philip Kennedy Johnson has proven quite capable of delivering tales of terror. With Infernal Hulk, he doesn’t just write a book about monsters fighting. He goes for the gut and the psyche. He writes with the intent to make the story disturbing. A story that nobody would want to be a part of. A story that offers little in the way of hope. One where even the heroes are beyond broken and struggling to find purchase to avoid falling into the deep pit of dark despair. And yet… there is light in the distance. Reason to see the story through to the end.

Megan – Earth’s Mightiest Heroes tried their best to stop the Infernal Hulk by any means necessary and they failed. Now, there are only two options left that even have a ghost of a chance to defeat the Infernal Hulk and both are huge gambles. The first one is Bruce Banner himself. Bruce knows more than anyone that the only way to defeat a Hulk is with another hulk. However, Bruce also knows that his body doesn’t respond to gamma radiation anymore so he can’t make himself into a Hulk. The only option he has is to find one. In the last issue, Bruce and Doctor Voodoo headed to the Soul Cage where Voodoo’s enemy Sumanguru resides. We were left on a very interesting note where Bruce was leveraging Doctor Voodoo as collateral in case he lost a magical duel. Now we get to see all of this transpire, and it’s certainly not in the way I could have guessed. That goes back to Phillip Kennedy Johnson having the uncanny ability to keep the readers on their toes.

The other option is the wild card herself, Charlie Tidwell, AKA Lycana, who seems to be the factor no one saw coming. The Infernal Hulk #10 does a great job at creating a mystery around her as to how she’s going to help this way and I’m VERY excited to see what’s to come in the next issue.

The Art

Anthony – Writing horror for a comic book is even harder because you need the art team to properly translate your vision to the page. Adam Gorham is the right guy for the job. His art reminds me a bit of Bernie Wrightson and that is just what this book needs. Everything is ugly and withered and overly detailed. There is a crazy nice transformation scene in this issue that he just nails! My only note is that I would’ve loved to see more detailed backgrounds.

Megan – This issue packed a punch in more ways than one. Adam Gorham, Matthew Wilson, and Cory Petit do a fantastic job at bringing the menacing energy of Sumanguru that fit perfectly into the high energy of the story. In the Soul Cage, it’s made to feel like a whole new world that you’re terrified to be in. Doctor Voodoo and Bruce Banner are two fish out of water in the Soul Cage, and the contrasts between them and the monsters of the horrifying realm makes it clear. Adam Gorham puts a lot of work into capturing exactly what makes the setting so terrifying with his mixture of abstract details and and excellent linework. Matthew Wilson brings so much depth in making the Soul Cage visually dark and mystic with extraordinary color contrasts that make each page feel like its own horror story. Cory Petit really captured the differences in tones from each other characters and made the reader feel the emotions through the dialogue.

Final Thoughts

Anthony – 8/10. Infernal Hulk #10 continues the thrilling and horrifying battle between a Hulk controlled by the Mother of Monsters and humanity with Bruce Banner doing anything and everything he can to reel his monster in and get him back under control. It’s a great story and the art complements the writing very well, even if the panels are a bit lacking in the background department.

Megan – 8.6/10. The Infernal Hulk #10 continues the exciting story with a bit of a horror energy that brings the energy level up to an all time high.

Overall Grade – 8.3/10

Let us know in the comments what you thought of The Infernal Hulk #10!