Story: Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Art: Nic Klein and Mathew Wilson
$4.99, 32 pages
Marvel Comics

What It Is: The latest HULK ongoing book (his third in five years, which seems kinda low for Marvel) sees the Jade Giant and Banner at odds and traveling around the country fighting monsters in a HELLBOY-ish take on the character and series.

The Good: Klein’s art is dynamic and moody and creepy as anything aimed at a mainstream superhero audience. Wilson’s colors sing as well—it’s a dark book, but beautiful and readable. No muddy monochromatic confusion here. Even the few pages Klein colors himself—a fully painted treatment for a dream sequence—work within the rest of the issue.

Johnson builds suspense and soaks the pages in dread. He writes dialogue that enforces character moments and he gets the hell out of the way when the art can tell the story without any words.

Oh, and it’s a small thing, but burying Marvel’s stupid recap page on page five after a TV show like cold open is something I’ve been lobbying for for decades. When you open a comic book, the first thing you see should be comics. Fingers crossed more titles take this approach.

The Bad: The story of this issue is only half done. I know, I know—modern comics are produced for the trades. Doesn’t mean I have to like it. One or two more pages of the Hulk smashing and killing all these undead fools is all that was needed to make this a perfect book. No falling action, no coda, no epilogue—you don’t need any of that, but you do need to get us to the fireworks factory if you spend the whole issue driving there.

Instead, we get a cheap cliffhanger ending. I doubt anyone will notice—nearly every floppy comic is made this way today.

If Marvel had the confidence to let Johnson write the one-and-done monster fight stories he’s dying to write, this could be an all-time great take on the character and standout book.

The Score: 7 out of 10

Further Reading: Most fans know Klein’s art from his recent run on THOR with Donny Cates, but if you’re looking for something outside of the superhero space, give the DRIFTER (Image) series a try.