Cover Art for The Infernal Hulk #5 - Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Art by Kevin Walker, Colors by Matthew Wilson, Inks by Cam Smith and Letters by VC’s Cory Petit. Cover Art by Nic Klein.
We open with a funeral and we end with a powerful revelation. The Infernal Hulk #5, written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson with art from Kevin Walker, inks by Cam Smith and colors by Matthew Wilson, is another solid entry in one of Marvel’s hottest titles. With the recent news that issue #10 will be the ending of this chapter in the Hulk’s story, we are now halfway through one of the darkest moments in the history of the Incredible Hulk and Dr. Bruce Banner. This issue not only features some fantastic art and big moments, but at its core it deals with coming to terms with the fact that you can’t always bury your head in the sand and ignore the outside world. Sorry Bruce, but it looks like things aren't going the way you hoped they would. Spoiler Warning now in effect for The Infernal Hulk #5.
An Emotional and Explosive Introduction
We open on a dark and dreary day in Muncie, Indiana; current home of Bruce and Betty Banner. Picking up from the end of the series third issue, we now see yet another of the countless tragedies that have occurred since Eldest took over the body of the Hulk. Bruce and Betty attend the funeral for Tommy Watson, a son of one of their co-workers. The effects of Eldest’s rampage are now being felt by mothers, fathers and families like Tommy’s all over the country. It's a stark reminder for Bruce and Betty that the quiet, normal life they are trying to live might not last much longer. People are dying and it's only going to get worse.
Even with Nic Klein taking a backseat this issue, Kevin Walker’s art shines from the first page. I’ve noted in my reviews before that I love how Walker shows emotion in his art and this first scene of Bruce and Betty at the funeral is dark, moody and sets the tone for the rest of the issue. I love the muted colors from Matthew Wilson in this initial scene and as I read through this issue, it was cool to see what Walker and Wilson could do with the massive action set pieces. Last time around, it was a very heavy Bruce and Betty centered issue so I didn’t get to see Walker and Wilson’s take on Eldest much. That very much changes this issue and there are some great art highlights that we will get to.
The story shifts from Muncie, Indiana to the battleground that has become Cincinnati, Ohio. The Avengers are doing the best they can to drive back Eldest and the army of monsters that now accompany her but the battle doesn’t seem to be going their way at all. Iron Man, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Vision and others are about to begin their attack on Eldest but a bright golden light strikes at Eldest and her monsters from the heavens heralding the arrival of the One Above All. Roll the title card and let’s rumble.
Walker’s take on the Eldest/Hulk design is great to see and this book is lucky to have not one, but two artists whose styles match the vibe spectacularly well. The massive splash page of the One Above All’s big entrance looks absolutely awesome. The dark black, purple and sickly green of Eldest is a stark contrast to the imposing blazing golden and fiery figure of the One Above All. The design of the One Above All couldn’t be more of an antithesis to the Eldest/Hulk design if it tried and I loved Walker design along with the fantastic coloring from Wilson. Representing ultimate good and deep evil, these two designs should be polar opposites and the art team succeeds in making it so.
A Battle of Biblical Proportions
“The corruptive seed of Vinruviel dressed in new flesh. I culled this planet of your progeny once…”
Over the next eight pages of the issue, Eldest/Hulk and the One Above All go to absolute war. This was one of the coolest battle scenes I’ve seen in a comic this year. The creative team went above and beyond on this fight and with the fight this issue has been promising, they 100% delivered. From the first punch that’s thrown, we quickly learn the strength that's being thrown away here. Eldest rips the One Above All’s spear out of her leg and jumps towards him; complete with disgusting bubbling skin from the force of the OAA’s light. Eldest is met with a titanic punch to the face that nearly obliterates her entire skull and shreds off all her skin.
Eldest shoots down past the sea, and into the bedrock of the planet before jumping up in a fiery explosion. The force of Eldest’s jump takes the duo past the Earth’s atmosphere and slams them into the surface of the moon. The combination of the darkness of Eldest and bright shining light of the OAA as that battle has a striking ying yang feel to it. I’m not sure the art team made a concerted choice to do this during certain sections of the fight but there was something interesting I noticed. They sometimes choose to not show so much specific detail in the figures but they give enough of an outline as if they are almost the embodiment of good and evil. I might be looking too deep into things but I wanted to note this for sure.
As the duo strike the moon, Eldest realizes that she isn’t fighting the actual OAA but rather a “vessel wielded by his mind.” The vessel looks like a badass metal angel and fights in this form for the rest of the fight. This battle continues as the OAA’s vessel hits Eldest with a massive beam of light that wounds her but that proves to be the last attack the OAA’s vessel can manage as Eldest unleashes the full extent of her power on the angel. Eldest destroys the angel by ripping it into pieces and screams to an unseen OAA that “[to] keep your other slaves safe in the sky lest monsters come for them as well!!!” Tony Stark reports to the Avengers that the fight “didn’t go their way” but notices the spear of the One Above All and takes it as a weapon to prepare for the next battle against Eldest.
The art team did some really fun things in this fight. I’ve talked about some of the details already but there's a few more I want to touch on before we move onto the final act of the issue. After the initial punch of the OAA, Eldest is worse for wear than we have seen. It not only shows that she can be damaged and hurt but that maybe with enough force she can be overcome. Unfortunately it wasn’t this day for the Marvel Universe. Now with that being said, over the course of the fight, Eldest slowly but surely heals and it was really cool to see that shown throughout the art. The battle damaged designs of Eldest look really cool, especially with some panels showing an almost zombie like looking figure. By the end of the fight Eldest stands above the remains of the OAA’s vessel completely healed. The attention to detail during this battle is a highlight for the art team.
Letterer Cory Petit needs to be highlighted here as well. When the OAA’s vessel speaks, he did not use typical speech bubbles to represent it. He uses these massive glowing golden letters that take up big portions of the panel. The choice in lettering adds to the art to showcase just how powerful the OAA is, even if he is just using a vessel. It’s yet another really cool detail in a book where the art team has consistently delivered month in and month out.
Indiana Isn’t So Safe After All…
In our final act, we head back to Indiana and into the kitchen with Bruce and Betty Banner. It’s the evening after the funeral. Betty tells Bruce that the coffin was empty this morning, the “Hulk” turned everything at the military base to dust. Bruce continues to say that they’re safe where they are since they have nothing the Hulk wants and Betty just gives him this disgusted look. It’s clear what she thinks of him at this point in time. Betty tells Bruce she’s going to check on Nattie, the mother of the deceased soldier and Bruce begrudgingly comes along. When the pair get to Nattie’s place they find a monsterized version of Tommy terrorizing his mother.
Tommy attacks both Bruce and Betty and in the ensuing chaos, Tommy catches on fire that started from Nattie’s stove. He leaps out of the house screaming for his mom to help him and how much the fire hurts him as he heads for an unknown destination. The trio of Bruce, Betty and Nattie head outside as Nattie’s house burns down and its here where Bruce finally realizes the horrible truth: That there really is nowhere to hide and he has to go back. He has to go back to the Hulk.
This final act of the issue featured some great storytelling from Johnson. This continuing issue of Bruce trying to live in this dreamland of no problem rears its head. His friend buried their child and not even that was enough for him in the beginning of the issue but when that child returns, it knocks the sense into Bruce that he’s needed for a while now. He can’t let Eldest continue to do what she's doing. There has to be a way for him to get to the Hulk and now, hopefully, he’s going to find it. I’ve also really respected Betty’s characterization in this run and particularly in this issue. The look she gives Bruce, just utter shock at him still thinking they’re safe and that this life is sustainable… She knows what has to be done and she wants her power back if possible. She just wants Bruce to be able to see it too and thankfully it appears he finally does.
The art in this last section was great too, with a special shoutout to the monstrous design of Tommy Watson. Whenever Walker has been called upon he has nailed it in this run. Bruce, Betty and Nattie’s emotions come through really well in the art. I loved the artistic choice to burn the house down around the trio because just as Nattie’s house is going up in smoke so is Bruce’s idea of safety.
The Infernal Hulk #5 caps off a fantastic first half of the series. Phillip Kennedy Johnson continues to weave a terrifying, unsettling and emotional tale. Eldest continues to ascend in the rankings of all-time Hulk villains and Bruce Banner seems like he’s ready to accept his fate. This issue looked great from cover to cover and featured some fantastic artistic choices by Kevin Walker, Cam Smith and Matthew Wilson. Eldest’s fight with the One Above All was really cool to see. The parallel storylines of the Hulk, Eldest and Bruce Banner seem like they are going to converge once again and with some of the seeds that were planted in earlier issues, we are in for a wild back half of The Infernal Hulk.
RATING: 9/10