Written by: Al Ewing
Art by: Joe Bennett, Ruy Jose, Paul Mounts, and VC’s Cory Petit
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 2, 2019

I have liked this run of the Hulk even if I am not as over the moon with it as some others I have spoken too. The problem is, I want some answers about the overall mysteries that are driving this book forward, but Al Ewing doesn’t want to show his hand just yet. So, let’s see if going to hell is the trick to finding things out.

The issue is split between two narratives…one with our characters in their hellscape and the other giving us the philosophy of hell. Guess which one I thought was pretentious bullcrap? Yea, it’s the one that tells us that Hell is not a place in a comic universe where we see that place over and over.

The part with Hulk and the rest of the gang is quite good. Our characters come face to face with some very interesting denizens of hell and Ewing seems to work a clever thing here with the eyes being the window to the soul…and what goes on without them. There is also a really good conversation between Jackie McGee and the Hulk that continues making her a very interesting side character.

The best parts, however, are with Carl Creel and his new confidant, Puck and Thunderbolt Ross showing up and fighting Hulk. The fight ends the issue with the Hulk wanting to kill everyone and everything while his father looks on in a very devilish way.

Al Ewing always gives me enough to like in an issue so that I can ignore the fact that we aren’t getting many answers. I think this issue he gave me a little too much and by that, I mean the religious talk that came off like the jerk at a party who just took one semester of philosophy and wants to show how deep he is. Nobody likes that guy…don’t ever be that guy! Take that nonsense out and add a few more interactions as we got and I would have liked this a whole lot more. I did love the art in this issue. Joe Bennett kicks ass in this book and this issue is no different. It has a cartoony horror look that fits the story so well.

Final Thoughts:

This issue ended up being a split one for me. I really liked the stuff we got with the Hulk, Jackie, Creel and more, but hated the faux-philosophical ramblings that filled the other half. I still want answers to the lingering questions in this series, but it seems like Al Ewing was more concerned with showing us how deep he is than addressing those. The art continues to be great, but I am starting to get impatient with this book.

6.0/10