The Incredible Hulk #11 Review

Written by: Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Art by: Danny Earls
Colors by: Matthew Wilson
Letters by: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover art by: Nic Klein
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: April 10, 2024

The Incredible Hulk #11 ends Hulk’s conflict against Frozen Charlotte with a knockdown drag-out battle beneath the streets of New Orleans, leading to a surprising ending.

Is The Incredible Hulk #11 Good?

If you like Big Hulk smashing without any depth or story behind the smashing, the end of Frozen Charlotte’s reign is just the ticket you’ve been looking forward to. Phillip Kennedy Johnson may not have much to say, but at least he’s saying it with style.

When last we left Hulk, he was led into secret chambers beneath the Big Easy by the ghost of a detective murdered by Frozen Charlotte years ago. There, Hulk found Frozen Charlotte, who reverted to her true form as a monstrous wraith who collects children’s souls and traps them in dolls as her children forever. Hulk also learned Frozen Charlotte’s true name is Nephele.

Incredible Hulk #11 Video Review

Now, Hulk smashes and bashes Nephele with all his might. During the fight, Nephele explains the strength of a mere mortal is no match for her because she is the first, true consort of Lucifer who promised she would be the mother of all angels when Lucifer claimed rule over Heaven. After Lucifer fell from Grace, Nephele was doomed to walk the Earth to fulfill her role as the mother of all.

Hulk eventually smashes Nephele, but before she breathes her last, Lucifer appears to take her away, never to trouble humanity again. Hulk enters the inner chambers to free Charlie, but he receives a shock when he learns Charlie is trapped in one of the dolls.

What did we like about The Incredible Hulk #11? I’ve noted in the previous issues how Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s monster-of-the-month model was getting repetitive, and although that criticism still applies in this issue, Nephele is the most fleshed-out and unique monster Hulk has faced to date. Plus, the cliffhanger is a doozy.

What didn’t we like about The Incredible Hulk #11? As noted above, the monster-of-the-month model has long overstayed its welcome because no progress has been made in the overarching plot concerning the Eldest and the Mother of Horrors. It’s as if Johnson is simply cranking out monster ideas to kill time while waiting for the series to hit a milestone issue or coincide with some crossover. Readers can smell when a writer is stalling from a mile away, and Johnson is definitely stalling, which is frustrating, annoying, and a shame.

How’s the Art? The Incredible Hulk #11 receives no favors with Danny Earls’s oddly misshapen art. The line of sight action and panel layouts are on-point, but the figure work is subpar, especially for Hulk.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces

The Incredible Hulk #11 acts as a highlight for the series by presenting one of the most fleshed-out and intriguing monsters for Hulk to smash since the beginning. That said, the rinse-and-repeat cycle of smashing one new monster after another has grown tediously repetitive, and the cycle of guest artists fails to live up to Nic Klein’s work from the beginning of the series.