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Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Nic Klein have been guiding the Hulk into a brave new era of horror in Marvel Comics, but how does the Infernal saga compare to the Hulk stories that have come before? Part of the beauty of characters like the Hulk, who have existed for decades in Marvel Comics, is that their age encourages a cumulative understanding of their journey in comics. That is, by getting on board with reading a character like Hulk, readers enter into a larger tapestry of storytelling. 

At C2E2 2026, I sat down with The Infernal Hulk and The Incredible Hulk writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson to discuss his and Klein's run on the character, and what has influenced this chapter in the Jade Giant's story. 

"I was really inspired by the work of Greg Pak on Planet Hulk. I was even more so inspired by Al Ewing's run on Immortal [Hulk]. I really admire the world-building. I love the way that Al really got to the core of Hulk's kind of mission statement as a character. The fact that he was always supposed to be like the monster of the movie as the main character... And honestly, the hardest thing about taking the gig was how do I not just ape what Al did? Because I just loved it so much. I thought it worked so well, but the more that I sat with it and the more I kind of let different ideas in my brain percolate, I started to feel how mine would be different," Johnson began.

"And I still looked back to like old Marvel lore stuff, like old Silver Surfer and Thor stories, that talked about the formation of the Earth and where the Earth came from, where the Great Old Ones came from, the whole culling of the Demogorge and all that. And I realized that there was kind of a hole in that lore that left a place for something like Vinruviel, the Mother of Horrors, like the corruptive seed that turned these Great Old Ones into monsters... I thought the Mother of Horrors could be my contribution to that lore in a way that honored Al's run, but also the older Marvel stories, you know," he continued. 

"So, as far as the theme of Age of Monsters, that in part was just because of Hulk's mission statement, as the monster of the movie. But it would also be a thing that helped differentiate this run from what Al did, where Al's book was kind of like Cronenberg body horror, like Black Science. This is more like Hellboy, where Hulk is kind of this lightning rod for the monstrous side of the world to which the rest of us are blind. And [it] gives us the opportunity for some really cool mythology and folktales rather than like journals of crazy scientists. It's a different kind of horror story, you know?"

When you read The Infernal Hulk, it becomes clear just how many different iterations of the Hulk have trampled their way around the Marvel Universe. In that way, Hulk is like Wolverine: his schtick is simple, but he's so adaptable across different genres and environments. Of course he's in his Hellboy era right now, he deserves it. 

Want more? Make sure you've read our list of all the best Marvel Comics stories of all time, and get ready for all the free Marvel comics coming as part of this year's Free Comic Book Day 2026 / Comics Giveaway Day  2026 events.