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By Devin Robertson
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Comic book writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson has become one of the defining voices behind iconic characters like Superman and the Hulk — but his journey began much earlier, with childhood afternoons spent devouring comics until the pages fell apart.
“I don’t remember a time before comics,” Johnson says. “My concept of the English language is wrapped up in them,” recalling how his father brought home “bags and boxes of comics from garage sales or flea markets” that he would read “until they were trashed.”
From tracing artwork to creating his own stories, his earliest creative impulses were born in the panels of superhero books. Those roots would remain, even when life initially led him in a different direction.
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The critically acclaimed author sat with Newsweek to talk about the rhythm of comic books, revering the melody, and the future of The Incredible Hulk.
From Musician to Storyteller
Though Johnson loved comics, his first career was as a professional musician, performing as a trumpet player in the U.S. Army Band. His return to comics began when his younger brother — also a musician and artist — needed help figuring out how to break into the industry.
“He really wanted to be a comic artist, and had no idea how to get started,” Johnson explains. So his brother moved in with him from their childhood home in Kentucky, and the two learned the craft together: “We literally bought the How to Make Comics for Dummies book. I just started writing scripts for him to illustrate.”
As he explored the medium more deeply, Johnson found a whole world of storytelling he hadn’t known existed. Discovering Watchmen, Locke & Key, Powers, and Maus opened his eyes to the creative potential of comics.
“I was just so blown away by what the medium was capable of,” he says.
'Revere the Melody': Johnson’s Approach to Iconic Characters
Johnson has become known for thoughtful, emotionally resonant takes on major characters — from Superman to Batman to Hulk — yet he remains humble. His lauded run on Superman has been hailed as one of the Blue Boy Scout’s best modern depictions on the page.
“You have to remain humble because it’s not me readers know; it’s the characters,” he insists.
The trumpeter approaches every iconic hero with a musician’s mindset: “Thelonious Monk would always say, 'Revere the melody,” Johnson explains. “Even if I’m telling a story that’s outside the box. I still try to revere the melody.”
With Superman, he found that melody immediately.
“Superman’s core is that he is the champion of the oppressed. That was my melody,” he said of his iconic Action Comics run that began in 2021.
For Hulk, the core question is equally clear — but far darker.
“The thing keeping me from my goals is myself,” Johnson says, describing Banner’s inner battle with his monstrous alter-ego. “Both of them just want the other to not exist.”
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Inside 'Infernal Hulk: A Monster Unleashed'
Johnson’s recent work with the Jade Giant culminates in Infernal Hulk, where the Banner/Hulk relationship is pushed to its breaking point.
“I wanted to see Banner and his monster at complete odds,” he explains. “They’re so incapable of living with the other, they’re physically ripped apart.”
Once severed from Banner, the Hulk becomes something even more fearsome.
“Now the thing that was Banner’s monster is now everybody’s monster,” he says. “Now it becomes everyone else’s problem.”
To ground the story emotionally, Johnson introduced Charlie Tidwell, a teenage runaway whose conflicting admiration and resentment mirror Hulk and Banner’s own duality.
“She has such admiration — well, lust — for the Hulk’s strength,” Johnson says. “Banner, she has nothing but disdain for him.”
Their dynamic forms what Johnson calls “a weird hate triangle,” one that exposes the story’s emotional tensions.
The Rhythm of Storytelling
As a professional musician and writer, Johnson sees strong parallels between music and comics.
“Getting better at any creative pursuit makes me better at other creative pursuits,” he reflects.
And, continuing the parallels to music, the writer also describes comics as having rhythm — both in dialogue pacing and visual structure. "At the end of every double‑page spread, something should happen that compels the reader to turn the page,” he says. “The pages should be turning themselves.”
Even the placement of word balloons can serve as a kind of musical timing: a rapid‑fire exchange in one panel feels like a fast tempo, while a dramatic pause in its own panel becomes a rest note.
“You can give that line some real weight if you make the other character kind of wait for it,” the Eisner-nominated author explains.
Characters He Loves — and Characters He Wants to Elevate
After maintaining multiple titles across a wealth of publishers for most of his career, Johnson signed an exclusive contract with Marvel Comics late last year. With his focus solely on the Marvel Universe for the foreseeable future, Johnson is eager to delve even further into the toy chest and revisit some old friends.
Johnson lights up when discussing the 2024 comic Hell Hunters, his World War II passion project set in the Marvel Universe.
“It’s Marvel’s Inglorious Basterds,” he says. “Writing Logan is just a joy. Writing Bucky, especially as a psycho teenage kid, but also as a Winter Soldier, is such a pleasure.”
He also hopes to spotlight underused heroes: “I think Isaiah Bradley is cool as hell. I got to find a way to write him.”
One surprising revelation: he’s interested in creating a Marvel character inspired by the tone of John Constantine, DC’s chain-smoking, trenchcoat-wearing warlock.
“I dearly love Constantine. I wouldn’t mind bringing a character to Marvel that scratches that itch.”
The Future of Hulk — and Marvel’s Response
With Johnson’s years-long work on Incredible Hulk shifting into its second act with Infernal Hulk, Johnson warns that the rest of the Marvel Universe won’t be able to ignore what’s coming.
“Incredible Hulk up till now has been putting all the pieces on the board,” he says. “Now Hulk is everyone’s monster. You’re going to see a lot more Marvel characters get involved.”
When asked about Hulk menacing Namor in Infernal Hulk #2, Johnson laughs but keeps spoilers close:
“The reason I’m not killing you is because I don’t want to. I don’t need to yet,” the author said, quoting Hulk’s ominous dialogue to the king of Atlantis. He calls it a moment that “speaks to how powerful he is and how big his plans are.”
Modern Myth-making
Through every project, Johnson sees himself contributing to something much larger than any single issue.
“We’re building modern myths that will go on for centuries,” the Hulk scribe mused. “This tapestry of mythology that’s going to get added to endlessly.”
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