Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Tag: Hulk

Erik Larsen & Sal Buscema — Defenders, Disassemble

Original Art and The Artists

Defenders #7, September 2001

Here’s a fun title page from the great Erik Larsen, inked by the always-amazing Sal Buscema. If you like the Defenders, how can you not love this?

Larsen packs the composition as if he’s cramming an entire issue into a single image—a glorious jumble of big personalities and startled reactions, with a barely contained Hulk dominating the page and everyone else looking like they’ve wandered into the wrong cosmic crisis.

Loud, funny, and bursting with life, this Defenders run—written by Larsen with Kurt Busiek nearly 25 years ago—is pure, entertaining chaos. These heroes are powerful and iconic, sure, but also an endearingly oddball bunch who often seem annoyed to be sharing the same space.

Come for the heroics. Stay for the dysfunctional group dynamics.

Thanks for stopping by in 2025 — see you next year!

Kyle Baker — Take Hulk Out OF The Ballgame

Original Art and The Artists

Damage Control III, #1, June 1991

Damage Control is such a fun high concept; Someone needs to clean up after a big hero and villain melee lays waste to parts of a city. Why not a murky government agency with an apparently unlimited budget? The idea so good in fact, that it’s been well incorporated into the MCU, albeit with some changes along the away. 

Kyle Baker drew (pencils and inks) the final mini-series of the original three, and his art style was a perfect fit for the quirky, humorous nature of the stories.

And the things you learn from comics: Turns out the Incredible Hulk is a Yankees fan.

The Yankees should sign him up. He’s probably the only one who could consistently give Shohei Ohtani a run for his money as the most extraordinarily dominant player in the Major Leagues.

Then again, maybe not. For all we know, Otani is a mutant. Or an alien. He’s definitely other-worldly.

Fun fact: About 25 years ago, just as realistic “destructible environments” became reality in videogames, TQ Jefferson and I passionately tried to convince our colleagues at Activision that Damage Control would be a perfectly fun way to incorporate as many Marvel characters into one game as possible. 

Alas, executive management thought we were bonkers — a story for another day.

Herb Trimpe & John Severin — Love Lost

Original Art and The Artists

Incredible Hulk #154, August 1972

Here Trimpe & John Severin Marvel Comics Hulk Original Art From The Collection Of Greg Goldstein

Herb Trimpe, inked by John Severin. 

Perfect Hulk art team on a pretty perfect Incredible Hulk page. 

Ol’ greenskin knows that somewhere in Hank Pym’s laboratory — and Bruce Banner’s brain — hides the secret to shrinking back down to the microverse. 

Why is this so important? I’m glad you asked. Our poor Hulk is lovesick and desperate to reunite with his beautiful Jarella.

Hulk in very panel: Raging, smashing, and blinded by love — and the self-awareness that he doesn’t retain enough of Banner’s smarts to work through it.

As noted, pretty perfect.

Sam Kieth — Hulk & Wolverine, Endless Rematch

Original Art and The Artists

Wolverine / Hulk #1, April 2002

Continuing a mini-celebration of the X-Men’s 60th anniversary.

Sam Kieth on a Wolverine Hulk mini-series? Seems like a no-brainer. And this page? Terrific.

But… you know what IS puzzling to me? The cover art to issue #1, which screams to me: “This stinks, let’s see if they buy it anyway.” *

Your mileage may vary.

(*The TPB cover, on the other hand, is fantastic.)

Sal Buscema — Hulk (& John Byrne) On The Run

Original Art and The Artists

Incredible Hulk Annual #14, December 1985

This Hulk story — from Incredible Hulk Annual #14 — is a direct outcome of one of the oddest creative moments in Marvel Comics history. 

Why so odd? The creative teams on Alpha Flight and The Incredible Hulk did a complete switch with each other. And naturally, they did a crossover to bring readers up to speed. Also, the Secret Wars sequel is involved.

But as always, we digress.

John Byrne, who had been on Alpha Flight, commenced his (ultimately brief) run with issue #314 and this annual, simultaneously. (Bill Mantlo and Mike Mignola went over to Alpha Flight.) And, as prolific as John is, even he can’t produce that many pages at once, so he enlisted art support from Sal Buscema, who penciled and inked the full double issue.

Sal Buscema on the Hulk? Always great.

Sal Buscema on everything else? Always great, too.

After a crossover — and a Secret Wars tie-in — creative teams on The Incredible Hulk and Alpha Flight fully flip-flopped, a first in comics history.

Bill Sienkiewicz — To Kirby, With Love

Original Art and The Artists

Sentry / Hulk #1, February 2001

Welcome to Day 11 of “12 Days of Hulk.“

I couldn’t imagine I’d ever see Bill Sienkiewicz create a Jack Kirby version of the Hulk, and then I ran across this odd and trippy one-shot issue featuring an unusual pairing of the Sentry and the green goliath.

And sure enough, during some flashback scenes / dream sequences, we do indeed see Bill’s Kirby-style Hulk, crackle and all.

As a bonus, on this great page, we get “traditional” Bill art along with the Kirby homage.

Definitely a keeper.

Bill combines classic and contemporary images on some beautiful pages throughout this one-shot.

Chris Giarusso — Hulk Splash!

Original Art and The Artists

Hulk-Sized Mini-Hulks #1, August 2011

Green Hulk vs. Gray Hulk?

Nope.

If you’re Chris Giarusso, cartoonist extraordinaire, it’s Green vs. Red vs… Blue?

The Hulk’s co-creator, Stan Lee, would have turned 99 years old today. He might not have ever envisioned a world of rainbow-colored Hulks, but “Hulk Splash?” That’s a gag worthy of Not Brand Ecch.

Happy Birthday Stan. Say hello to Jack and the rest of the team for us.

Dale Eaglesham — In The Savage Land

Original Art and The Artists

Incredible Hulks #624, May 2011

Welcome to Day 9 of “12 Days of Hulk.“

Here we have a savage Hulk in a… savage land. But unlike his time on “Planet Hulk”, this story takes place on Earth, literally in the “Savage Land”(hidden away in Antarctica), home to Ka-Zar and plenty of prehistoric creatures and other odd denizens.

Dale Eaglesham’s dramatic rendering of the green goliath is the title splash of the issue, despite the fact it’s the last page as well.

Remember when all Marvel Comics had a great opening splash page on page one? Me too, and call me old fashioned, but I liked that formula.

And speaking of old fashioned — once again, I think the dark, overly rendered color detracts from the detailed art, instead of enhancing it.

But maybe that’s just me.

Back here with more Hulk on Tuesday.

Kyle Hotz & Eric Powell — Joe Fixit Returns

Original Art and The Artists

Incredible Hulk #22, January 2001

Welcome to Day 8 of “12 Days of Hulk.” 

My favorite version of the Hulk the last 35 years or so?

Mr.Fixit, of course. The gang enforcer you, absolutely, positively don’t want to mess with.

That “character” pretty much disappeared when Peter David left the Hulk title, but he makes a comeback here courtesy of Paul Jenkins and the criminally (pun intended) underrated Kyle Hotz.

And Eric Powell on inks? Count me in, of course.

From our world to others… Mr Fixit was a different kind of Hulk.

Will Conrad — Beneath 150 Billion Tons (?!)

Original Art and The Artists

Secret Wars Novel, Novo Seculo Brazilian Edition (“Guerras Secretas”), 2015

The Hulk saves his fellow superheroes by holding up a … mountain.

And no, you can’t make this up. It’s Will Conrad’s very dramatic rendering of the original Secret Wars story (Issue #4, 1985) for a contemporary Brazilian edition of a Secret Wars novelization.

How did Jim Shooter come up with 150 Billion Tons? I’m really going to have to ask him that one of these days. All I know is there are some pretty powerful heroes counting on ‘Ol Greenskin, no matter how much those rocks weigh.

Will has done a number of these Brazilian novelization covers and they are all fabulous, but this is my favorite.

Another version of Hulk holding the mountain, from Spider-man and the Secret Wars #1(2010.)