Or, maybe I could have titled this post… “That’s gotta hurt!”
Welcome to Day 4 of “12 days of Hulk.” It’s a bad day for Xemnu the Living Titan (Marvel’s “Original Hulk”), who just got clobbered.
Ed McGuinness continues to remain one of my favorite contemporary artists. Plus, as they say, he’s a swell guy too.
When conventions come back in full force, make sure you visit with him at any show he happens to attend. It will definitely be a pleasant and fun experience.
Tell him the blog sent you.
The “original Hulk” appeared in 1960, about two years prior to our ever-lovin’ Hulk.
Tim Sale (with writer Jeph Loeb) creates a cool and dynamic page from an early clash between Gray Hulk and “Gold” Iron Man in the classic Hulk Gray mini-series.
The Hulk surprisingly didn’t battle with IM in the early years of the original Silver age, with the very notable exception of the first few issues of Avengers — which was the first team book that seemed to have more fighting within the group than without.
Of course, Loki helps manipulate their clash in issue #1, and the Space Phantom does the same in issue #2. By issue #3, Tony has switched into the first version of his now famous sleeker red and yellow model. (They duke it out there, too.) And by the end of issue #3, Hulk will disappear altogether from the book for quite a while.
As a side note, I miss hand-drawn sound effects even more than I miss traditional lettering. Thoom indeed.
Hulk and Iron Man spend most of issue #1 of Avengers fighting each other, then, astonishingly do it all over in issue #2.
Ultimate End #2, August 2015 and Hulk #15, June 2015
Welcome to the official day one of “12 Days of Hulk.”
Mark Bagley —- with the help of inker Andrew Hennessy — tackles two different Hulk battles in a few short months; Green Hulk vs. Red Hulk and Gray Hulk vs. Green Hulk. Both pages feature Bagley’s dynamic and imaginative storytelling skills.
I’ve seen a ton of Bagley originals during the last 15 years (One reason: he’s definitely prolific) and I have to say Hennessey’s inks are among my favorites, especially on Hulk. His bold strokes and use of blacks definitely add fierceness to the festivities.
And every time I see a page with both Green Hulk and Red Hulk on it, I always want to hum: “Red Hulk, Green Hulk, one, two, three.”
But, I digress.
Back here with day two of our ongoing Hulk tribute on Thursday.
Rampaging Hulk Magazine #3, June 1977 and Avengers #28, September 2012
If December makes you think of red and green, then, wow do we have a month for you. (Well, to be fair, mostly green, some red, and a little gray thrown in for good measure.)
It’s “12 days of Hulk” this month — 12 all new art posts devoted to everyone’s favorite rampaging hero, who turns 60 in early 2022.
But first a flashback to the ghost of Christmas past (two years ago, to be exact) with two great Hulk pages by the legendary Walter Simonson. (With help from Alfredo Alcala on the first and Scott Hanna on the second.)
See you back here on Tuesday with a double feature courtesy of Mark Bagley.
Erik Larsen (With help from Sal Buscema and Kurt Busiek) has some fun with the Defenders on this frenetic splash, as they clobber the undersea warlord Attuma and his feckless fish men. The Defenders are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year.
I only learned recently the reason that Doctor Strange replaced Silver Surfer between their first “unofficial” appearance in Sub-Mariner, and their official launch in Marvel Feature later in 1971. Apparently, Stan Lee was feeling precious about the Surfer, and didn’t want anyone else to write stories featuring him.
Eric solves that line-up problem here by including both of them, along with original stalwarts Hulk and Sub-Mariner.
(Many of the latter members of the group — Nighthawk, Valkyrie, et al — are along for the ride as well.)
All in all, a fun 20-year-old mini-series that has yet to be collected as far as I can tell.
Continuing our celebration of the 60th anniversary of the debut of Fantastic Four #1. (August 8, 1961)
Jim Starlin pens a love letter to the classic Hulk-Thing battles of the 60s and 70s with this fun two-parter from Marvel Fanfare.
The Hulk decks Mr. Grimm “off-screen” as it were, bridging the two issues. (See below.)
I never cared one way or another whether The Hulk or Thing was stronger (I pretty much enjoyed any crossover), but apparently this subject is very emotional for some.
That said, Thor is stronger than either of them.
Let the hate mail begin. Ha.
CBR has done a great overview of those classic battles, which you can read here.
Jim Starlin lets our imagination fill in the actual punch, as the Hulk has apparently just decked the Thing in between issues.
The Marvel Age of crossovers begins in March 1963, with a very busy FF meeting the Hulk and Spider-Man in the same month..
Not so much because it feels like a reasonable balanced match-up. (Although it does, with Pitt likely the tougher combatant.)
More so because Dale Keown made his bones with a terrific version of the Hulk on writer Peter David’s long run in the very early 90s, and then went off and created Pitt as his own character and title for Image Comics.
So Hulk vs. Pitt is actually… Dale Keown vs. Dale Keown.
On this page, the Hulk and Pitt beat the living daylights out of each other. Knockdown, drag ‘em out close-in battling, executed by a pro. (With lovely detailed finishes by the versatile and talented Dan Panosian.)
I would love to see more regular comics work by Keown, but, based on his total output the last 20 years, I have a feeling that’s not in the cards.
I would love to be wrong.
Dale’s first cover for Incredible Hulk, followed by the published version and original art for Pitt #1.
Steve Rude delivers a terrific action page of Superman vs. Hulk, as we continue to pay tribute to Hulk vs. heroes in other universes this week.
Superman vs. Hulk seems quite a bit more logical than Batman vs. Hulk. Theoretically, Superman would ultimately win, but at least he would be winded.
And come to think of it, Golden Age Superman, as originally conceived by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, might still win, but it would be pretty close to a draw.
Early Silver Age Superman, who could move planets around, not so much.
Rude, who worships at the alter of Jack Kirby, and shows reverence for Shuster’s Superman as well, is the perfect artist to illustrate this pairing.
And Granny’s expression in the middle panel? Nothing like a bit of offbeat humor to lighten the mood of a titanic fight, albeit very briefly.
Rude is perfect for that, as well.
Technology gets better (and less expensive), and fans apply their creativity accordingly.
Late April is the time of year when we are typically revved up and ready for the upcoming summer movie blockbuster season.
Definitely not this year. June perhaps? (Fingers crossed, and all that.)
So here at the blog this week, we present the big blockbusters you will never see on the big screen anyway — crossovers featuring the Incredible Hulk with characters from other universes, starting with…
…Hulk vs. Batman.
This was the second character crossover between Marvel and DC, following the successful pairings of Spider-man and Superman a few years prior. At the time Superman was DC”s most important and recognizable character worldwide, so despite the power inequity, that original pairing made commercial sense. Of course, Batman vs. Spider-man is a fairer fight.
And Hulk vs. Superman? That seems fairer — More on that later.
Meanwhile, despite the improbability of the match-up, Jose Garcia Lopez presents a master class in comic book storytelling in 48 pages.
It’s an astonishing piece of work, by an artist’s artist. Both visual imagination and draftsmanship are superb here. Many of the pages are top of class, and very few are anything less than terrific.
I prefer Lopez inking himself, but Giordano does a terrific job, and despite the mismatch of powers, it’s a fun ride.
But seriously, Batman “vs.” Hulk? (Eventually, of course, as illustrated here, they team up.) It may have been a fun ride, but realistically, it should have been a very short one.
