Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Walter Simonson, Scott Hanna & Brian Bendis — Red Hulk, Frequent Flyer

Avengers #28September 2012

Ten years ago, I purchased this terrific Avengers double page spread by Walter Simonson and Scott Hanna from Scott’s art representative at New York Comic-Con. Scott was at the convention, but I never managed to track him down. Walter was there, so he signed it before I returned to California, but since it was inks over blue-line printed pencils, it definitely needed Scott’s signature as well.

Problem was, I kept forgetting about it during my convention travels.

Finally, coming out of the pandemic two years ago, I see that Scott will be at Baltimore Comic-Con, so I pack it up, fly back East and… he needs to cancel. That’s not on him — a lot of creators cancelled in 2021, many because Covid had started raging again and travel stunk.

Flash forward to a few weeks ago, he’s an announced guest at BCC, so I bring it again, and voila, I catch up to him.  Signature acquired.

And as a bonus, when I remind Walter about the piece, writer Brian Bendis happens to stop by, so I end up with a cool bonus signature as well. (He was genuinely delighted to see the original art — writers often don’t see the originals before they make their way back to the artists and/or disappear into the collectors’ market.)

If you’re counting, that’s 12,500 miles of travel for that piece of art.

I should have signed it up for a frequent flyer account.

Chris Giarusso — Hulk Splash!

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.

Mark Bagley — Hulk Vs. Hulk Vs…

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.

Walter Simonson with Scott Hanna — Hulk Naughty…

Avengers #28, September 2012

It’s a Red Hulk / Green Hulk Walter Simonson-themed Christmas, with Red Hulk stepping up first.

Red Hulk appears very angry — that’s no way to behave during the Holiday Season! — in this marvelous double page spread by Walter Simonson.

The notorious deadline crunch has come calling — this is blue-line inked original art (the pencils exist separately) with inks by the talented Scott Hanna, who embellishes Walter’s pencils pretty faithfully on this spread.

Walter of course does not part with pages that he both pencils and inks, which means this is one of only a few scenarios where one can own a Simonson published page.

And even though his actual pencils never touched the paper, its a great Simonson example to have. Storytelling on a DPS can often be tricky, but Walter develops this one with a combination of clarity and creativity. (Note the panel size variety and “camera angles.” )

As for Red Hulk? Nothing good usually comes from picking a fight with the X-Men, no matter what the time of year.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah, no matter which Hulk you identify with.