| The Incredible Hulk | |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | List
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| No. of issues | List
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| Main character | Hulk |
| Creative team | |
| Created by | Stan Lee Jack Kirby |
| Written by | List
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| Penciller | List
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| Inker | List
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The Incredible Hulk is asuperhero comic book series series published byMarvel Comics. Created byStan Lee andJack Kirby, it stars scientist Bruce Banner, who is irradiated bygamma rays that cause him to transform under stress into theHulk, a giant powerful green-skinned monster who is the manifestation of Banner's anger.
The comic has been published on and off since 1962, and has been passed to many high-profile comics writers, such asBill Mantlo,Peter David, andGreg Pak. Throughout its publication history, it has been intermittently replaced as the primary Hulk title by other series, includingTales to Astonish (1963–68),Indestructible Hulk (2013–15), andThe Immortal Hulk (2018–21). The title is currently being written byPhillip Kennedy Johnson, who will relaunch it asThe Infernal Hulk in 2025.
The original series was canceled with issue #6 (March 1963). Lee had written each story, withJack Kirby penciling the first five issues andSteve Ditko penciling and inking the sixth.
A year and a half after the series was canceled, the Hulk became one of two features inTales to Astonish, beginning in issue #60 (Oct. 1964).[1]
This new Hulk feature was initially scripted by writer-editor Lee and illustrated by the team of pencillerSteve Ditko andinkerGeorge Roussos. Other artists later in this run includedJack Kirby from #68–87 (June 1965 – Oct. 1966), doing full pencils or, more often, layouts for other artists;Gil Kane, credited as "Scott Edwards", in #76 (February 1966), his first Marvel Comics work;Bill Everett inking Kirby in #78–84 (Feb–Oct. 1966); andJohn Buscema penciling Kirby's layouts in #85–87. TheTales to Astonish run introduced the supervillains theLeader,[2] who would become the Hulk's nemesis, and theAbomination, another gamma-irradiated being.[2] Comics artistMarie Severin finished out the Hulk's run inTales to Astonish.
Beginning with issue #102 (April 1968) the book was retitledThe Incredible Hulk (vol. 2)[3] and ran until 1999, when Marvel canceled the series and restarted the title with the shorter-titledHulk #1.
The Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) was published through the 1970s. At times, the writers includedArchie Goodwin,Chris Claremont, andTony Isabella. Len Wein wrote the series from 1974 through 1978. Nearly all of the 1970s issues were drawn by eitherHerb Trimpe, who was the regular artist for seven years,[4] orSal Buscema, who was the regular artist for 10 years, starting with issue #194 (December 1975).[5] Issues #180–181 (Oct.–Nov. 1974) introduced the characterWolverine,[6] who would go on to become one of Marvel Comics' most popular. The original art for the comic book page that introduced Wolverine sold for $657,250 in May 2014.[7] Key supporting characters includedJim Wilson andJarella, both of whom would make few appearances outside of this decade.[4]
In 1977, Marvel launched a second title,The Rampaging Hulk, a black-and-white comics magazine.[2] This was originally conceived as a flashback series, set between the end of his original, short-lived solo title and the beginning of his feature inTales to Astonish.[8] After nine issues, the magazine was retitledThe Hulk! and printed in color.[9] A nine-part "continuity insert" that in many ways contradicted the original comics stories wasretconned later as an in-universe film made byBereet.[10]
FollowingRoger Stern,Bill Mantlo took over the writing with issue #245 (March 1980). Among the adversaries Mantlo created for the series were theU-Foes[11] and theSoviet Super-Soldiers.[12] Mantlo's "Crossroads of Eternity" stories, which ran through issues #300–313 (Oct. 1984 – Nov.1985), explored the idea that Banner had sufferedchild abuse. Later,The Incredible Hulk writersPeter David andGreg Pak called these stories an influence on their approaches to the series.[13][14] After five years, Mantlo left the title to writeAlpha Flight,[15] whileAlpha Flight writerJohn Byrne took over the series and left it after six issues, claiming, "I took on the Hulk after a discussion with editor-in-chiefJim Shooter, in which I mentioned some of the things I would like to do with that character, given the chance. He told me to do whatever was necessary to get on the book, he liked my ideas so much. I did, and once installed he immediately changed his mind—'You can't do this!' Six issues was as much as I could take."[16] Byrne's final issue featured the wedding of Bruce Banner andBetty Ross.[17] Byrne had done a seventh issue, consisting entirely of one-panel pages. It was eventually published inMarvel Fanfare #29.
Al Milgrom briefly succeeded Byrne before new regular writerPeter David took over with issue #331 (May 1987), the start of an 11-year tenure. He returned to the Stern and Mantlo abuse storyline, expanding the damage caused, and depicting Banner as sufferingdissociative identity disorder. In issue #377 he merged Banner, the green Hulk, and the grey Hulk into a single being with the unified personality, intelligence, and powers of all three. David claimed he had been planning this from the beginning of his tenure on the series, and had held off so that he could make the readers have an emotional attachment to the grey Hulk.[13] David worked with numerous artists over his run on the series, includingDale Keown,Todd McFarlane,Sam Kieth,Gary Frank,Liam Sharp,Terry Dodson,Mike Deodato,George Pérez, andAdam Kubert.[2]
In 1998, David followed editor Bobbie Chase's suggestion to kill Betty Ross. In the introduction to the Hulk trade paperbackBeauty and the Behemoth, David said that his wife had recently left him, providing inspiration for the storyline. Marvel executives used Ross' death as an opportunity to push the idea of bringing back the Savage Hulk. David disagreed, leading to his parting ways with Marvel.[18] His last issue ofThe Incredible Hulk was (vol. 2) #467 (Aug. 1998), his 137th. Also in 1998, Marvel relaunchedThe Rampaging Hulk as a standard comic book rather than as a comics magazine.[2]
Following David's departure,Joe Casey took over as writer until this series ended withThe Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #474 (March 1999). The first volume of the shorter-titledHulk[19] began immediately the following month, scripted by Byrne and penciled byRon Garney.[20]
Erik Larsen andJerry Ordway briefly took over scripting and with issue #12 (March 2000) the series was restarted asThe Incredible Hulk vol. 3.[21] New series writerPaul Jenkins developed the Hulk's multiple personalities,[22] and his run was followed byBruce Jones.[23] Jones' storyline featuring Banner being pursued by a secret conspiracy and aided by the mysterious Mr. Blue. Jones appended to his 43 issues ofIncredible Hulk thelimited seriesHulk/Thing: Hard Knocks #1–4 (Nov. 2004 – Feb. 2005), which Marvel published after putting the ongoing series on hiatus.
Peter David, who had initially signed a contract for the six-issueTempest Fugit limited series, returned as writer when it was decided to make that story the first five parts of the revived volume three.[24] After a four-part tie-in to theHouse of Mcrossover and a one-issueepilogue, David left the series once more, citing the need to do non-Hulk work for the sake of his career.[25]
In 2006, writerGreg Pak took over the series. With issue #113 (Feb. 2008), it was retitledThe Incredible Hercules, still written by Pak but starring themythologicaldemigodHercules and teenage geniusAmadeus Cho. Concurrently, Marvel launchedHulk (vol. 2), written byJeph Loeb and drawn byEd McGuinness.[26] While continuing to publishHulk (vol. 2), Marvel also relaunched the second 1960s Hulk series withThe Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #600 (Sept. 2009).[27] With the arrival of theRed Hulk—a transformed General "Thunderbolt" Ross, the Hulk's longtime nemesis—and theRed She-Hulk—the revived Betty Ross—this series was retitledIncredible Hulks with issue #612 (Nov. 2010). This lasted through issue #635 (Oct. 2011).[27] Yet another Hulk series,The Incredible Hulk vol. 4, written byJason Aaron and drawn byMarc Silvestri,[28] began with a new #1 and lasted 15 issues (Dec. 2011 – Dec. 2012).[29] In November 2012, Marvel announced it would publish a new Hulk title,Indestructible Hulk, by writerMark Waid and artistLeinil Yu.[30]Hulk (vol. 2) becameRed She-Hulk with issue #58 (Dec. 2012).
In 2015, Amadeus Cho became the "Totally Awesome Hulk", replacing Bruce Banner. Shortly afterward, Banner was killed in the 2016 storylineCivil War II.[31] In 2017,The Incredible Hulk was relaunched with issue #709, with the series using "legacy numbering".[32][33] In 2019, Banner was resurrected in the seriesThe Immortal Hulk, which features horror-inspired stories.[31]
In 2023,The Incredible Hulk was relaunched with volume 4 (issue #782), written byPhillip Kennedy Johnson with art by Nic Klein. It continues the horror themes established byThe Immortal Hulk and sees Hulk travel around the United States and battle monsters alongside the newly introduced characterCharlie Tidwell.[34][35]
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Eisner Award | Best Continuing Series | The Immortal Hulk | Nominated | [36] |
Tales to Astonish #60...introduced a new series – The Incredible Hulk – starring the famous character.
{{cite book}}:|first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Marvel has released a timeline showing how it arrived at the Legacy numbering forThe Incredible Hulk...[which] will now resume its classic numbering with #709.
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