Guess the issue of what comic this panel came from and you get a no-prize for sure!  Zeno is usually pretty good at getting these – so is 465 – but who will it be this time?  And how long will it take?  We shall see!

Bowen Mania!

Last week I was asked about showing pics of the entire Hulk room.  I said I would – and here it is – in all its glory!  Now a few things to keep in mind while you scroll through these beauties:

The couch has been taken over by green!

#1) There is no order in the Hulk room… I mean, there is SOME sort of order – but it’s MY order.  I like chaos – I thrive in chaos.  The Hulk room also seconds as my office so a lot of times, when I purchase something new, I usually find a place for it short-term and then get back to it when I can.  Many times these items will just be stuck up on the wall or put on a shelf until I get to it later.

The Action Figure Wall... pretty much every Hulk figure is on this one wall!

This is mainly for two reasons – the first being that back in the day I used to get stuff so fast and furious I would not have the opportunity to really think about where to put a piece before more boxes and comics came rolling in.  That’s not really the case so much anymore – and that’s because, the second reason, I am planning a HUGE renovation on the Hulk room.  I have an enormous display case in the works – I am knocking down a wall and expanding, just slightly, the whole room.

Shelf #1 - with the "Planet Hulk Shelf" at the top!

Also, since I had an addition on the side of my house built – and the addition was designed with a crawl space in mind – and the only place to put the entrance was to cut a hole in the wall/concrete foundation of my house – the only real space it would fit was… yup, you guessed it – right in the middle of the Hulk room wall.  I have left out pics showing the crawl space entrance mainly because it is an eyesore – but also because it’s nothing but a big square hole in a wall.  Part of the renovations I am planning is to build a small wall with closet doors to hide said hole.

Display Case #1 - this hold most of the Bowen and Mego goodness!

Now #2) You may notice there are some items in the pics of things that I have not posted – please don’t ask me to post them – I will get to it as soon as I can.  There are also items that I have posted that you do not see – there are a few reasons for that.  The first is that about a third (maybe more) of the collection is in storage.  Things that have no real rhyme or reason to put somewhere – for example, the Hulk backpacks, toothbrushes, coloring books and more.

I still have to get the green version of this Bowen Hulk statue

This is where I handle most of my work load every day:

Desk - MU across the top - and a recreation of #181 Bowen Style there too!

Next, there are certain items that are no longer in my collection.  The first thing that comes to mind is the Hulk PF.  While it was extremely hard to let that piece go I couldn’t just watch as a piece like that was climbing and climbing in value and not take advantage of it (especially when I had a few repairs to do to my house).  I could have saved and made the repairs – OR – sell one statue that could never survive the current value it was at.  I chose the latter.  I have no regrets – and am pretty certain that further down the line I will be able to pick it up again when the value has dropped.  I mean, come on – it’s inevitable that these collectibles will drop… anyone who thinks otherwise – I have just three words for you: Beanie Babies anyone?

It just keeps going...

There are a few pieces I have let go – like the Grey Hulk Hard Hero statue.  I wasn’t really a fan so I had no problem selling it – and with the funds I was able to purchase more Hulk items that I wanted.  I’ve sold some comics – mostly doubles – as well as some art.  Lastly, there is something Hulk in EVERY room of my house.  When I say every – I mean EVERY.  I put at least ONE Hulk thing in each room.  So, there are some action figures in the kitchen, pictures in the hallway… the Hulk is ever-present.  But never more so than in my bedroom where the Dynamic Forces Life Size Hulk Head sits.  Also, my entire comic collection sits right outside of the Hulk room door – and my Marvel Masterpieces and Omnibus collection is snuggly placed in the bookshelf in my living room.

Rogues Gallery

And #3 – You may notice that not everything in the Hulk room is… well, Hulk.  I do have the Galactus Bust from BD, as well as the Surfer and my 2nd favorite Marvel character, Thanos!  While it would be nice to think that I could just limit myself to Hulk – I do love me some classic Thanos!

I have another re-paint of somehting in shipping... hopefully will be here soon

Top of that cabinet:

Original Hulk Fists! The Best!

So, tell me what you think of the Hulk room – do you have a similar set-up?  Let me know!  And please, ask any questions you would like to know (except asking me WHEN I will be posting stuff) including how my wife feels about it – if you’re curious.

Thanks again Gammapup!

By the way, my daughter IS allowed in the room under strict supervision. :) Just until she is old enough to understand that she can’t open or play with any of Daddy’s toys.  Not to worry though – she has plenty of her own Hulk toys to play with – as you guys saw when I posted a pic of her last week with her Hulks in a baby carriage.

Green and Grey... gotta love it!

And of course – the best shot:

My prized possesion - The Incredible Hulk #1 - the only thing I am pretty damn sure won't plummet in value in my lifetime.

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Whew!  That guy can draw AND talk a whole lot!

Marvel Covers Sticker Set

While I am digging other things out and rearranging the Hulk room (cleaning it) in order to take some decent pictures for you lovely people – here is a set of stickers that I picked up at my LCS sometime last year.  I think I liked this because of their choice for the Hulk cover.  Too many times Hulk #1 or #181 or #377 – some iconic cover is chosen – which is fine, really.  I get why – but this is the first time I saw them use the cover to #105.  Nice choice – classic Hulk stuff is the best!

Amazing Heroes #198

This mag from the 90′s was actually quite interesting to go through again – Keown talks about how he was looking forward to inking his stuff and that Marvel was going to give him that chance in TIH #400 – an issue he never came to draw.  He jumped ship to Image to create PITT – a book that lasted, what? 20 issues over 10 years or something like that?  How many people are still waiting for PITT to return?  I remember reading an interview with McFarlane saying that they started to limit the number of books they were producing and WHO produced them – mainly because they did not want another “Keown” situation to happen.  He’s infamous!  That means he’s MORE than famous!

Dr. Strange

I know I will start to hear the debates on here – I can already hear some of you chiming in – but the REAL Defenders set can now be displayed thanks to the MU addition of Dr. Strange being released.

Namor - "Panties" Version

To me, it’s Namor, Hulk and Strange – and you can throw Surfer in there too if that’s your thing – I can take or leave the Surfer as a team member – but I also wouldn’t toss him out if someone added him in there.  Now, I know they released a “fully clothed” Namor – but the better version just came out a bit ago.

Silver Surfer

So yeah, like I said, get these – add them into your collection and display them proudly as a CLASSIC Defenders lover.

P.S. – I know they released a translucent variant for Strange – and no – I didn’t get it.  I just wanted these guys for a Defenders display – not a completest of Non-Hulk figures.  I mean, sometimes I will pick up a variant, sure – but in this case… oh lord, I am already bored of my blathering…

Lex - Age 2 1/2

It’s been a while since I updated you on my daughter – and I must say she is growing up quite wonderful… and beautiful!  Of course she gets that from her Daddy!  And just to set the record straight – her Mother dressed her this morning – and I came downstairs this evening to see her playing with her Hulks.  The Mighty Muggs one she calls the Mommy Hulk while the bubble head one is the baby.  How stinkin’ cute is she?

Mommy and Baby Hulk

Dormammu Bust

Last year I picked up one of Bowen’s best busts – admittedly it is not the Hulk so I have yet to show it – but Dormammu is one of Dr. Strange’s (and the Defenders) best villains.  His look, though, is one that some thought to be pretty impossible to capture in 3 dimensions.  But Bowen was up to the challenge – and he delivered a likeness so amazing – the only thing that could top it would be sitting this amazing bust on a phenomenal base.  Bowen, once again, delivered!

The head is the hardest part to capture - and Lloyd did it with flying colors!

Whenever a sculpture is trying to display fire it is a bit tricky – the only way to do it right is to make it look as real as possible.  You can’t just, for example, sculpt some fire and paint it orange!  This was the challenge that BD and Jeremy Lloyd, the sculptor, was facing and they solved the problem by having a translucent plastic surrounding the head.

Back View

This Ditko based sculpt is one of my favorite I own – the base, like I mentioned before, has a heavy Asian feel to it which is perfect for the character with the magical energies that encompass him.  One of the better Defenders stories is the mini-series called Indefensible and if you have not read it, you should.  It really captures everything that makes the Defenders so great!  And of course D-Man here is a HUGE part of it!

From top to bottom!

Hey Hulk! Where did you get those snazzy shorts?

Not only that they put the “Hulk” on the cover – but they actually have the word “Incredible” at the top as well!

Marvel Heroes Gummy Finger Puppets

Let me tell you something – when I walk into a store I am on the search for anything green – then the scope narrows from green to Hulk – then, even more so, to anything Hulk that I don’t already own.  Sometimes memory is a little fuzzy in that respect, but I digress, if I find nothing then I broaden my scope to anything Marvel.  When I do this I sometimes come across lamp shades, coffee mugs, notebooks that feature a whole slew of Marvel heroes.  I usually leave those items as I am more interested in things that are solely Hulk.  But every once in a while I find something Marvel that makes me chuckle or tickles my fancy enough that I pick it up.

What happened to Hulk's face?!?!?

This was a no brainer!  Gummy Finger Puppets?  Are you kidding me?  How awesome is that?  I hate fruit flavored candy though – so these went to my nephew who ate them all at once – except the Hulk – who he wore for most of the night “smashing” his cousins with his finger.  That is, until his mother showed up and told him to eat it or she would throw it away.  He argued that he couldn’t eat the Hulk, his mother asked why, he replied with “Because he’s the Hulk!” Classic.

The other crew from the box...

Hulk has the day off – all thanks to that amazing man, Martin Luther King Jr. – so Hulk is spending it doing his favorite hobby.  Pounding on the drums!  Click on the image for some MLK goodness!

The Incredible Hulk #4

And here I thought we were going to get something to look forward to… does that statement let you know where this review is going?  Let’s get started.

Story: Aaron is heading somewhere – I am sure of it – will it be a fantastic reveal?  Maybe – but most of the fun of a story is the journey it takes you on – and so far this journey is a mess.  Aaron has seemed to reverse the roles – Hulk is the more peaceful, reasonable one and Banner is the monster.  It’s not a terribly original idea – nor is it an interesting one.  Aaron might have his ultimate goal in mind – and like I said – it may be fantastic, but thus far it’s been pretty terrible.  Way back when, in the classic days, Hulk was an anomaly.  An “accident” that could not be re-produced.  Three years ago, with the collective minds of the Leader and MODOK they figured out how to make another Hulk.  Since then, Hulk is no longer special, there are Hulks of another color, Hulk Jr.’s, Warthog Hulks, Shark Hulks, Bat Hulks, Deadpool Hulks, Captain America Hulks and more… it’s getting quite ridiculous.  I was hoping with a new writer on board he might be interested in cleaning up the mess that others created before him – much like Parker is doing with Red, but sadly, that does not seem to be the case.

I think I had a badly drawn nightmare like this once...

Art: Silvestri (and the other 10 artists) are off the book – Portacio is in.  That may sound good – until, of course, you SEE it.  Portacio’s consistency seems to change not just from page to page – but from panel to panel!  Any action scene is full of awkwardly posed characters fighting off awkward looking creatures.  Banner has a maniacal Joker’s smile that’s both creepy and unsettling.  Hulk has an ever growing and shrinking brow.  I thought getting Portacio on the book was going to bring a little something to look forward to on the book – boy was I wrong!

Is the Hulk mad? Screaming? Scared? Constipated? I really can't tell...

Variants: None to speak of.  Funny, with a change like this, a new artist, you’d think Marvel would be throwing another rare “sketch” variant at us.  I am relieved to see that they did not.  I’d like to think they learned a lesson – but that’s just silly.  I think the real reason is that this relaunch is not the blockbuster (in sales) that they were hoping for.

Overall: This is another issue to skip.  Until things start more reflecting a Hulk book (like Parker’s Red Hulk book does) you might as well leave these issues sitting on the shelves.  Pick up Red instead (I can’t believe I just wrote that!) or dip into your long boxes and pull out a classic Trimpe issue to get this unfortunate nonsense off your palate.  Grade: F

DC gave the Joker rights to Marvel!?!?! This is HUGE!

Hulk Mug

One of the perks about Disney buying Marvel – Disney stores now carry Marvel merchandise!  And yes, a lot of the figures they carry are seen everywhere else – but they also have a few exclusive pieces.  The Disney store near me only had this – but it’s a start – I know there are a few other little Hulk items that other Hulk fans have gotten.  I will have to make a trip back soon.

Profile

The only thing is – the Disney Store is nowhere near me!  But that’s alright – I travel all over for work – I just have a new pit-stop to add in during my jaunts.  This Mug looks like an animated version – almost like the Avengers cartoon Hulk.  It’s pretty great but nothing beats the Applause mug from ’97 (remember this one?)

2-pack coming!

Yes, I think both of these figures have already been released – but the Wolverine looks slightly different – either way – this 2-pack is heading our way in 2012!  Keep an eye out for it!

Fast Forces Hulk Heroclix

These sets just came out – and as you know I am NOT into Heroclix – but damn, if these sets aren’t just like crack for Hulk lovers!  I only bought the large 6 pack and then a long box that comes with 5 – but even with those two purchases I now have most of the Hulk universe!  With the 6-pack you receive not only the Hulk – but Thunderbolt Ross, Betty, the Abomination, the Leader and a Hulk buster.  Here’s a shot of the Hulk:

Hulk Heroclix

And with Banner:

Two sides of a coin!

In the other 5-pack I was lucky enough to snag a Rick Jones, Grey Hulk, Punisher (waitaminute!  WHAT?), Lyra and a Bruce Banner!  So I was pretty happy.  Now I can act out all those romantic scenes from the movies – and even create a few of my own from the “uncut” version of the film that’s in my head.  I mean – WHAT?  Who does that?

Rick Jones and Fixit!

Anyways, I have seen that the sets also include some characters from Planet Hulk – which is cool – some AIM soldiers (bleh) – some Hulked Out Heroes (BLEH!) but I’ve also seen a whole set of Hulks – like House of M Hulk, Cosmic Hulk, Red, War Hulk and more!  While I most likely will not be picking any of these others up – it’s certainly cool that these were made!

Closer shot of the 6 pack.