I found this gem at a store in Attleboro, MA called Wild Tim Comics. The store was packed with some real good stuff – I have added it to my Stores page – and they had a whole lot of older Hulk stuff that I never picked up. This is one of them. A little Hulk charm – looks Gary Frank inspired – on a leather necklace.
The Hulk Charm
I used to wear crap like this back in the early 90’s – and don’t judge me because EVERYONE wore leather bands and such as cool jewelry. That and flannel. And long, greasy hair. It was cool! Maybe those trends need to come back – and I am just the guy to do it!
I just may have something for pg 18 of comic pages – because out of all my acqisitions – 3 of them are page #18. This one has to be the one page I own that has the most characters on it! Not being a huge fan of Jan Duursema’s short run – but you have to give her sort of a break… I mean she had to take over when Dale Keown gave a quick departure.
The Leader - with his cronies... and Aggy...
This one page has the Hulk, Leader, Rock, Redeemer, U-Foes, and Agamemnon! That’s a whole lot of Hulky goodness on one page! This is actually part of the “Ghosts of the Past” storyline and it’s one that you should read if you haven’t.
This storyline starts off with a bang… almost literally. The army comes looking for the Hulk and finds Betty… Oh boy, do they find Betty! She gets back into the house only with enough time to tell Bruce not to come get her – that they won’t hurt her. That’s when Talbot walks in – not Glen Talbot but his nephew – Matt Talbot. And he’s just a little angry with Betty… and he’s out to prove he can take the Hulk down. He wastes only just a bit of time before he pulls Betty out of the house and shoots her right in the leg.
Matt Talbot isn't messing around!
This, of course send Bruce off to her rescue. Bruce is met with all new Hulkbuster units. They are holding Hulk at bay – but mostly just pissing him off and getting destroyed. That’s when Matt Talbot shoots Betty in her other leg. Hulk goes all “flying fury” toward Talbot – only to turn into “Savage Banner” by the time he reaches him – and a solider knocks him out with one hit.
Incredible Hulk #437
They take Bruce to a government facility where, if they keep him awake and mad – then they don’t have to worry about the Hulk! Betty, on the other hand, wakes up in the hospital. She runs into the police officer that tried to help her before – and he says he wants to help break her husband out. He introduces Betty to – one of the worse named groups ever – The Head Shop. Yes, the Head Shop. They are a groups of people created by the Leader – and they want to help release the Hulk so that he may help them find the Leader. They’re a group of 5 – but were once a group of 6 – the last member being Frost – you might remember Frost – Hulk ran into him back in Vegas back in issues #395-396.
Now, the current leader of Freehold is a green man by the name of Omnibus – and even though he has strikingly similar features of the Leader – he is not the Leader – except he thinks he is sort of possessed by the Leader. Omnibus is getting control over certain men, and with the Alliance ready to make terrorist attacks, he is thrilled thinking that his plan is going over so well…
Bruce - not as strong as he thinks...
The Head Shop helps Bruce escape – but the issue is still that he THINKS he is the Hulk and he is not – Bruce has no enhanced abilities and is actually worse than the Hulk as he is vulnerable in almost every way! This becomes a real problem when Bruce, thinking he is Hulk, goes to stop a grenade and it goes off.
Incredible Hulk #438
The Head Shop brings the practically dead Banner out to the waiting helicopter that Betty is flying. She sees Bruce’s condition and freaks – but they tell her they need to take off. Once in the air though, Betty goes to check on the lifeless Bruce, only for the Hulk t emerge – except the Hulk doesn’t exactly look like himself. His skin color is darker and he’s a bit nastier to… well, everyone – but especially Betty. The Hulk is informed that the shrapnel from the grenade is still in his body – that his organs have healed around all the bits of metal – and the ones in his brain may be a problem. When the Head Shop asks for Hulk’s help to find the Leader he tells them that the Leader is dead. The Hulk remembers that the Leader once took a bullet out of his brain – maybe he can use his machines to take the remaining metal out of him as well.
Hulk... getting snippy
Matt Talbot wants to find who is responsible for freeing the Hulk and he wants the Hulk found again – but Gyrich tells him that the Alliance is more important at this time and that they have to stop them. Talbot begrudgingly agrees.
Hulk is leaping through the air near Mt Rushmore when a huge explosion happens – Hulk wonders what that’s all about – and we see the Great Wall of China also get blown up – and Omnibus watching it all go down – laughing away that his plan is working perfectly! Soon everyone will be blaming each other and it will be Omibus to have to pick up the pieces – and we watch as Omnibus changes into the Leader!
Incredible Hulk #439
The Hulk stands outside of Freehold and gets attacked by Ogress and Hot Shot – seeing as the last time Hulk was in Freehold you really can’t blame them for going on the defensive. All across the country things are amiss – a man finds one of the Leader’s Humanoids sitting in the parking garage of the World Trade Center – a man taking the tour in the White House hears the President is not there and he suddenly stops and sits in a chair as the tour goes on without him. Meanwhile, Jailbait is back in the lab where Omnibus came in before and freaked out on her and Hot Shot, so when Omnibus comes in this time – Jailbait hides and overhears the big headed maniac say he is the leader of the Alliance!
A Humanoid... in the never forgotten WTC
Rick Jones and Marlo are visited by a lawyer saying that her clients would like to have a reality show of them named “Keeping up with the Jones” (Holy Crap! Keeping up with the Jones?!! Are you kidding me? I hope PD is getting royalty rights to the name from that horrible Kardashian show!) But then we see that the whole world is going crazy as explosions are happening everywhere. The President wants it taken care of – he wants answers – and Gyrich turns back to his advisors and wants the same from them. Talbot, spoken like a true army man, simply asks for a target. But now we join Hulk back in Freehold where he and Omnibus talk over how they can take the shards of metal out of his body. But then Omnibus shows the Hulk all the destruction happening all over the world. The Hulk freaks out – starts talking to himself – knows that this is the future that Maestro talked about. And back at Mt Rushmore we see only half of it was destroyed – until something hits it and destroys the other half. When the dust clears we see the Hulk – now with a beard and long hair – and most importantly, calling himself the Maestro!
Incredible Hulk #440
And who better to take down one of the strongest incarnations of the Hulk ever? That’s right – only a God would stand a chance against him – Mr. Goldilocks himself – Thor! Problem is – as the Avengers learn about the Maestro’s appearance (who they think looks amazingly like Hulk) Thor is de-powered and depressed. But soon – things change – Thor is not only back – but he’s mad. He says to beat the Hulk he needs to really cut loose – the way the Hulk seems to – not restrained in any way. Well, as the battle rages on there are distinct eyes upon the beat down – Betty being one, Talbot being another. Matt Talbot has an atomic bomb ready to be dropped on the Hulk at a mention – but as everyone else watches thinking the Hulk has lost his mind – only Betty knows the truth. Hulk visited Betty before he went to Rushmore, saying that the world needs a scapegoat – needs someone to blame – so that they don’t all blame each other. He is that scapegoat – the perfect patsy.
The Hulk knows what te world needs... and it's someone to blame.
Back in Freehold – thanks to Jailbait’s earlier discovery – and her loose lips on the matter – the citizens of Freehold learn that Omnibus – their leader – IS the Alliance. They storm the lab where Omnibus is and… well, they take care of business. But that leaves the Hulk and Thor – still battling – Thor out for blood. He’s in a berserker rage like never before. Suddenly Samson shows up to overlook the fight and give Talbot a professional opinion about the Hulk – is he out of control or not. But Talbot hardly needs convincing and sends the signal to drop the bomb. Hulk sees the bomb – and with some parting words punches Thor as hard as he can and sends Thor to the stratosphere. The bomb touches down and in a firey explosion the Hulk is gone. Samson can’t believe it – Talbot is celebrating – until Samson back hands him – and the Head Shop asks Betty – who was still watching – they ask if she’s okay. She’s starts laughing deliriously.
I know I am missing an issue in this storyline – and the sad thing is my computer is down and getting cleaned out – so I wasn’t able to add it in – I will make sure to add it in later. It’s the Cutting Edge issue and I remembered it too late. Also, when I get my computer back I will review the latest issues – the end of the Chaos War. Now, back to these issues – The storyline had it’s up and downs for sure – beginning with the art of Angel Medina. It is so inconsistent – there are some freakin’ fantastic shots – but most of his panels are really awkward looking. And then there is the storyline itself – we begin with a bang – the introduction of Matt Talbot was awesome – and how die hard is he – and shooting Betty? Bad-ass! But he turns out to be another Army wacko just wanting blow things up… Also, the Leader coming back was fantastic – except David himself has gone on record as saying that the Leader appearance was left open-ended as maybe in Omnibus’ head. Eve the Thor vs Hulk fight was questionable. There are some die hard Thor fans that claim he wasn’t up to full strength – but this was one of the best Hulk vs. Thor fights ever and to me showed just who the real powerhouse is. So pretty much everything in these issues were left with highs and lows. I was looking to see if this was ever collected into a trade – but did not come across anything – and with it so deep in the David run I think we’ll have to wait to see if they even make it into the Visionaries trades. If they do it will surely be up to Volume 20. Grade: C
I’ve gotten real lucky in the past finding Hulk items. It happened again here too – because I saw this on TRU’s website and knew I had to have it! I really didn’t want to have to order over the website because then I would have to pay for shipping and such. Then, over the Christmas season I was walking through Toys and noticed the Spiderman Inflatable Playpal. I asked about the Hulk to one of the employees and he looked upstairs for me – but to no avail. Amazingly, on his way down he said that he saw them unloading the truck and they were taking one of these boxes off of it. The boxes contained 2 Spiderman, an Iron Man and, of course, the Hulk! One of the best parts of this piece is the real crazy hair. I can’t wait for my daughter to get a little bigger – I am going to totally bust this out and let her bounce around the whole house!
Checked into Lids this past Christmas and snagged his puppy for a cool $5! That’s right, a measley honest Abe! I like the hat – the front depicting a huge Hulk face – and the back with the Hulk logo. As much as I like the front of it – it’s a bit much – so I choose to wear it backward. The issue with Hulk apparell is that the Hulk doesn’t have a great logo like Spiderman, Batman, even Iron Man’s new hand logo. They are all cool – but Marvel never came up with a great Hulk logo.
Incredible Hulks #620Bruce - watching his Dad's version of foreplay...Mom 1, Betty 0
So where were we last? Oh yes, The Hulk is battling Zom and Abomination – and his Father… all of whom are dead. Some of Hulk’s dead friends are back too – like Samson and Jarella – and… well, Talbot – although they really weren’t friends. Meanwhile, Herc and Co. were busy battling the Chaos King and his army of 10,000. Herc is told about Marlo and the tinge of Death that still resides in her. He scans the Hulk’s mind to see where he is at mentally and finds the little kid inside the Hulk reliving the horrible moment where Bruce’s mother was killed. Brian Banner is becoming stronger – being fueled off of the memories from his son – who is not giving up the battle. The more they battle Hulk’s father the more they are burned, beaten – the whole Hulk family is practically destroyed – when Jarella steps up to the plate.
Jarella uses the love that the Hulk feels for her to battle Brain Banner – and drives a sword right through his brain. The Hulks stand together – ready to battle the Hulk’s father down to size but it is the Hulk, with a simple blow of his breath, that destroys his father. Let’s not forget about ZOM and Abomination though…
Bye Bye, Brian
Abomination and ZOM are still after Marlo -and even with an assault by A-Bomb to protect her – ZOM reaches her. He tells her to show Death and claim all of the victims. So she does – but instead of things going the way they thought it would – Marlo uses Death against ZOM and Abomination and puts them back in hell.
Marlo - needing some Oil of Olay
With everyone safe, the Hulk thanks everyone for standing with him. Then the loved one start to disappear and the Hulk family are now standing with Hercules and his small army. Herc asks the Hulks for help – he knows how much they’ve been through – he asks how they could possibly be ready for more. The Hulk answers with “Just give us something to smash!”
The Hulks never get a break...
Pak weaves such brilliant Hulk stories – it’s too bad that people aren’t buying them. Not as much as they bought the crap Loeb shoveled out. People claim that sometimes it’s nice to read stuff you don’t have to think about – at least that’s what they said to me in defense of why they read and enjoy the stories. Which is basically another way of saying “I like to read things that are dumb so I don’t have to understand anything hard”. Well, here’s the thing you’re missing. Pak’s ability to make you laugh and be genuinely worried about how the Hulk will make it through this one. Even after all this time – through all of Hulk’s history – Pak can still present stories that you don’t know how it will pan out. How the Hulk will make it through and prevail. I can’t wait to see how this one ends – because so far, this ride has been one hell of a ride! Grade: A+
Ever since I saw this kit I wanted it. Like I said before – I don’t go crazy buying kits – there are a TON of them out there – but I just had to have this one! This one was sold to me from a guy on the Statue Forum this time. Another forum I post at – actually, it’s the place I spend 90% of my time while conversing on the net. Check it out if you’re not a member. I only have one issue here – and it has to do with the paint job.
The Paints are done well - except the cheek!
Painters are pretty talented. But this kit – of the almighty Maestro – was already painted up when I bought it. The issue I have is the paint up is a bit sloppy… and there’s one real spot that I see an issue with… the cheek. Maestro sports a classic Paul Bunyan beard and it’s gone pretty grey. While painting this sucker up the painter got a small amount of white on the cheek and while most people wouldn’t be bothered by it… it’s a glaring gaffe to me.
The Base makes this bust rock!
The best part of this kit though… is the amazing base. The sculptor chose to make a “fallen heroes” sort of base – just like the Bowen FS base we see some of the best heroes who fell to Maestro’s mighty power. Iron Man’s Helmet, Thor’s Hammer, Doom’s Cowl and Mask and on the back, half of Cap’s Shield. This is an amazing sculpt and can look extremely menacing and intimidating – with the right paint job – like here especially. I am going to look into getting this re-e – but for now I am just happy that I snagged one for a great price!
I always suspect shenanigans when someone selling an item tells me how rare and desired it is (*cough, cough Stretch Hulk cough, cough) only to try to sell me the item for a ridiculous, inflated price that I would NEVER even get close to when trying to re-sell it. Anyways, there was one Hulk item that I clamored over, even when I first started collecting Hulk. Not that it was rare or anything – but I wanted the Hulk Toy Chest – the 1978, green top, purple base, humongous Hulk Toy Chest. The one above and below here.
But if you notice, mine came completely clean – void of all stickers. I like how it looks clean but I am also looking into trying to restore it back to its former glory – stickers and all, including the eye stickers – which seem to be impossible to find. The other original stickers, well, they make an appearace from time to time in various conditions, but the eye stickers still attached seem to be the hardest and rarest to find. Back when Hulk Space was still in its glory days I was conversing with another forum member. I wasn’t totally sold on the idea that the toy box ever even came with stickers. He came up with a few pics:
Hulk Ad
Now, if you look at the original box (below) for the Hulk toy box you can read on the side that the labels didn’t come pre-applied. I have a theory on why so many of these Hulk toy boxes show up without the eyes – maybe people (and I am talking to you lazy parents!) never put them on! It would explain why I have never seen one in person – and there are so few with even the residue from the glue left on the eyes.
The original Hulk Toy Box... Box
So what do you guys think? Should I bother restoring mine o should I leave it alone – keep in mind restorations are hardly ever worth the money you put into them, as most collectors want originals, and a lot of time restorations are viewed as “undesirable”. But I am still on the fence about restoring mine – as I think it would look incredible! Let me know – vote below!
*People still try to insist that the strecth Hulk is hugely desired – but the truth is there are a few sitting on ebay – and have been sitting – even though the sellers have lowered the prices. Mainly because these item’s value has been bloated by a certain seller – who now is feeling the burn as he is trying to sell off his Stretch Hulks and is unable to.)
There is a great site called Tee Fury – right here for those interested – that sell T-Shirts for one day. Then, BAM! They are gone. Seriously – gone. I had a real hard lesson in life whe I missed out in the coolest Hulk/Kool-Aid t-shirt ever. If I was a real responsible blogger I would find it and then link the image here – but comeon! You guys have to do some of the work sometimes!
Ugh – I am such a push-over – look here to see the first, cooler shirt that I missed out on – and this spoon feeding has to stop somewhere children! Some day you will have to feed yourselves!
I loved Kubert on the Hulk. His art fit so nicely – but he also couldn’t keep a monthly schedule… so his dad had to help finish the issues. Which is actually not as great as you think. Adam and Joe have completely different styles – and they don’t mesh well! I really feel like I have written this before – but moving on, it’s distracting when the art changes halfway through an issue. That being said – this is a pretty great read!
Ross remembering his past...
Trauma died way back in issue #416. His father, Armageddon, is a particular great Hulk foe (they should have used him way more) and he let the Hulk and the Pantheon go, honoring his dead son’s dying wish. But now he is back. nd he wants the Hulk to give his life to bring his son back. Oh boy – I am getting ahead of myself here… first, let me explain that Armageddon is back on Earth and set up shop in the Leader’s old home, Freehold. He discovered the Leader’s re-animation machine – crap, I am still getting ahead of myself…
Actually, the issue starts with Ross and Banner being walked through Freehold by the Troyjans – Armageddon’s soldiers – and Ross and Banner are having a little banter about the death of Trauma, whose fault it was and such. Ross asks Bruce is Armageddon holds a grudge – then they come across a statue of Armageddon and Trauma holding a decapitated Hulk head! And Rock – remember Rock? Sam LaRoquette of the Hulkbusters turned into Rock by the Leader? Well, he sees Banner and Ross and goes to say “Hi” Ross is shocked at LaRoquette’s condition but then remembers all about his life/death – time as Redeemer and resurrection.
Rock and Armageddon
Rick Jones is still crying about being a cripple and Marlo sets him straight in a really funny back and forth. Remember kids – Franklin Delano Roosevelt was in a wheelchair – not Teddy.
Classic Image
Meanwhile, we see the Silver Surfer blasting his way into Freehold. This is about the point where Armageddon tells the Hulk about wanting him to give his life so that his son may live. Surfer comes to the rescue and blasts in – he tells the Hulk to leave – but Hulk declines. He says that he will do it. He will give his life for Armageddon’s life. Hulk climbs into the machine and once it begins the Troyjans say the readings are of the scale. Armageddon asks why Hulk is laughing – and suddenly the whole machine explodes. Trauma’s body burns up and Armageddon is happy that at least the Hulk was taken in the explosion. Then the Hulk walks out of the rubble saying that it tickled. Armageddon knows that the Hulk knew what would happen. The Troyjans are ready to attack – but Armageddon stops them. In a strange turn of events – he applauds the Hulk’s confidence and says that the Hulk beat him. Then, as he is leaving with his army, he tells the Hulk that he WILL kill him someday – and asks who loves him enough to bring him back when he dies.
Hulk takes Trauma out... for good!
Great, great issue. I think Armageddon is so underused as a Hulk villain! He almost looks like an evil Beta Ray Bill without the snout. I love how PD’s stories bring back events from his past. It’s what a good writer does – it’s what Pak does. To fully understand this story you have to read Ground Zero, Ghosts of the Past and the Troyjan War. Makes me realize I have a lot of great stories to cover! This issue gets a solid B+
Here is another impressive figure – even if it is of such short stature. This figure was brought out in the second wave of IM figures and – in my opinion – the only one worth getting. I might be biased though… So, I know the IM movie was a big money maker and all – and the first was an unexpected blockbuster – but the second brought out a whole slew of IM figures that – as crazy as it sounds – look WAY too similar. AND not to mention – there are now a whole slew of MU figures as well! Every wave has a new Iron Man! The new one is Iron Man with light brite on his armor…
But this figure is the cream of the crop – worth the now $5.00 price tag that most stores are asking for them now. $5.00 is the perfect price for these figures. Marvel really needs to take notice and lower their prices on stuff. I just saw recently some Comic Shops trying to gauge their customers for $15 for each figure. And WWH was $18. $18! Ridiculous!
I didn’t do a Best/Worst list for 2010, not because there wasn’t enough things released but, because I didn’t want it to seem like I was picking on Sideshow. SS released 2 Hulk pieces this year – and BOTH missed the mark, in my opinion. The problem is simple, really – the Sculptor’s are missing the mark on the most important part of any Hulk sculpt.
See, any sculptor worth his weight in clay has a good understanding of anatomy – and sculpts it enough it becomes almost second nature – that’s the easy part. The hard part, and also the part where artistic interpretation comes into play. Let’s start with the first release – the Life Size Hulk Bust:
How did the Hulk steal Christmas?
Ultimately, with both the Legendary Scale and Life Size Busts SS decided to go with the Hulk bearing a full set of chompers. This isn’t the best expression to go with – yet they have now done it twice! Not to mention, if you look at the brow – he’s doesn’t look angry exactly! What were they going with then? Content? Constipated? I think he certainly fits the latter. We don’t need an angry Hulk though – that would be fine – if it still looked like the Hulk! The other main issue with this bust is the tiny little nose they gave him. There is no bridge at all to his nose – it is squished in between his eyes! Even worse? This huge mutha retails for $500. That’s right – you have to spend a ridiculous half a grand to get a huge bust that hardly even looks like the Hulk! If you check ebay – for an auction that ISN’T a BIN – you will see that these pieces usually tops out at about $300. So now we are left with a piece that is flawed in the sculpt and in price. I am happy I never picked this one up – my instincts were spot on here – I think in the future we will see this piece go even lower.
What Me Worry? HulkHehehehehe....
SS other release was the comiquette. While most collector’s agree that the LSB is a disaster – the comiquette is more of a heated debate. There are collector’s out there that feel this piece will de-throne the PF as the king of Hulk collectibles – I strongly disagree. I think there are a few issues with this piece – starting with the face. The face makes or breaks a Hulk statue – and this one is a little too Alfred E Newman for me. Some even say Mike Tyson – I don’t give it that much credit. The pose is another issue – get that he’s supposed to be landing from an enormous jump – but he looks more like he’s slipping on a banana peel. Not to mention that there is obvious anatomy problems – the head is too tiny – the fists are too big – and he has love handles. There are just too many issues to ignore with this piece – and again SS is asking almost $400 for it. Never mind that the exclusive is a print – that statue is the same, it just comes with a color copy of the original artwork. I think the most glaring issue is the mid 90’s army buzz cut that the Hulk is sporting. Ugh – it’s just too ugly! Like I said, time will tell if this Hulk will increase or decrease in value – my money is on losing value over time. What do you think?
Full Pic
Now – this being a fan site – I decided to get another perspective on the comiquette. An avid Hulk collector – who I would love to showcase his collection one day – he has the best customs! – Well, he bought the Comiquette for its sculpt and pose. He customized his – take a look:
Holz's dark lines and moody scenes make this an issue to remember
A lot of very unique artists have lent their talents to the pages of the Hulk. Kyle Hotz is certainly in that category. His style is unique and fantastic – this storyline was an interesting one. I can’t say it was my favorite, but the great thing is that we did get to see Fixit after a long hiatus.
The grey Hulk has always been the “softer” of the Hulks – but only in terms of strength – his attitude is the fun part of reading him. He’s no slouch as a bruiser – but he certainly is getting his ass handed to him on this page.
Ratchet's Hulk Collection 