Here we are – I will showcase the finalists tonight and then will post a voting poll tomorrow! Here is Grey’s card – and it’s humongous! Not only that, when I got it in the mail I couldn’t stop staring at it for hours! Grey has a unique, almost Hembeck kind of style that really works well with his HUGE “classroom photo” style art! I am still astounded by this! It must’ve taken WEEKS to complete this! Now as far as I can see he has included the Hulk, Lou Ferigno Hulk, Smart Hulk, Fixit, Maestro, She Hulk, the Crimson Idiot – and the Red She Hulk – Tyrannus, Madman, Bi-Beast, A-Bomb, Cho, Herc, Zzaxx, Brian Banner, Rhino, Thundra, Absorbing Man, Skaar, Hulkbuster Iron Man, Abomination, Jones, Ross (technically the last 2 are on here twice 🙂 ), Hulk’s fellow Defenders, Gremlin, M.O.D.O.K., Korg, Leader, Samson, the 3 little Hulks from the end of recent issues – and is that Betty as the Harpy? Oh yeah – and don’t forget about me – he also put me in there! Amazing job! And congrats on being one of the finalists Grey!
Make sure you hit Grey up on his website to check out his amazing ability – and maybe even commission something for yourself!
Here it is! The submission from Fiddy – the legend himself! One of the things I love about this card (and yes, it is a card! It opens up and has a personal message inside wishing me a happy birthday) is that you can tell Fiddy is a fan – he went to the trouble of taking my favorite Hulk comic of all time – the best issue ever – and tweaking it here and there to create one of the most jaw dropping card I have ever received! Thank you Fiddy – but damn you, all of you!, for making this so hard to decide who should take the top prize! I did the dirty work of narrowing it down to just 2 – not an easy desicion – now all you have to do is pick which you think should win! Grey or Fiddy! I will post the voting blog tomorrow – good luck to both of you!
I love the dialogue between Hulk and Aquon!This will be my new FB pic!
This card makes me laugh every time I look at it! My favorite panel is the last where the Hulk asks an actual ratchet tool if it’s its birthday. Classic! I also like how color was added – not for any other reason than it’s more pleasing to look at. And the illustrations… very Kirby-ish – excellent work! But, again, just because this card is not a finalist doesn’t mean I liked it any less than the other card I received – I’m telling you – the contest was WAY harder to judge than I ever expected! Thanks for the entry John – and I hope your fiance has come to terms with our secret Internet relationship…
Hulk 465 – I can’t say enough nice things about you – you are one of my favorite posters – not only that – you are supremely talented! Now that you have retired you can send submissions into Marvel! I have to admit – when I opened this card I thought “Contest Over!” It was so hard to decide the finalists when you are presented with such amazing pieces – and 465, your card was the hardest to knock out of the finals. I asked outside opinions – and not one person thought it was an easy decision… and most said that your card looked like it came straight from Hallmark – and I agree! Thanks for entering – and everyone who entered can be sure that they will be getting something in the mail soon…
Inside of the card
465, I miss the days of talking with you on Hulkspace – and am so pleased you came here to keep the conversations going. Thanks again. I feel sort of bad, like I am letting down a friend, in a way, that I didn’t choose your card for the finals – and I am sorry for that. Thanks for the other pieces as well – the copies of your artwork – it’s amazing!
These are the first two entries I received for the contest – and you can imagine my surprise to see they are from people who can’t even read yet! Alright, Jayden may be able to – but, unless Angell is a genius, there is no way she has book marked my site and loyally reads it everyday! Despite that, I was honored to have these as the first 2 submissions to my contest! I was overjoyed to open the envelopes and see the 2 cutest Hulk cards ever! Thank you so much for entering the contest! I think your entries are masterpieces! Even though they are not finalists – they are still amazing! Thanks!
Was fantastic! My sister bought me a detolf – I have wanted one for so long, but never pulled the trigger. I finally do have one now – and I think the set-up is quite beautiful! I put mostly the new Hulks in there – displayed with some of my favorite issues – except the Abomination on the bottom – displayed with the JRJR page I own!
Now, plenty of people have asked about what’s going to happen with the voting process as far as May’s contest goes… and here it is: Next week, I will be posting all the entries I got – but Friday I will be posting the two finalists (as picked by me!) Everyone will vote for the which card they think should win during the next week – and I will announce the winner the following Monday! Wait until you see these entries – it was so hard to choose finalists because the entries were so phenomenal! I hate having to pick a winner – because none of them are losers!
Here is another Hulk shirt… found this about a month ago – and I would have posted it earlier – it’s just really difficult to come up with new things to say about a shirt. I mean, what do you say about a shirt? It… looks cool. It, ummm… smells new. Love the image. It’s… really black! And that’s about it! Other than that I would just have to come up with something else to say that doesn’t even pertain to the shirt! And who wants to read something like that?
I’ve had a ton of small commissions done by Rob Reilly – and when I saw him at the con I couldn’t resist asking for a full, color, up your nose with a rubber hose commission! The works! And here, Reilly did me some major props! Thanks, Rob! Of all the small pieces he did – I never asked for a PH and have always regretted it… and this is exactly why! Rob’s style is perfect for an all ages comic – I wish someone would use him in that regard.
Look at that Mug! Come on! How awesome is that?
I love the cartoony style – but it’s more than just a simple cartoon. All the little details he remembers to throw in – even the top of the helmet – everything is perfect! I hope to think of something a little more interesting when I see him again. I will be requesting a Vs. scene – and I’m thinking a Hulk vs Warlock – I don’t know why exactly – but I just think he could do the characters some real justice! What do you guys think?
So, my new quest of trying to collect at least one page from EVERY Hulk artist is really going well – although, I hate to say it, I was just outbid for another Purves page that I wanted. I put in a bid that I thought was more than I actually wanted to pay – and still got outbid! WTF? Some collector’s out there are only doing the hobby a disservice when they keep paying outrageous prices for things. But let’s get back to a page I actually DID get – and it’s from one of the artists that I adore – Mike Deodato Jr. – and the page is phenomenal!
Hulk... very angry!
Deodato has graced the pages of the Hulk in two eras – once, while PD was on the book and the Hulk was separated from Banner – but then he changed his style – refined his art and became one of the most impressive artists to ever grace the Hulk title! I was psyched to find this page on ebay – and for such a reasonable price!
Good-Bye Abomination!
This is the page where the Abomination asks the Hulk if he ever thought about how Betty felt while she was dying – and as you can tell – the Hulk did not take that very well! I love the 3 panels that show the Hulk going from sad – to angry – to angrier! and then the bottom of the page serves up quite the sight of the Hulk slamming his fists into the Abomination so hard – it sends Emil flying! Awesome!
The original - and the published page...
Here is one of the rare occasions that they show the Hulk’s eyes red. Sometimes, when the Hulk gets angry enough – his eyes seem to go blood red! The original page doesn’t show that of course – but what it does show is the amazing detail that Deodato adds to his art!
I was psyched to pick up the first MM Defenders – and in the previews for the summer months it states a new volume is coming out in May – click on the image to find out more!
If you want to be in the contest then please mail your card out by today – the 28th of May! I can’t wait to see what everyone has come up with! I have recieved 3 cards so far – one from the very talented 465 – and all I can say right now is… WOW! I am planning on baking a cake and decorating it Hulk style! I will be posting pics! See everyone next week!
Planet Hulk - in all his glory!He will mace you...
This is the one I was waiting for! Out of all the Hulks released by BD – this was the one I knew I had to get – no matter what! And BD really has outdone himself with this one! Earlier Hulk statues have had a rocky base – and while that makes sense to the Hulk – and display wise it helps that they are all similar – but this time around Bowen went crazy with the bases. First off, the Retro Green Hulk had pretty normal base – it was unique in it’s own way – but similar to the others, but then the Grey Hulk came out and blew me away! The desert base just rocked beyond anything I had ever seen – and that was just the beginning…
The Hulk - with sort of a smile...Hulk knows fashion... and red is the new... red
The Maestro shows up and completely blows me away in a new way! All of the characters that appear on the base is outstanding! So, now we get to the Planet Hulk base. I want something that tells part of the story – and this does just that! The spikes tentacles, the alien skulls, the rocky, desert scene – all straight out of the comic! Can you tell I am excited about this statue? Even better? All the options available to display it. See, the shield is held on by magnets – so displaying without is easy – but so is the HUGE ax that the Hulk comes with. It can attach to his back but ALSO – the axe fits snugly into the base and looks bad ass near his feet.
The Base - wow!
One of things I look for is accuracy – and with the Hulk it’s not too hard to get it – usually you are looking for purple, ripped pants, sometimes a ripped white shirt, and a green (or grey) monster looking to kick some butt. But the Planet Hulk isn’t as easy as that – with Planet Hulk he really needs to be shown in his gladiator get-up – helmet is a must, the mace or axe and shield should be included, but the most important is the obedience disc.
A shot of the shield - some have found fingerprints in the sculpt - awesome!
The disc is what makes the story fit into continuity so well – because the Hulk would never be able to be contained without something holding him down. The disc is what kept the Hulk fighting. The Hulk is a survivor, no matter what, and he will do what he needs to to live. In this story, the Hulk almost started to enjoy fighting everyday against a new enemy – only waiting to get his shot at the Red King. And then, when he was freed from the disc – the story got a whole lot more interesting! So, yeah, the disc, to me, is pretty important!
How amazing does this look? Answer: totally!
Now, I have all 4 of the “real” Hulk statues that Bowen has realeased this past phase – and I can’t say enough good things about them! The killer is, is that Bowen has already been asking around for what people might be interested in if he has a NEW Hulk statue in the upcoming phase. I think more and more people have been saying Fixit – to which I say, yes please! That or a merged Hulk would make me a very happy fellow!
The Back......or with the axe - held on by magnets
I found this set at Newbury Comics a while back. The set includes 4 glasses and one is the Hulk! These are very similar to the Toon Tumblers – but the issue with those are that, with each wash, they fade and fade until the image is gone. And they aren’t cheap! The newer glasses are a bit better – but still not perfect. Well, these aren’t Toon Tumblers – they come from Marvel – and they also say to hand wash only. But this set, selling for $20, even though they are a better deal – you still have to buy ALL 4 to get the one you want. So, while I usually bought an extra of the Toon Tumblers to use – I only bought one of these sets.
Hulk Glass!
The interesting thing is, the paint application is very different. They make the images look very old and scratched up, kind of “antiquing” them. While the Toon Tumblers pint application is very smooth and crystal clear – the Marvel glasses definitely take a different route. Not worse – just different. I kind of like it – but prefer the Toon Tumblers crisper style.
Closer shot of the scratched up image!
The set includes a FF, Cap, Spidey and Hulk glass. The packaging is pretty sweet itself – littered with a bunch of classic images from A list characters. The Hulk image… oh boy… it sure does look familiar but I really am not sure from where. It sort of looks like a Trimpe, more Buscema… but I am not sure – maybe someone else out there knows better? Anyone?
Ratchet's Hulk Collection 