Any self respecting Hulk fan will of course have the Avengers MM in their collection… of course any self respecting Hulk fan would also have the Defenders MM in their collection – but, like I said earlier, I WILL get them! Anyways, the above is the First Edition gold foil cover – Volume ___ while below is the Thor MM silver cover. The greatest part of the Hulk vs Thor is you see a different perspective of the Avengers #3. That is why I have shown these 2 together. Besides – the JIM MM has the first appearance of Absorbing Man – one of the better MU villains – never mind the better Hulk villain!
I have not picked up any of the Defenders MM – not that I won’t, because I totally will, but my LCS was having a huge sale on the MM and I went a little hog wild! Today I will showcase the FF MM that I picked up. One thing I noticed with these is that the early, early MM did not mention how they are strictly limited on the cover – but the rumor is that there were only 500 made of each. Did anyone else hear this? Can anyone confirm it? Well, anyways… the book above is the First edition, gold foil cover – while the one below is the regular cover… tomorrow is the last day of the MM week – and I have 2 more books to show off – different books though…
MM Incredible Hulk #103 - #1101600 copies... so only 1599 others out there!Back of Book
Alright – here is the next set of Hulk MM. I picked up these ones for pretty cheap – and think these are great books – just a really decent presentation of the early Hulk books that are easy to read and nice to look at! Again – each of the green cover books are limited – while the silver cover below is not. I kind of feel like they should not have reprinted these with a different cover – especially when you consider their hefty retail. Now, for anyone collecting these out there the MM below is the latest volume to be released. I’m not sure how far they will go with these – but I would be happy if they got through the Trimpe era…
MM Incredible Hulk #111- 121
Interesting - only 1176 copies...
Back of Book
Here is the silver cover to Volume 5 – now they have numbered all of the MM – the rare covers are numbered differently – Volume 4 is Volume #78 and Volume 5 is actually Volume #115 – while I don’t collect every MM – I believe the number represents the number of books they have released. I would like to see a pic of all the released books on one shelf – does any of my readers have them?
Well, we are half way through the MM week – and since this is the last of the Hulk MM – what could I possibly have in store for you tomorrow? Well, well, well – come back to find out!
We will continue with the Marvel Masterworks with the next volume of MM – this time they feature the TTA years. Because the Hulk split the book they can fit 20 issues instead of the regular 10 – although it still figures to be the same. The real kicker is I cannot find the next volume of TTA anywhere! But – as you will notice – this is not the same as the cover as yesterday’s. The green cover and gold foil frame is replaced with just a silver cover – and is not limited. I will show what I am talking about tomorrow… See you then!
There are a ton of these things released – I remember when they first came out and how they were such a big deal! LCS’s don’t really make a big deal out of them anymore – because they are so hard to sell. It’s basically a hard cover trade, just… extra expensive! I actually like them – and sure, I have not paid actual price on ANY of them – but I might have… well, maybe not. With TPB becoming increasingly more expensive themselves – these don’t look so bad anymore! They also started numbering them differently – now they go by volume by each different title – while at first they were numbered by releases. Not to mention Extremely limited! In fact, the MM Vol 8 Incredible Hulk is limited to only 620 copies.
I know – this is not that exciting – but it’s not the brush exactly, it’s who gave it to me. Stephen Yarish – the one and only man who runs THE Hulk site – http://incrediblehulkonline.com/index.html and he is not only a nice guy – but a generous one! He sent a little Hulk care package a little ways back – a really nice thing to do – it had things that I already posted, namely the wash cloth and die cast car I posted before. So, thanks Steve – you are the best!
Here’s a little story – I went into a store on the Cape and saw this guy sitting there. I asked about the price. The man quoted me $75. While I am certainly a Hulk fan, I’m also not an idiot. This piece was not worth $75 – and by that I mean it would never hold its value. 3 months later I went back into the same store – and there was the same bust, still sitting in it’s original spot. I am sure of this because I talked to the man behind the counter for a while. In the discussion he told me that the price was still $75 and that he wasn’t willing to work on the price. Now let’s remember – the comic and collectible industry is unlike any other – as in, the price tag doesn’t always mean that’s the price. It’s not like the GAP where you can’t haggle on the price of your jeans. Stores that don’t haggle really risk losing repeat customers. And it’s a shame too – because there aren’t too many comic shops on the Cape. As in – there is one.
Hulk bust in all it's glory!
While this may make the owner feel comfortable in charging whatever he wants – it’s only a matter of time before there is some competition or, even worse, people just stop buying comics. Let’s get back to this bust though… the retail was certainly off – the sculpt just wasn’t there to compete with Bowen’s masterfully done pieces. So, like any smart shopper… I waited… I waited for one to pop up on ebay for a really decent price.
The white dots all over it is Styrofoam - I had to pack it back up after taking pictures so I didn't bother cleaning it up.
Now, how do I feel about this piece, now that I have received it? Well, I do think it looks better in person and I think it looks WAY better then the FS movie statue they released. The sculpt is better – I’m not such a huge fan of the Chiclets teeth – but the rest of the bust is actually pretty sweet! I wish they had added the plate to the bust – rather than having you do it once you open the bust – but that’s not a huge issue. The light-up feature is kind of cool – not too sure if I will use it very often – but it is a nice touch.
Back of bust - pretty damn sweet
I was able to snag this and another bust I will post next week for prices I didn’t just consider fair – but a steal! Since I bought 2 pieces at the same time – I was able to save on shipping as well! Something to think about! But – both these busts are packed away again – the house still has construction going on and that means the Hulk room is still out of commission.
The Thing and Hulk have fought many, many times – and I picked this up over a year ago, just never showed it off – and there are certain issues that every Hulk fan SHOULD have in his or her (I won’t forget you ladies!) collection. The early Thing/Hulk fights are certainly some of them! Just to be clear here – we’re talking FF #12, FF #25 and #26 and let’s add in FF #112 – for the cover alone! I will have to post that issue later on – but for now gaze in the glory of FF #25 and the Kirby art! The most famous part of this issue is that Stan Lee calls Bruce Banner “Bob”. Later, they change his name to Robert Bruce Banner – all because Stan Lee forgot the name of the alter ego to his greatest creation!
You guys might remember I posted a pic of these guys riding on the subway – well here’s another shot. The Human Troch still looks nothing like a guy on fire, to me.
A while back I had posted IM #76 which featured Iron Man battling the Hulk on a rooftop. Well, thanks to Zapp Comics in NJ, who secured me an extremely solid copy of IM #9, released in 1969, I now have it in my collection! I actually prefer the later cover with word balloons. I miss the classic covers that sort of told the mini-story on the cover. As most of you know, this is not actually the Hulk that IM is fighting – but another one of those pesky Hulk robots! When I get finished building my Hulk robot is will totally rock!
I love my TIH #1 – it is the jewel of my collection, I love it more than the air I breathe. It’s true… But this is not the only #1 in the collection that features the Hulk – so here is a gallery of the #1’s that every Hulk fan should have!
That’s right – Avengers #1. One of the best, classic and important books in the MU. Now onto some covers you haven’t seen yet on this site! First, a bit of history… 1999 was a desperate year for the Marvel heroes – and in an attempt to again grasp their once huge sales they re-numbered their titles – and here are the #1’s from that era.
Now, there are a few other #1’s that deserve some notice:
Marvel Age Hulk #1Hulk Unchained #1
Now – more kiddie friendly comics, I’m sure everyone is familiar with the Marvel Adventures titles – and here is the Hulk #1
Marvel Adventures Hulk #1
But before these hit the stands – back in the 90’s Marvel released the Marvel Adventures title before – but the Hulk wasn’t featured in each issue. He did, however, appear as the first hero featured to launch the title!
Marvel Adventures #1
Now – Here’s a #1 that’s not a Hulk! But Hulk plays such an important part of the series! It’s Heroes Reborn: Iron Man #1 – the Hulk variant! I love this cover – much better than the original, regular cover!
Iron Man #1 - Hulk Variant
Of course the heroes would eventually return to the 616 Universe – and the re-start of the Avengers had a variant “sunburst” cover that featured most of the original members… and Cap.
Heroes Reborn: Avengers #1 - Sunburst Cover
Speaking of the Avengers… and it’s original Members!
Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes #1
Or how about some reprints? Marvel LOVES to reprint their older stories, for instance – Upper Deck had a re-print of TIH#1 (1962) with a pretty interesting cover:
Hulk #1 - Upper Deck Variant Cover
And last but not least – a re-print of the first 6 issues, collected in one book, re-coloring the original Grey Hulk as Green. Released in 1982 – The Incredible Hulk:
The Incredible Hulk #1
So, I hope you enjoyed the special treat I prepared for you Hulk fans! Here’s to having a great 2010 – and I will be back on Monday with Hulk collectibles to make you guys drool! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Ratchet's Hulk Collection 