Incredible Hulk Primer
It’s hard to believe it, but the original run of Incredible Hulk only lasted 6 issues. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby the title mashed up the classic tale of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with cold war hysteria that was rampant at the time. The results have not withstood the test of time. While the Hulk’s origins are a classic, the rest of the run had the gamma spawned monster face very underwhelming foes that were usually Russian or Chinese armies with a few space aliens and sci-fi elements tossed in for good measure. Issue #3 is the only real notable story of this run as it introduced the Circus of Crime, which were recycled characters from Jack Kirby’s run on Captain America Comics in the 1940s.
Another noteworthy item is the fact that the Hulk goes from being a grey skinned monster to a green skinned monster between issues #1 and 2. This was a cost saving measure on colouring the book, but it was later woven into Hulk continuity in the 1980s.
The Hulk’s title was phased out and the character ended up in the new Avengers title… for two issues at least. After a few guest appearances the Hulk eventually got his on-going series, sharing the pages of Tales to Astonish with Giant-Man and, later, the Sub-Mariner. More on that in the Tales to Astonish section of this site.
