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Jack Kirby/Steve Ditko cover/art; 1st Green Hulk; 1st app of Toad Men; 2nd app of the Hulk, Rick Jones, Betty Ross, & General Ross; COMIC BOOK IMPACT rating of 8 (CBI)
It's amazing to think about it now, but comics were once the cheapest of the cheap. Despite the extraordinary talents and herculean efforts of the artists, colorists, and editors at the major publishers, visual quality in the comics of the Golden through Bronze Age was dicey at best, with blacks often smearing into a pulp, reducing fine linework to mush, and some colors not remaining consistent from page to page. Such was the fate that befell the mighty Hulk, whose skin tone in the first issue was deep grey, meant to evoke the black-and-white Universal horrors that inspired his menacing appearance. Deeply disappointed in the results of the first issue's cheap and unforgiving printing process, Stan Lee demanded a visual change for his brutish protagonist in his second appearance, and so the recognizable emerald giant we've come to know and love finally appeared. It's hard to say whether he would have achieved iconic status without this startling, searing skin color. Rather than the wounded, lumbering beast of issue #1, this cover boasts an instantly arresting neon monster, clobbering his way into the hearts and minds of the young boys who made up comics' main audience, and who identified strongly with his simple, violent, misunderstood thought process.




Artist Information

Jack Kirby is called 'The King of Comics' for a reason, during his career that spanned six decades he gave us many of the most iconic characters the medium would ever see. From his introduction of Captain America at the height of World War II it was clear he wasn't your ordinary comics artist. But it was his creative explosion at Marvel Comics in the 1960's that cemented his legacy, over a short period of time Kirby would give us The Fantastic Four, Iron Man, The Hulk, The X-Men, Thor, Ant-Man and Nick Fury just to name a few. Kirby would then go to DC and create his Fourth World, introducing Darkseid, Mister Miracle, The New Gods and a host of cosmic supporting players. Long live The King.