The Most Incredible Hulk Runs
Celebrating the Jade Giant’s best comic runs
Everyone’s favorite green rage monster turned sixty-three over the weekend. The first issue of The Incredible Hulk by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby was published on March 1, 1962, and he has been smashing supervillains (and sometimes superheroes) ever since. What better way to celebrate than with my personal favorite runs on the character throughout his publication history?
Peter David and Todd McFarlane on The Incredible Hulk vol. 1 #330-334, 336-346
I had to start with the Peter David run, but I wanted to narrow it down a bit since he wrote a staggering 137 issues of the main series (not including annuals). With that in mind, I decided to highlight the issues illustrated by Todd McFarlane.
These were some of the earliest back issues I ever collected featuring the Hulk, so they hold a special place in my heart. These issues all feature the Gray Hulk as opposed to the more traditional Green Hulk. He’s not as big or as strong in this form (a minuscule 6’6” 900 lbs instead of 8’0” 1,400 lbs), but he’s far more intelligent and cunning than the more savage traditional version.
Some highlights from this run include a pretty legendary fight with Wolverine (homaged in the recent Deadpool & Wolverine film), a tragic story featuring Man-Bull, and some really great stories featuring The Leader.
Paul Jenkins, Ron Garney, Kyle Hotz, and John Romita, Jr. on The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #12-28
Paul Jenkins is one of my favorite writers from this era, so it should come as no surprise that I’m a fan of his run on The Incredible Hulk. It doesn’t hurt that he’s paired up with three of the best artists of the 1990s in Ron Garney, Kyle Hotz, and John Romita, Jr. for the three arcs from this run.
The entire run is good and has cool moments. Garney’s arc introduces the Hulk Dogs that would end up making their way into Ang Lee’s Hulk movie, and Hotz’s arc features the return of Gray Hulk in his Joe Fixit persona. It’s the arc with Romita, however, that really elevates this run to legendary status. That’s because it features one of the greatest fights in comic book history.
The Incredible Hulk #25 is nothing but Hulk and Abomination beating the holy hell out of each other for the entirety of the comic. It all stems from Abomination being revealed to have murdered Betty Ross by secretly poisoning her with his radioactive blood. Needless to say, this does not go over well with Hulk.
It’s a fight that is equal parts emotional and brutal. Rarely do you see a battle like this go on for so long without a decline in energy or excitement. It’s perfect.
Greg Pak, Carlo Pagulayan, and Aaron Lopresti on The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #92-105
Do I even need to explain this one? It’s the “Planet Hulk” arc! If you’re not familiar with this modern classic, it’s about the Illuminati (Reed Richards, Tony Stark, Doctor Strange, Charles Xavier, Namor, and Black Bolt) deciding to exile Hulk to a planet devoid of sentient life where he won’t cause any harm. Unfortunately, his ship crash lands on a planet called Sakaar where he is enslaved by a brutal warlord and forced to become a gladiator for his amusement. Yes, this was loosely adapted into Thor: Ragnarok (2017) directed by Taika Waititi.
This arc is basically just the movie Gladiator with the Hulk instead of Russell Crowe. It rules. It’s Hulk fighting various monsters and warriors in an arena, making new friends, finding love, and leading a revolution. It also leads into the epic World War Hulk event comic when the Hulk inevitably returns to Earth with revenge on his mind.
Jeph Loeb, Ed McGuinness, and various guest artists on Hulk vol. 2 #1-24
I’m not going to say too much about this run since I’m currently covering it on Gamma Charge with Russell Moran (shameless plug).
The important thing to note is this run introduces Red Hulk, and it features some of the most high octane action you will ever see in a superhero comic.
Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, and various guest artists on The Immortal Hulk #1-50
The Immortal Hulk isn’t just one of my favorite Hulk runs ever. It’s one of my favorite comic runs in general. It’s also the comic that made me an Al Ewing fan for life.
The series is ostensibly a horror comic for the bulk of its run, and it doesn’t stick to just one subgenre of horror either. First off, there is plenty of very disturbing body horror throughout the series.
There is also quite a lot of supernatural horror ranging from possessions to literal trips to Hell.
There are even kaiju battles in this book if that’s more your horror jam.
Beyond the horror elements, the series also tackles topics like politics and spirituality in some interesting ways.
Ewing explores the more mystical elements through the lens of Kabbalah. If you ever wanted to learn what a Qlippoth is, then this is the book for you.
The series also engages in critiques of capitalism, police brutality, and corporate owned media throughout its run. These are some topics you don’t usually expect to see addressed in a comic book series featuring a very popular character owned by a corporation like Disney.
I honestly can’t recommend this series highly enough. If I haven’t convinced you to read the series, then maybe this video from the Scaredy Cats YouTube channel will do the trick.
Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Nic Klein, and various guest artists on The Incredible Hulk vol. 4 #1- (still ongoing)
That’s right! The current ongoing series is already one of my favorites.
Johnson and Klein have taken the horror baton from Ewing and Bennett, and they have continued to run with it. This is, however, a very different kind of horror comic. While The Immortal Hulk derived a lot of its horror from Abrahamic mysticism, this current series is much more cosmic in nature. If you’ve ever wanted to see the Hulk fight Eldritch horrors that look like they have sprung from Lovecraft’s nightmares, then this is the book for you.
Klein is at the absolute top of his game in this book too. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite Hulk artists, and that is due in no small part to the horrific way he depicts Banner transforming into Hulk. If you dug the body horror of Immortal Hulk, then this book should continue to scratch that itch.
I don’t want to spoil too much about this series since it’s still ongoing, but trust me that it’s one of the best books currently being published by Marvel.
Hulk has the best runs. I came to comics in the Peter David era, and that was some deep character work. Also there's a Bruce Jones run I have in hardback format. He is a horror writer who was tempted into comics and he uses proper horror beats to structure his stories. Worth tracking down! But Planet Hulk is one I'll routinely read again and again.
I got into Marvel comics when I was 8-10. I know this because I found one of the earliest anthologies I read, this great big oversized origins reprint they did here in the UK, and it had all the classics, all grimy and gritty and brilliant, in one package. The first Hulk story shook me. Absolutely shook me.
I think those early Marvel (and DC) stories can be quite inaccessible to readers expecting the kind of clean Jim Lee, Ivan Reis, Stormbreakers, whatever, styled art of the modern era, but when you're young, and your brain is a sponge, and perceived quality doesn't matter, then there's no better time. Dave Cockrum might not be a new reader's cup of tea, but for someone with no walls up? Holy fuck, his X-Men stuff is truly next level. Does John Byrne hold up? Kinda? But if you're a reader who's grown up on those he inspired, who took his lessons and levelled them up, then isn't he a bit reductive?
Anyway, I do think the Bill Mantlo deserves an honourable mention, because it had Sal Buscema on art and did some absolutely wild stuff with the character, but I think this is close to the list I'd have come up with too. But... what about Bruce Jones? Or the Bill Bixby series?