A WHOLE LOTTA HULKS GOING ON...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

First up, above, is MARVEL's The INCREDIBLE HULK #1 Facsimile Edition.  Again, without the COMICS CODE stamp, the absence of which (in my view) compromises its integrity as a true facsimile - I do wish they'd just leave it where it's meant to be.  This ish contains the same ad as in the AMAZING FANTASY Facsimile Edition, wherein an image was omitted, presumably for 'politically correct' reasons.  Also, the proofs used for this issue are the same ones as in MASTERWORKS, OMNIBUS, and EPIC reprints, and show signs of 'word de-smudging', as well as a page that has been separated in half at some stage and rejoined, with an ever-so-slight gap between a couple of rows of lettering.  That apart though, as most of these things are only noticeable to pedants like me, it's still a mag worth having. 

The OTHER HULKS contains a couple of tales of two characters christened 'The Hulk', before BRUCE BANNER's alter-ego inherited the name.  STAN LEE was certainly into recycling long before it became fashionable, wasn't he?  For some curious reason there's a wobble on the top of the speech balloon on the JACK KIRBY/STEVE DITKO cover, which isn't on the reproduction of the original cover within.  The furry creature above was eventually reintroduced into the Marvel Universe in the '70s, but renamed XEMNU to avoid confusion     

The second TRUE BELIEVERS mag features the return of the grey Hulk, from around the mid-'80s.  I remember buying the original ish (which I still have) as though it were only last week, which scares the bejabbers out of me.  I mean, where did my life go?!  The cover has been cropped to allow for the True Believers banner at the top, but thankfully, the original cover is reproduced inside.  (Surely Marvel could reduce the image slightly, so that the TB crop isn't so severe?)

Anyway, three great mags for you to add to your collection, so - if you haven't already - go and buy them now!

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