The Incredible Hulk Returns... with the Mighty Thor!

I've always loved the Incredible Hulk TV series, ever since it's debut in 1978. For me, the team of Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno will always be the definitive on-screen Banner and Hulk. Roll on to 1988, several years after the series cancellation in 1982... they announced the 1988 TV movie the Incredible Hulk Returns, which would not only reunite Bill Bixby's David Banner with his raging alter-ego (hounded as always by Jack Colvin's Jack McGee) - but the show would feature the Hulk teaming up with none other than the Mighty Thor!!! As a young Marvel fan, it was the coolest thing imaginable seeing TWO Marvel characters battling on the big screen... something which is pretty much normal in today's Marvel Cinematic Universe. Thor was played by actor Eric Allan Kramer, whose portrayal of the Thunder God, while different from the comics, was still one heck of a lot of fun! Plus physically, he LOOKED like Thor! The costume, again different from the classic comic-book version, received a bit of criticism from both fans and comic pros, but looking at it, there were elements there that still made it Thor! 

I thought I would make some amendments to the costume via Photoshop (plus add some of ol' Greenskins trademark purple pants onto Big Lou!). By simply changing the colours, adding chest plates and a cape, I think this would have made a perfect TV costume for the Mighty Thor!

So there you have it. Marvel's first ever live-action team-up. The film may be a far-cry from today's CGI Hulk and Chris Hemsworth's charismatic Thunder God... but back in it's day, the joy of seeing these two Marvel characters was this Marvel fans dream come true! 

Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk, and Eric Allan Kramer as the Mighty Thor. Purple Pants and updated
Thor costume by yours truly, courtesy of Photoshop.

The Lonely Man

SCARdiff!

I am going to be a guest at this year's SCARdiff convention on Sunday, 19th October at the Cardiff Masonic Hall... this is my second year attending this convention, and it's going to be great to be there again! I thought I would do a variant print of my RAMPAGING HULK cover, which will debut exclusively at the event. This variant features the television incarnation of the Hulk (as portrayed by Lou Ferrigno), and is based from an idea I had years ago, where I imagined Bill Bixby's David Banner turning up in a small town called Salem's Lot (yes, THAT Salem's Lot... specifically the version featured in the classic 1976 made-for-TV two-parter starring David Soul and James Mason). This image is based on that idea... hope you like it!

"Mr. Barlow... don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry!"

Custom Death's Heads and TV Hulks!

Earlier this year, I decided to get back into one of my favourite hobbies... customising Action Figures. I have always wanted a Death's Head figure (which Marvel have now released an official figure of), plus an action figure featuring the TV version of the Incredible Hulk, as portrayed by Lou Ferrigno. I decided to make the original Death's Head, and also Death's Head II, which is based off Liam Sharp's incredible artwork. The original Death's Head is made from a Marvel Legends Thor Buster Iron Man, and Death's Head II is made from a Marvel Legends Colossus figure.

The original, yes? Made using a modified Marvel Legends Thor Buster Iron Man figure,

"Awww, don't worry. We're buddies now!" Death's Head II.

As for the TV Hulk, I made two different Hulk figures: my original attempt was a modified Marvel Select Ultimate Hulk, and the other is a modified Marvel Legends Avengers Movie Hulk... all with fully sculpted heads by yours truly.

TV Hulk... original version. Made from a Marvel Select Ultimate Hulk... while
I am still pleased with how this turned out, I wanted to do a more TV accurate
figure, as this one has the comic Hulk's physique and proportions.

This is the newer version, made using a Marvel Legends Avengers Movie Hulk. Just don't
make him angry... you wouldn't like him when he's angry!

The Incredible Hulk... throughout the ages

Here are a collection of different era Hulks that I have drawn this past week or so. We have the original Grey Hulk from Incredible Hulk #1 (1962), who was also drawn in the 1980's by such artists as John Byrne, Sal Buscema, Todd McFarlane, Jeff Purves and Dale Keown. Next we have what is probably the most famous Hulk of all... certainly for a generation of viewers from the 1970/80s. The Incredible Hulk, played by big Lou Ferrigno in the classic TV show... drawn in my retro-style comic style. We then have my homage to Sal Buscema's classic corner box image (which debuted around Incredible Hulk #200), and the Mindless, Savage Hulk who debuted in Incredible Hulk #299.

Hope you like them... I'll be doing a second one, featuring various incarnations of Hulk from a certain Vegas leg-breaker onwards...

Artwork by Simon Williams.