Exiled! (Updated)

In the early 1980s, writer Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema had a lengthy and memorable run on the Incredible Hulk. During that run, Doctor Robert Bruce Banner finally managed to gain control of his Gamma-powered alter-ego, finally believing that his Savage side was gone forever. With this, he used the Hulk's power for good while continuing his Scientific research to aid humanity and becoming a genuine, bona-fide hero... gaining acceptance from his fellow heroes, and even a Presidential Pardon. Bruce Banner had finally found peace... and even new love, in the form of SHIELD agent Dr. Katherine Waynesboro (originally sent to spy on Banner by SHIELD to make sure that his Savage persona was truly gone). Ultimately though, Banner's newly-found peaceful existence was not to last... with the Savage Hulk re-emerging in full force, leaving a path of destruction like never before. The culprit behind the regression was revealed to be the dream-Demon Nightmare, who had planned to use the Savage Green Goliath to destroy his hated enemy, Dr. Strange. This epic storyline, featuring some of Sal's best art on the book (inked by the amazing Gerry Talaoc), culminated in the epic Incredible Hulk #300, where a now totally Mindless Hulk (due to Banner's persona choosing to die rather than share his existence again with a Savage Hulk) faced off against a solo Human Torch, Power Man and Iron Fist and the Mighty Avengers (during which the Hulk and Thor have a battle for the ages!). It was at the end of this Giant-Size issue that the Hulk's former fellow Defender Dr. Strange, banished the Mindless Hulk to a dimension called the Crossroads... which is a Nexus to multiple different Alien worlds and Dimensions in the hope that the Hulk could find a home where he could neither harm, or be harmed. Again, this issue featured some of Artist Sal Buscema's best work on this book (and genuinely some of the best artwork that book had ever seen). However, due to what I suspect was a deadline issue, the final three pages were drawn by the art team of Alan Kupperberg and Danny Bulanadi... who proved more than capable of ending this issue in an epic fashion,leaving the mindless Hulk Howling with rage in the Crossroads of Realities...

I have always loved this particular issue (the whole Regression storyline is possibly my all-time favourite Hulk story), so just for fun I had a crack at re-drawing the final three pages, in an attempt to fit in more with the style of the rest of the book. While the original Kupperberg/Bulanadi work is amazing (and far better than anything I could produce!), I was always intreagued as to how Sal and Gerry would have drawn it. This is my interpretation... while definitely nowhere near as good as how Sal would have drawn it, and almost certainly completely different, I'm still pleased with how it turned out. Check out my versions, along with the Kupperberg and Bulanadi originals below. 

Enjoy! 

Favourite Artists - The Incredible Hulk (Updated)

Being a life-long fan of the Incredible Hulk, it was ambition from a very young age to draw the character professionally... something I'm proud to say I've been able to accomplish on several occasions. Over the years, many artists have drawn the character through his various incarnations... bringing their own unique style to the green (and sometimes grey) goliath. I thought I'd present a list of my favourite artists to ever draw ol' Jade Jaws (and would that make the Grey Hulk ol' Grey Gums?). So, without further ado is my list of favourite artists to have drawn the Incredible Hulk!

PS: Seeing as it's one of the more popular ones on this site. I've added a few more artists to the list. Read on, True Believer!

Sal Buscema Hulk... inked by yours truly

Here's my attempt at some digital inking, over some original Sal Buscema pencils in Manga Studio. I'm loving the different comic-style brushes you can use in that program, and am really pleased with how this has come out.

Pencils by Sal Buscema, inks by Simon Williams.

The pencils are from an unused Marvel Universe Handbook image by Sal, which I absolutely love!  Special thanks to Eelco Veldhuizen for allowing me to post this, as he owns the original pencils. Check out Eelco's INCREDIBLE collection of original Sal Buscema art at www.comicartcollection.com.

The proudest moment of my career....

Here is a recent commission I was asked to do by comic art fan/collector Kevin Moorhead. Kevin, who commissioned me awhile ago to do a cover recreation of the Frank Miller/Al Milgrom cover to Incredible Hulk #258 (which you can see here) asked me this time to do an imaginary cover for Savage She-Hulk Annual #1... featuring the She-Hulk versus classic Hulk villains the U-Foes (who Kevin had me feature in the previous commission, replacing the Soviet Super-Soldiers). In Marvel continuity, it was the Hulk who first did battle with the U-Foes (in Incredible Hulk #254)... but for the purposes of this commission, Kevin asked if I could do a 'What-If' style cover, in which the She-Hulk is the first to battle the villainous U-Foes, who were created by Marvel Legend Bill Mantlo.

This cover was great fun to work on, but the thing that makes it so special for me is who Kevin commissioned to ink it.. none other than my all-time hero in comics, the legendary Sal Buscema!! Here is what Kevin wrote on his comicartfans gallery page:

"Seriously, how is it possible that Simon isn't drawing something for one of the big guys? Seriously!



I've loved Simon's Bronze Age look since I first saw it. Such a wonderful mix of the Buscema's styles. Sal's poses and John's curved lines. After the first commission that I got from him (the Hulk cover) turned out so well I knew that one day I'd want to ask for something else. A few months back he and I started talking about just what that'd be. I forget what I originally suggested but it very quickly came to She-Hulk vs. the U-Foes (Vector, Vapor, Ironclad and X-Ray). Simon stepped up to the plate and went for a full cover. A long lost original cover for She-Hulks first annual. At the time I was only able to go with the pencils but still, ~man~, was it a good looking piece of work.



Things changed and I was able to look into getting it inked and, with Simon's approval (and a big grin on his face) I approached Sal Buscema about inking it. I'm also a big fan of Sal's and he created the Foes along with Bill Mantlo during their great Hulk run. Sal agreed and not only turned out a great piece of work but also talked about how much he liked Simon's work. Sal's a class act, as is Simon. Now if I can only hit the lottery and have them do the rest of the book ...



Original size 11x17"

And without further ado, here is the finished piece of work:

The Savage She-Hulk... versus the U-Foes!
Pencils by Simon Williams, Inks by Sal Buscema.
Image property of Kevin Moorhead, and featured here
with his kind permission.

To say that having Sal ink my work is a dream come true... well, that is a huge understatement... but to hear that he likes my work as well really means so much to me. I'd like to say a big thank you to Sal not only for the kind words, and also for the many years of joy and inspiration that his work has given me. Plus the stella job he did inking this piece as well. Plus of course, big BIG thanks to Kevin for making this happen!

And Kevin... if ever you do win that lottery, it would be my pleasure to draw the rest of the book... ;)

The Mighty World Of Marvel

Back in the 1970's, the first comic I ever read was a Marvel UK comic by the name of The Mighty World Of Marvel. This title featured black and white reprints of US Marvel stories, with the Incredible Hulk it's lead strip. This title (along with Marvel UK's other line of comics) featured some beautiful cover artwork, especially produced for these UK collections by the US Marvel Bullpen. Here are some of my favourite ones... most of them featuring the artwork of Pablo Marcos, who after Sal Buscema is my favourite classic Hulk artist. Looking at these covers brings back some wonderful memories of a more innocent time. My thanks to my mum and dad for always making sure I had my weekly fix from the Mighty World Of Marvel.

Sal Buscema... Comics Fast & Furious Artist

I've made no secret that my all-time favourite comic artist is the legendary Sal Buscema. A huge influence in my own work, Sal's dynamic artwork and excellent storytelling made him one of Marvel's most popular and well loved artists. Thanks to the Official Walt Simonson fanpage on Facebook, I found out that TwoMorrows Publishing has released a book solely devoted to Sal's career.. titled Sal Buscema: Comics Fast & Furious Artist.

This book features an excellent in-depth interview with Sal, who talks about his 40 year long career in comics (and still going strong!). He also discusses how he broke into the comics business and working with his brother, the equally legendary John Buscema. It also includes a gallery of his artwork... which features some of Sal's favourite published work, plus some of his own personal work as well. My copy of this book arrived the other day, and I can't recommend it highly enough to anyone who is a fan of this amazing artist. You can either order the book from TwoMorrows, or Amazon.