SIXTY YEARS OF GAMMA
Incredible Hulk — back issues, keys and the run that hides comics’ most-hunted Bronze book · Comic King
Hulk — The Complete Comic King Guide
The Hulk has been published continuously since 1962, and his run is one of the strangest and most rewarding in comics: a title that was cancelled after six issues, spent four years sharing another book, then came back and never stopped. Along the way it produced the most-hunted Bronze Age comic in the hobby. Comic King carries the Hulk on both ends in Edmonton — this week’s new issues and a back-issue run spanning the eras — and if the issue you want isn’t on the shelf, we can special-order or source it on request.
Quick Facts
Story: Bruce Banner, the gamma bomb, and the monster he cannot outrun — the tragedy that never resolves.
Length: Publishing since 1962, across a famously broken numbering line (explained below).
Status: Ongoing — the current run is a planned three-act story from one creative team.
Publisher: Marvel Comics.
Age guide: Mostly teen-friendly — with one big exception: the Immortal Hulk era is body-horror and reads adult.
Formats: New issues · back issues · Epic Collections · Immortal Hulk trades · omnibus & Masterworks · facsimile editions.
At Comic King: New issues weekly and a back-issue run across the eras — special orders and issue-sourcing on request.
Why There Is No Hulk #7 Through #101
Here is the question that stumps almost everyone who tries to complete this run. The Hulk’s first series was cancelled after six issues in 1963 — it simply did not sell. Marvel moved him into Tales to Astonish, a split book he shared with Giant-Man, where he ran from issue #59 to #101. Then in 1968 Tales to Astonish renamed itself The Incredible Hulk and kept its own numbering, picking up at #102. So the Hulk’s own title jumps straight from #6 to #102, and the missing four years are sitting on the shelf under a completely different name. It matters for collectors in a very practical way: two significant first appearances — the Leader and the Abomination — are technically Tales to Astonish issues, and they get filed and priced as though they had nothing to do with the Hulk. If you are building a run, we file and search both titles together.
The Run, Era by Era
Sixty-plus years, organized. Every era of the Hulk, the one issue that represents it, and why collectors care:
The Keys — and the One Everyone Is Hunting
Hulk #181 is the reason this run gets checked more carefully than almost any other on the wall. It is the first full appearance of Wolverine, it is the most-hunted Bronze Age comic in the hobby, and it comes with a catch that costs people real money: it was published during Marvel’s Value Stamp period, and a great many copies had the stamp page cut out. A clipped copy is worth a fraction of an intact one, and the grading companies note it on the label — so we check the stamp page before anyone says a number, every time. Two more traps live nearby: issue #180 contains Wolverine’s cameo appearance on the final page and is routinely mistaken for an ordinary Bronze comic, and #182 completes the trio. Beyond the Wolverine issues, the keys collectors ask for are Incredible Hulk #1 and #2 (the grey and green debuts), the Tales to Astonish issues carrying the Leader and the Abomination, #271, #340, #377, and the first appearances of the wider Hulk family — She-Hulk, Red Hulk and the Maestro — which live outside the main run in their own books. Key prices move constantly, so we price and buy against live market comps; ask and we will pull them up together.
Every Format You Can Buy
Screen & Series Status
Updated August 2026: the Hulk remains a permanent fixture of Marvel’s film universe and currently appears alongside another hero rather than in a solo film — which is the pattern for this character and has been for years. On the page, the comic continues its three-act story, and the Immortal Hulk era remains in print and selling. Ask at the counter for the newest jump-on issue.
Collector's Corner — Grading, Care & We Buy
Hulk collections are among the most common things we are asked to value, and there is a good reason to bring them in rather than guess: the difference between a Hulk #181 with its Marvel Value Stamp intact and one without it is enormous, and it is not something most sellers know to check. We assess keys in front of you with live comps on screen, we search Tales to Astonish alongside the Hulk run so the Silver Age keys do not get missed, and we make honest bulk offers on the rest. We also broker CGC grading submissions for slab-worthy books, and stock the bags, boards and boxes that keep a collection worth grading. One caution for buyers and sellers alike: the famous keys exist as facsimiles and reprints, and we authenticate before we buy or sell, every time.
FAQ - Straight Answers
Why does the Hulk’s comic jump from issue #6 to #102?
Because his first series was cancelled in 1963 after six issues. Marvel moved him into Tales to Astonish, which he shared with Giant-Man from issue #59 to #101, and in 1968 that title renamed itself The Incredible Hulk and kept its own numbering — resuming at #102. Nothing is missing from your collection; those four years are simply filed under a different name. Worth knowing, because two major first appearances live in those Tales to Astonish issues.
Is Hulk #181 really worth as much as people say?
It can be — it is the first full appearance of Wolverine and the most-hunted Bronze Age comic in the hobby. But condition and one specific detail decide it: the issue shipped with a Marvel Value Stamp, and a great many copies had that page cut out. A clipped copy is worth a fraction of an intact one. Bring it in and we will check the stamp page and pull live sold prices up on screen with you before anyone commits to a number. And do check #180 as well — Wolverine’s first cameo is on its last page, and it gets overlooked constantly.
Which Hulk story did the movies come from?
Mostly Planet Hulk and World War Hulk — the storyline where the Hulk is exiled to an alien world and comes back angry. Both are in print as trades and both sell steadily every time a new film circles the idea. The smart, talking version of the character that appears on screen comes from a different era entirely: that is Professor Hulk, who debuts in issue #377. Ask at the counter and we will match the story to whichever version of the character you liked.