Auctions: comic books May 1962

Incredible Hulk (1962 Marvel 1st Series) 1 CGC 0.5

Paper: Off white

Centerfold and page 12 missing.

Label #4498310001

The first appearance and origin of the Incredible Hulk in "The Coming of the Hulk." Script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Paul Reinman. 1st app. Rick Jones, General Ross, and Betty Ross. It's the height of the Cold War and the government is about to test their new Gamma Bomb. Unfortunately, a carefree and oblivious teenager named Rick Jones wanders out onto the test area. Dr. Bruce Banner, the creator of the Gamma Bomb, rushes out to warn the young man away. However, the bomb explodes and as Banner pushes the teenager to safety he is caught in the heart of a Gamma maelstrom. The gamma-rays that bombard Banner's thin frame transform his physiology. Now, whenever Banner becomes angry he transforms into the man-brute known as the Incredible Hulk. Feared by the public and hunted by the army, the Hulk becomes one of the most tragic figures in Marvel's history. General "Thunderbolt" Ross will not rest until the Hulk is destroyed. The creature's only allies are Rick Jones and Betty Ross, Thunderbolt's daughter and Banner's one true love. Thus begins the epic saga of the world's mightiest mortal. NOTE: Notice that the Hulk was colored grey for the first few issues of his series. In an interview, Stan Lee (creator) said very simply that the reason for this was that grey was the easiest color for the copiers of the time to print. When the technology got better the Hulk became green, and according to Stan, for no better reason than they didn't have a green hero in their stable yet. Cover price $0.12.

Strange Tales (1951-1976 1st Series) 96 CBCS 3.0

Paper: Cream to off white

Label #16-169130E-009

Cover pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Dick Ayers. "I Dream of Doom!", pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Dick Ayers; Frank Atwell can't sleep because he has nightmares in which a monster tries to catch him; His doctor sedates him and he sleeps so heavily that the monster catches him before he can wake up. "The Universal Gadget" text story. "The Impossible Tunnel!", pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Dick Ayers; Robert Saunders wants to build a sub-oceanic tunnel from North America to Europe; He discovers a gentle underground civilization and he destroys the tunnel to protect them from the upper world. "Beware the Future Man!", art by Don Heck; A gangster tries to escape the police by forcing an old man to take him to another state; The old man turns out to be from the future and is looking for a male specimen to put on display. "The Clock-Maker!", script by Stan Lee, art by Steve Ditko; The Clock-Maker cannot stand anything that's not perfect; When his bookkeeper makes a mistake it sounds like he has killed him; The local police arrive to discover the bookkeeper was a clockwork man and the Clock-Maker was repairing him. 36 pgs., full color. Cover price $0.12.