CRIVENS! COMICS & STUFF!

A cascading cornucopia of cool comics, crazy cartoons & classic collectables - plus other completely captivating & occasionally controversial content! With nostalgic notions, sentimental sighings, wistful wonderings, rueful reflections, remorseful ruminations, melancholy musings, poignant ponderings & yearnings for yesteryear! (To say nothing of a few profound perplexities & puzzling paradoxes thrown in for good measure.) Plus a bevy of beautiful, bedazzling, buxom Babes!

Thursday 22 January 2015

THE COMPLETE INCREDIBLE HULK POCKET BOOK COVER GALLERY...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

The American version of The INCREDIBLE HULK mag lasted for only 6 issues when it was released back in the '60s. In the '80s, the British Pocket Book sized monthly mag managed to hold on for 13 before it came to an end, undoubtedly (like its State-side counterpart) due to disappointing sales. It wasn't helped by some of the reproduction being awful, with line drop-out from weak source material and very poor printing. Some of the re-sized pages obscured by Zipatone and first published in '70s weekly comic The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL were also used, which, in the reduced dimensions of the pocket books, looked pretty terrible.

However, it wasn't all bad, and some stories reproduced quite well, reminding me of a smaller version of U.K. weekly comics SMASH! and FANTASTIC, in which I'd first read most of these tales back in the '60s. Anyway, 13 is supposed to be unlucky, but not for you, as you now have the pleasure of perusing this passel of pulsating piccies from the palpitating past! Go to it, pilgrim!

I now no longer recall if I bought this and the following issue in my home town or, having missed
them, bought them in Southsea or Portsmouth at the beginning of 1981. A friend who was with me
also bought them, and I may've purchased them again to have extra copies. The cover from a spare
copy of #4 (below) adorned my bedroom wall for decades 'til being replaced with a fresh print of it

I bought this one in Portsmouth and recall reading it on the ferry over to the Isle of Wight in 1981

3 comments:

John Pitt said...: I used to love these digests. Great v.f.m., but a shame they were chopped. Please feel free to post any more titles you have.; 22 January 2015 at 22:38
Anonymous said...: I don't remember a Hulk pocket book at all - I definitely remember the first ones that came out in 1980 which were FF, Spider-Man, Star Heroes and Chiller, did you have any of those, Kid ? All the first issues of those gave an address where you could send letters but no letters pages ever appeared. I think FF Pocket Book No.1 featured a reprint of Reed and Sue's wedding but I'm not absolutely sure. But if I remember correctly all the FF pocket books featured stories from the Lee/Kirby/Sinnott days in the mid '60s.; 22 January 2015 at 22:40
Kid said...: Will do, JP.

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FF #1 did indeed feature Reed & Sue's wedding, CJ. There was also a Titans PB. I've got examples of the others you mention, too.

(Originally posted 22 January 2015 at 22.50.); 4 April 2019 at 10:42

About the artist:

From 1985 to 2000 A.D. (little joke there), I contributed to a variety of high profile comics and magazines for various companies.

For IPC/FLEETWAY/EGMONT, I freelanced as a lettering and logo artist on various weekly comics and monthly magazines, and also as a resize comic artist and spot illustrator on pocket books, summer specials and annuals.

For MARVEL U.K., BLACK LIBRARY, REDAN and USBORNE BOOKS, I again freelanced as a lettering artist, also working as a restoration artist for MARVEL U.S., restoring and re-creating certain pages of JACK KIRBY art for their MARVEL MASTERWORKS editions.

I also lettered the MARVELMAN sample pages submitted to MARVEL U.S. when they were considering acquiring the character, which - as we all now know - they DID.

Supplied comic strips, cartoons and illustrated advertisements for local business campaigns and newspaper publication on a professional basis since the age of 16. Did my first paid art job for publication at 14 or 15 for Lanarkshire Education Board.

Have also made TV appearances as a collector of memorabilia.

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Just some of the titles I worked on are:

2000 A.D. * JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE * DICEMAN * SONIC The COMIC * JUDGE DREDD, LAWMAN Of The FUTURE * CRISIS * REVOLVER * EAGLE * TIGER * BATTLE ACTION-FORCE * BUSTER * WHIZZER & CHIPS * WHOOPEE * NIPPER * SCHOOL FUN * ACE VENTURA, PET DETECTIVE * The REAL GHOSTBUSTERS * DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE * COUNT DUCKULA * RUGRATS * The TRANSFORMERS * DEATH'S HEAD * THUNDERCATS * GALAXY RANGERS * DRAGON'S CLAWS * SINDY * MARVEL MASTERWORKS * The TROLLS * LOADED * INFERNO * WARHAMMER * ROSE BLACK.

Copyright Notice:

Images remain the property of their respective copyright owners and are used here only for the purpose of review, promotion, and nostalgia.

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In the case of images culled from my own collection where copyright of an item isn't mine, I impose no copying restrictions on fellow bloggers.

(Although, if you don't allow copying on your own site, then you really shouldn't be copying from others, should you?)

And while you can credit this blog if you like, it's not mandatory. Who has time to make notes of every casually visited site during an idle browse of the internet?

In the case of anyone copying images of my own artwork and calligraphy, I affirm my right to be identified as the creator, and any such copying should not be for the purpose of monetary or material gain. (Unless it's mine.)

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Please also note that this blog is not sponsored by, affiliated with, or connected to, any organisation, business, or group, and is wholly independent.