The Strongest One There Is
Leap into the gamma-irradiated origins of Marvel's meanest (and greenest!) hero
The second Marvel character to spring from the legendary creative collaboration of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the early 1960s was a far cry from the Fantastic Four’s recognizable family dynamics and globe-trotting super heroics. The Hulk was a Monster! The alter ego of puny human scientist Bruce Banner unleashed when an experimental bomb douses the hapless scientist in Gamma radiation, and thereupon unleashed every time the mild-mannered Banner lost his temper, the Hulk exploded from comics stands into an unsuspecting world…and he hasn’t stopped since.
Unquestionably one of the strangest, strongest, and most evocative archetypes to come from Marvel Comics, the Hulk defies all explanation. At times at war with other superheroes, villains, the United States military, humanity, and even his alter-ego Bruce Banner himself, he stands as an avatar of unbridled fury, primal instincts, the destructive potential of the atomic bomb and humanity’s hubris all at once. A modern Prometheus, imbued by atomic fire, who will never stop raging, never stop smashing.
Now, TASCHEN brings you the Hulk as you’ve never seen him before, in an XXL-size volume worthy of his name. Collecting The Incredible Hulk Issues 1–6, along with his appearances in Tales to Astonish. All issues have been photographed using TASCHEN’s sterling reproduction methods, resembling the way these comics first looked when initially published, while also being digitally remastered using modern retouching techniques to correct problems with the era’s inexpensive, imperfect printing.
An introduction by pop-culture and comic scholar Douglas Wolk, meticulously researched and adorned with rarely seen original art, photos, and paraphernalia showcasing the Hulk’s lasting impact on global culture, rounds out this massive package to honor of the biggest, meanest, and greenest superheroes of all time.
Also available in a Collector’s Edition of 1,000 numbered copies
© 2025 MARVEL
The artists
Steve Ditko (1927–2018) studied under Jerry Robinson at the Cartoonists and Illustrators School in New York and began working at Atlas Comics, the precursor to Marvel Comics, in the mid-1950s. He made his name as the artist and cocreator, with Stan Lee, of Spider-Man and as creator of Doctor Strange, securing his legacy as a consummate storyteller and a key figure of the Marvel Age.
Jack Kirby (1917–1994) was one of comics’ most legendary and prolific artists whose notable cocreations include Captain America, Avengers, X-Men, Incredible Hulk, Ant-Man, S.H.I.E.L.D., and Thor.
John Romita Sr. was an American comic book artist best known for his work on The Amazing Spider-Man, which he penciled for seven years after the abrupt departure of Steve Ditko from Marvel comic in 1966. Romita went on to become Marvel's Art Director in 1973, and helped co-create many of the company's well-known characters, including Mary Jane Watson, Wolverine, the Punisher, the Kingpin, and Luke Cage. He passed away in 2023 at the age of 93.
Stan Lee (1922–2018) is known to millions as the man whose super heroes propelled Marvel to its preeminent position in the comic book industry. His cocreations include Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and hundreds of others. While the Chairman Emeritus of Marvel, he was also the Chief Creative Officer of POW! Entertainment, where he created numerous new characters and stories in areas including publishing, film, reality TV, stage, documentary, and multimedia.
The author
Douglas Wolk is a multiple-Eisner-winning author of All of the Marvels and Reading Comics and has written about comics and pop music for The New York Times, Time, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, and The Believer, among others. He teaches comics history at Portland State University.
