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What was the official reason Marvel cancelled the 1962 Hulk series?

Started by Forbush-Man,

46 posts in this topic

rodan57

rodan57

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Martin Goodman had a limited number of distribution slots for his comics in early 1963. By that time, Independent News was allowing him 10 titles one month and twelve the next.

 

The sales for the Hulk were not positive and the bi-monthly book was cancelled as of January 1963 with issue #6. Goodman had little patience with underperforming books and was constantly seeking to maximize his investment across a shifting range of comic book genres.

 

It was replaced two months later with Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandoes.

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MrBedrock

MrBedrock

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Cause it sucked.

 

lol

 

Have you ever read those 6 issues?!?

Yep. Love them dearly. But Hulk couldn't hold the FF's three jock straps and one g-string.

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Buzzetta

Buzzetta

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I recently bought them all in digital format on the Marvel store... they are a great read to explore the mindset of comic writers of the time in their exploitation of a fear of communism. When you look at them in that sense that provide an interesting look into the time period.

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dgarthwaite-migration

dgarthwaite-migration

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Martin Goodman had a limited number of distribution slots for his comics in early 1963. By that time, Independent News was allowing him 10 titles one month and twelve the next.

 

The sales for the Hulk were not positive and the bi-monthly book was cancelled as of January 1963 with issue #6. Goodman had little patience with underperforming books and was constantly seeking to maximize his investment across a shifting range of comic book genres.

 

It was replaced two months later with Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandoes.

 

It should also be added that Hulk as a character was never dropped. He appeared in a comic every month between Hulk #6 and TTA#59. If you were a fan of him in his own series, you could have still followed him in the Avengers and whatever book he guested in the subsequent months.

 

DG

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vaillant

vaillant

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Martin Goodman had a limited number of distribution slots for his comics in early 1963. By that time, Independent News was allowing him 10 titles one month and twelve the next.

 

The sales for the Hulk were not positive and the bi-monthly book was cancelled as of January 1963 with issue #6. Goodman had little patience with underperforming books and was constantly seeking to maximize his investment across a shifting range of comic book genres.

 

It was replaced two months later with Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandoes.

 

That’s very interesting! Thank you for the explanation. :)

 

I liked those issues of Hulk better than the early issues of DD. How did it survive with baddies like Purple Man, Matador, the ultra-cornball Stilt Man, Cat Man, Bird Man, Ape Man, Frog Man.....

 

Agreed, but actually Killgrave is not a ridiculous villain, on the contrary I recall it to be very interesting. One of the few earlier Daredevils I have actually read as a kid.

 

Early villains may have sucked but there’s plenty to compensate in most Marvel titles. Thor was always less interesting to me, although it breeded Mr. Hyde and the Cobra, which found a good home with Daredevil.

Mr. Hyde is a cool villain indeed! :)

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rodan57

rodan57

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Martin Goodman had a limited number of distribution slots for his comics in early 1963. By that time, Independent News was allowing him 10 titles one month and twelve the next.

 

The sales for the Hulk were not positive and the bi-monthly book was cancelled as of January 1963 with issue #6. Goodman had little patience with underperforming books and was constantly seeking to maximize his investment across a shifting range of comic book genres.

 

It was replaced two months later with Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandoes.

 

It should also be added that Hulk as a character was never dropped. He appeared in a comic every month between Hulk #6 and TTA#59. If you were a fan of him in his own series, you could have still followed him in the Avengers and whatever book he guested in the subsequent months.

 

DG

Interesting statement and a fun one to check out.

 

It may have seemed to a reader at the time that he was in a comic every month between January 1963 and June 1964 but not quite.

 

So as far as I have been able to ascertain, seven true appearances, one cameo, two pinups and only as a head in the corner box of two issues of the Avengers in the sixteen months.*

 

Hulk #6 was cancelled in January 1963.

He didn't appear for six months until Avengers #1 which hit the newsstands in July 1963. That same month he appeared in a pin-up in Fantastic Four Annual #1.

In September 1963, he was in Avengers #2.

He appeared as Bruce Banner in a single panel of Tales of Suspense #49, October 1963.

In November, he was in Avengers #3.

In January, he was in Fantastic Four #25. His head appears in the corner box on the cover of Avengers #4 that month.

In February, he was in Fantastic Four #26.

In March 1964, he was in Avengers #5.

In April 1964, he appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #14.

His head appears in the corner box on the cover of Avengers #6 in May.

In June 1964, he began in Tales to Astonish #59. He was also in a pin-up in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 that month.

 

So after a six month gap, he never really went off of the Marvel Universe radar -- he just wasn't there all the time.

 

*I didn't count Marvel House ads in other titles for the Avengers and the Fantastic Four issues where he was represented on the cover, or special announcement notices in titles that had letter pages. That would have been too large an investigation for the sake of this posting but they would have arguably promoted his character -- though only on the same months he actually appeared in another book or the month when Avengers #6 appeared.

 

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KirbyJack

KirbyJack

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More great stuff, rodan!

 

I can't believe I never thought about how many Hulk appearances there were between Hulk 6 and TTA 59, nice one to you, too, DG!

 

And, Bronty; that toenail is there because Ditko didn't draw any on that Hulk 6 cover!

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