Romita Sr. Hulk!? Test your knowledge and identify this page!

[JadeGiant]

Just posted this to my site - looking for the experts to weigh in.

 

https://thejadegiant.wordpress.com/2016/05/05/romita-sr-hulk-test-your-hulk-knowledge-and-identify-this-page/

 

What do you think? Burkey doesn’t know what this is from, do you?

 

 

From the site:

 

"Are you a Hulk expert? A huge fan of John Romita Sr.? Think you know Marvel comics from the silver/bronze age? If so, I am throwing down the gauntlet to see who can identify the artwork below. Was this a Hulk annual? A joint venture comic with a local department store? Something else? The first person to correctly identify the page will get a cool bit of swag from the gamma vault (and will gain my utmost admiration for their Hulk/Marvel/Romita knowledge). "

 

 

 

 

[tv horror]

Could it be Incredible Hulk issue 130? I know that Trimpe had drawn the cover and it could have possibly been reprinted in an annual. Good luck with your search.

[jaybuck43]

It's not. If the story was reused then that page was new, because it does not appear in Hulk 130 (I just pulled it up on my iPad to double check)

[JadeGiant]

Thanks guys! Getting some interesting ideas elsewhere but this is the first here - keep the comments coming.

 

I will summarize comments soon - maybe something someone else is saying will spark something.

[Spider-Variant]

Looks like Romita's work from the late 70's or early 80's to me.

 

Maybe one of those Chicago Tribune Supplements, or some such.

 

Guessing unpublished, since no one has identified it yet.

 

My 2 cents.

 

Thanks for sharing.

[ecfanman]

I assume that it doesn't have anything on the back side.

 

If it doesn't have a code approval stamp or copyright info, then it is most likely unpublished as far as comic books are concerned. If published anywhere else, I would think it would have at least a copyright stamp on the back.

[Ferran Delgado]

I thought this was answered in Comicart-L.

Krisdpaul posted this:

I believe this page is from an unpublished story penciled by Larry Lieber that was slated to appear in Hulk Annual #12. Jack Abel was supposed to be the inker, but he was hospitalized. A bunch of other artists including Jim Starlin, Joe Rubinstein, Terry Austin, (apparently JR), and others stepped in to finish the job for Jack, calling themselves the Abel Brigade. But for whatever reason it didn't get finished on time. There a a number of pages from this story floating around with inks by different inkers. I used to own the splash and about half a dozen pages from this story.

[creepy46]

Please go here:

 

http://anthonyscomicbookart.com/ArtistGalleryRoom.asp?ArtistId=523

 

Look at the two pieces at the bottom of the page.

 

It might help.

[Stalzer2002]

That's a fascinating story. It's a shame it never really saw the light of day. It'd be cool to see all of those different pages inked by different artists in one place.

[Spider-Variant]

That's a fascinating story. It's a shame it never really saw the light of day. It'd be cool to see all of those different pages inked by different artists in one place.

 

Yes, I agree. I'm not sure I would have liked it as a youngster though, reading the story. I tended to notice things like that and it would have driven me nuts.

[JadeGiant]

I thought this was answered in Comicart-L.

Krisdpaul posted this:

I believe this page is from an unpublished story penciled by Larry Lieber that was slated to appear in Hulk Annual #12. Jack Abel was supposed to be the inker, but he was hospitalized. A bunch of other artists including Jim Starlin, Joe Rubinstein, Terry Austin, (apparently JR), and others stepped in to finish the job for Jack, calling themselves the Abel Brigade. But for whatever reason it didn't get finished on time. There a a number of pages from this story floating around with inks by different inkers. I used to own the splash and about half a dozen pages from this story.

 

Thank you. This is plausible.

[JadeGiant]

Please go here:

 

http://anthonyscomicbookart.com/ArtistGalleryRoom.asp?ArtistId=523

 

Look at the two pieces at the bottom of the page.

 

It might help.

 

Thank you. I only see one page and the image in the link does not work for me. Can anyone see the image on the link?

[jaybuck43]

The image in the link...

[JadeGiant]

The image in the link...

 

Weird, still can't see it ... maybe it is a FW issue

[JadeGiant]

Sorry for the delayed response. There have been a lot of responses from a variety of places (forums/FB/email/site) but nothing definitive yet. Here’s what I have heard so far – I plan to do more digging to see if I can find a definitive answer. Keep the comments/questions coming. Thanks!

 

Ideas about who did the art:

 

Romita sr inks over Alan kuppenberg pencils

Severin and Romita

Larry Leiber

Trimpe pencils, Romita inks.

 

Ideas for where it may have been published:

 

Promotional give-away publications done for newspapers (Dallas Herald, Columbus Dispatch, Denver Post, etc.), Aim toothpaste, etc.

Newspaper comic strip

UK publication

 

A repeated response has been that it may have been done for a Marvel annual that was never published. If so, this would be Larry Lieber pencils but not clear about the inks. As the story goes – quoted from krisdpaul on comicart-L “I believe this page is from an unpublished story penciled by Larry Lieber that was slated to appear in Hulk Annual #12. Jack Abel was supposed to be the inker, but he was hospitalized. A bunch of other artists including Jim Starlin, Joe Rubinstein, Terry Austin, (apparently JR), and others stepped in to finish the job for Jack, calling themselves the Abel Brigade. But for whatever reason it didn't get finished on time. There a a number of pages from this story floating around with inks by different inkers. I used to own the splash and about half a dozen pages from this story.”

 

It would make sense that it looks unfinished (see where the word balloons were change and the pencils not erased). Not a definite answer but a plausible possibility. I replied to his post on the L to see what more I can dig up.

 

Thanks for all the input, the quest continues.

 

[NelsonAI]

 

There is a big difference in market value if Larry Leiber did the pencils instead of Romita Sr. If Romita Sr. did the inks, some people may not care.

 

Romita Sr. is still around and accessible so why not ask him directly or via Romitaman?

 

Good luck.

 

Cheers!

N.

[Unca Ben]

Personally I don't see Romita anywhere on that page.

Leiber or Kupperberg, maybe.

 

I'd be surprised if those were Romita Sr. inks.

[JadeGiant]

There is a big difference in market value if Larry Leiber did the pencils instead of Romita Sr. If Romita Sr. did the inks, some people may not care.

 

Romita Sr. is still around and accessible so why not ask him directly or via Romitaman?

 

Good luck.

 

Cheers!

N.

 

It makes a difference to me as well - that is a primary reason I am trying to find out what it is from. I am also very genuinely curious about the back story of the page.

 

I have and he doesn't have specific recollection but would not rule it out due to all the work he did for Marvel back in the 70s. I asked via Spencer.

 

Romitaman does not know what it is from

[alxjhnsn]

I sent the description from krisdpaul to Joe Rubinstein along with the image above. He wrote back that the story is true and he believes that this is one of the pages. He said if I could send a higher resolution image, he could probably tell us more.

 

alxjhnsn AT alumni dot rice dot edu if you want to send me something.

 

[JadeGiant]

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the research of this page. I have received multiple emails with people providing scans of pages from the issue and/or offers to send scans. From what I can gather, this page is part of that story (I see the same characters in other pages). I will compile whatever anyone send to me and publish an article on my site and here.

 

As such, it appears that the first question I have has been answered (where did the page come from). Now I am trying to determine if Romita had a hand in creating this page. All accounts indicate Lieber pencils so the real question is whether or not John Romita Sr. inked the page.

 

Opinions? Anyone know if JR Jr was part of this project?