The physical manifestation of Bruce Banner's repressed rage, the creature known as the Hulk was born on the fateful night when Dr. Banner willingly exposed himself to high levels of gamma radiation using his experimental gamma machine. Inexplicably, the anger and frustration Bruce Banner suffered through during his traumatic childhood created an alternate personality, one that was kept hidden deep within his psyche. Now in times of extreme stress, Dr. Banner undergoes a startling metamorphosis, one that transforms him into a creature of intense rage and power...the Incredible Hulk!


Behind-the-scenes:

The original MKA design I had for the Hulk was much more blocky and rectangular, with sharp Bruce Timm-style angles defining his body. He looked like a giant refrigerator. One thing I felt very strongly about when these stories began to take shape, was I wanted the Hulk to be less muscular than he has been in recent years. That's the Hulk most people picture in their minds, it's the Hulk I grew up with, but I had really wanted to try to make the creature more in line with Kirby's original design, which was basically like a larger version of Frankenstein's monster. He was big and strong and he had a lot of mass to him, but he wasn't sculpted like Arnold or Lou. He was just "big".

I had the Hulk constantly hunched over, with long ape-like arms that almost reached the ground. He was so square-shaped that from the wrong angle, he appeared to be overweight. In the end I changed my mind and opted to go down the less bulky, more muscular route.

One of the main goals of MKA was returning the Hulk to his horror roots, which is difficult to pull off in a cartoony style. Although it can be done, perhaps this art style is not the best to do it in. But I do so love a challenge.

If you examine the Hulk throughout the years, most fans of the character (and I'm one of them) will tell you that the transformation was the major selling point. The anticipation of the "change" was what got everybody excited, seeing HOW Banner would get into trouble this time, seeing how long he could fight the change. With the television show, seeing Lou Ferrigno tear his clothes to shreds was and still is a delight to behold.

But as much as we love to witness the transformation, I believe we SHOULD dread its arrival. We should feel terrified when Banner's eyes turn green. In theory, we should never want to see the Hulk and we should be praying that Banner finds a cure for his affliction, or at least some measure of control over his emotions. That's the conflict that drives Banner; can he ever find peace with his emotions? Can a man ever rid himself of his demons? What is the key to driving the hate and anger from himself fully? Is love the answer? There's a lot of drama in that conflict and that's what I will be exploring with this character.


Designs: