Hulk Comic issue 8 from Marvel UK

Hulk Comic was a landmark for Marvel UK. A weekly, it was made up of mostly original strips and using talented British writers and artists many of whom would go on to great things.

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The Hulk himself was hugely popular at the time thanks to the TV Show – massively more so than the likes of Iron Man or Thor. The Marvel UK version of ol’ green skin came from Steve Parkhouse, Paul Neary and John Richardson. Despite the top billing and some great art work it was not the highlight of Hulk Comic. For that you needed to turn to Black Knight, Nick Fury and of course Night-Raven.

Black Knight by Steve Parkhouse and John Stokes saw the return of Captain Britain to British comics in a sword and sorcery setting that rooted the character more deeply in British myth and legend.

Nick Fury – Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D was a bond-style hero with an eye (just the one) for the ladies and ready for action. The creative team was Steve Moore and the late Steve Dillon who went on to fame with Preacher.

Finally came Night-Raven. David Lloyd provided the design for this character who drew on pulp heroes like The Shadow and battled gangsters in the US of the 1930’s. Night-Raven formed one of the inspirations for Lloyd’s designs for V for Vendetta, with V originally conceived as a Night-Raven type character. Night-Raven went on to be a regular feature in Marvel UK comics, with illustrated text stories from the likes of Alan Moore appearing regularly in various monthly titles like Savage Action and of course The Daredevils.

When Dez Skinn moved on from the editorial chair the proportion of original work dropped. But those early Hulk Comics are well worth seeking out.