Sephon66 – (Compound) Hulk Smash (3D Print)

PREPARE TO BE….COMPOUNDED!!!

For some time now I resolved not to attempt another Hulk 3D print. The Planet Hulk project took so long and the Vengeance Hulk was a huge headache. But then I found this amazing model from Sephon66 over at CGtrader. I instantly saw potential for a large scale compound hulk. The artist must’ve based the head sculpt on the cover from Hulk #30.

The model at full size was a bit too big for my printer…mostly due to the base which was the largest piece. So I scaled it down to roughly 75-85% if I recall correctly. In retrospect I probably would’ve retained a bit more detail in the model had I gone bigger, but for the most part I’m happy with how it printed.

Going smaller took less time to print and paint which I also preferred.

Overall the making of this figure went smoother then previous prints. However, painting it threw me a few curveballs. I didn’t quite have the right metallic paint for the Hulkbuster so I had to improvise. It’s decent, but not as metallic as I would like. Also, the green skin of Hulk initially was very bright and clashed strongly with all the red/warm colors of the figure. Referring back to color theory this I should have predicted as they are complimentary colors. Visually somewhat jarring. So to make this less of a problem I painted a thin wash of red over the surface of the green. This helped a lot, but almost too well. I had to lightly remove some red to let the green highlights come through. Once I found a good balance the the colors of the figure seemed to better mesh together.

This figure was a lot of fun to make and I am happy with it. Though I still feel it’s not as good as the Planet Hulk statue I made. In any case it makes an incredible addition to my collection and highlights one more form of Hulk rarely seen as a toy/statue/etc.

If you are interested in making this yourself I recommend you check it out here and support the artist.

CGTrader – Hulk Smash – Sephon66

Check out the gallery below for more images.

GET SMASHED!

Variant Alert: Immortal Hulk #33

Immortal Hulk # 33 is also being labelled as the 750th issue of the Hulk. I don’t believe the numbering quite correct on that. However, I won’t complain as this gave Marvel the excuse to release it as a double-sized issue. In addition there have been a whole bunch of variant covers for this one.

Though they all are awesome in their own way – two stand out for me. These are the Joe Bennett variants. Joe is also the main artist on this series – in case you weren’t aware.

These covers are exactly what I’ve been wanting since the first few issues debuted – especially his version of Incredible Hulk #1. However, seeing his rendition of Wolverine has quite possibly made his homage to IH #181 my favorite version of this cover to date.

The IH#1 homage is fairly available and not expensive. It came standard to most comic shops. However, the IH#181 homage cover is a special issue only available from Ultimate Comics (however I found mine on Ebay). So it’s a bit more expensive and also limited to only 2000 copies world-wide. There is even a sketch (black&white) version that is very pricey. Check it out here.

C2E2 2020:The ImmortAL Ewing

Recently I had the good fortune to attend C2E2 in Chicago. I say good fortune as the event was just early enough to avoid being cancelled due to the Coronavirus. Any later and I am sure it would have been.

This year I was only able to attend for a single day, Friday. But this worked out for me. I was able to do most of what I set out to do.

The highlight of this year’s show was a visit by the writer of Immortal Hulk, Al Ewing. As you can imagine I was freaking out. So, of course, he was my first stop at the convention. His line went amazingly fast and I was able to talk with him briefly. Al was a very nice guy and signed my books. I now have a copy of Immortal Hulk 1 and 2 signed by him. Not to mention he also signed my copy of Avengers 684 (first appearance of Immortal Hulk). They are all out being graded by CGC. Can’t wait to get them back.

It was so cool to meet him and able to check one more name off my list of creators for Immortal Hulk. (To date I have met Alex Ross and Al Ewing and commissioned a sketch by Joe Bennet.)

I had also hoped to meet Ed Brisson to sign my copy of Old Man Logan, but he missed his flight. So he was not available on Friday.

However, as a nice substitute I learned Tyler Kirkham was selling his variant for Wolverine #1 that was a IH #181 homage. So I decided to grab his gray hulk version and was able to get is signed. So that was cool! I don’t own many virgin covers…so this was a neat addition to the collection.

 

As I do enjoy other comics the entire event was not just Hulk related. Sean Murphy, writer and artist for Batman: White Knight, was also in attendance. So I took some time and visited him as well. I was delighted to know he was doing remarks as well as signatures. So now my copy of Batman: White Knight #1  has an awesome Joker sketch on the cover.

 

My only small regrets is I missed out on Al Ewing speaking at a Marvel panel on Saturday and visiting Mark Ruffalo (actor of Bruce Banner/Hulk in MCU). But I really couldn’t afford one more day or the admission for Ruffalo. He was the most expensive celebrity there.

Overall though I am very happy with my visit and can’t wait to go again next year.

Get SMASHED!!

 

 

REMATCH INCOMING: Hulk vs Thing

Attention all! The Immortal Hulk will be appearing within the pages of Fantastic Four – and in no small way. He has his sights set on a rematch with the Thing.

Arriving in July 2019 will be Fantastic Four #12. For those who don’t know, the Hulk first clashed with The Thing in Fantastic Four #12 in 1963. So the numbering here is certainly an homage to that meeting.

I won’t go into much of the synopsis but Ben Grimm (The Thing) and his wife are on honeymoon after their historic wedding. But of course not all goes well when the Hulk decides to crash the party.

Whats interesting based on the cover is we see the Hulk fighting Thing out in the daytime? Could this be a spoiler that the Hulk will no longer be limited to emerging only at night? We will see…

For more info go here:

https://comicbook.com/marvel/2019/04/09/marvel-hulk-vs-thing-fantastic-four/

Variant Alert: Immortal Hulk #16 Bennet Wraparound

Immortal Hulk continues to provide stellar writing and horrific art. It’s no wonder Marvel is doing whatever they can to cash in on this run away train of a series. And there is no better way to make more money then supply rare variants.

Immortal Hulk #16 was recently released and along with it a special wrap around cover from the artist of Immortal Hulk, Joe Bennet. The cover features Hulk turning to fleshy goo and changing to Banner…or is it Banner changing over to the Hulk. In any case its a rather gross cover that makes me think of ‘The Thing’. Hulk is on the front with Banner on the back. This cover has made waves in the collecting community. Prior to it’s release pre-salers were offering the 1:25 variant for roughly $60 to $100.

I made efforts to get to my local comic shop right at opening in hopes of grabbing it for cheaper. Upon arriving it seemed like they did not receive any…that is until my LCS guy surprised me with it. Offering me first dibs. Needless to say I was drooling…until I saw the price tag…$100. Now this price was way beyond what I would ever spend on a variant…but seeing the demand go up and up…this price was somewhat mid-level of what was on Ebay. I did not want to regret missing out – if indeed the price went higher..which it seems to have. (I missed out on an earlier opportunity with the Zaffino variant for IH #2). So I bit the bullet and bought it!

The price was extreme…but I don’t regret getting it. It’s a really nice cover and my first wrap-around. I only hope to have the chance to get it signed and graded. It will look nice in a slab. Until then…it is being well protected and stored.

As a side note seems Marvel is releasing a second printing of IH #16 in April with this same cover but the sky is orange rather then blue. The pre-sale price has been around $60…so not cheap but certainly more doable for those who prefer to pay less for this variant. I maaaayyy try to grab this one as well so I can display them next to each other, but flipped to show both sides…but I’m not going to hold my breath on it.

In short, if you have the money and opportunity – get it. Otherwise I might say save your money for a silver age comic you’ve been really wanting.