Why Are There So Many 70's Hulk Issues Available?

[Wee67]

One of my favorite things to hit at comic convention are the $1 boxes. I search through for 70's gems that are in reading condition. I've been looking for 70's Iron Man ish's, but I also grab anything around the 25-40 cents range that catched my eye.

What I've noticed is that its pretty easy to scoop up around 15-25 issues of the Hulk. (Compared to 5 or 6 IM's). And I'm not just talking about the time when the Hulk was "Marvel's TV Sensation."

Is the Hulk just less popular to collect? Or is the opposite true and more issues were printed? Or did Hulk fans simply take less care of their issues back in the 70's leading them to the $1 boxes because of condition? I only collect Avengers books, so I don't know much about comic collecting. And no, I don't come across that many Avengers books either.

[B-Lister]

Because everybody now knows that 181 is valuable. So they dig out their old stack of books looking for a payday, and dump the leftovers.

[stevenlore]

What's special about 181, Wolverine first appearance?

[B-Lister]

Bingo.

most valuable Bronze Age comic there is.

Being a DC fan, my BA grails are Batman 232, and House of Secrets 91 (First Ra's Al Ghul, and First Swamp Thing respectively)

I have both.

So, and this is mere speculation by the way, the desire to cash in on that book, has brought several Hulk Collections out of mothballs in the hope (or even reality) that it contains that issue, and that they can get a chunk of change for it.

[Mego Superboy Prime]

Not many around my part so it probably depends on location.

[VintageMike]

I see ton's of 70's stuff in those boxes not just Hulks and have built some pretty nice runs out of them.
With the exception of some of the earliest issues I completed my entire Defenders run from those boxes. I picked up a few issues of Spider-Woman just because they were there and ended up completing the 50 issue set. To a lesser extent I've picked a ton of Avengers in the 2-$4.00 range. I'm not complaining as the 70's Marvel are probably my favorites and being able to find so many on the cheap is a dream come ture.

[Marvelmania]

All I ever find in the $1 boxes are Howard the Duck and Dazzler comics. Those 70s Hulk comics are some of my favorites!

[pmwasson]

I bought Hulk 181 for 10 cents at a garage sale when I was young. I wish I still had it.

[Hector]

I sold my Hulk 181 about five years ago for $800.

[Drzsmith]

I recently bought Hulk 180-182 for $26,$325 and $20 all in Very Fine condition.Very pleased to find them so cheap!

[MicromanZone]

I think it’s also because in the 1970s and even prior print-runs and production-runs for best-selling items were never really well controlled. It’s not like nowadays where all inventory is computerized. Heck, look at how many copies of Herb Alpert’s “Whipped Cream & Other Delights” are out there; Herb Alpert owned the label and just pumped them out.

As far as Hulk goes I remember tons of non-comic fans loving the Hulk and not knowing much about him beyond the “Jekyll and Hyde”*origin. He’s just an awesome symbol! Like Darth Vader and such.

[hedrap]

Hulk and Spidey were the only sellers for Marvel in the 70's, which was a slump period.

[samurainoir]

I think it's a combination of Hulk being Marvel's smash TV sensation in the seventies, coupled with the fact that there really aren't that many fan favorite story lines creatively at that point... Other than the intro of wolverine. As much love as I have for Hulk, at the end of the day, Hulk Smash! Isn't really a great source for compelling character arcs or story lines.

[jwyblejr]

I miss being able to get them for 3/$1 at a small baseball card store I use to go to.

[samurainoir]

The seventies was pretty much the zenith of the child-hulk... Almost a comical character between hanging out with the Defenders and stumbling around his own title. A far cry from the brutish Hulk of the early days.

It's funny that it has been almost three decades now since we've seen that incarnation on it's own. Since Bill Mantlo gave the Hulk Bruce Banner's intelligence and control. Since then we've had mindless hulk through to Byrne and Peter David kicked off his run with Mr Fixit before transitioning into the merged personality. Bruce Jones and Planet Hulk runs were hardly the child-hulk either.