'THE INCREDIBLE HULK' IS PUBLISHED BY MARVEL COMICS

Today, The Grandma is relaxing at home. She has been reading one of her favourite comics, The Hulk, the fictional superhero whose first issue was published on a day like today in 1962.

The Hulk is a fictional superhero appearing in publications by the American publisher Marvel Comics.

Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of The Incredible Hulk (May 10, 1962).

In his comic book appearances, the character is both the Hulk, a green-skinned, hulking and muscular humanoid possessing a vast degree of physical strength, and his alter ego Dr. Robert Bruce Banner, a physically weak, socially withdrawn, and emotionally reserved physicist. The two exist as independent dissociative personalities, and resent each other.

Following his accidental exposure to gamma rays saving the life of Rick Jones during the detonation of an experimental bomb, Banner is physically transformed into the Hulk when subjected to emotional stress, at or against his will, often leading to destructive rampages and conflicts that complicate Banner's civilian life.

The Hulk's level of strength is normally conveyed as proportionate to his level of anger. Commonly portrayed as a raging savage, the Hulk has been represented with other personalities based on Banner's fractured psyche, from a mindless, destructive force, to a brilliant warrior, or genius scientist in his own right.

Despite both Hulk and Banner's desire for solitude, the character has a large supporting cast. This includes Banner's lover Betty Ross, his best friend Rick Jones, his cousin She-Hulk, and therapist and ally Doc Samson. In addition, the Hulk alter ego has many key supporting characters like his co-founders of the superhero team the Avengers, his queen Caiera, fellow warriors Korg and Miek, and sons Skaar and Hiro-Kala. However, his uncontrollable power has brought him into conflict with his fellow heroes and others. Despite this, he tries his best to do what's right while battling villains such as Leader, Abomination, Absorbing Man and more.

More information: Marvel

Lee stated that the Hulk's creation was inspired by a combination of Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Although the Hulk's colouration has varied throughout the character's publication history, the most usual colour is green.

One of the most iconic characters in popular culture, the character has appeared on a variety of merchandise, such as clothing and collectable items, inspired real-world structures, such as theme park attractions, and been referenced in a number of media. Banner and the Hulk have been adapted in live-action, animated, and video game incarnations. The character was first played in a live-action feature film by Eric Bana.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the character was portrayed by Edward Norton in the film The Incredible Hulk (2008) and by Mark Ruffalo in the films The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013) in a cameo, Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Captain Marvel (2019) in a cameo, and Avengers: Endgame (2019). Ruffalo will reprise the role in the upcoming Disney+ series What If...? (2021) and She-Hulk (2022).

The Hulk first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 (cover dated May 10, 1962), written by writer-editor Stan Lee, pencilled and co-plotted by Jack Kirby, and inked by Paul Reinman. Lee cites influence from Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the Hulk's creation.

Lee has also compared Hulk to the Golem of Jewish mythology. In The Science of Superheroes, Gresh and Weinberg see the Hulk as a reaction to the Cold War and the threat of nuclear attack, an interpretation shared by Weinstein in Up, Up and Oy Vey. This interpretation corresponds with other popularized fictional media created during this time period, which took advantage of the prevailing sense among Americans that nuclear power could produce monsters and mutants.

The Hulk character and the concepts behind it have been raised to the level of iconic status by many within and outside the comic book industry.

In 2003, Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine claimed the character had stood the test of time as a genuine icon of American pop culture.

In 2008, the Hulk was listed as the 19th greatest comic book character by Wizard magazine. Empire magazine named him the 14th-greatest comic-book character and the fifth-greatest Marvel character.

In 2011, the Hulk placed No. 9 on IGN's list of Top 100 Comic Book Heroes, and fourth on their list of The Top 50 Avengers in 2012.

The Hulk was ranked #1 on a listing of Marvel Comics' monster characters in 2015.

More information: Live About

 The one thing Marvel does is think outside the box,
going all the way back to Ang Lee directing the first 'Hulk.'
They like to go outside the genre.

Anthony Russo