The Return of the Hulk (Paintings)! 1979 Albert Bigley Original Art! Marvel Comics?!

FOUND! The "missing" Hulk painting by me (age 14), from 1979! Created the summer before starting high school, here is ol' Jade Jaws doing his community bit by helping endangered kids across a busy school intersection! But wait-some rude hot rodder thinks he can barrel thru at unsafe speeds, in a car that looks more like a melted and warped shoe-box than a Chevy! Our hero readies himself to deliver a firm message on traffic and pedestrian safety! I based this on the then-ubiquitous magazine paintings by Bob Larkin (click here for more), and wanted to force myself to have to paint more "real' subjects such as kids, cars, trees, etc., as an exercise. This may have been my first stab at acrylic painting, too, so go easy on me, real frantic one! Click to enlarge, if you're that sort of type!

The Early Painted Art of Albert Bigley! Hulk! Captain America! Marvel Comics!

At long last! I was finally able to photograph these over-sized (around 2 by 3 feet) masterpieces for the panting public to view! That first Hulk "origin" image was painted by me in late 1978, with tempera paints, based on and inspired by the ubiquitous HULK magazine covers painted by Ken Barr, Bob Larkin, and others! Done simply on drug store poster board (then fully framed under glass yet!), I spent weeks studying shading, cast light, rim lighting, even Bill Bixby's caricature from a recent issue of MAD! Don't laugh too much now--this won not only first place in my 8th grade school-wide art show, but GRAND PRIZE as well! Heh. Click each image to enlarge!

Below is the follow-up painting. Based on a 60s TALES TO ASTONISH tale  (I saw the MARVEL SUPERHEROES cartoon adaptation rerun, not the original comic at the time), I included all the players from that comic! The Leader, Watcher (lifted from the cover of SON OF ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS). A big improvement over the debut painting (same media, all bought from the local Revco. I can still smell that pungent egg-based tempera paint!), this baby won awards and acclaim at the local "Arts in the Park" 1979 spring event! It was a small town.

I've skipped ahead here, as I could not locate a few paintings, but this Captain America image was done in early 1980, using acrylics this time, still, alas, on cheap poster board (my discovering canvas was right around the corner)! Based on then-recent CAPTAIN AMERICA comics, I recall struggling to get more "pop" and realism into that mountain range in the background. Didn't work. You can even see the slathered-on layers used in this one, as I made constant "improvements" over and over...Never entered in any contests, but seen widely in my 9th grade "Art 1" class, this piece still made the rounds!

It's fun to look back at my early attempts to be like the painted cover superstars of the day, but now I marvel at the amount of time I could put into these pieces, and still make good grades in school, draw other things, read, enjoy hobbies, experiment with other art mediums, etc...None of it ever felt like work or making time for each discipline...Now it seems hard to multi task for only TWO projects running concurrently!

1979 Albert Bigley INCREDIBLE HULK Painted Original Comic Art!

Done by me as a cover for my own 30-page comic based on 60s Hulk TALES TO ASTONISH tales (as recorded from the afternoon MARVEL SUPERHEROES cartoon reruns). Not bad for a 14-year old using ink and watercolors. I was inspired by the painted covers of the 70s RAMPAGING HULK magazines, with paintings by Ken Barr, Earl Norem, and Bob Larkin. Click to enlarge.