The Incredible Hulk #121
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThe Incredible Hulk #121 marks the debut of the Glob (Joe Timms), Marvel's first fully realized muck-monster — a radioactively reanimated swamp creature who predates both Man-Thing and DC's Swamp Thing by nearly two years. Beyond the first-appearance milestone, the issue matters because writer Roy Thomas used the Glob's tragic backstory — a petty criminal who died trying to reach his dying wife — to hold a mirror up to the Hulk himself: both are misunderstood monsters rejected by the world around them. That emotional symmetry, capped by the Hulk mourning the Glob as a potential friend, gave the Silver Age Hulk series a genuinely melancholy dimension that would deepen across the Bronze Age. The issue also planted the seed for the entire swamp-monster subgenre at Marvel, a lineage that wound through Man-Thing, Giant-Size Man-Thing, and a long chain of Hulk sequels.
In "Within the Swamp There Stirs... a Glob!", the Hulk crashes into a Florida swamp after being hit by a missile, only to awaken a monstrous entity born from radioactive waste—soon dubbed the Glob. When the army hunts the Hulk through the marsh, the Glob captures Betty, mistaking her for a lost love from his past, leading to a clash between two towering forces of nature. Written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Herb Trimpe, with coloring by Michele Robinson and lettering by Sam Rosen, this 1969 issue features a cover by Trimpe that captures the eerie, swamp-drenched tension.
ComicBooks.com Value
Show all 17 grades ▾
This exact issue on ebay
CGC ▾ $130–$305 3 listings
Raw — F/VF ▾ $32.95–$39.95 2 listings
Raw — FN+ ▾ $24.95–$31.49 3 listings
Raw — FINE ▾ $19.99–$29.99 2 listings
Raw — VG+ ▾ $35.19–$49.99 2 listings
Raw / ungraded ▾ $5.95–$230 27 listings
More listings for this title
Read it digitally
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
Roy Thomas wrote the story as part of his early solo tenure scripting the Hulk title, with Herb Trimpe handling both pencils and inks — a creative pairing that would define the look of the Hulk throughout the late Silver and early Bronze Ages. Thomas has stated on the record that the Glob was a conscious homage to the Heap, a Golden Age swamp creature from Hillman Periodicals he long admired. He originally intended to name the character 'the Shape,' but editor Stan Lee overruled him, finding that name too feminine, and insisted on 'the Glob.' Coloring credit for the issue (by Michele Robinson) was not publicly disclosed until the letters page of issue #125.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance, origin, and apparent death of the Glob (Joe Timms) — Marvel's debut muck-monster, introduced in a single self-contained story.
- Written by Roy Thomas; penciled and inked by Herb Trimpe; lettered by Sam Rosen; edited by Stan Lee. Cover also by Herb Trimpe.
- On-sale date: August 12, 1969; cover date: November 1969. Published by Magazine Management Co. Inc. under the Marvel Comics Group banner.
- Thomas designed the Glob as a conscious homage to the Heap, a Golden Age swamp creature; Stan Lee renamed the character from Thomas's preferred 'the Shape' to 'the Glob.'
- The Glob predates both Marvel's Man-Thing (first appearance May 1971, Savage Tales #1) and DC's Swamp Thing (first appearance July 1971, House of Secrets #92) by nearly two years.
- Despite his apparent death in this issue, the Glob was reconstituted by the Leader and returned in Incredible Hulk #129 (July 1970); his backstory was further expanded in Giant-Size Man-Thing #1.
- Supporting cast appearing: Betty Ross, General Thunderbolt Ross, and Major Glenn Talbot — all stalwarts of the ongoing Hulk supporting ensemble.
- The issue has been collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk Vol. 5, Essential Hulk Vol. 3, and Incredible Hulk Epic Collection Vol. 4 — In the Hands of Hydra, as well as The Incredible Hulk Omnibus Vol. 2 (2023).
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in L'incroyable Hulk #10 (1971), The Mighty World of Marvel #77 (1974), The Mighty World of Marvel #78 (1974), Etranges Aventures #51 (1976), Conan #3 (1978), Conan #5 (1978), Marvel Treasury Edition #17 (1978), Hulk #7 (1984), Essential Hulk #3 (2005), Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk #5 (2009), Essential Hulk #3 [Second Edition] (2012), Incredible Hulk Epic Collection #4 (2019), The Incredible Hulk Omnibus #2 (2023), Condor-Superhelden #6, Die Spinne Comic - Taschenbuch #6, La Increible Mole #20, Spindelmannen superseriepocket #3
Key issues in The Incredible Hulk
Variants (1)
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.