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Cover: Herb Trimpe

The Incredible Hulk #140

Name: The Incredible Hulk #140
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Jun 1971 · Marvel · 0.15 USD

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“The Brute... That Shouted Love... at the Heart of the Atom!”

★ 1st appearance — Jarella

About this Issue

The Incredible Hulk #140 (June 1971) is the debut of Jarella, princess of the sub-atomic world K'ai and one of the Hulk's most enduring and emotionally resonant love interests — a character whose tragic arc shaped the series' tone for half a decade and whose death in issue #205 generated an outpouring of reader grief. More broadly, the issue introduced the concept that a sorcerer's spell could awaken Bruce Banner's mind inside the Hulk's body, a narrative device that later writers — including John Byrne and Peter David — would develop into some of the character's most celebrated storylines. It also marks the first time a celebrated science-fiction prose writer contributed a plot to the Marvel Universe, with Harlan Ellison co-plotting both this issue and Avengers #88 as a two-part crossover, a creative collaboration that brought serious speculative-fiction credibility to the Bronze Age Marvel line. The issue's sub-atomic world concept, drawn from pulp SF tradition, foreshadowed the richer Microverse mythology that Marvel would develop across decades.

In "The Brute... That Shouted Love... at the Heart of the Atom!", the Hulk is shrunk to microscopic size and transported to the hidden world of the Psyclops, where he unexpectedly regains Bruce Banner’s intelligence, earns the admiration of its queen, and is set to be betrothed—until the menacing Psyklop arrives to disrupt everything. Written by Harlan Ellison and Roy Thomas, with dynamic art by Sam Grainger and Herb Trimpe, and a striking cover by Trimpe, this 1971 Marvel classic blends surreal sci-fi adventure with the Hulk’s inner struggle, all in a 15-cent comic that remains a standout in the series.

writer Harlan Ellison · writer Roy Thomas · artist, inker Sam Grainger · artist Herb Trimpe · colorist Mimi Gold · letterer Artie Simek · cover Herb Trimpe

ComicBooks.com Value

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Raw (Fine) $20

CGC 9.8 · 25 in census $1,023

CGC 9.6 · 54 in census $239

CGC 9.4 · 45 in census $239

CGC 9.2 · 41 in census $160

CGC 9.0 · 31 in census $131*

CGC 8.5 · 27 in census $107*

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CGC 8.0 · 13 in census $98*

CGC 7.5 · 19 in census $86*

CGC 7.0 · 11 in census $73*

CGC 6.5 · 12 in census $66*

CGC 6.0 · 12 in census $55

CGC 5.5 · 6 in census $45

CGC 5.0 · 4 in census $44

CGC 4.5 · 4 in census $42

CGC 4.0 · 6 in census $35

CGC 3.5 · 1 in census $34*

CGC 3.0 · 1 in census $30*

CGC 2.5 · 1 in census $23*

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CGC $116.99 Mighty World of MARVEL Starring the INCREDIBLE HULK - Select a Copy $2.65 Incredible Hulk Vol 1 #140 1st Printing 1st Jarella Harlan Ellison Script $18 THE INCREDIBLE HULK JUNE #140 MARVEL COMIC BOOK $34.4

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History

The story originated as a single continuous plot by science-fiction author Harlan Ellison, who was a towering figure in the field and something of a rock star to the generation of writers then breaking into comics; Roy Thomas adapted Ellison's plot into finished scripts across two companion issues — Avengers #88 and Incredible Hulk #140. As an additional tribute, Thomas secretly embedded the titles of more than twenty Harlan Ellison stories (drawn from the tables of contents of Ellison's collections Paingod and Other Delusions and The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World) into the dialogue and caption copy throughout the issue, a hidden Easter egg disclosed in the book's own letters page. The story's central conceit — a hero shrunk to microscopic size who finds romance among a green-skinned subatomic people — was acknowledged by Thomas himself as owing a debt to Ray Cummings' 1922 pulp story 'The Girl in the Golden Atom.' Art was provided by Herb Trimpe on pencils/layouts, Sam Grainger on finishes and inks, and Artie Simek on lettering, with Stan Lee serving as editor-in-chief.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Jarella, princess and ruler of K'ai, the sub-atomic microworld contained within an atom on the Hulk's famous purple pants — she would become one of the Hulk's three great loves alongside Betty Ross and Caiera.
Also the first appearance of supporting characters Torla, Holi, and Moli (the Pantheon of Sorcerers), the warlord Visis, and the Warthos creatures.
Story titled 'The Brute That Shouted Love at the Heart of the Atom!' — a riff on Harlan Ellison's 1969 short-story collection The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World; Roy Thomas secretly embedded over 20 Ellison story titles into the dialogue and captions as a tribute.
Plot by Harlan Ellison, script by Roy Thomas, pencils/layouts by Herb Trimpe, finishes/inks by Sam Grainger, lettering by Artie Simek, edited by Stan Lee — cover date June 1971, on-sale March 9, 1971.
Directly continues from Avengers #88 (also plotted by Ellison), forming a two-part crossover; the Avengers (Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Goliath, and the Falcon) appear in a recap/opening sequence.
A sorcerer's spell that lets the Hulk understand K'ai's language simultaneously awakens Bruce Banner's intellect in the Hulk's body — an early narrative exploration of the Banner/Hulk dual-consciousness that became foundational to later creative runs.
Jarella was conceived as a one-off character but was brought back as early as issue #148 (February 1972), which gave Chris Claremont his first official Marvel plotting credit; she remained a recurring presence until her death in issue #205 (November 1976), which writer Len Wein later revealed was unintended to be permanent.
Two full-page splash panels from the issue were adapted by The Third Eye, Inc. into black-light posters (catalogue numbers 4018 and 4020) as part of their 24-poster 1971 Marvel series; the issue was also reprinted in Marvel Super-Heroes #91 (September 1980), Essential Hulk Vol. 3 (2005), the JC Penney Marvel Vintage Pack (1994), and multiple Hulk: Heart of the Atom collected editions.