The Incredible Hulk #345
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeIn "Closing Curtain," the Hulk arrives at Yuma Base to find gamma bombs missing—and the Leader has already set a deadly timer, threatening to detonate one in Middletown at 10 P.M. With Rick and Betty watching in dread, the Hulk confronts the Leader’s enforcers, Rock and Redeemer, only to be caught in a sudden explosion as the bomb detonates early. Written by Peter David and illustrated with dynamic intensity by Todd McFarlane—whose cover pencils and inks define the issue’s striking look—this 1988 Marvel classic delivers a tense, emotional showdown with the stakes raised high.
ComicBooks.com Value
Show all 16 grades ▾
This exact issue on ebay
CGC 9.8 ▾ $680–$960 3 listings
CGC 8.5 ▾ $100–$500 3 listings
CGC 8 ▾ $125–$250 2 listings
PGX 9.2 ▾ $110–$185 2 listings
Raw — VF ▾ $30–$220 7 listings
Raw — FN ▾ $43–$103 3 listings
Raw — VG ▾ $22–$36.89 5 listings
Raw / ungraded ▾ $27–$500 19 listings
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 ▸Trivia · 8 facts
- Written by Peter David with pencils by Todd McFarlane — this is McFarlane's final full penciling credit on the series (he provided layouts only for the following issue #346 before departing).
- The story title is 'Turning Point' (also solicited/listed as 'Closing Curtain'); the issue is double-sized at 52 pages of story content, published July 1988 (on-sale March 17, 1988).
- The Leader detonates a gamma bomb inside the town of Middletown, Arizona, while the Grey Hulk is holding it; all but five residents are killed and the Hulk is presumed dead — one of the most consequential 'villain succeeds' moments in the character's Silver/Copper Age history.
- Redeemer (Craig Saunders Jr.) dies in this issue; the Hulk's apparent death is shown here, with his survival not revealed until issue #347 and the full explanation given in issues #351–352.
- Five Middletown civilians make their first and — for most — only appearances: Diane Davids, Burt Horowitz, Jess Harrison, Louis Lembert, and Father Jason McCall, all introduced as fully realized characters before the bomb detonates, deepening the tragedy.
- The gamma-irradiated survivors of Middletown were later gathered by the Leader into the Riot Squad, and the town's ruins became known in Marvel continuity as 'Gammatown,' with the event eventually referred to as the 'Middletown Massacre' — a narrative thread the Arizona Legislature in-universe used to prosecute the Leader.
- The issue has been reprinted multiple times: in the 1991 trade paperback 'The Incredible Hulk: Ground Zero,' in 'Hulk Visionaries: Peter David' Vol. 2 (2005), in the 'Incredible Hulk by Peter David Omnibus' Vol. 1 (2019, with recoloring and new trade dress), and in 'Incredible Hulk Epic Collection' #15 — Ground Zero (2024).
- Production credits: pencils Todd McFarlane; inks Jim Sanders III and Chris Ivy; colors Petra Scotese; letters Joe Rosen; editor Bob Harras; assistant editor Bobbie Chase; editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco.
Cast · 16 characters
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Der unglaubliche Hulk #24 (1989), The Incredible Hulk: Ground Zero #[nn] (1991), Hulk #4/1991 (1991), Fantastici Quattro #66 (1992), Mega Marvel #2/1992 (1992), Hulk - Point Zéro #[nn] (1992), Obras Maestras #7 (1993), Hulk Visionaries: Peter David #2 (2005), Incredible Hulk by Peter David Omnibus #1 (2019), Incredible Hulk by Peter David Omnibus #1 (2019), Marvel Héroes #106 (2021), Incredible Hulk Epic Collection #15 (2024), De verbijsterende Hulk Special #26, De verbijsterende Hulk Special #27, Hulk #10
Key issues in The Incredible Hulk
Variants (1)
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.