The Incredible Hulk #391
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeIssue #391 is a showcase piece from one of Marvel's most celebrated single-author runs: Peter David writing both sides of a crossover he entirely controlled, since he was the ongoing writer of both The Incredible Hulk and X-Factor simultaneously. It delivers the full Pantheon-era green Hulk at the height of his intelligence and physicality against an X-Factor lineup that was itself at a creative peak under David, framing a superhero brawl around a genuinely thorny geopolitical question—whether following orders makes you complicit in oppression. The issue also marks the first full appearance of Jackie Shorr, whose arc as a deranged figure claiming to be Rick Jones's biological mother would build into one of the run's darkest subplots, culminating in Marlo Chandler's death several issues later.
In "X-Calation [War & Pieces Part 2]," the Hulk clashes with X-Factor in the midst of a volatile international crisis in Trans-Sabal, as tensions escalate between the Pantheon and the team. Amid the chaos, Betty and Marlo share a rare moment with Rick's mother, adding personal stakes to the unfolding conflict. Written by Peter David and illustrated by Dale Keown, with inks by Mark Farmer, colors by Oliver, and letters by Rosen, the issue’s cover by Dale Keown and Mark Farmer captures the intensity of the battle.
ComicBooks.com Value
Show all 8 grades ▾
This exact issue on ebay
CGC 9.8 ▾ $167–$209 3 listings
Raw — MINT ▾ $3.99–$17 2 listings
Raw — NM ▾ $3–$12.89 7 listings
Raw — VF/NM ▾ $2.69–$4.98 4 listings
Raw — VF ▾ $1.59–$7.98 8 listings
Raw / ungraded ▾ $2–$11.95 20 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
Peter David was the rare case of a writer shepherding an inter-title crossover entirely through his own scripts: he was the ongoing author of both The Incredible Hulk and the relaunched government-sponsored X-Factor at the same time, which meant the 'War and Pieces' arc suffered none of the coordination problems that plagued most Marvel crossovers of the era. Dale Keown, whose kinetic rendering of the intelligent green Hulk had become one of the signature art partnerships of the early 1990s, penciled the issue under editor Bobbie Chase (with Chris Cooper as assistant editor) and editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco. The story's Trans-Sabal setting—a fictional Middle Eastern nation whose U.S.-backed dictator puts the Hulk and a government mutant team on opposite sides—reflected the kind of real-world political texture David was consistently weaving into the book during this period.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Story title: 'X-Calation'; part 2 of the three-part 'War and Pieces' crossover (beginning in Incredible Hulk #390, continuing in X-Factor #76, concluding in Incredible Hulk #392).
- Written by Peter David with pencils by Dale Keown, inks by Mark Farmer, colors by Glynis Oliver, and letters by Joe Rosen; published March 1992 by Marvel Comics.
- Peter David was simultaneously writing both Incredible Hulk and X-Factor, making this a rare crossover entirely controlled by a single writer.
- First full appearance of Jackie Shorr, the woman who claims to be Rick Jones's biological mother (she appeared voice-only in #390); she is later revealed to be a serial killer who murders Marlo Chandler in issue #398.
- The complete government-sponsored X-Factor team appears — Havok, Polaris, Strong Guy, Multiple Man, Quicksilver, Wolfsbane, and Val Cooper — deployed against the Hulk and the Pantheon in the fictional nation of Trans-Sabal, placing two superhero groups on opposite sides of a political conflict.
- Havok uses a distinctive tactic against the Hulk: absorbing gamma radiation from the Hulk to amplify his own plasma blasts, weakening the Hulk while triggering a massive explosion — a plot point continued in X-Factor #76.
- The Hulk sarcastically asks the X-Factor team whether 'the other guys' know they copied their name, a meta-joke referencing the original X-Factor lineup (the founding X-Men) whom the Hulk had previously battled in issues #336–337.
- The issue has been collected in the X-Factor Visionaries: Peter David Vol. 2 trade paperback and in the Incredible Hulk by Peter David Omnibus Vol. 2.
Cast · 20 characters
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Der unglaubliche Hulk #37 (1993), Hulk #6 (1993), Devil & Hulk #9 (1994), Mega Marvel #6 (1/1995) (1995), X-Factor Visionaries: Peter David #2 (2007), Hulk Visionaries: Peter David #8 (2011), Hulk : L'intégrale #1992 (2016), X-Factor Epic Collection #7 (2018), Incredible Hulk by Peter David Omnibus #2 (2020), X-Factor by Peter David Omnibus #1 (2021), Marvel Héroes #116 (2023)
Key issues in The Incredible Hulk
Variants (2)
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.