American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: 1st full Wolverine appearance in Hulk #181
*Marvel: Our Mighty Marvel Firsts sequence continues this week with the most sought-after comic of the 1970s. Hulk #181 features the first full appearance of Wolverine, the Canadian super-hero who, outstripping everyone’s expectations, became the most popular Marvel character created since the dawn of the Marvel Age. Created by Len Wein and Herb Trimpe (from a John Romita design), Wolvy was revived by Wein when he put together the ‘New’ X-Men who debuted in Giant-Size X-Men #1, and since then, Wolverine has become the star of the lucrative X-Men franchise, and a multi-media darling in his own right. This issue, where it all really kicked off following a one-panel cameo in the preceding ish, has good interior page quality, excellent cover colour and a number of faint fine creases at cover edges and corners which do not in any way detract from the cover scene. There is light spine roll, causing the back cover to ‘lean’ slightly, but staples are attached at cover and centrefold and, most crucially, the Marvel Value Stamp (probably the most important appearance of Shanna the She-Devil, bless her!) is still in place. This promotional coupon is the blight of Marvels from a certain period, often clipped and missing – but not in this instance! Between the frequently-missing Marvel Value Stamp, and the fact that this issue was never distributed in the UK, intact copies of Hulk #181 in any grade are at a premium. We have graded this full debut of Marvel’s most popular mutant at VG-, and the price is £950. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD