Hulk’s Greatest Design Still Has No Equal 36 Years Later: Dale Keown’s Balance of Monster and Man

Keown’s Hulk stands apart

Dale Keown drew The Incredible Hulk from 1990 to 1992 alongside writer Peter David. The pair later reunited for the non-canon 2002 story Incredible Hulk: The End, set during a nuclear post-apocalypse.

Keown gave Hulk a broad chest, oversized fists and a pronounced brow. His bright green skin, distinctive hair and expressive features helped create a memorable silhouette.

Humanity beneath the rage

The case for Keown’s design rests on its ability to convey Hulk’s inner life, not just his strength or anger. Bruce Banner and Hulk are presented as complex, connected aspects of one person.

Keown could show Hulk laughing, grinning, wincing, glowering or roaring while keeping him recognizable. That range also suited David’s depictions of Bruce’s fractured psyche, including Joe Fixit, Professor Hulk and the future villain Maestro.

A crowded field of contenders

Earlier artists established different sides of the character. Jack Kirby emphasized menace, Herb Trimpe drew a hunched, destructive figure, John Romita Sr. kept Bruce Banner visible in the monster, and Sal Buscema made Hulk a vehicle for raw emotion.

Later interpretations included John Byrne’s humane Hulk, Adam Kubert’s explosive version, and Lee Weeks’s return to Frankenstein-inspired tragedy. John Romita Jr., Bryan Hitch and Daniel Acuña each explored grief, fury or destruction in distinct ways.

Joe Bennett also worked with writer Al Ewing on Immortal Hulk, described as the greatest Hulk story of all time. The article notes allegations that Bennett hid antisemitic imagery in the comic’s background, while also crediting the collaboration’s body horror and existential despair.