Writer Peter David's tour of his own Marvel Comics greatest hits continues in 2023 with Joe Fixit #1, a limited series focusing, naturally, on the Hulk's gray-skinned Vegas tough guy incarnation of the same name.
Joe Fixit (or Gray Hulk as he's sometimes referred to) has been a fan-favorite incarnation of the Hulk since his debut way back in 1986's Incredible Hulk #324. Though writer Al Milgrom brought the Gray Hulk into the Incredible Hulk title, David took over just a few issues later on Incredible Hulk #327, maintaining the Gray Hulk persona for some time during his early run on the title.
In terms of his physicality and personality, Joe Fixit takes his cues from the Hulk's earliest appearances, in which his skin was depicted as gray before changing to green to satisfy the limitations of printing comic book colors back in the '60s. He's a little less strong, slightly smaller, and a whole lot more cunning than his raging, green incarnation.
In David's hands, Gray Hulk evolved into Joe Fixit, a gruff, snide enforcer for Las Vegas casinos who, rather than a ragged pair of shorts, most often dressed in a smart suit and fedora, with a cigar champed between his lips.
Joe Fixit also changed again in recent years during the title The Immortal Hulk, taking on a human form as more of an alternate incarnation of Bruce Banner's personality than the Hulk's.
Despite that, David's new limited series, created alongside artist Yildiray Cinar with a first cover from Cully Hamner and Jordie Bellaire, seen here, will be set in the time of David's original Hulk run, similar to how his Symbiote Spider-Man and Maestro limited series have been set in the era of David's original '80s-'90s time at Marvel Comics.
"When I created Joe Fixit decades ago, it was merely as a means to shake up the standard formula. Typically Bruce would have set up some sort of situation and he would be worried that the Hulk would inevitably show up and screw things up," David explains in the announcement. "The storyline with Joe flipped the formula on its head, and set up the Hulk with his great situation in Vegas and he was worried that Bruce would show up to screw things up. I had no idea that the character would have this much staying power, and that so much would eventually be done with him in the pages of The Immortal Hulk. I'm thrilled that Marvel has given me this opportunity to revisit with an old friend."
Joe Fixit #1 is due out sometime in 2023, with no specific release date yet announced.
Joe Fixit is one of the Hulk's most iconic personas.
