Released in 2007, the Marvel Select Zombie Hulk was part of a series that included undead versions of fellow heroes Spider-Man and Captain… excuse me, Colonel America. The figures were based on the Marvel Zombies limited series that ran from December 2005 to April 2006. Written by Robert Kirkman and illustrated by Sean Phillips and Arthur Suydam, it was bleak look at an alternate version of the Marvel Universe in which a mysterious virus turns both hero and villain into relentless, flesh-craving undead monsters. The book spawned a number of successful sequels and inspired Marvel Select to take a new look at some familiar characters.
Zombie Hulk is a sizable figure. He’s not Ultimate Hulk big, but he’s close. Z-Hulk measures in at 7 1/2 inches tall, but the figure sports a serious hunch. If it were possible to straighten his back and legs, he’s easily pass the 9-inch mark, but the limited articulation prevents that. In fact, it prevents a lot of things — but more on that in a minute.
Sculpted by Dig Deep Entertainment (what? who?), Zombie Hulk is a decent match for his comic counterpart. Granted, in the comic he had a little more wear and tear, but what’s here is a more than adequate representation. From all of the damage to his body, it’s clear he’s seen a lot of action, which stands to reason — superheroes don’t like to be eaten any more than you or I would, and they’re in a much better position to fight back than weakling meat-bags like us.
The battle damage is cool, but the rips in the Z-Hulk’s skin are what really drive home the character’s now undead nature. While ol’ Greenskin remains the strongest there is, his flesh is clearly losing the elasticity that once protected his more delicate innards. Subsequently, it’s clear that when Z-Hulk flexes his muscles, the skin simply splits — it’s pretty gruesome in the pics, and even more so in person.
While the damage on the body is impressive, the head is clearly the star of the show here. It’s a wonderful representation of Arthur Suydam’s art, capturing all of the small but visceral details the painter puts into his work. Areas like the sunken eyes, punctured cheeks, and bulging veins suggest the level of hunger-fueled savagery this formerly heroic monster has descended to. I mean, at some point Z-Hulk got so hungry he chewed his own lips off. Yeowch!
Whoever they are, the folks at Dig Deep Entertainment did their homework. Suydam’s style is beautifully represented in three dimsensions. The wounds aren’t just random chunks dug out of a finished sculpt — they have a depth and texture that’s truly wince-inducing. You can see the striation in the muscle and the tattered edhes of the split skin. It’s top-notch work and they deserve big ups for it.
As I said above, Z-Hulk is a big boy; he’s huge and weighs in at almost a pound. But all is not well in zombieland, at least as far as articulation is concerned. Hulk has a ball-jointed head, but it’s range is limited by the extreme hunch the figure was designed with. The head can only tilt back so far until it bumps into the distended neck. Considering how tall this fellow is, it may not be that big of an issue for most collectors, as Hulk will tower over most other characters. Unfortunately, the combination of sculpt and other points of articulation compounds the problem.
The range of motion of the ball joints is extremely limited — when it works at all. The hinges in the shoulders and hip-balls simply will not move, even after time in the freezer. This makes getting Z-Hulk into anything other than basic vanilla positions extremely difficult. The hinge in the ball elbows works as much as the overly muscled sculpt allows, but the knees barely move a single click.
Marvel Select’s more recent offerings seem to have improved the issue, but if you purchase this figure expecting that range of motion, then you’ll be disappointed. Think of this more as an extremely tweakable statue and you’ll be thrilled — as an action figure, he’s just kind of a lump.
On the flip-side of the coin, Z-Hulk’s paintjob is outrageously complex. Honestly I’ve never seen anything like it. There’s so much going on here it’s hard to even articulate; while the figure is molded in his primary colors, he receives an impressive amount of washes, oversprays, and other detail work that has to be seen to be believed.
The use of yellows here really adds to the depth of the paint. While it might seem out of place on a regular version of the jade giant, here it only adds to the rotted, jaundiced quality of our zombified hero.
Just because the piantwork is busy doesn’t mean it’s messy. The raised edges of Z-Hulk’s tattered trousers are clean and sharply defined, as is all of the inner-wound work. The whites used for the eyes and teeth may seem a little clean for a monster who eats living beings for lunch, but the contrast actually adds to the intensity of the figure.
With the recent announcement that Marvel Select is returning to the Marvel Zombies franchise with Magneto, interest in this figure is only going to go up. He goes for a fair chunk of kale on the after-market, but if you find one for a good price, pick him up. He’s well worth it.
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Words and pictures by Jason R Mink
