Some comics become valuable because of what happens inside them. Others because of who made them. Incredible Hulk #340 is that rare book where everything aligned at once — and nearly forty years later it's still one of the most wanted comics of the entire Copper Age. I hold my CGC 9.6 copy on the front page of this site for a reason.
The cover that did it
Published in February 1988, #340 carries what many collectors consider the greatest cover Todd McFarlane ever drew: Wolverine, claws raised, with the Hulk's raging face reflected in the blades. No background clutter, no wasted space — just menace, geometry, and two icons on a collision course. It's the image that announced McFarlane, then a rising talent on the title, as a generational artist. Within a few years he'd redefine Spider-Man and co-found Image Comics; this cover is where the legend properly starts.
The fight inside matters too
Peter David was mid-way through the run that reinvented the Hulk — and this issue, "Vicious Circle," delivers the most brutal Hulk–Wolverine battle of its era. It's a Fall of the Mutants tie-in, with the X-Men en route to Dallas when Wolverine catches a familiar scent. The grey Hulk of this period is meaner, smarter and crueller than the green giant most people know, and the fight reflects it. Two characters whose whole gimmick is that they can take damage, taking it.
Why the market never cooled
Hulk vs Wolverine is one of Marvel's forever-rivalries — every generation of fans rediscovers it, and every rediscovery sends people hunting this book. High-grade copies are genuinely tough: it's a late-80s newsstand-era comic with a dark cover that shows every flaw. That combination — iconic art, key creators, a rivalry that never dates, and real scarcity in grade — is exactly the recipe for a comic that holds value across decades. Raw copies remain affordable; slabbed 9.6s and 9.8s are a different conversation entirely.
What to check on your copy
If you've got one in a longbox: the cover's dark background punishes edge wear and spine ticks, so grade honestly. Newsstand copies (barcode in the box) carry a premium over direct editions for many collectors. And if it's sharp — genuinely sharp — it may be worth grading before you sell. That's exactly the kind of call I help sellers make every week.
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