The speculation across the Internet is that "Professor Hulk" is coming to the MCU, and we're seeing the direct results of that in the market for Incredible Hulk #377. As we enter 2019 and ready for Avengers: End Game, you'll want to have this in your collection.
Infinity War left fans with many questions, and it's sparked debate across the comic community: why did Hulk so easily lose to Thanos, and why wouldn't he fight after that? The rumor mill has churned out some interesting theories on these issues, and the most persistent is that Bruce Banner and the Hulk are going to merge into "Professor Hulk."
Professor Hulk is the perfect combination of Bruce Banner and the green Goliath, making a sophisticated, intelligent Hulk. This was basically the Hulk of the 1990s, and he was the version who fought in the original Infinity Gauntlet comic story. (On a side note, I thought his outfit in those comics looked like he was entering Dancing with the Stars.)
Personally, I have never been a fan of Professor Hulk. Is it just me or is it weird that he always manages to keep his shirts tucked in? I'll take the Immortal Hulk over Professor Hulk any day, but that's a topic for another day.
As speculation builds over Professor Hulk entering the MCU in End Game, prices for Hulk #377 are on the way up, so now is a great time to buy. At this point, you can get a high grade without having too much of an overhead. Here are the latest figures.
Starting at the top, the 9.8 is very near exceeding the $200 threshold when it had lost money on average last year.
In 2017, it was down with a $70 fair market value. Ever since the first End Game art was revealed and started the rumors that the Professor would be the new Hulk for the MCU, the 9.8 has been on the rise. The 12-month average is at $106, but the past three months is where it has truly shined. Over the past 90 days, it has an FMV of $137, and a new record high of $200 was set on December 6. Since then, another 9.8 sold for $160 on December 28. In fact, the past four sales have all been for $150 or more.
If you don't want to shell out the $150-$200 it will take to procure a 9.8, then opt for the 9.6. While the average is increasing, you can still get one at this grade for less than $60. The 9.4 sales data is very much skewed after a sale of $322 on July 3. Toss that outlier aside, and the FMV for the 9.4 is closer to the $40-$60 range. However, there was a sale of $99 on December 1.
Where the real values are for this issue are in the second and third prints because there's so few available compared to the first print. A second print with the black background and gold lettering at a 9.8 has averaged $264 in the past 12 months, though only two have sold since last December. Things get even crazier with the third print (with the pea-green background and dark purple lettering) which, at the same 9.8, hasn't sold for less than $1,250 in three sales this year. It would be worth your time to check your long boxes and see if you happen to have either of these.
