Incredible Hulk #181, cover-dated November 1974, is one of the most important Bronze Age comics ever published. It is the first appearance of Wolverine, the character who would go on to anchor the X-Men and become one of Marvel's defining heroes.
Wolverine's first appearance, from Incredible Hulk #181. Art by Herb Trimpe. Source: CBR
Len Wein, who created Wolverine with Herb Trimpe, at San Diego Comic-Con in 1982. Photo by Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The story
The issue was written by Len Wein, with art by Herb Trimpe. The Hulk is rampaging through the Canadian wilderness, pursued by the Wendigo, when a new figure steps out of the trees: a short, heavily muscled man in a yellow and blue costume, with claws that slide out of the backs of his hands. The Canadian government has sent him to bring the Hulk down. He calls himself Wolverine.
Almost nothing about the character was settled in this first appearance. His healing factor, his adamantium skeleton, his past as James Howlett, none of it existed yet. What was there from the start was the attitude: fearless, blunt, and willing to fight anything, no matter the size. Wein and Trimpe gave him a distinctive look and a fighting style built around those claws, and the character caught on immediately.
Why it matters
Wolverine joined the X-Men the following year in Giant-Size X-Men #1, and within a decade he was the most popular character in Marvel's stable. Hulk #181 is the book collectors point to as the start of that run, and it is one of the most collected Bronze Age keys in the hobby. High-grade copies with white pages are scarce, because the book was read, not filed away.
Prime City Comics copy
Our copy is graded CGC 9.8 with WHITE Pages. It is listed at $120,000. You can view it here: Incredible Hulk #181 CGC 9.8 WHITE Pages.