POLICE HUNT FOR THE HULK

ITEM! No really! Life imitates art as the local constabulary of Lowell, Massachusetts patrol their streets looking for a green, eight foot tall giant wearing ripped, purple pants! I kid you not, Frantic Ones! From the Lowell Sun newspaper:

POLICE HUNT FOR THE HULK

By Jack Minch, jminch@lowellsun.com

Article Last Updated: 06/21/2008 06:35:52 AM EDT

LOWELL -- Police are on the lookout for an eight-foot man with ripped abs, bulging biceps and a ferocious look frozen on his green face. He disappeared from the front of Showcase Cinema on Reiss Avenue early Tuesday. He was last seen wearing purple pants and nothing else. Oh, and he is missing his feet.

OK, the man is really a statue and was a promotional piece for The Incredible Hulk movie that opened at the theater June 13.

"I'm sure it's in some kid's bedroom somewhere," said Police Capt. James McPadden.

The statuesque figure was screwed to a piece of plywood so the kidnappers did the unthinkable and broke the Hulk off at the ankles. Sonya Grady, a manager at the theater, confirmed the heist but referred further comment to National Amusements' Dedham headquarters. Officials did not answer the telephone last night. The statue was last seen about 1 a.m. Tuesday and an employee noticed the theft about 2:30 a.m. Police believe more than one person was involved and a car or pickup truck was needed to whisk away the Hulk. The movie theater has video surveillance cameras and is hoping the theft was captured on film, McPadden said.

He admitted it could be tough to find the Hulk if he's morphed back into a normal sized doll.

The comic book character was also popularized in the 1970s television show starring Bill Bixby as the mild-mannered scientist and Lou Ferrigno as the enraged scientist. "I'm sure it's a prank kind of thing, it might even turn up somewhere else," McPadden said.

Excelsior!

Smiley