Saturday, March 17, 2012

St. Patrick's Day: Darby O'Gill and the #009900 People

For your St. Patrick's Day pleasure (because I can't email you a corned beef and cabbage dinner or ask the Pogues to personally appear in your living room), here's several panels from Dell's comic book adaptation of the 1959 Walt Disney film Darby O'Gill and the Little People, starring Albert Sharpe, Janet Munro, and that most Irish of actors, Sean Connery. And to allow you to get to get back more quickly to your choruses of "Haul Away Joe" and your perfectly poured pint of delicious, creamy, black-as-the-grave Guinness, I'll abridge it by only posting the panels that are overwhelmingly green. (And as always, hover over the images for some alt-text that will no doubt have me a the defendant in a suit by the Irish Anti-Stereotype League.)

It's a well-documented fact* in comic publishing history that this book used up so much green ink that Dell had to cancel their long-running Green Hornet and Tales of the Green Beret series. I hereby proudly bring you, in all its Alex Toth-pencilled, evergreen emerald elegance...


























from Four Color #1024 [Darby O'Gill and the Little People] (August 1959), pencils and inks by Alex Toth

I can not tell a lie: t'was my little stuffed self who tinted that Dell Pledge to Parents a lovely shade of green, but the rest of the overwhelmingly-verdant comic book panels I've posted were as kelly as the day they were published. And in the spirit of O'Photoshoppery, I've also tinted this inside front-cover photosummary with that most lovely of shades as well. Never let it be said that Ted Turner has a monopoly on colorizing movies!


I've left the most delightful part for last: a lovely back cover pin-up of that comely Colleen, the ever-radiant Janet Munro.


'Tis true as far as Disney heroines go that Janet Munro is no Hayley Mills, but I've proudly and unabashedly ruined the value of my copy of One Four Color #1024 by cutting the pin-up out and hanging it on my wall. Happy St., Patrick's Day, Miss Munro! Happy St. Patrick's Day, Sean Connery! Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!


*No it isn't.

366 Days with Alfred Pennyworth, Day 77


Alfred Pennyworth's "Who's Who in the DC Universe" page from Batman Annual #15 (1989), pencils by Joe James, inks by Denis Rodier



St. Patrick's Day: A barrel O'Laughs

It's that time of year again! Happy St. Patrick's Day!


"Maw Green" from Four Color #206 [Little Orphan Annie] (Dell, December 1948), script, pencils, and inks by Harold Gray

I don't know why this is colored in red instead of green!

Today in Comics History, March 17, 1978: Time Machine Arriving Too Late to Send a Birthday Card


from World's Finest Comics #251 (DC, June 1978), script by Bob Haney, pencils by George Tuska, inks by Vince Colletta, colors by Jerry Serpe, letters by Ben Oda

(It was on March 15!)

Friday, March 16, 2012

Darkseid Does Some Dumb Stuff

Sure, he's noble and regal and dangerous and deadly. But sometimes Darkseid does some dumb stuff. (Hence, the title of the post.)

Darkseid trips and falls flat on his face!


Panels from Superman/Batman #38 (September 2007), script by Alan Burnett, pencils by Dustin Nguyen, inks by Derek Fridolfs, colors by Randy Mayor, letters by Rob Leigh



Darkseid drinks needlessly expensive designer coffee!


Panels from Sovereign Seven #1 (July 1995), script by Chris Claremont, pencils and inks by Dwayne Turner, colors by Gloria Vasquez, separations by Olyoptics, letters by Tom Orzechowski



Darkseid Breaks and Enters!



Panels from Action Comics #593 (October 1987), script, pencils, and figure inks by John Byrne, background inks by Keith Williams, colors by Tom Ziuko, letters by John Costanza



Darkseid doesn't have an escape plan!


Panels from JLA: Another Nail #1 (May 2004), script and pencils by Alan Davis, inks by Mark Farmer, colors by John Kalisz, letters by Patricia Prentice



Darkseid breaks into a secondhand clothing shop!


Page from Super Powers v.3 #3 (November 1986), script by Paul Kupperberg, pencils by Carmine Infantino, inks by Pablo Marcos, colors by Joe Orlando, letters by Albert DeGuzman



...and then he gets mugged!






Not to mention all of these.








Panels from Ambush Bug #1-4 (June-September 1985), plot and pencils by Keith Giffen, script by Robert Fleming, inks by Bob Oksner, colors by Tony Tollin, letters by John Costanza



Yes, occasionally...Darkseid Does Some Dumb Stuff.


Caption from Superman/Batman Annual #1 (December 2006), script by Joe Kelly, colors by Guy Major, letters by Rob Leigh.


366 Days with Alfred Pennyworth, Day 76


Panel from Batman v.1 #31 (October-November 1945), script by Don Cameron or Joe Samachson (?), pencils and inks by Jerry Robinson, letters by Ira Schnapp



Thursday, March 15, 2012

We would just like to point out

LEX LUTHOR

BUILT A TARDIS



Panel from The New Adventures of Superboy #50 (February 1984), script by Paul Kupperberg, pencils by Kurt Schaffenberger, inks by Dave Hunt, colors by Jerry Serpe, letters by John Costanza



366 Days with Alfred Pennyworth, Day 75



Which inspires this exchange between Dick and Barbara:


Panels from Detective Comics #872 (January 2011), script by Scott Snyder, pencils and inks by Jock, colors by David Baron, letters by Jared K. Fletcher



Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Now these are my heroes.



Panels from Action Comics v.2 #7 (May 2012), script by Grant Morrison, pencilled by Rag Morales, inked by Rick Bryant, colored by Brad Anderson, lettered by Patrick Brouseau



Panels from Amazing Spider-Man #681 (May 2012), script by Dan Slott and Chris Yost, pencilled by Giuseppe Camuncoli, inked by Klaus Janson, colored by Frank D'Armata, lettered by Joe Caramagna


This is what my heroes do. And succeed. Is it any coincidence these stories are written by some of the best creators in the business today?