A Month of... Celebrities in Comics, Day 10: Just a Pilgrim

Hey, it's Big Bad John!


John Wayne, that is, as portrayed in The 'Nam, Marvel's pretty-provocative saga of an active-duty unit in the Vietnam War, following characters as they moved in an out of their military rotations.


Panel from The 'Nam #41 (February 1990), script by Doug Murray, pencils by Wayne Vansant, inks by Geof Isherwood, colors and letters by Phil Felix
The cast of The 'Nam held Wayne's 1968 movie The Green Berets in about as much regard as did Roger Ebert...

"The Green Berets" simply will not do as a film about the war in Vietnam. It is offensive not only to those who oppose American policy but even to those who support it. At this moment in our history, locked in the longest and one of the most controversial wars we have ever fought, what we certainly do not need is a movie depicting Vietnam in terms of cowboys and Indians. That is cruel and dishonest and unworthy of the thousands who have died there.... If I were a soldier in Vietnam, I would not want to be represented by "The Green Berets." I would not want my fellow citizens to think I was as stupid and simple-minded as the Americans in this film.

...which is, none at all. It's one of the most reviled of John Wayne's films.


Despite his mention, I'm pretty sure that's not s'posed to be George Takei's character in the panel below (see stills from the movie for comparison), so I can't claim him as one of the celebrities appearing in this comic book.


However, we can add to the tally of real-life persons in comics this appearance of North Vietnam President Ho Chi Minh, if we count political figures, which I do (and will later throughout this feature!).


Except holy cow I don't remember the Marvel Superheroes breaking up the Vietnam War! Good thing it's just a fantasy sequence brought on by grunt Mike "Iceman" Phillips reading a contemporary Marvel comic book.


Which hey, allows me to also classify this post as another entry in Comics within Comics! Iceman, of course, was reading the special edition of FF #60 with the "censored" brown background specially printed for servicemen.


Cover of Fantastic Four (1961 series) #60 (March 1967), pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Joe Sinnott, colors by Stan Goldberg, letters by Sam Rosen
Altho' they reversed the policy to later include The Punisher in The 'Nam comics, Marvel was at first dead-set on insisting the stories took place in the "real world" and not the Marvel Universe, which is why the cover to this issue comes as such a surprise:


Cover of The 'Nam (February 1990), pencils by John Romita Sr. and Ron Frenz; inks by John Romita Sr.
Such a surprise that even the corner box was flabbergasted!


And no, it didn't even take place during Assistant Editor's Month.

Today in Comics History: A little less talk, a little more Action

Panels from "Emmett Brown Visits the Future" in Back to the Future (IDW 2015 series) #4 (January 2016), story by Bob Gale and Erik Burnham, script by Bob Gale, pencils and inks by Erik Evensen, colors by Jose Luis Rio, letter by Shawn Lee
So which easily-obtainable, high-increase-in-investment-valued resource did Doc bring back from 1938? Well, whaddaya think?


Well...wouldn't you?

Comics Within Comics Month, Day 30: And then there's the time Gambit broke the Marvel Universe

It's Day 30 of a thirty-day month (I had to check that be sure, because it's hard to do that count when you have hooves and not fingers), so here's the finale and the culmination of Comics Within Comics Month! I hope you've been enjoying these little daily Oreo-sandwich-cookies of reality half as much as I have, and if you've enjoyed them half as much as I have, why haven't you been enjoying them twice as much so our enjoyment levels match? I lay up nights worrying about these things. Also: snakes.

But before I dip into the final Comics Within Comics, I just wanted to give a tip o' the old Bully-cap to online pal Graeme Virtue, who only sounds like a character out of a Garth Ennis comic but who is actually a journalist for my very favorite (honest!) newspaper in the UK, The Guardian!, which no longer features all the typos that the panels on I'm Sorry I haven't a Clue attributed to it. (Barry Cryer: "The Guardian: Yesterday's headline should have read 'Caesar Slayed' not 'Caesar Salad.'") Graeme lives in Glasgow, my favorite Scottish city I've never visited, and someday I shall get up there and buy him a pint, especially since he was so kind to tweet


Jings! Thank you very much, Mister V. This one is dedicated to you. I'm sorry it's a Gambit story.




Cover of What If...? (1989 series) #100 (September 1997), pencils and inks by Klaus Janson
By this point in Marvel publishing history the Watcher had been unceremoniously booted from his host duties of What If?, so we're dropped right into the middle of the story which surely must have made sense to those who have read between the lines of every single X-Men title including Fallen Angels. As I can piece it together, this alternate reality isn't designated in any of the hefty colorful Official Handbooks of the Marvel Universe, but I'm gonna dub it Earth-99709, aka "The One Where Gambit Does Something Stupid." (Yes, yes, i know...how to distinguish it from all other universes...universii?...is a problem.) As part of his life debt (or was that Chewbacca?) to Mr. Sinister, our ragin' Cajun has collected, gathered, and out and out stolen the Morlocks's "tithe boxe," in which is sealed the Ultimate Secret of the Universe™. I imagine it comes from the same store where Indy got the Ark, where Jules Winnfield got the briefcase with the nifty glowing interior, and that 1964 Chevrolet Malibu repo'd by Otto Maddox came from. Or maybe Amazon.com. Naturally, Rogue and her thirty-five pound hairpiece vow to stop Gambit!


Panels from "Paper Skin" in What If...? (1989 series) #100 (September 1997); co-plot and script by Ivan Velez Jr.; co-plot, pencils, and inks by Klaus Janson, colors by Glynis Oliver, letters by Chris Eliopoulos
Gambit, of course, big cheaty-pants that he is, refuses to play fair and traps Rogue under a big-ass rock. Golly, Gambit is certainly getting boulder, isn't he BWAH-HA-HA-HA-HA I'm so sorry.


Gambit contemplates possessing the Ring the Box for himself, which is so powerful that it has completely erased his inner mental Cajun accent.


Now possessing the Tithe Box, Sinister...well, I'm not really certain what he's doing here, but that fits in just fine with all the rest of his decade long plots to bedevil and baffle and tickle the X-Men, including that time when he made the young orphan Scott Summers go to bed without being able to watch the episode of Galactica 1980 with Starbuck in it. HE'S EVIL YOU SEE.


Rogue enters, and WHOA THAT'S NOT ROGUE THAT'S A MAN, BABY. Actually, it's the result of a kiss Rogue and Gambit had after Gambit delivered the box. Rogue's energy-stealing powers sucked (ewwww!) the powers and personality (and apparently he jawline) of Gambit and put it in Rogue, who can now probably call him/herself Rougbit. Or Gamogue. Take your pick. Vowing hir revenge upon Sinister, she attacks him but fails to comprehend the meaning of his words: that they, as Shakespeare put it are as mutant flies to wanton fanboys; they kill and resurrect and re-kill X-Men for their sport. Nope, Rogue doesn't get it...


...until the box falls open and Rogue discovers...hir reality is just a fiction created by the people who make comics books. What the--?


(And those comic books are...)


Cover of [Peter Parker,] Spider-Man (1990 series) #82 (August 1997), pencils by John Romita Jr., inks by Scott Hanna, colors by Gregory Wright, letters by Richard Starkings



Cover of Maverick (1997 series) #1 (September 1997), pencils by Jim Cheung, inks by Andrew Pepoy



Cover of The Incredible Hulk (1968 series) #455 (August 1997), pencils by Adam Kubert, inks by Jesse Delperdang



Cover of X-Men (1991 series) #66 (August 1997), pencils by Carlos Pacheco, inks by Art Thibert, colors by Liquid Graphics



Cover of Alpha Flight (1997 series) #1 (August 1997), pencils by Scott Clark, inks by Chris Carlson


And of course...




Yeah, I agree: those cover repros in What If? #100 are not incredibly detailed. Notice that they took cover images, splashed a single color across them and then plastered the logo on top of it. But look carefully at the shadows and details that can be seen and you'll find they're all August or September 1997 books. Which you thought were going to be worth mucho moola and you have double-bagged in your own longboxes, so check 'em out!

Because this is the Mighty Marvel Age of Bountiful Bonuses from Bully, check out this article from Marvel Vision #21, aka "The Marvel Age of the 1990s created by someone who couldn't restrain themselves in desktop publishing," detailing the What If? #100 story! Just be warned, though: it's about Gambit.

(Click picture to Rogue Has a Headache So Big It's Got Gambit Written All Over It-size)

Comics Within Comics Month, Day 29: Well, that solves the mystery of the missing comic book

Panels from Fanboy #5 (July 1999), script by Mark Evanier, pencils and inks by Sergio Aragones, colors by Tom Luth, letters by Todd Klein



Cover of Batman (1940 series) #1 (Spring 1940), pencils by Bob Kane
There lots of comics within comics in the six-issue miniseries Fanboy, which features great art by the always-wonderful Sergio Aragonés but also multiple fantasy sequences in each book drawn by other big-name comics artists: Dave Gibbons and HGil Kane in a Green Lantern pastiche, Jerry Ordway in a Superman parody, Wendy Pini does a take-off on Elfquest...and in this Batman-focused issue, Dick Sprang, Jim Mooney, Joe Giella, Neal Adams, Frank miller and Bruce Timm, all in the style of their own Batman era-comics! It's not just the all-star line-up that makes Fanboy #5 my fave issue of the limited series, though: it's also the fair-play, you-to-can-solve-it Adventure of the Burgled Batman!


It was a dark and stormy knight! Er, well, dark at least. When our hero Finster the comic store clerk returns to the shop after turning the lights back on, he discovers the crime of the century:


Let's let Finster examine the scene of the crime and see if there are any clues or impossible alibis:


It's an Ellery Queen-style classic locked room mystery! Nobody went in or out, and the comic can't be found on the scene, but it has clearly been stolen! Where's Jim Hutton when you need him?


You have all the clues now...can you solve the crime? Okay, we'll give you one more big clue in the next set of panels, and then match wits with Finster and see if you can find out...whodunnit!


We're just in time for the solution to the mystery...not to mention another Comic Within a Comic! And whadaya know...it's a new installment of Let's Destroy a Copy of Detective Comics #27!





Cover of Detective Comics #27 (May 1939), pencils and inks by Bob Kane
If this were a TV drama, this would be where we'd insert the "da-da-DAH!" musical stinger. Finster Explains It All For You™:

And, by the way, here's the cover of Fanboy #5. Look familiar?


Cover of Fanboy #5 (July 1999), pencils and inks by Bob Kane and Sergio Aragonés
My point, and I do have one, is that Fanboy is a pretty fun series and if you missed it, it's well worth picking up, especially if you're a fan of Sergio (and who isn't?...commies, that's who.). Check your local comic book store for the inexpensive back issues! If you want the trade paperback...well, it's out of print, but you can pick up used copies for pennies on the dollar at Amazon.com:

Comics Within Comics Month, Day 28: Tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1963

Panel from 1963 #1 [Mystery Incorporated] (April 1993), script by Alan Moore, pencils by Rick Veitch, inks by Dave Gibbons, colors by Marvin Kilroy, letters by Don Simpson



Cover of 1963 #3 [Tales of the Uncanny] (June 1993), pencils by Rick Veitch, inks by Don Simpson
The scene in 1963 #1 was of course inspired by similar scenes in Fantastic Four...also "circa 1963":


Panels from Fantastic Four (1961 series) #5 (July 1962), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Joe Sinnott, colors by Stan Goldberg, letters by Artie Simek
Say, why is the Hulk colored purple? (Because he's a giant grape?) A more important observation: didja notice the other comic within a comic?


Cover of The Incredible Hulk (1962 series) #1 (May 1962), pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by George Roussos or maybe Jack Kirby (?), colors by Stan Goldberg, letters by Artie Simek
However, the issue of The Incredible Hulk #1 that Johnny Storm is reading has an incorrect back cover. The real Marvel-Deal featured an ad for for the Famous Artist's School on its back cover, not a pin-up. But the back cover of Johnny's mag is similar to the page one title of Hulk #1! Have you got your comic book inside out, Young Mister Storm?


Back cover and page one of The Incredible Hulk #1
But hey, what about that quirky back cover of Tales of the Uncanny that Kid Dynamo is relaxing with in the 1963 panel waaaaay at the very top of this post? Is that accurate? Welllllll...it's close, but no go, Joe. Here's the actual back cover of 1963 #3:


Back cover of 1963 #3 [Tales of the Uncanny] (June 1993), probably created by Rick Veitch
Which is a parody of this frequently seen comic book ad:


(By the way, that hefty "80 lb. stock" that the monsters are printed on? At .011" thick, 80 pound stock is only marginally heavier and thicker than a regular sheet of printer paper. I'm betting these monsters were printed in thin poster paper and shipped rolled up in a tube.)

Actually, the back cover of 1963 #1 (the one in which Kid Dynamo is appearing) has the back cover ad parody that we see on 1963 #3, he one he's reading. Doesn't that blow your puny human brain?!?


Back cover of 1963 #1 [Mystery Incorporated] (April 1993); script, pencils, and inks by Rick Veitch
And yes, "Shamed By You English?" is a take-off on another popular comic book ad:


The deep-drilling into the onion of Comics Within Comics ends for today, but for those of you who care to Read More About It™, you can bike on down to your local library just click on this link to read about the British version of the "Shamed by Your English?" ad! But not me. Nope, I aint click'in on no ad, no way sirree, 'cuz my English-speakifyin' is poifect.

Comics Within Comics Month, Day 27: Comics are your best nutritional value

Panels from Superman/Batman Annual #1 (December 2006)



Cover of Superman (1939 series) #76 (May-June 1952), pencils and inks by Win Mortimer
Hey, look, you can tell the cover image they used in Superman/Batman Annual #1 came from the Grand Comics Database, because the imperfections and the markings on it match!

Comics Within Comics Month, Day 26: Love is like oxygen an onion

...because no matter how many layers you peel away, there's still more underneath! I shall demonstrate in this entry of Comics Within Comics that is too big for you to handle at noon, so here it is at nighttime when you can savor it fully. (Also, I didn't have it written at noon.)


Panels from "Down with Romance" in Heart Throbs #100 (February-March 1966), pencils by Don Heck
Hotchy motchy! That's a whole lotta DC romances photostatted into that rack in the second panel. Let me see if I can ID 'em all, which may take my mind off the sight of Dr. Don Blake browsing medical magazines at the newsstand.