365 Days of Defiance, Day 1: That time is now

"What chance do we have? The question is, what choice? Run, hide, flee, scatter your forces! You give way to an enemy this evil with this much power, and you condemn the galaxy to an eternity of submission. The time to fight is now!" — Jyn Erso, Rogue One

Well, let's try this again.

About halfway through each year I begin brainstorming for what the following year's "365 Days" in comics will be. This year had a few strong front-runners (I really am going to subject treat you to 365 Days of Gwen Stacy one of these years) but inside my little brain full of oatmeal flakes and pins and needles, celebrities in comic books won out for 2017.

The process after decision: I start researching, hunting down and savings instances of celebrities in comic books: picking ones I'd thought of off the top of my head, brainstorming searching for celebrity names in the invaluable Grand Comicbook Database (without which I couldn't do this blog, much less this feature, and I don't toast them enough), and asking pals o' mine to keep their eyes out for celebrity appearances between the pages of a four-color comic.

By the beginning of January, I had a few hundred ideas and beginnings to populate this feature (and I always add many more throughout the year). I've got a folder on my desktop labelled "365 Days of Celebs" containing 332 files totaling 115M, marked with notes like Rock Hudson, Orson Welles, Robin Quivers, Jay Leno, Ed Sullivan, Geraldo Rivera, and Grant Morrison. I've found comic book appearances of Brandan Behan and Fidel Castro and Rin Tin Tin and that time Herbie Popnecker met Mao. Remember when Pat Boone sang a song of Superman? Remember when Miracleman told off Margaret Thatcher? Remember when Star Brand killed John Byrne?

But before January had barely finished, I realized my heart wasn't in it. You may remember I spent most of November in a dresser drawer with some socks before I finally found the courage to come out again. But I didn't much like hiding, and it didn't make the problem go away. Instead, it got worse.

Look, I've been in depression much of the time since the election of Donald Trump and I'm obviously not very happy about it. But what can a little stuffed bull do? In this big terrible mess we're deep in, does a little stuffed bull really matter? Well, judging by the kindness and encourage and support of all my friends, I guess I do. And my heart only gets more fluffy and shiny thinking about that.

So, my point (and I think you'll be glad to know I have one) is that maybe this isn't the year to hoist celebrities in comic books up on our shoulders when there's the closest thing to a real life Lex Luthor with the manners and subtlety of a Solomon Grundy in the White House. This should now be 365 Days of Defiance.

I hinted at this abrupt early-stream change and hinted at it on Twitter, comparing it to turning a battleship under full steam around on a dime. It took me a while to get my figurative ducks in a row, though. And what becomes of 365 Days of Celebs in Comics? Well, if you glance at it now, you'll see that it's become A Month of Celebrities in Comics. And if you start on New Year's Day and work your way forward, you'll see that I've retroactively populated the blog with Defiance for each of the days of January. Please click on the tag and explore January 1-29 to see what's up now, and keep on following me for one more act of defiance a day.

But what form does Defiance in Comics take? Well, some of it will be Nazi-punching (or fascist-punching, or evil-slamming), some of it will be triumphs against self-doubt, some of it will be busting free from captivity, some of it will be vowing to fight a never-ending battle, some of it declarations of "Okay, bub, you took your best shot...now it's my turn!" It's all dedicated, in my own little stuffed way, to speaking the greatest truth to power: that we as a people will stand up to injustice. Even though it's all just dots on paper in the end, I hope it inspires you and animates you into words or action.

And listen: I'm not fooling myself or pretending that posting pix of Captain America knowing Nazis' noggins is in any way a significant or serious part of battling against the actual horrible reality of our times. (I'm doing other things to protest, too, but I'll keep those out of this blog.) But I hope you'll be both inspired and informed by 365 Days of Defiance, to find that spark of heroism, courage, and will-not-take-this-lying-down of our comic book heroes: social justice warriors, every one of 'em, and I proud that they are. i (and you) probably will never get a chance to rip a rubber mask off the face of a corrupt government official and discover that they're the Red Skull. But I hope this feature encourages and reminds you that this is a never-ending battle. Discover your own boldness and fortitude and vow to ponder: what would Captain America do? What would Wonder Woman do? What would Princess Leia do? What would a hero do?


F'r instance, let's start out this series with perhaps the most iconic image of comic book defiance in history. Ask yourself "what would Captain America do?" He'd do this.


Cover of Captain America Comics #1 (Marvel/Timely, March 1941), pencils by Jack Kirby
Note that date of the first Captain America comic book: March 1941. Nine months before Pearl Harbor, before America was in a formal war with Germany, Jack Kirby and Joe Simon already knew Hitler was our enemy and they would not put up with this. Neither would Cap. There's a lesson in there somewhere: that your own sense of right shouldn't be influenced simply by what the government tells you. Steve Rogers was made a super-solider by the American Government, but he is Captain America because he loves what out country stands for and what it can be. (Um, let's momentarily ignore the comics' current anti-Cap as a temporary story trope; by the end of the year we'll look at him again and see what's goin' on in that Hydra-warped brain of his.)

Yes, this is serious stuff at heart. But that doesn't mean it won't be a little silly sometimes. You'll still see some goofy post titles and hovertext, for instance. We live in dark times but we still should laugh. Self-care is very important in days when you feel at your lowest. If a cup of tea or a silly comedy movie or a comic book or cuddling a little stuffed bull makes you feel a little comforted, I highly recommend it.

And if you have any suggestions as to scenes or moments of sheer defiance in comic books, please send 'em to me and I'll try to feature them at some point if I have or can get my hands on the comic! We're all in this together!

Oh, and those celebrities in comic books I didn't get to? Well, I'll cover some more of them periodically throughout the year. After all, I still have to spotlight the time The Avengers appeared on Late Night with David Letterman.

There's a poem by Maya Angelou that gives me comfort and strength in days of fear:

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops
Weakened by my soulful cries

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

It's also been turned into a heartlifting and inspiring dancepop theme for hope within the gay community, and I think its words and rhythm speak to all of us.


Rise. Rebel. Defy.

Happy New Year!

And now, John Byrne will argue with you about the usage of the phrase "Happy New Year."


Cover of Marvel Age #86 (March 1990), art by John Byrne

Today in Comics History: Cult building conveniently painted bright orange

Splash page from D.P. 7 #31 (May 1989), script by Mark Gruenwald, pencils by Paul Ryan, inks by Danny Bulanadi, colors by Paul Becton, letters by Janice Chiang

A Month of... Celebrities in Comics, Day 1: There's Something Fishy About This Movie Studio

Andy Warhol once famously said "Who stole my can of Campbell's Soup?" He also said something or other about fifteen minutes, celebrity, yadda yadda yadda. But what he didn't say is that in the future, every superhero would be a celebrity! And he oughta to have done. Look, for instance, at the fame the Fantastic Four have achieved pretty early on in their careers: so famous that not only do kids play-act at being the FF, but there are licensed masks available in stores for the greatest superhero of them all!


Panels from Fantastic Four (1961 series) #11 (February 1963), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Dick Ayers, colors by Stan Goldberg, letters by Artie Simek
Yes, the Fantastic Four are such worldwide celebrities that they get a metric ton of fan mail every day. Actually, most of that is from Nigerian Princes to Johnny. And need we point out that this is the very first time that someone applies to be a member of the FF? That Galactus Trilogy woulda been over in six panels when faced with Willie Lumpkin's harrowing ear-wiggling power!


But superheroes as celebrities is not what we're going to feature this new year, all year! No, it's those occasional cameo stars, those special guest appearances, those "you'll never guess who shows up in this issue!" characters making a trip from the real world to Earth-616 or Earth-1 or whatever four-color paradise they're popping up in! In other words, welcome 2017, a year of 365 Days of Celebrities in Comics!

EDIT on 01/29/17: As you'll see elsewhere in this blog, I've made the mid-January decision to switch this year's feature from Celebrities in Comics to 365 Days of Defiance! Never fear, though: this feature is now A Month of Celebrities in Comics. And there'll be more throughout the year even after January, I promise you! So for please mentally replace all references here to 365 Days of Celebrities in Comics to A Month of Celebrities in Comics! You'll be glad you did!


Panels from Fantastic Four (1961 series) #9 (December 1962), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Dick Ayers, colors by Stan Goldberg, letters by Artie Simek
Hooray for Hollywood! Hooray for guest-stars! Like (in panel one, left to right), Amanda Blake and James Arness of TV's longest running oater, Gunsmoke, and that's the infamously recognizable profile of fright-meister Alfred Hitchcock! The guy next to Hitch is hard to ID, but I've read that he might be director André DeToth, who directed the 3-D classic House of Wax (even though he'd lost an eye at an early age!).

The bottom tier of panels: well, just call me Dorothy Lamour if you don't recognize Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, and on the bottom right being startled all the way to the moon by Ben Grimm is The Great One himself, Jackie Gleason!

In this next panel we can see alongside Gleason, by kind permission of DC Comics, Mister Dean Martin! An expy of Dino was very soon to begin appearing in Marvel's Sgt. Fury: Dino Manelli of the Howling Commandos, so you can look on this as a try-out of Jack Kirby drawing the proclaimed King of Cool.


Ladies and gentlemen, and especially gentlemen, prepare for wolf whistles for Miss Ann-Margret! Or, it might be Brigette Bardot! We're not certain and Stan doesn't remember, so an official Bombshell No-Bull Prize goes to the first Conqueror of Time to hop in his Delorean back to 1962 and ask Jack Kirby about it! All I know for sure is, it probably isn't Nicole Kidman.


Of course, no celebrity surprise appearance could be quite as shocking and improbable as the revelation that "S-M Studios" (bad name, marketing department) is headed by...Namor, the Sub-Mariner! Shown here, dashing, debonair, and smoking one of those seaweed cigarettes all the kids love so much. Hey, where'd he get that green suit? (rings bells, sounds klaxon for the first appearance of that joke in 2017)


So there you have it: 2017 is the year of 365 Days of Celebrities in Comics! You'lkl be seeing all sorts of guys 'n' gal from the real world crossing over to the land of four color comics in the next 52 weeks, all the way from Frank Sinatra to Lea Thompson! Look for Walter Cronkite and Humphrey Bogart! Popping in along the way will be Courtney Cox and Sarah Silverman! (And I'm hoping Jane Wiedlin will show up somewhere.) To paraphrase Lucy van Pelt, "how can you say someone is great who's never had his picture in comic books?" Stay tuned and find out...it's gonna be a star-studded year! But remember: with fame comes fan mail, and with fan mail comes...well, show us the risks, Ben Grimm:

Today in Comics History: Do they know it's 2017 at all

Panel from Amazing Adventures (1970 series) #18 (May 1973), plot by Roy Thomas and Neal Adams, script by Gerry Conway, pencils by Howard Chaykin, inks by Frank Chiaramonte, colors by Petra Goldberg, letters by John Costanza

Today in Comics History: Homer is continuously once again still not yet ready to go camping even in a New Year

Panel from "The Winter of Our Discount Tent" in The Simpsons Winter Wingding #10 (November 2015), script by Ian Boothby, pencils by Phil Ortiz, inks by Mike DeCarlo, colors by Alan Hellard, letters by Karen Bates

Today in Comics History: Spidey ain't missin' any free party

Inside-back cover comic from Spidey Super Stories #7 (April 1975), artwork is uncredited, but...art by Win Mortimer?

Today in Comics History: Doctor Who fans are still trying to figure out how River Song's diary worked

Panel from Jenny Sparks: The Secret History of the Authority #5 (March 2001), script by Mark Millar, pencils by John McCrea, inks by James Hodgkins, colors by Ian Hannin, letters by Bill O'Neil

366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 366: We still all want pictures of Spider-Man

My first encounter with J. Jonah Jameson, before I was even reading comic books, was in The Amazing Spider-Man comic strip, and then later in the same year as played by Robert F. Simon in The Amazing Spider-Man TV series. When I dove horns first into the world of comics around '79, my Marvel book of collection choice was Star Wars (#21, prominently cover-featuring Darth Vader, was the first Marvel comic I ever bought), but not too long after that expanded into The Avengers and the (as-yet Uncanny) X-Men. (Smack dab in the middle of the Shooter Age was a good time to pick up X-Men: my first ish was #137 and I was barely confused at all.) But as my interest in the Marvel Universe expanded, I began picking up Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man (my first issue was #50) and Amazing Spider-Man (a coverless copy of #200 from the long-gone Economy Book Store in Syracuse, New York). So I met the comics version of J. Jonah Jameson. And from every exposure I'd had to him...I thought he was a jerk. (Hence the classic '80s issue where Kitty Pryde declared "J. Jonah Jameson is a jerk!"

Then, as Frank Miller started to make his mark writing and pencilling Daredevil, I added the Man Without Fear to my pull list, and in issue #177, I came across the scene where J. Jonah Jameson actually acted like a thoughtful, responsible journalist with more nuance than just shouting maniacally about Spider-Man, and I started to like JJJ as a character. When I posted that scene back in May of this year, I accompanied with the Gore Vidal quote "Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half."

It's been a difficult year, personally and socially, for this little stuffed bull and his closest friends, and you've probably noticed lengthy stretches when I don't post, but I've always tried to catch up later so you have these posts every day at the very least. This year I lost some people very close to me, and lost many who were great personal heroes of mine. But one of the great things about superhero comics, and one that I love best about them, is that they go on. Fifty-four years later, when he should be putting up his webbed feet and sitting back to relax, Peter Parker is still swingin', the high school student now become a global industrialist (altho' I'd be surprised if that doesn't continue to change). Jonah has also changed professions and positions within the Marvel Universe (remember Hizzoner Jameson?), but he's still serving the same general purpose: to bedevil Peter, to shout at Spider-Man, and to pursue the truth. (I also especially like his role as a encouraging mentor to Cindy Moon in Silk.)

By the end of the year, when we would despair of the media reporting "fake news" or "Twitteralism," I'd post now and then a Jonah panel accompanied by the message of "See, media? That's how you do it." And in the end, that's become why I love Jonah and why he's more vital than ever. We don't live in a world of evil scientists with mechanical arms or intelligent killer lizards or thugs made outta sand; our nemeses can be both very subtle and very overt, but they still need battling. We don't live in a world of Spider-Men, more's the pity, so I look up to journalists and writers who do their homework and speak truth to power. In 2016 there was even one writer — Ta-Nehisi Coates — doing both that and creating comic books. We need more creators like him. We need more comics by and about people of color and LGBT persons; we need much more than superhero comics, but they still serve a place.

As does J. Jonah Jameson. I'm hoping in 2017 he continues to be a major Spider-character, and that he continues to be an antagonist, if not a nemesis. We need somebody to rant and rave at those guys in spandex and leather, to kick our asses into gear, to remind us that the four-color world can teach us about the world outside our window. After all, Spider-Man endures — may JJJ do as well. Any place Spidey is back in action, we need someone yelling for photos of him.

Thanks, Jonah, for helping us laugh at Spider-Man...again.


Panels from Amazing Spider-Man 1963 series (July 1967) #50 (July 1967), script by Stan Lee; pencils by John Romita, Sr.; inks by Mike Esposito; letters by Sam Rosen
Tomorrow!: Well, it's a new year, isn't it? Keep your pulley tuned to Bully and keep looking to the stars! (Is that a hint? It just might...be! Or not!)

366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 365: Spider-Man is not a work of art, but he's hanging on a wall

Hey Jonah, how would you sum up this year's "366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson"?


Panel from Fear Itself: Spider-Man #1 (July 2011), script by Chris Yost, pencils and inks by Mike McKone, colors by Jeromy Cox, letters by Joe Caramagna
BWAH-HA-HA-HA-HA! It's funny because it's true!

But actually, only one issue later in Fear Itself (the crossover event no one really ever wanted, right?), there's a scene that I really love, one of my favorites, one that so sharply shows how the prickly relationship between JJJ and Spidey has evolved, and the grudging respect that the newspaperman really does have deep down (waaaaaay deep deep down) for what Spider-Man is and can do. Because when the going gets tough, Jonah lights a fire under Spidey's finely toned butt.


Panels from Fear Itself: Spider-Man #2 (August 2011), script by Chris Yost, pencils and inks by Mike McKone, colors by Jeromy Cox, letters by Joe Caramagna
If you think about a lot, even though he's lost a lot of father figures (his dad, Ben Parker, George Stacy), her'll always have one in J. Jonah Jameson. A grumpy, yelly, manipulative father figures who doles out an allowance in drips and drizzles, yeah, but some of Spider-Man's most valuable lessons about life have been learned from his most irascible supporting character. Here's to you, Jonah, and forever may you kick butt into gear.

Tomorrow: The End.

Today in Comics History: Debut of the popular TV series Grant Morrison's Memetic Fifth-Dimensional Cloudcuckooland Hospital

Panels from Jenny Sparks: The Secret History of the Authority #5 (March 2001), script by Mark Millar, pencils by John McCrea, inks by James Hodgkins, colors by Ian Hannin, letters by Bill O'Neil

366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 364: 101 Uses for a Spider-Man Poster

Panels from Amazing Spider-Man (1963 series) #41 (October 1966); script by Stan Lee; pencils and ink alterations by John Romita, Sr.; inks by Mike Esposito; letters by Artie Simek

Today in Comics History: On the Third Day of Christmas, Gwen Stacy Gave to Me, A Spider-Man in Paree

Panels from Amazing Spider-Man #143 (April 1975), script by Gerry Conway, pencils by Ross Andru, inks by Frank Giacoia and Dave Hunt, colors by Jan Cohen, letters by Artie Simek

366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 363: It'll behoove ya to care for Jonah's uvula

Splash page from Marvel Team-Up (1997 series) #2 (October 1997), script by Tom Peyer, breakdowns by Pat Olliffe, finishes by Al Milgrom, colors by Tom Smith, letters by Bill Oakley
Well, that's not the last time, but December 31 is coming soon, so as those band of happy moptops once sang, it's getting very near the end.

Today in Comics History: The Penguin is ordered at gunpoint to attend Jenny Sparks' wedding

Panels from Jenny Sparks: The Secret History of the Authority #5 (March 2001), script by Mark Millar, pencils by John McCrea, inks by James Hodgkins, colors by Ian Hannin, letters by Bill O'Neil

Today in Comics History: A: It Blow'd up Real Good, Newsworld!

Panel from Psi-Force #18 (April 1988)

What is it they sent us? Hope.

Panels from Princess Leia #5 (September 2015), script by Mark Waid, pencils by Terry Dodson, inks by Rachel Dodson, colors by Jordie Bellaire, letters by Joe Caramagna

Carrie Fisher
1956-2016

366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 362: The Fuppets Take Manhattan

It's those lazy crazy hazy days between Christmas and New Year's when we don't have to go back to school yet but we've already broken all our holiday toys* (not me, I'm really careful with 'em, altho I've eaten all my stocking candy), and if you're anything like me, you're bored and want a project to occupy your hooves. Well, I've dug my way into Bully's Comics Vault and come up with an issue of Crazy, the House of Idea's second-tier parody magazine for when you couldn't find MAD at the newsstand. Mind you, even if Crazy isn't as acclaimed as its Distinguished Competition, they did have a decent bullpen of writers and artists. This ish contains stuff written or drawn by Marv Wolfman, Bobby London, Mike Ploog, Bob Foster, Marie Severin, John Buscema, and even Jack Kirby's Fin Fang Foom reprinted with new humorous dialogue by Christopher Priest aka Jim Owsley!

Crazy also occasionally featured do-it-yourself shoebox puppet theaters and finger puppets called Fuppets, for clever portmanteau purposes as well as please-don't-sue-us copyright reasons. And it co-stars J. Jonah Jameson, who I know you've been dying to put your fingers up inside of! Dig out your own copy of Crazy #73 (I know you've got one somewhere), get out your paste and scissors (or have an adult get out paste and scissors for you) so you can make the whole shebang! (I'm only reposting a few pages from it, but you get the general DIY idea.)


Panels from "The Fabulous Fuppets Starring in the Spider-Man Television Theatre" in Crazy Magazine #73 (April 1981), script by Steve Skeates, puppet art by John Romita, Sr., props and scenery art by Ron Zalme
The feature provides it all: finger puppets Fuppets™...


...props...yes, that is an iron lung to put Aunt May into!


...several switchable backdrops for real shoebox action!...


...scripts, with dialogue punched up by David Mamet...


But best of all, here's the two-page how-to-do-it comic segment that gives us the groundbreaking Marvel Team-Up of J. Jonah Jameson and the Incredible Hulk! JONAH WILL SMASH!



So don't just sit there and read comic books on your Christmas vacation: take JJJ's advice and go out and make stuff! Alternate Christmas vacation activity: just sit there and read comic books.

366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 361: The Day Jonah Was Killed by a Giant Snowball

Panels from "Piece of Cake" in Marvel Holiday Special 2007 one-shot (February 2008), script by Andrew Farago and Shaenon Garrity, pencils by Lou Kang, inks by Craig Yeung, colors by Chris Sotomayor, letters by Dave Sharpe

Today in Comics History: Pizza is dissed

Panel from "Ms. Grinch" in Gwenpool [Holiday] Special #1 (February 2016), script by Margaret Stohl, pencils and inks by Juan Gedeon, colors by Tamra Bonvillain, letters by Travis Lanham
Wait, where in Jersey City does the Khan Family live that there aren't Chinese restaurants open on Christmas?

Today in Comics History: After three long years, Rudolph and Grover are finally released from their hellish prison

Panel from Limited Collectors' Edition #C-20 [Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer] (Christmas 1972), script and pencils by Sheldon Mayer, inks by Tenny Henson

366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 360: There's No Place Like Jonah's for the Holidays

Previously on Spider-Man's Tangled Web: On Christmas Eve, Peter Parker (secretly the Amazing Spid...oh, you know that part)...has rescued a passel of Japanese schoolkids, but then, having to rush out into the night, as he does (whatever a spider can), he leaves the kids behind with Betty Brant in the Daily Bugle office. Meanwhile, a big-ass Christmas snowstorm is a-blowin' into New York City. S'alright? S'alright. And now...


Panels from Spider-Man's Tangled Web #21 (February 2003), script and inks by Darwyn Cooke, pencils by Jay Bone, colors by Matt Hollingsworth, letters by Paul Tutrone
Jonah + Kids = trouble, right here in New York City, which begins with "N" and that rhymes with "bullpen" and that stands for...well, it rhymes with "newspapermen," but I'm not certain how to finish the song from there. Needless to say, there's both trouble and cuteness ahoy! Crouble? No, tuteness.


The Bumper Book of Humor Writing that I got today under the Christmas tree (thanks Santa!) tells me that one of the first rules of laughs is opposites are funny! So, pair a rusty, grizzly, grumpy old Jonah with cute adorable tiny tots and what do you get? That's comedy, my friends! Also: Pissed-Off Betty Brant™, which is one of the all-time greatest action figure variants.


Jonah tells the kids a story. Guess who's the hero in this one?! It's our old pal and star of many Marvel Comic books, the Amazing Spider-Slayer!. Except I imagine even JJJ censored the name of that particular character in his tale. I'm guessing we're looking at the Adventures of J. Jonah Jameson, The Sensational Spider-Hugger!


Meanwhile, Spider-Man and the Inhuman named Medusa (the hero who could never be an important part of a sensible Marvel Universe) are battling it out in the Toy Department at Macy's, no doubt wrecking Santaland and frightening Crumpet the Elf into a much more sedate essay-writing career. JJJ gets the kids into their cute li'l coats 'n' mittens to take 'em to Macy's to watch Spidey getting his butt beat (by a girl with sentient hair, at that!). It's events like that which drove the crowds to Macy's and ran Gimbel's out of business. You're a business menace, Peter Parker!


Tonight's very pecial Christmas Eve Guest Stars, singing "All I Want For Christmas Is Groo...t": the Fantastic Four Three! Well, it's entirely possible Sue Storm is already there but invisible, though I doubt that: J. Bone and Darwyn Cooke would not pass up a chance to draw the curviest of the FF! (If you don't count H.E.R.B.I.E.)


Turns out Macy's Santa is really the Puppet Master and making Medusa and Spidey yadda yadda yadda, and it's a Christmas Fulla Crying Tots, just like the ones we used to know!


Then, in an action-packed summary-stuffed double-page spread, they all head over to Jonah and Marla's apartment for a Christmas party, and Jonah gives Peter the very finest Christmas bonus of all the ones we've seen so far: he's bused in Aunt May and Mary Jane all the way from Queens. It wasn't an express bus and they had to wait for twenty minutes to catch a transfer in Roosevelt Island, but they're here.

(Click picture to Christmas dinner second-helping-size)
And a very happy holiday was had by all at the Christmas party by everyone except Betty Brant, who was rescued by...let's say...Willie Lumpkin.


Happy holidays to all! (And we miss you, Darwyn!)

Merry Christmas from Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (and Stuffed Bull)

Panel from Amazing Spider-Man (1963 series) #166 (March 1977); script by Len Wein, pencils by Ross Andru, inks by Mike Esposito, colors by Glynis Wein, letters by Joe Rosen
(Click picture to Objections-to-"Baby, It's Cold Outside"-size)

Today in Christmas Comics History: Homer is continuously once again still not yet ready to go camping

Panel from "The Winter of Our Discount Tent" in The Simpsons Winter Wingding #10 (November 2015), script by Ian Boothby, pencils by Phil Ortiz, inks by Mike DeCarlo, colors by Alan Hellard, letters by Karen Bates