Separated at Birth: Cupid draw back your bow/And let your arrow go/Straight to my lover's heart for me

L: Elektra: Assassin #4 (November 1986), art by Bill Sienkiewicz
M: Preacher #54 (October 1999), art by Glenn Fabry
R: Daredevil v.2 #11 (May 2000), art by Joe Quesada, Jimmy Palmiotti, and David Mack
(Click picture to cherub-size)

365 Days with Ben Grimm: Day 129

Panel from Hulk #9 (December 1999), co-plotted and scripted by Jerry Ordway, co-plotted and pencilled by Ron Garney inked by Sal Buscema, colored by Steve Buccellato, lettered by John Workman
(Click picture to fifty-minute-size)

Saturday Morning Cartoon: Molly Moo-Cow and Robinson Crusoe

"Molly Moo-Cow and Robinson Crusoe" (1936), directed by Burt Gillett and Tom Palmer

365 Days with Ben Grimm: Day 128

Panel from Fantastic Four #7 (October 1962), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Dick Ayers

Run, Aunt Molly, run!!!

So, let's see what's in the newspapers today...HUH?!??!?!?:



Holy cow, it's my Aunt Molly! From the news article:

A wily cow turned the streets of Queens into a Wild West scene Wednesday when it broke out of a halal slaughterhouse and led lasso-toting cops on a merry chase.

The hot-footed heifer made a break from Musa Halal Inc. on Beaver Road, darting through traffic in a desperate attempt to avoid becoming barbecue.

The bolting bovine, weighing about 500 pounds, charged up 109th Ave. in South Jamaica just after 1 p.m. with cops and a butcher in pursuit.

Pedestrians and motorists did double takes, screaming and running as the four-legged fugitive rambled through the asphalt jungle.

As usual, New Yorkers take a careening cow well in stride. Here's some of the commentary from the vox populi:

"I saw this cow running up the street with the police chasing him," said retired bus company owner William Barksdale, 72, of Queens. "I knew the police would eventually win, but she had good spunk."

The breakaway black angus tore up the driveway of Steven Khan's house on 109th Ave., startling him and his buddies as they were discussing the NBA playoffs in his garage.

"We were chilling. I was coming back, taking out the garbage when I saw my friends running," said Kahn, 20. "I'm like, 'Why are you running?'"

...

"It was bugging," barber Paul Echols, 23, said of the rawhide escapee. "I was worried. I'm not used to seeing stuff like that."

Still, I'm pleased as punch to report that Aunt Molly's Great Escape has paid off (even tho' she didn't get her motorcycle over the fence or escape to the Swiss border with her forged papers:

The gallivanting hay-eater's Houdini attempt apparently paid off. City officials said the animal - who they named Molly - will be headed for greener pastures.

"We will find it a home," said Richard Gentles of the city Animal Care and Control. "We're starting to reach out to farm sanctuaries."

Usually that sort of promise, even from someone called "Mister Gentles," is the same thing as saying your old dog is going to live on a farm in the country, where he will be happy and chase balls all day, and no, you can't go to the farm and visit him, it's way too far away. But in this case there is a happy ending for my Aunt Molly, as The Village Voice reported (in their prestigious award-winning "Cow News" section):

Molly, the cow (actually a calf) who escaped her Queens slaughterhouse yesterday, has been placed in protective custody by the city's Animal Care and Control department at a farm in Suffolk country. We are told it is an organic farm, which at first led us to believe Molly would eventually become free-range beef, but the farm's owners say she will be allowed live out her natural lifespan, "eat some good organic hay and hang around with a lot of her friends."

Also, according to the article, she gets to have a bull boyfriend, which is something we all have been wishing for Aunt Molly. She's a much-loved but much-discussed member of our family tree, and her escapes have become legend across the country. Why, only a few years ago she apparently pulled the same shenanigans in Montana and got off the hook the same way!:

GREAT FALLS, Mont. - A cow that escaped last week from a Montana slaughterhouse, leading workers and police on a six-hour chase, will be spared following a wave of popular support, officials said Tuesday.

Del Morris, manager of Mickey’s Packing Plant in Great Falls, said he decided to let the cow live the instant he saw it cross the Missouri River through Great Falls.

We're all jus' hopin' Aunt Molly will relax and settle down now, with no more a-roamin' and a-scapin'. And we certainly all hope there will not be any repeat of the embarrassing incident in the SuperValu supermarket during her recent visit to County Cork, Ireland:



Well, good for you, Aunt Molly. You go, girl!

365 Days with Ben Grimm: Day 127

Hey, check it out: the most clobberin' Lego minifig of them all:


Click images to Duplo-size

No, no—sadly you can't run to your local Target or toy store and pick up a Lego playset of The Baxter Building or The Fantasticar complete with all the FF Lego minifigs including Doc Doom, Franklin and H.E.R.B.I.E., and Willie Lumpkin. (Believe me, I tried—all afternoon!) These are actually custom-modified Lego minifigs created by the talented Chris C. Wanna see every nook n' cranny of Ben's craggy but handsome features? You can see these Fantastic figs in larger detail by clicking on the pictures.




I am filled with awe and envy over these figures. And that's not all! Chris also has a veritable multiverse of his customized Lego minifigs on his Flickr page: Marvel and DC heroes and villains, Ghostbusters, Stargate, V, a veritable fleet of Green Lanterns, and, for when your minifigs have had what everybody else has had, Neil Gaiman's Lego Death. Check 'em out and leave him some nice comments, woncha? They're...fantastic!

Least dramatic debut, ever

Sure, he's a big player in the Marvel Universe now, but Moon Knight's debut is anything but iconic and senses-shattering. In fact, in his very first panel appearance, he seems kinda embarrassed about the whole thing:


Panel from Werewolf by Night #32 (August 1975), script by Doug Moench, pencils by Don Perlin, inks by Howie Perlin, colors by Phil Rachelson, letters by Ray Holloway

So, we know this about Moon Knight: he's an avenger that roams the darkness, fighting crime with his wits and his fists. And apparently, if he had his druthers, he'd be known as Captain Crescent-Roll.

365 Days with Ben Grimm: Day 126

Panel from Spidey Super Stories #38 (January 1979), creators unknown

Where's Uatu?

Here's a buncha blueprints (or, more technically, architectural views) of famous (and not-so-famous) landmarks in the Marvel Universe. Please gape and gaze to your heart's content. But I didn't just put these here out of the goodness of my little red satin heart, oh no sirree! Let's make a Mighty Marvel Scavenger Hunt outta it, shall we?

In the best tradition of Martin Handford, get out your magnifying glass (be careful not to fry Ant-Man, willya please?) and see if you can find:

• Tabletop TV screen
• The Scarlet Witch
• 2 thumbtacks
• Sky-hooks
• Asbestos bed
• The world's tallest punching bag
• Countless tapes, films, and books
• Insulated doorknob
• Honeycombed halls
• Edwin Jarvis
• Honey ants
• Water-filled elevator shaft
• Chandelier
• Undersea maps
• Solar flare device
• Tony Stark's snazzy roadster
• The Invisible Girl
• A very tiny garbage heap
• The Transformers' slogan
• The severed head of Janet van Dyne
• A compliment by Roy Thomas

Giant-Man's Penthouse HQ, from Tales to Astonish #59 (September 1964), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Dick Ayers, inks by Paul Reinman, letters by Sam Rosen
Click image to Bill Fostersize



The Ani-Men's HQ, from Daredevil #10 (October 1965), but this recolored version is from the reprint in Daredevil Annual #2 (February 1971), script, pencils, and inks by Wally Wood, additional pencils by Bob Powell, letters by Artie Simek
Click image to Foggysize



Johnny Storm's bedroom in Glendale, from Strange Tales #101 (October 1962), plot by Stan Lee, script by Larry Lieber, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Dick Ayers, colors by Stan Goldberg, letters by Artie Simek
Click image to asbestosize



The Sentinels' "Anthill" hideout, from Avengers #104 (October 1972), script by Roy Thomas, art by Rich Buckler, inks by Joe Sinnott, letters by John Costanza



A real ant hill, from Tales to Astonish #62 (December 1964), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Carl Burgos, inks by Dick Ayers, letters by Artie Simek



Saved the best for last: Avengers Mansion, from Avengers Annual #1 (September 1967), script by Roy Thomas, pencils by Don Heck, inks by George Roussos
Click image to Tony Stark's bank-book-size

Didja find 'em all, every single one of them? Of course you did! Give yourself a Bull-Prize!
Didn't find the Invisible Girl? She's in the corridor outside Johnny's room! How can you tell? Because big sisters are snoops.
Looking for more maps and blueprints of the Marvel Universe? Here's Peter Parker's World and the Fantastic Four's Baxter Building HQ!

365 días con Ben Grimm: Day 125

Esto es de Fantastic Four: ¡Isla de la Muerte! #1 (Febrero 2008), escrito cerca Tom Beland, arte cerca Juan Doe, letras cerca Dave Lanphear

(Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone!)

Those mutants are everywhere! EVERYWHERE!

Hey look! An early 70s X-Men crossover cameo appearance!:


Cover of Crypt of Shadows #6 (October 1973), pencilled by Gil Kane, inked by Ernie Chan, lettered by Gaspar Saladino

Sadly, Wolverine would not debut for another year, and was therefore unable to help out Chuck Xavier.

365 Days with Ben Grimm: Day 124

Page from Before the Fantastic Four: Ben Grimm and Logan #1 (July 2000), script by Larry Hama, pencils by Kaare Andrews, inks by Walden Wong, colors by Kevin Somers, letters by Richard Starkings and Oscar Gongora

365 Days with Ben Grimm: Day 123

Panels from Strange Tales #106 (March 1963), plot by Stan Lee, script by Larry Lieber, art by Dick Ayers, colors by Stan Goldberg, letters by John Duffy

Ten of a Kind: I am a weapon of massive consumption/And it's not my fault it’s how I’m programmed to function

(More Ten of a Kind here.)