76 of a Kind: Forever in peace may she wave

See also and this one too.

365 Days with Ben Grimm, Day 185

Panels from Marvel Two-in-One Annual #1 (1976), script by Roy Thomas, pencils by Sal Buscema, inks by Sam Grainger, colors by Phil Rachelson, letters by John Costanza

Saturday Morning Cartoon: Old Glory

"Old Glory" starring Porky Pig, a Merrie Melodies Cartoon (1939), directed by Chuck Jones

365 Days with Ben Grimm, Day 184

Panel from Ultimate Fantastic Four #27 (April 2006), script by Mark Millar, pencils by Greg Land, inks by Matt Ryan, colors by Justin Ponsor, letters by Randy Gentile

365 Days with Ben Grimm, Day 183

Cover art from Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #32 (March 2008), art by Leonard Kirk

Today is a birthday / We're smoking cigars

Today is my birthday! I am six years old today. Which is a very good age to be.

Here is the place where I thank you all for the kind wishes you have all sent from from across the blogosphere! Mama Bull always taught me that if i thank someone in person, I don't have to write a thank you note to them. So, consider yourself all duly thanked. Yes, even you, guy in the back who just showed up to get some ice cream.

I truly wish you all could have been here for my sixth birthday celebration. (But I would have needed to buy more cake). It was a pretty fantastic affair as it was, tho'! First of all Björk got the entire crowd to sing Happy Birthday to me...in Icelandic!



Thank you, Miss Björk! Or, should I say...takk fyrir!

i had an ever-so-wonderful and fun time with my very closest friends, too! My sister Marshall (and her pet unicorn Sparkle) and my best pal Snuckles and even Shelly the Little Otter Puppet came to my birthday party. (Of course she did...there was free birthday cake!)



Then I had to make a wish and blow out the candles. I wished for world peace, an end to hunger, health for everyone, and a bitchin' sports car that looks like the Batmobile.



Dig in, guys! It's full of rich chocolately goodness!



I'm so gonna have another piece of this before I go to bed. And for breakfast tomorrow morning.



We didn't have enough tiny plastic tastin' spoons from Baskin-Robbins to go 'round, so my pals had to share. Shelly just ate it with her paws anyway.



Then, gift-o-rama YAYYYYYYYYY! I highly suggest that when you are opening gifts, make sure you get the card out of the way first. You appear polite and well-mannered to look at it before rippin' into your gifts, and then you don't have to waste valuable gifting time on envelopes.



NOW IS THE TIME ON BIRTHDAY WHEN WE OPEN GIFTS



Shelly got me...anchovies. Golly. Um. Gee. Thanks.



Coincidentally, Shelly really really likes anchovies. Sure, Shelly...you can keep it. Sigh.



This one's from Marshall! (I sure hope it isn't sardines.)



Way cool! (Or should I say, spiffing?) It's a rubber stamp shaped like London's Big Ben! Thank you, Marshall!



It even has an instruction book, all in Japanese. Help me, Puffy AmiYumi!



By the way, my sister Marshall would like you to know that she has a unicorn now. Her name is Sparkle and she is the prettiest, most lovely unicorn in all the whole world, and fairies and pixies braid her mane and they have tea parties and...Marshall, I'm not going to read any more of this out loud.



OMG HOLY COW EXCLAMATION POINT IT'S THE BEST GIFT IN THE WORLD THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON CLOBBERING THE GIFT OF BEN GRIMM!!!!!!!!!



I got a sketchbook to work on my drawing! And when I go to comic book creating seminars at Bergen Street Comics, I will be all ready to work on all my comics like Giant-Size Superbull Annual #1 and my miniseries of Bully: Totally Kickass Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.* and his Partner Jane Wiedlin. There will be no appearances of Dark Wolverine in my comics, I can tell you that much!

*Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage and Law-Enforcement Division



And a wonderful case of brand-new pencils to sketch with! Without otter teeth marks on them!



Hey wow, it's the newest Marvel Adventures: The Avengers digest! Them's good readin'! Thank you, Snuckles!



And a whole stack of new comics! All my favorites! And no Norman Osborn hoorayyyyyyy



And, I got the Doctor Who Season Four DVD set! It's Donna-riffic! I shall remember this birthday gift forever. (Unlike Donna.)



Thank you everyone! (Even you, Shelly!)



All in all it was the best sixth birthday ever! Isn't that so, Mister Grimm?

That's right, kid! But you know what time it is now, doncha?

Um, what time would that be, Mister Grimm?

It's second helpin's of cake-erin' time!



So, while I and all my anipals enjoy second helpings of rich, dark chocolate cake, why don't you have a helping or ten of a very special birthday Ten of a Kind...it's my gift to you!





















(More Ten of a Kind here. And here's my Birthday Ten of a Kind from last year, and also the one from 2007!)

And then Keira Knightley came over and for my birthday present she and I went down in the London Underground and she sang to me! (swoons)



Oh maybe it was just cake-induced hallucinations. Whichever...it was the best birthday ever.

365 Days with Ben Grimm, Day 182

Beginning the second half of 365 Days with Ben Grimm with perhaps the finest single image of our hero, ever:


Splash page from Fantastic Four #51 (June 1966), written by Stan Lee, pencilled by Jack Kirby, inked by Joe Sinnott, colored by Stan Goldberg, lettered by Artie Simek

Because sometimes you just have to post a panel of All-Father Odin playing with his 'Heroes of the Vikings' chess set from the Franklin Mint

Full-page panel from Thor #202 (August 1972), script by Gerry Conway, pencils by John Buscema, inks by Vince Colletta, letters by Artie Simek

(Click picture to Snorri Sturluson-size)

365 Days with Ben Grimm, Day 181

Panel from Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #2 (October 2008), written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, pencilled by Barry Kitson, inked by Mick Gray, Scott Hanna, and Barry Kitson, colored by Chris Sotomayor, letters by Joe Caramagna

X-Men/Star Wars Cosplay Theater Presents...

And now...it's time for another episode of X-Men Star Wars Theater, in which your favorite uncanny mutants present their own interpretation of scenes from The Star Wars Hexology. Last time, as you'll remember, you saw the exciting battle to the death between Senator Palpatine (Magneto) and Mace Windu (Lucas Bishop), and tonight the world's most unusual fighting team brings you a scene from the original Star Wars.

We present...Scott Summers and Jean Grey in...

The Destruction of Alderaan!

Panels from Journey into Mystery #513 (October 1997), script by Tom DeFalco, pencils by Sal Buscema, inks by Al Milgrom, colors by Chris Sotomayor, letters by Jon Babcock

Join us next time for another exciting X-Men Star Wars Cosplay Theater, in which The Beast and Colossus re-enact the holographic chess match between Chewbacca and Artoo! May the Mutant Force Be With You!

365 Days with Ben Grimm, Day 180

Panel from Fantastic Four: True Story #2 (October 2008), written by Paul Cornell, pencils and inks by Horacio Domingues, colors by Nestor Pereyra, letters by David Lanphear

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