Same Story, Different Cover: We get it, we get it, you've seen King Kong

L: Tales to Astonish v.1 #1 (January 1959), pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Christopher Rule
R: Weird Wonder Tales #4 (June 1974), pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Christopher Rule, heavily reworked by John Romita, Sr.

366 Days with Alfred Pennyworth, Day 91

Panel from Superman/Batman #37 (Late August 2007), script by Alan Burnett, pencils by Dustin Nguyen, inks by Derek Fridolfs, colors by Randy Mayor, letters by Rob Leigh


4,400.

Today in Comics History, March 31, 1988: Kids sign up for the Punching Division of the US Army

from The Draft one-shot (Marvel/New Universe, July 1988), script by Mark Gruenwald and Fabian Nicieza; pencils by Herb Trimpe; inks by Kyle Baker*, Mike Gustovich, Klaus Janson, Lee Weeks, and Keith Williams; colors by Michael Higgins, letters by Jim Novak
Inkers aren't identified for the individual pages they worked on, but if this isn't the work of Kyle Baker, I'll eat my complete collection of New Universe titles. Mmmm, New Universe.

Hey Batman! What's your favorite Pink Panther movie?

Panel from Batman #325 (July 1980), script by Roger McKenzie, pencils by Irv Novick, inks by Steve Mitchell, colors by Adrienne Roy, letters by Milt Snapinn

Gosh, you don't sound too sure of yourself on that one, Batman. We should sit down and watch them all over again. (Not the Roberto Benigni one, though.)

366 Days with Alfred Pennyworth, Day 90

Cover of Batman: Gotham Adventures #16 (September 1999), pencils by Bob Smith, inks by Terry Beatty

Bully's Cosplay of the Day: Ari-bull the Little Mermaid

Special dolphin-safe thanks to pal Heather for the groovy fins and photo!

Lord almighty, I feel my temperature rising

Johnny Storm! He likes fast cars, pretty girls, and returning from the dead! Also among his interests: music!:


Splash panel from Fantastic Four v.1 #101 (August 1970), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Joe Sinnott, letters by Artie Simek

After all, he can play guitar, as shown here. (It's Kirby-Canon!) Why don't we see the Torch more often playing a guitar? I dunno, but I bet he goes through three or four of them a month when they burst into flames. He may want to ask Reed to make him a Stratocaster made of unstable molecules. At least there he's strumming the guitar with his fingers. It must be even harder to do it with gloves:


Splash panel from Dazzler #18 (August 1982), script by Danny Fingeroth, pencils by Frank Springer, inks by Vince Colletta, colors by Don Warfield, letters by Janice Chiang

Okay, Johnny playing the guitar may not be surprising, but have we ever before or after seen The Thing playing a saxophone? I'm pretty sure that should be listed among his skills in his Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe entry, and yet there it remains, unknown to the world. As I always have known, folks, Mister Grimm is a true Renaissance Man.

The question remains, however: what kind of music does Johnny Storm enjoy? Well, he likes Jimi Hendrix:






He enjoys the spooky rock rhythms of fellow Marvel comic book star Alice Cooper!


Panel from Fantastic Four #175 (October 1976), script by Roy Thomas, pencils and inks by John Buscema, colors by Janice Cohen, letters by Joe Rosen




Johnny Storm is a big fan of disco! (Please don't hold that against him.)


Splash panel from Marvel Two-in-One #68 (October 1980), script by Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio, breakdowns by Ron Wilson, finishes by Pablo Marcos, colors by Glynis Wein, letters by John Costanza




The Human Torch is a big fan of music from the eighties, whether it be Culture Club...


Panel from Secret Wars #4 (August 1984), script by Jim Shooter, pencils by Bob Layton, inks by John Beatty, colors by Christie Scheele, letters by Joe Rosen




...or another artist who would occasionally flame-on, Michael Jackson!


Panel from Secret Wars #6 (October 1984), script by Jim Shooter, pencils by Mike Zeck, inks by John Beatty, colors by Christie Scheele, letters by Joe Rosen




Yes, Johnny Storm's musical tastes are as up to date as whoever's writing Fantastic Four at the time thinks the kids are into. But he also appreciates the classics, like Doris Day! Seriously, I can picture Sue singing this to him when they were kids. Right? Think about that...so cuuuuute, huh?


Panel from What If? v.1 #1 (February 1977), script by Roy Thomas, pencils by Jim Craig, inks by Pablo Marcos, colors by Janice Cohen, letters by John Costanza




But never let it be said that Johnny doesn't appreciate all kinds of music. Here's one of his favorite R&B/soul songs by Sister Sledge! (He probably dated at least two of the sisters, I bet!)


Panels from Mythos: Fantastic Four one-shot (December 2007), script by Paul Jenkins, painted art by Paolo Rivera, letters by Joe Caramagna




Now, Ben Grimm? His musical tastes seem to be based on those of a tough guy who grew up on Yancy Street in the 1930s. Which, um, once upon a time in Marvel history, he actually wuz. (Spelled the way Ben Grimm would pronounce it even though it sounds the same as the correct spelling.)


Panels from Marvel Two-in-One #65 (July 1980), script by Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchiom breakdowns by George Pérez, finishes by Gene Day, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by John Costanza




No, Johnny's not a big fan of that kinda corny music.




Panels from Marvel Adventures #25 (August 2007), script by Fred van Lente, lyrics by Crystal Skillman, pencils and inks by Cory Hamscher, colors by Lee Loughridge, letters by Dave Sharpe


But whatever the period, wherever he is, you can count on Johnny Storm to be up on and into the finest pop music of his time:

Two-page spread from Amazing Spider-Man #680 (April 2012), script by Dan Slott and Christopher Yost, pencils by Giuseppe Camuncoli, inks by Klaus Janson, colors by Frank G. D'Armata, letters by Joe Caramagna
Click image to worst-song-ever-size!




Ha ha ha! Spidey got you good there, Torch! I only wish I could have found canonical appreciation by Johnny Storm for this song:



But I think we can all be thankful he's never burst into a rendition of this song:



(Got any other ideas for Johnny's personal music playlist? Leave 'em in the comments!)

366 Days with Alfred Pennyworth, Day 89

Splash page from Batman #68 (December 1951-January 1952), script by Bill Finger, batman and Robin figure pencils by Bob Kane, all other pencils by Lew Schwartz, inks by Charles Paris, letters by Ira Schnapp

Bully's Cosplay of the Day: Goofy

Like you, Bully is wondering why Goofy talks and yet Pluto doesn't. What he does know, however, is that dress-up accessories and photograph were kindly provided by pal Heather!

A quick post tonight...

...because it's late, I haven't had dinner, and I'm hungry! And so is Archie.


Panel from Cheryl Blossom Special #1 (1995), script and pencils by Dan Parent, inks by Mike Esposito, colors by Barry Grossman, letters by Bill Yoshida

I don't think they serve that at the snack bar, Archie.

366 Days with Alfred Pennyworth, Day 88

Panel from Batman #63 (February-March 1951), script by Bill Finger, pencils by Dick Sprang, inks by Charles Paris, letters by Ira Schnapp

Bully's Cosplay of the Day: Boba Fett

Who took the photo? Pal Heather took the photo!

Titans Are Doin' for Themselves

Here's an interesting email letter to the editor of Teen Titans, from the tail end of the Swingin' Sixties, all about how the reader wants to see Wonder Girl clad in one of the greatest inventions of the century...


Letter published in Teen Titans v1. #26 (March-April 1970)

...and Dick Giordano's answer (not withstanding his comment about his cute li'l secretary) is a pretty diplomatic and believable reason why Ms. Troy wouldn't wear a miniskirt...because it would be a bit of a problem (ahem) to fight in. Not that that has stopped DC from putting Supergirl in a miniskirt for the past many, many years. And anyway, take a look at the cover of that same issue, Teen Titans #26, and see where your eye is drawn:


Cover of Teen Titans v1. #26 (March-April 1970), pencils and inks by Nick Cardy

Don't worry, Ed Shea of Plainville, Connecticut...Nick Cardy's got you covered where you want.

Of course, that must mean the Titans themselves are models of polite, non-sexist, proto-feminist behavior, right?


Panel from Teen Titans #25 (January-February 1970), script by Bob Kanigher, pencils and inks by Nick Cardy, letters by John Costanza

Now, before we all get ourselves in an uproar, I don't think you can say anything worse about this issue than "Boy, Nick Cardy sure liked to draw pretty girls, didn't he!" After all, he even proves in issue #30 that the female Titans can kick-ass with the best of them...even in miniskirts:


Page from Teen Titans #30 (November-December 1970), script by Steve Skeates, pencils and inks by Nick Cardy, letters:by John Costanza

There you go. After all, it's not like the book is making miniskirts its specific focus, now, is it?


Panel from Teen Titans #25

Oh for cryin' out loud.

366 Days with Alfred Pennyworth, Day 87

Panel from Tiny Titans #44 (November 2011), script by Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani; pencils, inks, colors, and letters by Art Baltazar

Bully's Cosplay of the Day: Indiana Jones

Photo once again by pal Heather!

I bet you can't get through this post without singing to yourself "Dog heads, dog heads, roly-poly dog heads..."

Sure, kids today get a bad rap for all their crazy habits and fads like planking and jowling and hoodying and katnissing and all that, but really, is it any crazier than the obsessions of kids of the immediate post-war period...your parents or grandparents, maybe?

No. No, it is not.


Advertisement for "Listerine Toothpaste Dog Heads" from Miss Beverly Hills of Hollywood #2 (May-June 1949)

Yep! Remember when all of America was obsessed with collecting the full set of dog heads that smelled vaguely like Listerine and wearing them around their wrists as a taunt to all their peers that you ain't nobody if you don't have the full set of dog heads? Remember the waves of kid-on-kid violence that erupted across American towns and cities as children refused to trade "Sandy the Scottie" for "Wally the Collie?" Like slap bracelets, jellybands, Japanese erasers and Wacky Packages, all the kids wanted 'em, but parents just didn't understand.

So, next time you're emptying your junk drawer or cleaning out the glove compartment in your Oldsmobile Cutlass, take a closer look...for the Dog Heads of Yesteryear.

In conclusion: they were "beautifully modeled by a famous sculptor." He doesn't like to admit it, but it was Henry Moore.



So. Collect dog heads...won't you?

366 Days with Alfred Pennyworth, Day 86

Panel from Batman v.1 #83 (April 1954), script by David Vern, pencils by Sheldon Moldoff, inks by Bill Elder (?), letters by Pat Gordon

Bully's Cosplay of the Day: Optimus Prime

Photo by my delightful pal Heather!

Ten of a Kind: A Modest Ultimatum

If you can't read Klingon, click to translate!








Of course, there's always this advertisement for Coyote (from Uncanny X-Men #170):



And I'd be amiss of I didn't point out this attempt to shoot Halo, even if it's through a couple cats (this one from Outsiders #9:



But in the end, it's Peacemaker who knows the right direction to point a gun to get you to buy that comic:



(More Ten of a Kind here.)

Today in Comics History, March 25: From the diary of Evil Stephen Hawking

from Detective Comics #598 (March 1989), script by Sam Hamm, pencils by Denys Cowan, inks by Dick Giordano and Frank McLaughlin, colors by Adrienne Roy, letters by Todd Klein