Psylocke Psaturday #8: And I do my little turn on the catwalk

Okay, now let's leap a little forward in time, but then once we get there go back...because tonight we see Betsy in flashback as an international glamour model for such famous fashion magazines as Voolie and Hall Monitor, but also explaining just what the Sam Scratch she's doing as a psecret agent, working for S.T.R.I.K.E.* Also: red and purple? Girrrrl.


Page from X-Treme X-Men v.1 #3 (September 2001), script by Chris Claremont, pencils and inks by Salvador Larroca, colors by Liquid Graphics, letters by Tom Orzechowski
*Suddenly There's Rips In Kinky Ensembles

365 Days of DC House Ads, Day 75

House ad for Showcase #101 [Hawkman] (June 1978); printed in Batman #300 (June 1978)
Comic cover art: pencils and inks by Joe Kubert
1961 ad designed and lettered by Ira Schnapp, repurposed for 1978, new lettering by Gaspar Saladino (?).
If anybody know in which issue I can find the original, let me know, and I'll post it here as well!
EDIT: A special thanks (and a hawk-winged Bull-Prize) goes to "Mighty" MarcusB, who gave me a link that showed me the original ads were published in DC Comics in early 1961. Using that as a lead, I found a couple examples in Justice League of America #5 (June-July 1961) and The Flash #110 (March 1961), ads hawking Hawkman, the original!


Thanks for your keen detective work, MarcusB! And in the words of Hawkman: Wheet! Wheet!

Today in Comics History, March 15: Caesar is killed before he can claim his fifty bucks from Sebastian Shaw

from "No Coffin Can Hold Me" in Secrets of Sinister House #16 (DC, January 1974), pencils and inks by Vicente Alcazar

Comics News for March 15, 2013

"Comic books found to contain trace amounts of horse" "Marvel announces new reboot of 1983 comic" "One of Hank Pym's inventions finally works" "pope comic book"

365 Days of DC House Ads, Day 74

House ad for Superman #123 (May 1997) and the "Electric Superman" storyline; printed in Superman Adventures #6 (April 1997)
Pencils by Ron Frenz, inks by Joe Rubinstein, colors by Patrick Martin, Electric Superman logo by Todd Klein

Today in Comics History: For some reason, Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth wind up in an Avengers story

Panels from Avengers: Timeslide one-shot (February 1996), and you know what? This story is so incompetent ("calender"?) that I'm not gonna list the creators. If you really want 'em, here they are.

Today in Comics History, March 14: Hey hey hey...it's Smart Albert!

Hey, cats and kittens, raise up your frosty mug of A&W Root Beer in salute of one of the greatest minds of the Twentieth Century...no, no, not Reed Richards, but his third uncle twice-removed, Albert Einstein! And today's his birthday! Today he would have been 134 years old (and he probably is, thanks to relativistic time differentials!) In celebration, here's a few facts you prob'bly didn't know about Einstein!

He's been on the covers of several comic books! (Although, as far as I can tell, not ten of them.)






Also: he's been featured in too many comic book stories to list! I'll sum them all up by posting a single page from one of the greatest Albert Einstein chroniclers in comic book form, Michael Kupperman!


from Tales Designed to Thrizzle #7 (September 2011); script, pencils, inks, colors, and letters by Michael Kupperman

All of Einstein's adventures in comics are pretty much like that, yeah. Including the time he met the Scarlet Witch and Moon Knight.


from Marvel Super-Heroes: The Weird Weird West (TSR gaming module, 1989), written by Ray Winninger, art by John Statema
As far as I'm concerned, the finest team-up between superhero and super-brain occurs not in a comic book but in a comic book novel: Elliot S! Maggin's 1978 Superman: Last Son of Krypton. In it, we learn the secret connection between Jor-El and Einstein and why Lex Luthor wants to steal a secret Einstein document. Bully sez, check it out! (If you can find a cheap copy, snap it up!)

Mister S! Maggin also has given us a great Luthor/Einstein story in the comics as well, which explains why Lex escapes from jail every year on this very date: March 14. Hey that makes this post a Today in Comics History!



from "The Einstein Connection!" in Superman (1939 series) #416 (DC, February 1986), script by Elliot S! Maggin, pencils by Curt Swan, inks by Al Williamson, colors by Gene D'Angelo, letters by Ed King
So, in conclusion, let's all gather to sing along with Albert Einstein's favorite song. Happy birthday, Al!

365 Days of DC House Ads, Day 73

House ad for Superboy v.1 #138 (June 1967); printed in Batman #191 (May 1967)
Comic cover art: pencils by Curt Swan, inks by George Klein, letters by Ira Schnapp (?)
Ad designed and lettered by Ira Schnapp

Transogram: Where the Fun Comes From!

Here's a Henry Boltinoff "Billy" half-page gag strip from DC:


"Billy" strip from Batman #203 (August 1968), script, pencils, inks, and letters by Henry Boltinoff
Say, that's a pretty cool pseudo-Ouija game Billy's got there. Mighty clever for a fictional game created for a comic strip. Or...is it?!?

No, it's not. Ka-Bala is real...


...not only real, but it's the subject of its own comic book ad!


"Ka-Bala" ad from Mighty Samson #13 (Dell, February 1968), scripter and artist unknown
I like to think that Transogram Toys, the company that made Ka-Bala, compensated Henry Boltinoff with large amounts of cash (which he then stored in a safe he made using a tip from one of his "Cap's Hobby Hints." But probably he got paid $10 under work-for-hire. DARN YOU, WORK FOR HIRE!

Ka-Bala was not Transogram's only board game with a connection to comic books. Here's the "Silly Sidney" game:




...based on the Gene Deitch animated cartoons for Terrytoons (this Sidney cartoons was nominated for an Academy Award):


Sidney's Family Tree (Terrytoons, 1958), directed by Art Bartsch, produced by Gene Deitch and Bill Weiss
Sidney also starred in New Terrytoons and Tom Terrific comic books.


Cover of New Terrytoons #2 (January 1963), pencils and inks by Fred Fredericks

Page from Silly Sidney story in New Terrytoons #1 (June-August 1960), scripter and artist unknown
Here's more about Sidney on the always-incredible Don Markstein's Toonopedia. There's another Transogram game I have great fondness for, as I played it when I was just a tiny stuffed bull: Green Ghost!!


Green Ghost was a three-dimensional, glow-in-the-dark boardgame (we'd sit in the closet and play it!) You'd spin the glowing ghost (which would make a terrible and spooky racket as it twirled), then move around the glowing board to collect keys. The keys would unlock the three crypts on the board: reach in and collect a little ghost from among spooky-feeling objects like feathers and rubberbands. Ah-wooooooo! Best game ever! Here's an informative Web 1.0 page on the Green Ghost game, plus a video showing the set-up:


Is that all Transogram put out that was utterly awesome? Guess again, ghastly ghouls! There was the fabulous Swing Wing...


...the melodious manic mayhem of Monkey's Uncle...


Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads...not with the Trik-Trak Road-Rally!


Too tedious for you, cool fats? Then let's crank it up a notch with the Dare-Devil Trik-Trak! (Matt Murdock, Blind Driver, not included.)


Still, there's one toy that wasn't from Transogram that I still want, but I'm not allowed to have toy guns. But, a bull can dream, can't he?


So, speaking of toy guns, play us off, honeyhoney, directed by and guest-starring Keifer Sutherland!

365 Days of DC House Ads, Day 72

House ad for Showcase #82 [Nightmaster] (May 1969); printed in Wonder Woman #182 (May-June 1969)
Comic cover art: pencils and inks by Joe Kubert
Ad designed and lettered by Gaspar Saladino
Yes, Nightmaster! The only magical warrior who started out life as the lead of a psychedelic pop band! Take that, Donavan!



Panels from Showcase #82 (May 1969), script by Denny O'Neil, pencils by Jerry Grandenetti, inks by Dick Giordano

The Delightfully Defined Derrière of Mr. Edward Nigma

Panel from Batman #362 (August 1983), script by Doug Moench, pencils by Don Newton, inks by Alfredo Alcala, colors by Adrienne Roy, letters by Ben Oda
Well, just as always...Batman gets him in the end.

365 Days of DC House Ads, Day 71

House ad for Showcase #74 [Anthro] (May 1968); printed in Wonder Woman #176 (May-June 1968)
Ad art: pencils and inks by Howie Post

Today in Comics History, March 11: Bruce Wayne test-drives the new '87 K.I.T.T.

from Batman #404 (DC, February 1987), script by Frank Miller, pencils and inks by David Mazzucchelli, colors by Richmond Lewis, letters by Todd Klein

Here, have some Married...With Children. In German.

Panels from Eine Schrecklich nette Familie #2 (Bastei, 1993), script by James Bradshaw, pencils by Tom Richmond, inks by John Stangeland, colors by Holly Sanfelippo

365 Days of DC House Ads, Day 70

House ad for Stalker #1 (June-July 1975) and Beowulf [:Dragon Slayer] #2 (June-July 1975); printed in Batman #264 (June 1975)
Comic cover art: Stalker #1: pencils by Steve Ditko, inks by Wally Wood, colors by Carl Gafford
Beowulf #2: pencils and inks by Ricardo Villamonte, colors by Tatjana Wood
Ad designed and lettered by Gaspar Saladino
Missing from the cover repro of Beowulf in the ad is the oh-so-salacious story title "The Slave Maid of Satan!"


Man, it's no fun to be a maid to Satan. He's like the boss...from hell!

Today in Comics History: Daisy Duck hatches

Inside back page from Walt Disney's Christmas Parade #3 (November 1951), artist unknown

365 Days of DC House Ads, Day 69

House ad for Showcase #90 [Jason's Quest] (May 1970) and Hot Wheels #2 (May-June 1970);
printed in Teen Titans #27 (May-June 1970)
Comic cover art: Showcase #90: pencils by Mike Sekowsky, inks by Dick Giordano
Hot Wheels #2: pencils by Alex Toth (?), inks by Dick Giordano (?)
Ad designed and lettered by Gaspar Saladino

Today in Comics History: Alpha Flight's Sasquatch gets to visit the DC Universe

Page from Justice League: The Rise & Fall Special (May 2010), script by J. T. Krul, pencils and inks by Mike Mayhew, colors by Andy Troy, designed by Steve Wands