365 Days of KirbyTech, Day 39: The Giant Nutcracker

Two-page spread from Mister Miracle (1971 series) #15 (September 1973); script and pencils by Jack Kirby; inks and letters by Mike Royer
(Click picture to filbert-size)
Because...


...sometimes you feel like a nut!


Sometimes you don't!

Comics News for February 8, 2014

Top: from "The Last Days of Lois Lane!" in Lois Lane #27 (August 1961),
script by Robert Bernstein, pencils and inks by Kurt Schaffenberger
Middle: from "Bride of Destruction!" in Detective Comics #510 (January 1982), script by Cary Burkett, pencils by José Delbo, inks by Joe Giella, colors by Tom Ziuko, letters by John Costanza
Bottom: from "The Invisible Crimes" in Detective Comics #138 (August 1948),
script by Bill Finger (?), pencils and inks by Dick Sprang

The Official Comic Book Panels of the Day of the 2014 Olympics

You may remember a couple years ago when I announced that this humble little blog was the The Official Comics Blog of the 2012 Olympics! That was, until the International Olympics Committee caught me and told me to cut it out. So here's a completely unauthorized Winter Olympics Comic Book Blog!


"Winter Sports Champions of the World" PSA from The Adventures of Bob Hope #43 (February 1957), script by Jack Schiff, art by Ruben Moreira
So, just say nyet to Sochi, and sì to Cortina!

365 Days of KirbyTech, Day 38: The Wheel

ONLY JACK KIRBY

Panel from 2001: A Space Odyssey #3 (February 1977), script and pencils by Jack Kirby, inks and letters by Mike Royer, colors by George Roussos

COULD MAKE SOMETHING

AS SIMPLE AS

THE WHEEL

HAVE SO MUCH

Two-page spread from 2001: A Space Odyssey #4 (March 1977), script and pencils by Jack Kirby, inks and letters by Mike Royer, colors by Glynis Wein
(Click picture to monolith-size)

COSMIC GRANDEUR.

At 13th Dimension: "When Spidey and the Hulk Saved the Olympics!"

Tonight on 13th Dimension, my pal John has written about that time Spider-Man and the Hulk went to the Winter Olympics! Not the ones in Sochi, the good ones in Lake Placid.


Panel from Marvel Treasury Edition #25 (1980), co-plot by Mark Gruenwald, Steven Grant, and Bill Mantlo; script by Bill Mantlo; art by Herb Trimpe and Bruce Patterson; letters by Jim Novak
Yes, my human pal John wrote this and GEEZ HIS WRITING STYLE SEEMS FAMILIAR

And if you haven't bookmarked 13th Dimension already, what are you waitin' for? For comics news, features, and fun, you shouldn't miss it! Go do it now!

3,800.

365 Days of KirbyTech, Day 37: Reed Richards' Iconometric-Frammistat

It occurs to me I need to have a sub-section of KirbyTech designated Things for Ben Grimm to Lug Around, just so we can cover the class of mechanical and electronic objects that are really big, really heavy, and serve no true story purpose except that they are Things for Ben Grimm to Lug Around. For example: Reed Richards' Iconometric-Frammistat!


Panel from Fantastic Four (1961 series) #45 (December 1965), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Joe Sinnott, letters by Artie Simek
The Iconometric-Frammistat! We don't know what it does, do we? We get no clue from context: it's not being used in the story, simply cleared out to make room for Dragon Man (not to be confused with the television show Make Room for Daddy, although upon seeing each, Danny Thomas is known to have done a spit-take).Well, an iconometer can measure the distance at which something is if you know its size (or the size of it if you know its distance) through use of a measured lens or lenses. Iconometry is the art of doing this measuring-type stuff, and an iconometric object is one that does such measuring. A framistat (note the difference in spelling) is a nonsense word meaning "doohickey," "thingamajig," or "whatchamacallit." The variation "frammistat" seems rather lax of Reed, who generally gives his devices a double-barreled name that pins down its purpose squarely, but let's allow him this one, okay? So, a device for measuring distances or sizes: quite possible either galactic or microscopic, considering the scale of the machine. And Reed's warning not to shake it? Quite possibly a confirmation that there are lenses within it that need to be handled gently.

So there you go: the Iconometric-Frammistat! And it's a thing for Ben Grimm to lug around, too!

Today in Comics History, February 6, 2010: Traveling from Texas to New York now requires a valid passport

from Scarlet Spider (2012 series) #17 (Marvel, July 2013), script by Christopher Yost, pencils by Carlo Barberi, inks by Walden Wong, colors by Rex Lokus, letters by Joe Caramagna

Today in Comics History, February 6: Superman fights the Suicide Squid

Panel from Adventures of Superman (2013 digital series) #29 (DC, November 2013), script by Derek Fridolfs, pencils and colors by Sean "Cheeks" Galloway, inks by Derek Laufman, letters by Wes Abbott

365 Days of KirbyTech, Day 36: Reed Richards' Neuromantic Disruptor

I hope you were here yesterday when I asked the musical question "How do you solve a problem like Victor von Doom?" "Is Reed going to use his totally cool Psionic-Refractor (which Dr. Doom stole) to battle the world's greatest psionic threat, Egg-Fu Onslaught, exactly 300 issues later?


Panels from Fantastic Four (1961 series) #116 (November 1971), script by Archie Goodwin, pencils by John Buscema, inks by Joe Sinnott, letters by Artie Simek
And the answer is...well, not specifically. He's going to create a much more powerful machine, one which I like to guess was based on and improved over the Psionic-Refractor: the Neuromantic Disruptor!


Panel from Fantastic Four (1961 series) #416 (September 1996); script by Tom DeFalco; pencils by Carlos Pacheco; inks by Bob Wiacek and Harry Candelario; ink assists by Ariane Lenshoek, Craig Huston, and Ed Lazzelari; letters by Richard Starkings and Kolja Fuchs

365 Days of KirbyTech, Day 35: Doctor Doom's Psionic-Refractor

Look out look out look out look out! (in my Shangri-Las impression)...the alien Over-Mind has invaded the Earth!


Panel from Fantastic Four (1961 series) #116 (November 1971), script by Archie Goodwin, pencils by John Buscema, inks by Joe Sinnott, letters by Artie Simek
In addition to his amazing tossin'-Kirby-Krackle powers, the Over-Mind is also the most powerful in the universe at mind control! (And, he came in second place twice in the Galactic Universal Conqueror Pageant, Metal Armor Division!) Since this is the era when Professor X has had his comic book cancelled out from underneath him the year before, the only one who can stop the Over-Mind is Reed Richards...the ever-elastic Mr. Fantastic! Oh, too late; he's already seized control of Reed's mind. Well, that'll happen.


So, who else can save the day? Deadpool? Dazzler? Devil Dinosaur? (Oh, we wish!) Nope...coming to our rescue is everybody's favorite hero, your friendly neighborhood Dr. Doom, armed with his powerful Psionic-Refractor!

365 Days of KirbyTech, Day 34: The 3-D Gamma Gun

Put on your 3-D glasses NOW! And beware...the Three-Dimensional Gamma Gun!








Panels from "The Man from the World of D!" in Captain 3-D #1 (December 1953), script by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Mort Meskin assisted by Steve Ditko
In fact, you might say this was a BATTLE FOR A THREE-DIMENSIONAL WORLD! But I'm not going to.

Yet.

Grover Groundhog Day III: Hour 24

It's true, Gentle Readers: with this post, Grover Groundhog Day III is now officially over.


from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer #10 (DC, December 1959), script by Sy Reit (?), pencils and inks by Rube Grossman(?)
Little Stuffed Me, Grover, Rudolph, Angel Love and all your favorites from GGD sure hope you've enjoyed today's excitement, and that you'll return next year for Grover Groundhog Day IV: The Quest for Peace!

Until then, you can count down the days using Rudolph's handy wall calendar for 1958! Hey, hey, hey, there, no complaining...because 1958's calendar is the same as 2014's! Grover Groundhog sez: have a dandy, shadow-filled year!

(Click picture to embiggen and to print!)

Grover Groundhog Day III: Hour 23

Hey, what's a Grover Groundhog Day without an appearance by everyone's favorite cartoon cartoonist, the lovely Angel Love? Answer: not complete. So, the juxtaposition you've all been waiting for...2014's Grover Groundhog/Angel Love Team-Up!

365 Days of KirbyTech, Day 33: The Government's Secret Dual Computer for National Defense

Here's why I want to live in Jack Kirby's world: because it's a world where an innocent-lookin' spiked multi-ton barbell...


Panels from Thor #173 (February 1970), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Bill Everett, letters by Artie Simek
...is actually The Government's Secret Dual Computer for National Defense in disguise.


More to the point, it's a world where The Government's Secret Dual Computer for National Defense looks like that. And as we all know, Jack Kirby predicted what military computers were going to look like in his future, our present, completely accurately.

Grover Groundhog Day III: Hour 22

from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer #12 (DC, December 1961), script by Bob Oksner, pencils and inks by Rube Grossman (?)

Grover Groundhog Day III: Hour 21

from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer #8 (DC, December 1957), script by Sy Reit (?), pencils and inks by Rube Grossman (?)

Grover Groundhog Day III: Hour 20

from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer #5 (DC, December 1954), script by Sy Reit (?), pencils and inks by Rube Grossman (?)

Grover Groundhog Day III: Hour 19

from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer #8 (DC, December 1957), script by Sy Reit (?), pencils and inks by Rube Grossman (?)

Grover Groundhog Day III: Hour 18

activity page from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer #11 (DC, December 1960), Rudolph and Grover pencils and inks by Rube Grossman (?), cowboy pencils and inks by Lee Elias (?) or Alex Toth (?)
Don't want to cut up your comic book and/or my blog? Here, I did it for ya!

Grover Groundhog Day III: Hour 17

from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer #4 (DC, December 1953), script by Sy Reit (?), pencils and inks by Rube Grossman(?)