365 Days of KirbyTech, Day 67: The Mandarin's Scanner

What's that, Jack? It's just called the Mandarin's Scanner? It's not called the Optic Tele-Scanner or the Visu-Largement Scanner or the Anti-Iron Man Scanner? You're letting us down in the clever double-barrelled technology names department, Jack! Of course, this story is pretty much one of Jack's final works for Marvel. So maybe he was saving all the good names for his Fourth World over at DC. Nevertheless, we present...The Mandarin's Scanner!


Panel from "Pawns of the Mandarin" in Amazing Adventures (1970 series) #3 (November 1970), script and pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Chic Stone, letters by Artie Simek
The Mandarin, long before he was Gandhi, has a flair for an quite the obsession with visual devices. Here's his big-screen TV, similar to the FF's famed giant viewscreen in the Baxter Building.


And his assistant, "Kid" Darkseid, also has one, which has all the trademarks of a piece of consumer electronics created by KirbyCo. Not shown: the slot you have to put mega-quarters into.


Supervillainy! It don't get nowhere without kickass viewing devices!

365 Days of KirbyTech, Day 66: The Finkatronic Ray

Not all KirbyTech is created within the Marvelverse or the DCverse, of course. For example, on Earth-B (for Bongo!):


Panels from "Captain Cupcake and Pieboy!" in Simpsons Super Spectacular #5 (July 2007), script by Mike W. Barr, pencils by James Lloyd, inks by Andrew Pepoy, colors by Rick Reese, letters by Karen Bates

365 Days of KirbyTech, Day 65: Reed Richards' Meson Particle-Smasher

Well, technically, we don't actually get to see any particles, meson or otherwise, smashed in this story, because this little multi-ton piece of KirbyTech is actually just A Thing for Ben Grimm to Lug Around...


Panel from Fantastic Four (1961 series) #51 (June 1966), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Joe Sinnott, letters by Artie Simek
Also, technically that's not Ben Grimm, since this is FF #51, which, if it were an episode of Friends, would be titled "The One Where That Guy Switches Bodies with The Thing." Also, if I recall, the one where Johnny Storm and Dorrie Evans were on a break. "We were on a break!" Johnny yelled, several times.

Today in Comics History, March 6: Granpaw Broon celebrates another birthday, and yet still manages to be alive in 2014

from The Broons Annual 1939 facsimile (Aurum, 2006), script by R. D. Low, art by Dudley D. Watkins
Co-latha-breith sona, Grampaw!

Today in Comics History, March 6: Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane attempts rebranding

from Detective Comics #503 (June 1981), script by Gerry Conway, pencils by Don Newton, inks by Dan Adkins, colors by Adrienne Roy, letters by Ben Oda

Today in Comics History, March 6: DC's new "You Are Bruce Wayne" comic book technology debuts

from Detective Comics #503 (DC, June 1981), script by Gerry Conway, pencils by Don Newton, inks by Dan Adkins, colors by Adrienne Roy, letters by Ben Oda

Today in Comics History, March 5, 1930: Pluto makes a bold dash across space to escape Neil deGrasse Tyson

from "Planetary Names" in Showcase #19 (DC, March 1959), scripter and artist unknown

365 Days of KirbyTech, Day 64: Latverian Bullhorn

Here's what a bullhorn looks like in our world:
And here's what a bullhorn looks like in Latveria, home of Doctor Victor Bernadette von Doom:


Panel from Fantastic Four (1961 series) #84 (March 1969), co-plot and script by Stan Lee, co-plot and pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Joe Sinnott, letters by Sam Rosen
Also? Latveria's sunglasses technology is lightyears beyond ours.

Today in Comics History, March 5: Commissioner Gordon is startled by Zippy the Pinhead's Blofeld reveal

from Detective Comics #503 (DC, June 1981), script by Gerry Conway, pencils by Don Newton, inks by Dan Adkins, colors by Adrienne Roy, letters by Ben Oda

Today in Comics History, March 5: Crab hired as new HR Director

from "Pity Poor Pisces..." in Sweethearts (1954 series) #116 (Charlton, May 1971), pencils by Art Cappello, inks by Charles Nicholas, with Keuffel & Esser Leroy lettering

365 Days of KirbyTech, Day 63: Reed Richards' Nega-Gamma Gun

The Incredible Hulk is on the loose!



No, no, no, not like that. But wouldn't it be cool if the Hulk played bass in a Canadian power rock band?

Perhaps I oughta have said the Hulk is on a rampage, and altho' we need Sue Richards to describe it (because geez, y'can't show that sorta thing in a comic book), the Green Goliath has just tossed Daredevil against an army jet! You know, Daredevil, I don't care how award-winning your series is, that's gotta hurt. Luckily Reed Richards has brought his handy-dandy Nega-Gamma Gun! And remember, folks, when Nega-Gamma Guns are outlawed, only criminals will have Nega-Gamma Guns! And, I suppose, Reed Richards would have one too.


Panels from Incredible Hulk (1968 series) #153 (July 1972), script by Roy Thomas and Gary Friedrich, pencils by Dick Ayers and Herb Trimpe, inks by John Severin, letters by Jean Izzo

Today in Comics History, March 4: Batman Bueller's Day Off

from Detective Comics #503 (DC, June 1981), script by Gerry Conway, pencils by Don Newton, inks by Dan Adkins, colors by Adrienne Roy, letters by Ben Oda

365 Days of KirbyTech, Day 62: SHIELD's Inter-Continental Phone Hook-Up Harness

Nick Fury...

Panels from "Who Strikes at — S.H.I.E.L.D.*?" in Strange Tales #142 (March 1966), plot and pencils by Jack Kirby, dialogue by Stan Lee, inks by Mike Esposito, colors by Stan Goldberg, letters by Artie Simek

...used a cell phone before they were cool.

*Spending Hundreds In Expensive Long Distance

At 13th Dimension: 13 of the Greatest Spirit Title Pages!

All this week on 13th Dimension, it's Will Eisner Week! My bestest pal John (he shares his pizza with me) has written about 13 of the greatest splash pages from The Spirit Section! Say, I wonder why John didn't include this one?:


Splash page from The Spirit Section (December 1, 1940), script; pencils, and inks by Will Eisner; colors by Joe Kubert
Whaddaya think she did to deserve that paddlin' from Denny Colt? I bet she broke a lamp and then fibbed that an otter had done it instead. That's the sort of thing that gets you spanked. Um, hypothetical example, of course.

Once again, that's Will Eisner Week at 13th Dimension! Put on your fedora and mask and make sure your logo is engraved into the architecture, and head on over there! Now that's the spirit!

Today in Comics History, March 3: DC's New 52 Hee Haw comic is a bit dark

from Detective Comics #503 (June 1981), script by Gerry Conway, pencils by Don Newton, inks by Dan Adkins, colors by Adrienne Roy, letters by Ben Oda

365 Days of KirbyTech, Day 61: Black Bolt's Gyro-Ship

Splash page from Fantastic Four (1961 series) #84 (March 1969), co-plot and script by Stan Lee, co-plot and pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Joe Sinnott, letters by Sam Rosen
Man, those wacky Inhumans and their goofball retro cars! Back in Attilan, they're laughing their heads off (exception: Black Bolt) at pawning this refugee from Inhuman Wacky Races off on the Fantastic Four. Look, even Crystal is giggling! And they're all sitting on the old mattresses that Gorgon put out in the alley for the Inhuman Dustman to pick up! Even the Mongol hoards are laughing their fur-clad asses off at this thing!


That's a nice panel, and I'm wondering if Jack based it, like Carl Barks, on a photo he'd seen in National Geographic or another periodical of world photography. Aw, who am I kidding...it's Jack Kirby. He saw it in Multiversal Cosmo-Graphic.

Ben Grimm's not a fan.


We never saw the Inhuman Gyro-Ship, ever again. But in Fantastic Four #87, Ben Grimm was seen toolin' up 'n down Yancy Street on a bitchin' Suzuki T500 Titan. And he don't need no helmet.

Today in Comics History, March 2: Commissioner Gordon is unaware that his tie is Plastic Man

from Detective Comics #503 (DC, June 1981), script by Gerry Conway, pencils by Don Newton, inks by Dan Adkins, colors by Adrienne Roy, letters by Ben Oda