Today in Comics History Future, July 12, 3797: Axle and wheel technology has improved by lightyears

from Trillium #1 (DC/Vertigo, October 2013), script, pencils, and inks by Jeff Lemire; colors by José Villarrubia, letters by Carlos M. Mangual

Today in Comics History, July 12, 1956: Newspaper hires Jack Kirby as layout designer, wins Pulitzer Prize for Awesomeness

from "The Yellow Claw Captured!" in Yellow Claw #3 (Marvel/Atlas, February 1957); script and pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Jack Kirby and Roz Kirby

Bear Attack! Month 2014, Day 12: Welcome to the nineties / We've got giant bears

Panels from Iron Man Annual #11 (September 1990), script by Roy Thomas and Dann Thomas, pencils by Tom Morgan, inks by Randy Emberlin, colors by Nel Yomtov, letters by Janice Chiang

Bear Attack! Month 2014, Day 11: Laura Kinney and the X-23 Bears

Panels from All-New X-Men #26 (June 2014), script by Brian Michael Bendis, pencils by Stuart Immonen, inks by Wade von Grawbadger, colors by Marte Gracia, letters by Cory Petit

Bear Attack! Month 2014, Day 10: The Beary Lewis Telethon

Panels from The Adventures of Jerry Lewis #102 (September-October 1967), script by Arnold Drake, pencils and inks by Neal Adams

Through the Night with Miracleman, July 10, 1982, 5:00 AM, Coda: Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog punch in for their day's work

from "The Saturday Morning Pictures" in Miracleman (restored series) #4 (Marvel, May 2014); script by Alan Moore "The Original Writer"; pencils and inks by Alan Davis; art restoration by Garry Leach, Michael Kelleher, and "Kellustration", colors by Steve Oliff, letters by Joe Caramagna

Today in Comics History, July 9: A g-r-r-r-r-r-reat crime is committed

from Tiger Lawyer #1 (Challenger, December 2012); script by Ruan Ferrier; pencils, inks, and colors by Matt McCray

No relation to Bea Arthur or Rue McClanahan.

I absolutely love Roy Thomas's 1970s Marvel series The Invaders (featuring the WWI Nazi-busting team of Captain America, Namor, and the Original Human Torch, plus pals), and I love the quirky, fluid figures of Frank Robbins, who drew the vast majority of the series' issues...but I've always had a huge problem in their design for Golden Girl, the Marvel Universe's (chronologically) first Japanese-American superhero. It's basically a shortie kimono robe (and it don't look like there's nuthin' beneath it, either). Did I mention she's a teenager? She's a teenager.



Panels from The Invaders (1975 series) #28 (May 1978), script by Roy Thomas, pencils by Frank Robbins, inks by Frank Springer, colors by George Roussos, letters by John Costanza
Let's not even go into the striped pajama look for Davy Mitchell, the Human Top. (Not in this post, anyway.)

Gwen Sabuki's costume got a little longer when it was drawn by different artists...but hey, it's still something you'd probably buy in Victoria's Secret not that I know anything about that.


Panel from The Invaders #38 (March 1979), script by Don Glut, pencils by Alan Kupperberg and Don Heck, inks by Chic Stone, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by Jim Novak
Especially when it's drawn like this:


Cover of The Invaders #39 (April 1979), pencils by Alan Kupperberg, inks by Joe Sinnott
That's why I was extremely happy to see this uniform on Golden Girl in today's All-New Invaders #7. I especially like the way it adapts the original color design and pattern of the kimono to a practical fighting outfit. With pants!


Panel portion from All-New Invaders #7 (September 2014), script by James Robinson, pencils and inks by Mark Laming, colors by Guru-eFX, letters by Cory Petit
This flashback takes place after the events of The Invaders series and its is-it-still-in-continuity sequel What If? #4, and is in fact after the disappearance/death of Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes, so this could be a "chronologically later" Golden Girl uniform.



But I'd like instead to think that this is actually a retcon of Gwen Sabuki's uniform and the one she woudl have worn "all along." It's certainly one of the best and most forward-thinking retcons of a stupid uniform into a practical, believable, yet still aesthetically attractive one.

Also, it's not a cast-off from one of Prince Namor's "lady friends."


Panels from Uncanny X-Men Annual (2006 series) #2 (March 2009); script by Matt Fraction; pencils, inks, and colors by Daniel Acuña; letters by Joe Caramagna
ICK STOP MAKING ME THINK ABOUT SUB-MARINER'S LOVE LIFE COMIC BOOKS

Bear Attack! Month 2014, Day 9: The sign said "Bear Left." So Batman went home.

Panels from Detective Comics #514 (May 1982), script by Len Wein, pencils by Don Newton, inks by Frank Chiaramonte, colors by Adrienne Roy, letters by John Costanza

Through the Night with Miracleman, July 9, 1982: British remake of "Smokey and the Bandit" is not commercially successful

from "Zarathustra" in Miracleman (1985 series) #3 (Eclipse, November 1985), script by Alan Moore, pencils and inks by Alan Davis, colors by Ron Courtney, letters by G. George

Through the Night with Miracleman, July 9, 1982, 4:10 AM: Really huge lightsaber ignited

from "Zarathustra" in Miracleman (1985 series) #3 (Eclipse, November 1985), script by Alan Moore, pencils and inks by Alan Davis, colors by Ron Courtney, letters by G. George

Through the Night with Miracleman, July 9, 1982, 3:56 AM: The One Ronnie television show is a ratings failure

from "Zarathustra" in Miracleman (1985 series) #3 (Eclipse, November 1985), script by Alan Moore, pencils and inks by Alan Davis, colors by Ron Courtney, letters by G. George

Through the Night with Miracleman, July 9, 1982, 3:56 AM: Dr. Gargunza isn't kind; doesn't rewind

from "Zarathustra" in Miracleman (1985 series) #3 (Eclipse, November 1985), script by Alan Moore, pencils and inks by Alan Davis, colors by Ron Courtney, letters by G. George

Through the Night with Miracleman, July 9, 1982, 3:56 AM: Miracleman goes mad trying to reproduce the brokeback pose

from "Zarathustra" in Miracleman (1985 series) #3 (Eclipse, November 1985), script by Alan Moore, pencils and inks by Alan Davis, colors by Ron Courtney, letters by G. George

Through the Night with Miracleman, July 9, 1982, 3:48 AM: Alan Moore's exposition gland explodes

from "Zarathustra" in Miracleman (1985 series) #3 (Eclipse, November 1985), script by Alan Moore, pencils and inks by Alan Davis, colors by Ron Courtney, letters by G. George

Through the Night with Miracleman, July 9, 1982, 3:46 AM: Sad Big Ben is still sad

from "Zarathustra" in Miracleman (1985 series) #3 (Eclipse, November 1985), script by Alan Moore, pencils and inks by Alan Davis, colors by Ron Courtney, letters by G. George

Through the Night with Miracleman, July 9, 1982, 3:43 AM: The History Channel keeps playing episodes out of order

from "Zarathustra" in Miracleman (1985 series) #3 (Eclipse, November 1985), script by Alan Moore, pencils and inks by Alan Davis, colors by Ron Courtney, letters by G. George

Through the Night with Miracleman, July 9, 1982, 3:42 AM: Sad Big Ben is sad

from "Zarathustra" in Miracleman (1985 series) #3 (Eclipse, November 1985), script by Alan Moore, pencils and inks by Alan Davis, colors by Ron Courtney, letters by G. George

Through the Night with Miracleman, July 9, 1982, 3:40 AM: Sir Dennis Archer chooses the wrong vacation spot again

from "Zarathustra" in Miracleman (1985 series) #3 (Eclipse, November 1985), script by Alan Moore, pencils and inks by Alan Davis, colors by Ron Courtney, letters by G. George

Through the Night with Miracleman, July 9, 1982, 3:35 AM: Big Ben is annoyed to discover his View-Master no longer works

from "Zarathustra" in Miracleman (1985 series) #3 (Eclipse, November 1985), script by Alan Moore, pencils and inks by Alan Davis, colors by Ron Courtney, letters by G. George

Through the Night with Miracleman, July 9, 1982, 3:22 AM: Mr. Cream really really gets into playing "Flappy Bird"

from "Zarathustra" in Miracleman (1985 series) #3 (Eclipse, November 1985), script by Alan Moore, pencils and inks by Alan Davis, colors by Ron Courtney, letters by G. George

Through the Night with Miracleman, July 9, 1982, 3:10 AM: The invention of the giant circular television is not a success

from "Zarathustra" in Miracleman (1985 series) #3 (Eclipse, November 1985), script by Alan Moore, pencils and inks by Alan Davis, colors by Ron Courtney, letters by G. George

Through the Night with Miracleman, July 9, 1982, 3:10 AM: WDNA goes on the air

from "Zarathustra" in Miracleman (1985 series) #3 (Eclipse, November 1985), script by Alan Moore, pencils and inks by Alan Davis, colors by Ron Courtney, letters by G. George

Through the Night with Miracleman, July 9, 1982, 2:39 AM: Harrods opens its annual Two-for-One Skeleton Sale

Welcome to Through the Night with Miracleman! If you're gonan stay up all night, well...so did he.


from "Zarathustra" in Warrior #11 (Quality Communications (UK), July 1983), script by Alan Moore, pencils and inks by Alan Davis, letters by G. George


from "Zarathustra" in Miracleman (1985 series) #3 (Eclipse, November 1985), script by Alan Moore, pencils and inks by Alan Davis, colors by Ron Courtney, letters by G. George


from "Zarathustra" in Miracleman (2014 restored series) #4 (Marvel, May 2014); script by Alan Moore "The Original Writer"; pencils and inks by Alan Davis; art restoration by Garry Leach, Michael Kelleher, and "Kellustration", colors by Steve Oliff, letters by Joe Caramagna
All of this occurs in the early morning of July 9, 1982. Panels from the story "Zarathustra" have been sorted into chronological order.

From this point onwards all panels will be taken from the 1985 Eclipse edition.

Today in Comics History, July 8, 1891: Gotham City newspaper publishes uncharacteristically cheerier-than-usual headline

from Batman and Robin #23.2 (DC, November 2013), script by James Tynion IV, pencils and inks by Jorge Lucas, colors by Dave McCaig, letters by Steve Wands

Bear Attack! Month 2014, Day 8: Honey for the Bee

Panels from the Archie story "Trip to Bear Mountain" (featuring the first appearance of Mr. Weatherbee and Reggie) in Jackpot Comics #5 (Spring 1942); script, pencils, and inks by Bob Montana

Well, that'll happen.

Panels from "The Evil Eye" in Strange Tales #4 (December 1951), pencils and inks by Bill Everett

Bear Attack! Month 2014, Day 7: In Russia, bear is loaded for you

from the untitled Black Widow + Fantomex story in A+X #10 (Marvel, September 2013), script by B. Clay Moore, pencils and inks by Kris Anka, colors by James Campbell, letters by Clayton Cowles

Bear Attack! Month 2014, Day 6: Clark shouldn't have worn those spring-loaded boots

panels from the Superman story "The Siege of Aurora Roost!" in World's Finest Comics #22 (May-June 1946), script by Alvin Schwartz (?), pencils by Ira Yarbrough, inks by Stan Kaye