Saturday, April 30, 2016

366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 121: Threat AND menace


Panels from Superior Spider-Man #13 (September 2013), plot by Dan Slott, script by Christos Gage, pencils by Giuseppe Camuncoli, inks by John Dell and Terry Pallot, colors by Edgar Delgado, letters by Chris Eliopoulos

And as fast as you can turn the page (or say doodley doodley doodley):


Well, that only goes to prove the ancient proverb, Jonah: lay down with spiders, wake up with octopusses. Just like the old fortune teller woman said.

Friday, April 29, 2016

366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 120: I'm gonna pop some tags, only got twenty-four dollars in my pocket

When you're an Electric Company-watchin' kid who's also reading Spidey Super Stories, $24 seems like all the money in the world. And you could earn that much sharpening pencils, well, then, whoo boy, you'd have all the comic books and Hi-C Ecto-Cooler in the world.


Panels from "The Last Laugh" in Spidey Super Stories #18 (August 1976), script by Pat Thackray, pencils by Win Mortimer, inks by Mike Esposito and Tony Mortellaro, letters by Ray Holloway (?)

So guess who's out to earn that cool two dozen bucks, huh? Three guesses and the first two don't count, and the third one doesn't either unless you call him "Spidey."


Hey, he stole Jonah's cigar!


Petey certainly didn't think that one through (considering it has happened to him before quite early in his career). WAHHH WAHHH WAHHH THAT'S OUR SPIDEY hey wait he shoulda taken the check to one of those fly-by-night check cashing places that doesn't check ID and only costs you 80% of your check.

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Fixed it for ya


366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 119: Say, Jonah, how do you feel about the death of Prince?


Panel from "Stars & Stripes Forever" in Captain America (1998 series) #50/518 (February 2002), script by Evan Dorkin, pencils and inks by Kevin Maguire, colors by Avalon Studios, letters by Todd Klein

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 118: Spider-Man is now legally free to enter any women's shower room in Manhattan


from "Lock and/or Key, Part 1" in Amazing Spider-Man (1963/1999 series) #652 (Marvel, March 2011), script by Fred Van Lente, pencils by Reilly Brown, inks by Victor Olazaba, colors by Andres Mossa, letters by Joe Caramagna

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Who's that girl, who's that girl? It's Jess!

Welcome to another exciting installment of Who's That Girl? It's Jess! (I'm determined to get this feature in at least once every three years.) It's the fun-filled, spider-flavored focus that spotlights the romantic life and dating mishaps of our very own seventies diva Miss Jessica Drew! (I bet she looks good on the dance floor.) So let's join her on another typical romantic date with...I dunno, some guy, s'posed to be good for you.


Panels from Spider-Woman #8 (November 1978), script by Marv Wolfman, pencils by Carmine Infantino, inks by Al Gordon, colors by Francoise Mouly, letters by John Costanza

Judging from the way Jerry — oh, that's his name! — meanders in his "let's make out" speech, you would be mistaken in guessing this is one of the issues of Spider-Woman written by Chris Claremont. But it's Marv Wolfman! Instead, just picture these words are spoken by Terry Long. And we can at last see what relation Spider-Woman has to the original-recipe Spider-Man: it's not her powers or her mask or even her name; it's her inability to get through a date without having to duck out to fight or save somebody! Next time, Jess, date somebody whose hair isn't going grey, and who buys you cotton candy that isn't half-melted already!


Turns out the guy she saves from killing himself is from the Bicentennial. Geez, Marvel, it was two years ago, give it a rest, already! You've already proven that your Bicentennial Super Special Treasury was better than DC's. Also: way to suddenly try to date an even older guy, Jess.


Bicentennial Boy Samuel Davis is cursed by a witch (hey, why didn't they burn her?) to live forever. Holy Hob Gadling, Batman! Or, that is, live forever until he finds someone so in love with him she'll be willing to die with him. (Typical cisminded 18th century witch, assuming that Sam Davis is heterosexual, huh?) So, of course, Spider-Woman will be perfect to die along with him. HEY WAIT WHAT


Then suddenly, the greatest date interruption of them all: bear attack!


WAIT where was this amusement park or fun fair that is so close to bears, huh? That's mighty poor planning on behalf of the park operators. "Should we build it by the wild bear habitats?" "Eh, couldn't hurt."


As the signs say, bear left. Then Jessica Drew agrees to die along with Revolutionary War Dude and pushes him off a cliff. Then, she flies off, leaving him to be impaled on the conveniently sharp rocks below (seriously, where is this amusement park? Barsoom?). Nice brush-off, Jess. You coulda just given him a fake phone number. This guy will never ask her for a date or a death-pact again!


THIS WAS ONE OF JESSICA DREW'S BEST DATES EVER.

366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 117: This is not the way I predicted print would die


Panels from Galactus the Devourer #3 (November 1999), script by Louise Simonson, pencils by John Buscema, inks by Bill Sienkiewicz, colors by Christie Scheele, letters by Richard Starking

Monday, April 25, 2016

Beefcake Wolverine and his new young female sidekick


Panels from Wolverine (1988 series) #17 (Late November 1989), script by Archie Goodwin, layouts by John Byrne, finishes by Klaus Janson, colors by Glynis Oliver, letters by Jim Novak,
and from Angel Love #1 (August 1986); script and pencils by Barbara Slate, inks by John William Lopez, colors by Bob LeRose, letters by Bill Yoshida

366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 116: Betty Brant 2.0 just isn't working out


Panels from Amazing Spider-Man (1963 series) #159 (August 1976), script by Len Wein, breakdowns by Ross Andru, figure finishes by Mike Esposito, background finishes by Dave Hunt, letters by Joe Rosen

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Ten of a Kind: I'm here and you guys suck












(More Ten of a Kind here.)

8,300.

Today in Comics History, April 24, 1949: How can we miss you, Spirit, if you won't go away?

What must be obviously the early edition of The Spirit's hometown newspaper, The Central City Gazette, on the morning of April 24, 1949:


from Will Eisner's The Spirit (2015 series) #1 (Dynamite, July 2015), script by Matt Wagner, pencils and inks by Dan Schkade, colors by Brennan Wagner, letters by A Larger World Studios

Followed by, I guess, a later edition on the same day?


from Will Eisner's The Spirit (2015 series) #6 (Dynamite, December 2015), script by Matt Wagner, pencils and inks by Dan Schkade, colors by Brennan Wagner, letters by A Larger World Studios

Will Eisner's The Spirit: made of 100% boomerang.

366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 115: When you say "big hair" in the Marvel Universe, I usually don't think "Johnny Storm"


Panels from "A Day at the Races!" in Fantastic Four #543 (April 2007), script, pencils, and inks by Paul Pope; colors by José Villarrubia, letter by Rus Wooton

Incidentally, judging from the context, I think that Rus Wooton made a minor lettering typo in the last word balloon, so I took the liberty to correct it in Photoshop above. Here's what it actually looked like. Whoops!


Seconcidentally, does Johnny Storm really have big hair? Well, sorta.


Whatdaya have to say to that, Peter Parker?


Man, everybody's kinda hung up on Johnny Storm's hair in this comic.