Saturday, June 04, 2016

A Month of... There Is No Hope in Crime Alley, Night 4: Batman Underground



Panels from Batman (2012 series) #2 (September 2013); co-plot by Scott Snyder; co-plot and script by Marguerite Bennett; pencils by Wes Craig; inks by Craig Yeung, Drew Geraci, Wes Craig, Jack Purcell, Sandu Florea, and Marc Deering; colors by Ian Hannin; letters by Dave Sharpe

366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 156: Well, hello to you, too


Panel from Web of Spider-Man #14 (May 1986), script by David Michelinie, pencils by Mike Harris, inks by Kyle Baker, colors by Bob Sharen, letters by Phil Felix

Friday, June 03, 2016

A Month of... There Is No Hope in Crime Alley, Night 3: We Can Do It!




Panels from DC Comics Bombshells #1 (October 2015); script, pencils, inks, and colors by Marguerite Sauvage; letters by Wes Abbott

366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 155: Give JJJ a camera and see what develops!


Panels from Marvel Team-Up (1972 series) #51 (November 1976), script by Bill Mantlo, breakdowns by Sal Buscema, finishes by Mike Esposito, colors by Janice Cohen, letters by Irving Watanabe

Thursday, June 02, 2016

A Month of... There Is No Hope in Crime Alley, Night 2: Putting the "Nasty" Back in "Dynasty"




Panels from "Dark Present" in Dark Knight Dynasty graphic novel (November 1997); script by Mike W. Barr; pencils by Gary Frank; inks by Cam Smith; colors by Ian Hannin; color separations by Alex Bleyaert and Robert Ro; letters by Ken Lopez

Stan Lee's even making movie cameos in comics now


Panels from Uncanny Avengers (2015 series) #9 (July 2016), script by Gerry Duggan, pencils and inks by Pepe Larraz, colors by David Curiel, letters by Clayton Cowles

366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 154: Always something a little sketchy about that guy


Sketch page from Peter Parker: Spider-Man #1 (January 1999), pencils by John Romita, Jr.

Wednesday, June 01, 2016

A Month of... There Is No Hope in Crime Alley, Night 1: I still see it all in my head in burning red


Beginning our usual annual countdown (can ya believe this is the fifth year? I had to start an excel spreadsheet to keep track of what panels I've used already!) to June 26, the anniversary of the death of Batman's parents, gunned down by Joe Chill (or, if it's an Elseworlds, by Vampire Joe Chill, Batmite, or Richie Rich) in Crime Alley, where there's no Starbucks, no Chipotle, and definitely no hope.

Join me this month, all month, to re-experience the event that made a boy into a man...a Batman! (Caution: persons of a nervous disposition or who are frightened by the sight of pearls falling to the ground may wish to avert their eyes.)


Panel from Batman #619 (November 2003), script by Jeph Loeb, pencils by Jim Lee, inks by Scott Williams, colors by Alex Sinclair, letters by Richard Starkings

366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 153: Civil War: Whose Side Are You On?


Panels from Web of Spider-Man (1985 series) #12 (March 1986), script by Peter David, layouts by Sal Buscema, finishes by Bob McLeod, colors by Bob Sharen, letters by Rick Parker

The MAD 1960 2016 calendar for Jugheaded June!


"The MAD 1960 Calendar: June" from MAD #52 (January 1960), script by Larry Siegel, art by Mort Drucker

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

June is coming!


..and the less said about her relationship with her wolf, the better.


A Month of... Batman's Got a Gun, Day 31: Bang Bang, My Batman Shot Me Down


Let's wrap up A Month of...Batman's Got a Gun with Batman and the ultimate gun...a KirbyGun. Darkseid used it to shoot Orion, and Batman's gonna use it right back. I don't know what kind of Apokoliptan bullet that super-science pistol packs, but I betcha anything firing it is going to be accompanied by Kirby Krackle. Heck, even if it was a bubble gun it'd shoot Kirby Krackle. Shoot 'im, Batman! shoot 'im! This one we don't object to!


Panels from Batman #702 (October 2010), script by Grant Morrison, pencils and inks by Tony Daniel, colors by Ian Hannin, letters by Travis Lanham

So, we've seen Batman with a gun thirty-one times this month, and what have we learned, Charlie Brown gentle reader? The truth is, no matter how many handguns Batman's hoisting, more often than not he doesn't have a gun. Like 7Up and caffeine, he's never had 'em, never will. Why, he'll even use janitorial equipment before he picks up a Smith & Wesson!



Panels from Batman: Shadow of the Bat #60 (March 1997), script by Alan Grant, pencils by Dave Taylor, inks by Stan Woch, colors by Pam Rambo, color separations by Android Images, letters by Bill Oakley

If I take anything from this sampling of the hundreds of armed Batmen in my "Batman's Got a Gun" folder (seriously, there's enough for at least a couple more months), it's that sometimes Batman has a gun. Sometimes it's a fake-out, sometimes it's a ruse, sometimes it's a mistake, sometimes it's a hoax, a dream, or an imaginary story. But if we can say one thing, we can all agree on this: Batman's Got a Gun.

As I did yesterday, i'm going to point you to Further Reading by the guy who has influenced my own critical thinking on Batman (and the goofy riffing on him that I do in my blog), America's Foremost Batmanologist, Chris Sims! Check these out, and you'll have a fuller and more thorough understanding of the Batman's rocky relationship with revolvers. But enough about Batman Oughta Have Guns, what about Comics Oughta Be Fun, you ask? What's on the agenda for June? Well, here's a little preview. Next month, all month: Mary Jane's Got a Gun!


Panels from Spider-Man Unlimited (1993 series) #9 (May 1995); script by Tom Lyle; pencils by Ron Lim, Ron Garney, and Ron Tod Smith; inks by (inhale) Tom Palmer, Randy Emberlin, Tim Tuohy, Al Milgrom, Jimmy Palmiotti, Klaus Janson, Sam de la Rosa, and Don Hudson; colors by John Kalisz; letters by Joe Rosen

Oh...maybe not.

June is coming!


..and she's got a lucrative tartan fabric business.


June is coming!


...and she's got a free gift for you, but you'll have to wait 'til next week if you're into Cliff Richard.


June is coming!


...and she's no Humphrey Lyttelton, I can tell you that.


June is coming!


...and she's shamelessly shilling for her own products.


June is coming!


...and she's not having anything to do with your fat-shaming.


June is coming!


...and she really, really loves that horse.


June is coming!


...and she gets to go to London but I don't?!?
Hey, I object!


8,400.

June is coming!


...and she didn't get into Hogwart's this year.


June is coming!


...and she's shoe-polishing a kitten!


June is coming!


...and she's got an otter!


June is coming!


...and she's full of fun and adventure!


366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 152: I bet this never happened to Jimmy Olsen


Panels from Web of Spider-Man #3 (June 1985), script by Louise Simonson, pencils by Greg LaRocque, inks by Jim Mooney and Vince Colletta, colors by George Roussos, letters by Phil Felix

Monday, May 30, 2016

A Month of... Batman's Got a Gun, Day 30: License to Chill



Don't fear the reaper. It's good advice, whether you're hearing it from Buck Dharma or from Batman! Because welcome the not-quite sequel to Frank Miller's "Batman: Year One," the obviously titled "Batman: Year Two." (Seriously, this is so not Batman: Year One, folks.) Hey, this looks familiar:


Cover of Detective Comics #575 (June 1987), pencils by Alan Davis, inks by Paul Neary, colors by Anthony Tollin



366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 151: He's just mad because the colorist didn't show up for work


Panel from Daily Bugle #2 (January 1997), script by Paul Grist, pencils by Karl Kerschl, inks by Greg Adams, letters by Jim Novak, and yes, it was published in black-and-white

Sunday, May 29, 2016

A Month of... Batman's Got a Gun, Day 29: I know that I must pass this test / So, just pull the trigger


If the purpose of a comic cover — and whatta cover! — is to get you to pick it up to see how and why the events are occurring like that...well, for Tec #426...mission accomplished.


Cover of Detective Comics #426 (August 1972), pencils and inks by Mike Kaluta, letters by Gaspar Saladino

OH NO! Shortly, the Batman will take gum in hand and...wait, what's so dangerous about that? I mean, maybe if the gum has aspertame in it, and he's chewin' a whole pack at once, and he tries to blow a bubble and it gets all over his cowl and then...oh, wait, it says gun. ........... Never mind.



366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 150: Jonah is requested to kiss someone's grits


Panels from Marvels #1 (January 1994), script by Kurt Busiek, painted art by Alex Ross, letters by Richard Starkings and John Gaushell