365 Days of Defiance, Day 280: The Nazi or the Tiger

There's a famous story starring Captain Marvel — the Shazam! guy, not any of the later pretenders to that name — defending and fighting for the rights of Mr. Tawky Tawny, the intelligent English-speaking tiger, to live in a house in a neighborhood. I earlier spoofed this story in a post where I suggested that Mr. Tawky Tawny was a gay tiger (and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that if he is). But let me take this, a tale with a big speaking cat and a mighty magical mortal, absolutely at face value to remind you that when some persons don't want other tigers persons living in their neighborhood, it's a time to fight back.



Panels from "Mr. Tawny's New Home" in Captain Marvel Adventures #90 (Fawcett, 1948), script by Otto Binder, pencils and inks by C. C. Beck
Hoo boy. Jim Croce didn't have a chance to sing a lyric about this, but you can be darn sure he would have to say don't bitchslap Captain Marvel in a song.


The bigots and racists and anti-tigerists set up a hate rally (sound familiar, 2017?) to push their small-minded prejudice and drive Mr. Tawny out of town. Guys like this don't always wear hoods, but you can tell 'em when you see 'em.


Mr. Tawky Tawny to the rescue of the town!


My point (and I do have one) is just say no to supremacists and racists trying to keep their culture and neighborhood "pure." Or, as pal Andrew, who reminded me of this story recently (Thanks Andrew!), has often wisely said: be the Big Red Cheese you want to see in the world. I think that says it all, don't you?

365 Days of Defiance, Day 279: Spirit of Iron Makes Skin of Stone

Panels from Black Panther (2016 series) #8 (January 2017), script by Ta-Nehisi Coates, pencils by Chris Sprouse, inks by Karl Story, colors by Laura Martin, letters by Joe Sabino

365 Days of Defiance, Day 278: Every day is our D-Day

Panels from "Declaration" in Dark Reign: New Nation one-shot (February 2009), script by Brian Michael Bendis and Jonathan Hickman, pencils and inks by Stefano Caselli, colors by Daniele Rudoni, letters by Cory Petit

365 Days of Defiance, Day 277: Where hate's a dream and love forever stands / Or is this a vision in my mind?

As we saw yesterday, when you get yourself a J. M. DeMatteis comic, you don't merely get an exciting super-adventure, you get food for thought Sometimes even second helpings in the same story!:
Panels from Marvel Team-Up (1972 series) #129 (May 1983), script by J. M. DeMatteis, pencils by Kerry Gammill, inks by Mike Esposito, colors by Bob Sharen, letters by Diana Albers

365 Days of Defiance, Day 276: Is he tough? Listen, pup! The Spider-Man never gives up!

Panels from Marvel Team-Up (1972 series) #129 (May 1983), script by J. M. DeMatteis, pencils by Kerry Gammill, inks by Mike Esposito, colors by Bob Sharen, letters by Diana Albers
Nice, Spidey, nice! Now, put your (lack of money) where you (covered by a mask) mouth is and finish him. Finish him!


Tomorrow: another cool declaration of defiance in MTU #129, this time from Spidey's visionary team-up partner!

365 Days of Defiance, Day 275: Darkseid Is.* *Defiable.

Beware the serpent-tongued words that tell you you are better than the others, not matter how much honey drips from it. Also, don't eat honey off of a serpent's tongue, okay? Yuck.



Panels from The Forever People (1971 series) #3 (June-July 1971), script and pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Vince Colletta, letters by John Costanza
Instead, summon your own inner power to fight against the falsehoods!





Because you never know who might be the power behind the deceptive words.



This message has been brought to you as an allegory and fable and not necessarily a direct connection to Donald Trump being used like a puppet by Vladimir Putin. Although Putin and Darkseid have both been known to wrestle bears and ride shirtless on horseback. Hmmmm...

The 1978 2017 Amazing Spider-Man Mighty Marvel Comics Calendar: October Owl My Enemies Around Me

Just another friendly neighborhood reminder that you can continue to use your leftover 1978 calendars to accurately keep track of the garbage fire that is 2017! Still, consider this: do you really have it worse off than Spider-Man? A: No. No, you do not.

"October Is Not for Monsters Only!" in The Amazing Spider-Man Mighty Marvel Comics Calendar 1978 (1977); pencils by George Perez, inks by Pablo Marcos, colors by George Bell
(Click picture to big freakout-size)
Now, October may not be Just Not for Monsters Only, but this era of Spidey's life is certainly is certainly filled chock-full o' oddities, orwfullness, and o my god what is that thing?!?-type adventures! It covers not only ASM #122-130 but also the early-seventies Spider-'Sposion, when our web-crawlin' wonder suddenly swung himself up lots more media to star in: Marvel Team-Up, Spider-Man Comics Weekly UK, Spidey Super Stories, and Giant-Size Spider-Man (which I was disappointed did not contain a kaiju-sized Peter Parker terrifying the city). Also, a couple of hit (!?) record albums from the long-ago d ays of vinyl longplayers!

Still, for my money (still only 25¢!) there's no better value for your arachnid allowance than the J. Jonah Jameson and Son subplots a-bubblin' through the Spider-Books. Why, here's just one week of wonder!

365 Days of Defiance, Day 274: Do you remember the fifties / When Emperor Claudius died?

Flashback! A black ops group gets together and does the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen thingee, teaming up Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan, Victor Creed, Namora, Kraven the Hunter, Ulysses Bloodstone, and the first Silver Sable into the all-new, all-different, definitely sexier Avengers '59! They fight all the villains of the 1950s: communism, payola, jumping over sharks, and, hey, it looks like also Nazism in all its forms. How do you think that Sabretooth will solve the problem when faced with an ersatz Red Skull?


Panels from New Avengers (2010 series) #12 (June 2011), script by Brian Michael Bendis, pencils and inks by Howard Chaykin, colors by Edgar Delgado, letters by Joe Caramagna
Now that's how to get a-head in business.

The 1978 2017 DC Calendar of Super-Spectacular Disasters: October Occult

"October: Atom and Hawkman" in The 1978 Calendar of Super-Spectacular Disasters; artwork by Al Milgrom
(Click picture to Great Pumpkin-size)
Throughout several past Octobers in this here puppet-town cow-blog I've brought you stories of superheroism and mysticism in Rutland, Vermont, set at their annual Halloween Parade. Just search for the category "One Night in Rutland" to fin d others, and be aware I still have not yet finished off this feature! (What is wrong with me?)

Anyway, no Rutland Rutrospective is complete without this page from the 1977 DC Calendar of Super-Spectacular Disasters, which tells the tale of the time the ATom, Hawman, and Hawkgirl fought Felix Faust, the Matter Master, and the Gentleman Ghost at the scariest party to end all parties in Vermont (unless you count that time I got into the vats at the Ben and Jerry's factory)!


They're on a collision course with wackiness! I can say this because the calendar doesn't actually tell us how many people died.


Take us up to date, Justice League computer: what's the latest calculations about the criminal genius behind all these seasonal shenanigans?


Huh, that's still baffling. Another clue, computer?


OH HEY IT'S EARLIER-PERIOD, MORE-INNOCENT DOCTOR LIGHT


Cover of Secret Origins (1986 series) #37 (February 1989); script, pencils, inks and letters by Ty Templeton