Today in Comics History, May 24: Happy birthday, Carmine Infantino!

Born today in 1925: legendary comics artist, editor, and publisher Carmine Infantino, who co-created Batgirl, The Flash (Barry Allen and Wally West), Black Canary, Animal Man, Bat Lash, Phantom Stranger, Deadman, and more! He's drawn pretty much everybody in books like Detective Comics and Batman, Star Wars, Adventure Comics, The Avengers, Mystery in Space, Spider-Woman, The Brave and the Bold, Iron Man, Green Lantern, Nova, Phantom Stranger, Daredevil, and so much more!


from Fifty Who Made DC Great one-shot (DC, 1985)

Today in Comics History, January 9: Happy birthday, Richard Nixon!

Born on this date in 1913: Richard M. Nixon, America's only hounded out of office president! There's an old Vulcan saying: "Only Nixon could get his picture in so many 1970s comic books!" Yes, there's a lot of Tricky Dick pop-ups (ew) within the pages of comics, but I'm gonna just shoot you this here cameo from the broccoli-stained pages of Hulk...


from Incredible Hulk (1968 series) #152 (Marvel, June 1972), script by Gary Friedrich and Steve Englehart, pencils by Dick Ayers, art corrections to faces by Herb Trimpe, inks by Frank Giacoia, colors by Mimi Gold (?), letters by Artie Simek
...which shows you that ol' Dick Nixon was just too busy having the US Military hunt down old Jade Jaws to ever commit any conspiracies or screw up Vietnam or run over folk singer Joni Mitchell in his limosine.

Want more? Sure, Sally Strothers, Strother Martin, and Martin and Lewis...we all do! So if you click on over to 13th Dimension, the blog that's a pedagogue, you'll check out thirteen more Nixon appearances in comic books, ranging from a Star Trek spin-off to ruling the earth as a disembodied head. (Four thousand more years!) Also, there's Duck Nixon. All over at the totaly excellent 13th Dimension, which you can find lots of nifty screenshots and if you're not careful, you may just learn something. Did I mention it's written by my pal John DiBello? I helped out with the jokes, though. It's the ONLY website on the World Wide Internet with so much Nixon content! (Aside from some files of the FBI and CIA.)


Tricky birthday, Happy Dick! I mean...strike that; reverse it.

365 Days of Star Wars Comics, Day 18: I bet you have never thought this much before about Chewbacca's ass

All the past week it's been Star Wars Week over at Dimension 13, the blog that's ten dimensions beyond your puny three dimensions! Check out George Folz's ambitious project of sketching a Star Wars original trilogy drawing every day this year (and how you can enter to win one of them, but hurry, entries close at 11PM EST tonight!). Thrill as Comics Creators Pick Their Fave Star Wars Moments, find out how Mark Hamill changed Seth Kushner's life, or even the Top 13 Grooviest Vintage Star Wars Figures (hey, where's Boba Fett with Rocket-Firing Backpack with Patented You'll- Put-Your-Eye-Out action?).

And then there's a little article by my pal John which is on a subject that's only about as important as, oh, how he got started on comics reading and collecting the the first place. (So it's kinda my comics fan origin, too!) Check out How I Became a Comics Fan, Thanks to Carmine Infantino’s Darth Vader, in which pal John tells us about his love for the first Marvel Comic he ever bought, Star Wars #21! (He lets me read it if I am not eating jelly sandwiches at the time.)

Here's some panels that aren't from #21 but is from #19, part of that same story that compasses issues #18-23: The Wheel Saga, which is a dandy Star Wars-ing saga and one about which John may tell you more someday in the future when he can get around to it. I have chosen to feature it because it stars everyone's favorite walking carpet, Chewbacca R. Wrarrararrarrrr. (The 'R' is for 'Rarrrrrrrrr.')


Panels from Star Wars (1977 series) #19 (January 1979), script by Archie Goodwin, pencils by Carmine Infantino, inks by Bob Wiacek, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by Irv Watanabe
Yes, visually-suck in the splendor that is the tight and toned and yet still furry ASS OF CHEWBACCA.


So don't forget, mosey on over to 13th Dimension to check out How I Became a Comics Fan, Thanks to Carmine Infantino’s Darth Vader! And never forget

CHEWBACCA'S ASS

At 13th Dimension: Spider-Man's Screwiest Spider-Verses: Teens vs. Ultron!

Tonight, my pal John has a new post up over at comics news 'n' culture blog 13th Dimension, an' I helped! Continuing John's sure-to-be-Eisner-nominated series on weird and oddball alternate Spider-Man Universes, he's told us all about the time Spider-Man contributed to engineering education for teens and he fought the rampaging Doctor Octopus and Ultron. Well, sorta. In the end it's actually the civilians who save Spidey's bacon (and that's even without him being Spider-Ham!) You can pretty much count on Spider-Man just passing the buck in his adventures, can't you?:


Panels from The Amazing Spider-Man NACME Series: Riot at Robotworld #2 (1991), script by Dwayne McDuffie, pencils by Alex Saviuk, inks by Chris Ivy, colors by Paul Becton, letters by Jon Babcock
Ah, that's the Spider-Man we know and love.

Also, as Spider-Marshall-McLuhan would remind us, this is a comic book brought you to by the fine folks at the major corporations who contribute to the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, and so they get to have their names listed in a Spider-Man comic book. Be certain to buy stuff from them all! (Hey, it's just like Kickstarter!)


So check out SPIDEY’S SCREWIEST SPIDER-VERSES #3: Teenagers vs. Ultron over at 13th Dimension, the comics site that's ten dimensions better than reality!

In conclusion: engineering jobs for minority kids: good. Ultron: bad.

At 13th Dimension: Spider-Man's Screwiest Spider-Verses debuts!

Tonight over at 13th Dimension, my pal John begins a series of posts about Spider-Man's Screwiest Spider-Verses...weird and wacky alternate versions of Spider-Man we probably won't be seeing in the new Spider-Verse crossover event (darn it). Although Spider-Verse promises every Spider-Man known to man...I bet pal John's come up with a few more! (I helped.)

Here's a web-slinger we can only hope we'll see: Rick Geary's Spider-Man! Here's a sneak preev:


Page from Spider-Man: Chase for the Blue Tiger (1995), written and illustrated by Rick Geary
Whoa, what the Sam Scratch is that crazy silver coin right in the middle of the page? You'll just have to head over to 13th Dimension for Spider-Man's Screwiest Spider-Verses to find out! A splendid time is guaranteed for all!*

*Guarantee does not apply to Green Goblin.

At 13th Dimension: 13 Dimensions of Multiversity: DC Worlds We Want Brought Back!

Today, Grant Morrison hijacked your mind and took you on a escapade around various worlds of the DC multiverse in the first issue of The Multiversity! (Aw, he's always doin' that.) And of course you all know what that means: online comments complaining that the comic book is too hard to understand. Also: another article by my bestest pal John over at 13th Dimension! Storrison's morey Morrison's story takes us to Earths 7, 8, and 23, brings back Captain Carrot (the Sensational New Character Find of 1982!) with an all-new look, President Calvin Ellis (Superman of Earth-23), and Lord Volt and Lady Quark! Not to mention Aquawoman of Earth-11 and comic book fan Red Racer of Earth-36!

John's 13th Dimension article covers the 13 DC Earths we'd like brought back in Multiversity, and it's a baker's dozen whoopie-dooper of some choices! But (as always), I wonder why John didn't include this Earth?:

The Earth of cancelled comic book characters,
where Animal Man met Angel Love!

Panels from Animal Man (1988 series) #24 (August 1967); script by Grant Morrison, pencils by Chas Truog, inks by Doug Hazlewood, colors by Tatjana Wood, letters by John Costanza
YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT ANGEL LOVE


Once again, that's 13 Dimensions of Multiversity over at 13th Dimension! And remember, when traveling from one Earth to the other, always remove bottles of liquid larger than 3 ounces from your carry-on bags! (Because Aquaman loves that stuff.)

At 13th Dimension: Captain America Scares the Pants Off Us

It's the Fourth of July, and you know what that means...blog posts about Captain America! Which this year, take the form of something my star-spangled pal John wrote over at 13th Dimension: "Captain America Scares the Pants Off Us!" Yep, it's the true tale of how Cap uses both fear and hope to convince Bucky...and us...to invest in America's future against the Axis powers.

Even so, seems to me that John left out this terribly frightening moment from that ish of Captain America:


Panels from "The Crocodile Strikes!" in Captain America Comics (October 1942); script by Stan Lee (?), pencils by Al Avison, inks by Syd Shores
EWWWWW CAP STOP LICKING BABIES

At 13th Dimension: The Crazy Costumes of Kitty Pryde

Do you know what week it is? Why, yes indeed, it's the week of May 18th. Also this week, over at 13th Dimension, it's X-Men Week, which means they must have another movie comin' out or something. What is this, X-Men XXII: The Search for Maggott? In any case, my best pal John has written about The Crazy Costumes of Kitty Pryde, and you know the drill, yadda yadda yadda, I can't figger out why he left out this amazing costume: Baby Kitty Pryde!


Panels from Excalibur (1988 series) #6 (March 1989), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Alan Davis, inks by Paul Neary, colors by Francois Mouly, letters by Tom Orzechowski
Oh, wait, I think I can guess why he left it out.

At 13th Dimension: Godzilla vs. the Marvel Universe!

ROWWWWWWWWWWR! "Dine-saw!" (as my little pal George Pig would say). Why, that's no mere dinosaur, that's the king of the dinosaurs, and that statement should enable you to complete the following analogy question from the B.S.A.T. (Bully's Special Aptitude Test):

Comic book artist:Jack Kirby :: dinosaur:???????

Why of course, the answer is GODZILLA! Yes, over at 13th Dimension, it's time to salute Godzilla, the big guy who destroys Tokyo with more flair and panache than any monster (I'm lookin' at you, Gamera). That's why my best pal John has written about The Ultimate Battle...GODZILLA vs. the Marvel Universe!, which is all about Big G's 1977-1979 Marvel comic book series and how he tramped across Earth-616's America from coast to coast! And yet as usual John left out my favorite moment in the series, Godzilla versus Cowboys!


Page from Godzilla #16 (November 1978), script by Doug Moench, pencils by Herb Trimpe, inks by Dan Green, colors by Francois Mouly, letters by Jean Simek
Whoa, that cowboy in the lower left is plum hopped up on loco weed, ain't he? Well, at least he probably won't try to do anything too stupid...


Once again, that's Godzilla vs. the Marvel Universe over at 13th Dimension! And while you're there, don't forget to enter to win a Dimaond Select Godzilla! (Because I can't.) RAWRRRRRRRRR!

At 13th Dimension: Spidey's 13th Wackiest Team-Ups

Thanks to his second amazing movie opening today (seriously, why was this movie not called Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man?), this week on 13th Dimension, it's Spider-Man Week, the week that does whatever a Spider can! While I'm away wrestling with oversized maps, my best pal John has written about Spidey's 13 Wackiest Team-Ups! Say, I wonder why John didn't include this great team-up moment:


Panels from The Punisher (2001 series) #2 (August 2001), script by Garth Ennis, pencils by Steve Dillon, inks by Jimmy Palmiotti, colors by Chris Sotomayor, letters by Richard Starkings and Wes Abbott
Once again, that's Spider-Man at 13th Dimension! It's amazing and spectacular! Also: web of.

At 13th Dimension: Jim Steranko's Captain America!

All this week on 13th Dimension, it's Captain America Week! Gosh, you'd think the dude has a movie comin' out or something. My bestest pal John (he's going to take me to the movies, hooray!) has written about the three amazing issues of Captain America by Jim Steranko! Say, I wonder why John didn't include this moment?:


Panels from Strange Tales (August 1967); script, pencils, inks, and colors by Jim Steranko, letters by Jerry Feldmann
WHOA NICK FURY PUT YOUR SHIRT BACK ON MAN IT'S NOT THAT KINDA COMIC BOOK

Once again, that's Captain America Week at 13th Dimension! (And don't forget to enter 13th Dimension's contest to win a pair of Hasbro action figures, because I can't!) It's All-American, dudes!

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!

365 Days of KirbyTech, Day 55: Reed Richards' Portable Energy-Detector

Tonight at 13th Dimension you can find a guide, with specially-written mini-biographies, of each of the contributors to 13D: The 13thD Super Team: Who We Are and How We Came to Be! I would like to point out that it include my person pal John DiBello. Aside from that claim that "he writes most of the stuff" here at Comics Oughta Be Fun! (heresy!) it's a pretty accurate depiction. He does want to shake Ben Grimm's hand and thank him for the events of Marvel Two-In-One Annual #7, one of the greatest superhero comic books of all time. How great is it? So great that the Thing is acclaimed as the ultimate fighter in the universe, the warrior who will not give up.

Also, because of Reed Richards' Thing-Finderer...I mean, his Portable Energy-Detector.


Panels from Marvel Two-in-One Annual #7 (1982); script by Tom DeFalco; pencils by Ron Wilson; inks by Bob Camp, Mike Esposito, Frank Giacoia, Dan Green, Armando Gil, and Chic Stone; colors by George Roussos; letters by Jim Novak
Clearly an evolutionary and technological advance on Reed's Heat-Image Tracer, it picks up and analyzes not heat, but alien residue. So, like, stray hairs that fell off the Watcher's head (wait, perhaps a bad example), fabric shreds where Dominus stepped accidentally on his really dramatic albeit waaaaay-too-long cape, or the Silver Surfer's belly-button lint. Instantly Reed discovers that the alien being who kidnapped Ben Grimm has cosmic energy and power greater than Galactus and stranger than anything our puny Earth minds can conceive. So, Cosmic Paris Hilton, then.

Later, of course, Sue pointed out that they could just click on Ben's laptop to "Show My StarkPhone," which zeroed directly in on the Thing, allowing the Fantastic Four to rush directly to his side at the bar of the Yancy Street Grill. It was Monday night: 25¢ buffalo wings and buck-a-drafts, and Mavericks vs. Knicks on the big screen. Sometimes Ben just can't escape his "pals," not even for just one ferschluggin' night. Whatta revoltin' development.

At 13th Dimension: "Happy Presidents Day: It’s Our Favorite President!"

...no, not Chester A. Arthur. Stop writin' in demanding more Chester A. Arthur comics!

It's actually Richard M. Nixon that my bestest pal John has written about today on 13th Dimension, and you can check out 13 of Tricky Dick's most bizarre and outrageous appearances in comics! From pinching Teri Garr's bottom to facing off against the New Three Musketeers, it's all here, even that time when Captain America watched President N cash in his chips! (You really have to pick your poker buddies more carefully, Steve.)

However, once again John has missed out on one of the finest Nixon appearances in comic books: that time he cut off Wonder Woman in mid-speech.


Panels from DC: The New Frontier #3 (May 2004); script, pencils, and inks by Darwyn Cooke,
colors by Dave Stewart, letters by Jared K. Fletcher
The next sixty-four pages of that comic is Wonder Woman dribbling Nixon like a basketball, so it's well worth picking up the trade.

At 13th Dimension: "Thirteen Days a Week: A Beatles Comics Countdown" #1 and "He Came in Through the Bat-Room Window!"

All this week on 13th Dimension, it's Beatles Week! And at last my person pal John might have some time to toss the old pigskin around and take me to see The Lego Movie after spending the whole week writing posts for 13th Dimension!

Tonight you can read two posts: first, his final installment in Thirteen Days A Week: A Beatles Comics Countdown spotlights the very first Beatles comic (and no, it's not an issue of Blue Beetle from the Golden Age!).

Then, as if that' weren't enough rich Liverpudlian goodness, check out the post I-Can't-Believe-Editor-Dan-Greenfield-Let-John-Keep-This-Title titled "He Came in Through the Bat-Room Window," spotlighting Batman #222 and the mysterious case of the dead or alive British pop sensation named Saul not Paul Cartwright not McCartney.

And yes, yet again, John has ignored my little stuffed pleas to include this, the greatest Beatles panel in comic book history:


Panel from "Exiled on the Bizarro World!" in Jimmy Olsen #80 (October 1964), script by Jerry Siegel (?), pencils by John Forte, inks by George Klein
Maybe John was right. Maybe I shoulda saved that for "The Entire Silver Age in One Panel."

At 13th Dimension: "Thirteen Days a Week: A Beatles Comics Countdown" IV!

All this week on 13th Dimension, it's Beatles Week! I am starting to get jealous of my prolific person pal John who has written about some of the greatest Beatles appearances in comic books—thirteen in all! Tonight, installment number four, counting down from 4 to 2 and starring Starfire and Raven, Gold and Mercury*, and the world's only canonically correct Batman!

Just to prove I can also find comic book appearances of the Fab Four in my collection, I clipped out this one and handed it to John, but he didn't use it. I am going to start charging him for access to my comics vault. I keep makin' suggestions, but John never include the Beatles moments in comic books that I suggest. Moments like that time Clark Kent and Lana Lang went to a Beatles concert. 


from "Challenge of the Green K-tastrophe!" in Superman Family #198 (DC, November 1979), script by Cary Bates, pencils by Kurt Schaffenberger, inks by Joe Giella, colors by Gene D'Angelo, letters by Ben Oda
I'm always amused by the dragged-along-like-a-trailer continuity of Superboy which remains constantly 15 years behind whatever era the contemporary Superman stories are taking place. In Action Comics #317 (October 1964), Supes is contemporary with the Beatles, so his Superboy would have been listening to, collecting the 45s, and taking Lana Lang to the Smallville sock hop dance to the music of Patti Page's "The Tennessee Waltz," Nat King Cole's "Mona Lisa," Gordon Jenkins and The Weavers' "Goodnight Irene," and this, quite possibly the greatest song of all time:


Which means that today's modern, collared New 52 Superman, as a teenager in Nu-Smallville, listened to and prevented teen Lex Luthor from illegally downloading, "Smooth" by Santana and Rob Thomas, "Big Pimpin'" by Jay-Z, "Say My Name" by Destiny's Child, and this, quite possibly the greatest song about Y2K of all time:


John sez I'm not allowed to watch that video more than ten times in a row anymore.

To get back (hey!) on the subject of The Beatles: once again, that's Beatles Week at 13th Dimension! John's #1 Beatles moment in comic books will be posted tomorrow! And as The Beatles sang, "Tomorrow never knows!" Or was that a James Bond song?


I'm not allowed to watch that video more than once.

*The only metal that is liquid at room temperature.

At 13th Dimension: "Thirteen Days a Week: A Beatles Comics Countdown" III!

All this week on 13th Dimension, it's Beatles Week! Human pal John (who I time-share my iMac with) has written about some of the greatest Beatles appearances in comic books—thirteen in all! Tonight, installment number three, counting down from 7 to 5 and starring Chronos, The Bee Gees with Peter Frampton (marginally, at least), and Jimmy Olsen!

I keep makin' suggestions, but John never include the Beatles moments in comic books that I suggest. Moments like the time Doc Savage's son went to the famous concert at Shea Stadium:


from Doc Savage (1987 miniseries) #2 (DC, December 1987), script by Dennis O'Neil, pencils by Andy Kubert, inks and letters by Adam Kubert, colors by Petra Kubert Scotese
You have no taste, Son of Man of Bronze!

Once again, that's Beatles Week at 13th Dimension! Head there, and while you're over there, wish 13th Dimension editor Dan Greenfield a Happy Birthday! They say it's his birthday! We're gonna have a good time!

At 13th Dimension: "Thirteen Days a Week: A Beatles Comics Countdown" continues!

All this week on 13th Dimension, it's Beatles Week! While I'm trying to get caught up on KirbyTech (I promise I will!), my best pal John (my intern and research assistant) has written about some of the greatest Beatles appearances in comic books—a lucky baker's dozen of them, come to think of it! Tonight, installment number two, counting down from 10 to 8 and starring Ben Grimm, Pinky and the Brain, and Herbie Popnecker!

I asked him to, but John didn't include this Beatles moment in comic books that I clipped out and thrust at him hopefully:


Panel from Not Brand Echh #8 (June 1968), script by Roy Thomas, pencils and inks by John Verpoorten, letters by Joe Rosen
Is it petty of me to point out that the colorist for this story (Stan Goldberg, maybe?) got the colors of the Sgt. Pepper uniforms wrong? Naw, that would be nitpicking to point out that John should be in neon green, Ringo in hot pink, Paul in sky blue, and George in Jolly-Olly-Orange.


Once again, that's Beatles Week at 13th Dimension! We hope you will enjoy the show!

At 13th Dimension: "Thirteen Days a Week: A Beatles Comics Countdown"

All this week on 13th Dimension, it's Beatles Week! (I will now pause for you to intone fab, gear, and/or groovy, etc.) My human pal John, who helps me with some of the heavy lifting here, has written about some of the greatest Beatles appearances in comic books—thirteen of them in all, in fact! Tonight, #13-11, starring Mr. Brian Epstein, the Skrull Beatles, and a certain banana colored submersible, which I believe we all have inhabited!

I only regret that John didn't take my suggestion and spotlight this pivotal Beatles moment in comic books!:


Panel from "Superman's Rainbow Face!" in Action Comics #317 (October 1964), script by Otto Binder, pencils and inks by Al Plastino
Holy cow! They're all Jane Wiedlin! BE STILL MY LITTLE STUFFED HEART

Once again, that's Beatles Week at 13th Dimension! A splendid time is guaranteed for all!

At 13th Dimension: "When Spidey and the Hulk Saved the Olympics!"

Tonight on 13th Dimension, my pal John has written about that time Spider-Man and the Hulk went to the Winter Olympics! Not the ones in Sochi, the good ones in Lake Placid.


Panel from Marvel Treasury Edition #25 (1980), co-plot by Mark Gruenwald, Steven Grant, and Bill Mantlo; script by Bill Mantlo; art by Herb Trimpe and Bruce Patterson; letters by Jim Novak
Yes, my human pal John wrote this and GEEZ HIS WRITING STYLE SEEMS FAMILIAR

And if you haven't bookmarked 13th Dimension already, what are you waitin' for? For comics news, features, and fun, you shouldn't miss it! Go do it now!

3,800.