from "Eyes to the Blind" in Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom/Magnus, Robot Fighter FCBD 2010 #1 one-shot (Dark Horse, May 2010), script by Jim Shooter, pencils and inks by Bill Reinhold, colors by Wes Dzioba, letters by Blambot
Showing posts with label February 23. Show all posts
Showing posts with label February 23. Show all posts
Thursday, February 23, 2023
Today in Comics History, February 23, 4000, 11:49 PM: Floating chairs now come without and with holes
from "Eyes to the Blind" in Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom/Magnus, Robot Fighter FCBD 2010 #1 one-shot (Dark Horse, May 2010), script by Jim Shooter, pencils and inks by Bill Reinhold, colors by Wes Dzioba, letters by Blambot
Today in Comics History, February 23, 4000, 10:30 PM: They fight, and fight, and fight and fight and fight
from "Eyes to the Blind" in Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom/Magnus, Robot Fighter FCBD 2010 #1 one-shot (Dark Horse, May 2010), script by Jim Shooter, pencils and inks by Bill Reinhold, colors by Wes Dzioba, letters by Blambot
Today in Comics History, February 23, 1942: General MacArthur finally gets fan mail from some flounder
from General Douglas MacArthur one-shot (Fox, 1951), creators uncredited and unknown
Wednesday, February 23, 2022
Today in Comics History, February 23, 1998: My employee review does not go well*
from "V for Vendetta: Book Two, Chapter Four: A Vocational Viewpoint" in Warrior #15 (Quality Communications UK, December 1983), script by Alan Moore, pencils and inks by David Lloyd, letters by Elitta Fell; later reprinted in V for Vendetta #5 (DC, January 1989)
*Yours either.
Today in Comics History, February 23: Happy birthday, Tom Peyer!
Born on this very day in my own hometown of Syracuse, New York: comics writer, editor, and artist Tom Peyer, one of my favorite comics creators! He's written Hourman, Legion of Super-Heroes and Legionnaires, L.E.G.I.O.N. and R.E.B.E.L.S., Cruel and Unusual, New Gods, Amazing Spider-Man, Marvel Team-Up, Spider-Man: House of M, Bart Simpson, Magnus Robot Fighter, and been editor or assistant editor of some of the greatest Vertigo books: Animal Man, Doom Patrol, The Sandman, Shade the Changing Man, Swamp Thing, Hellblazer. And, that old Syracuse phrase: "many, many more!"
"On the Ledge" from DC/Vertigo Comics cover-dated June 1993
Yes, Vertigo! Where you knew you were somebody when your name appeared in the classic "Beard-Hunter" issue of Doom Patrol!
from Doom Patrol (1987 series) #45 (DC/Vertigo, July 1991), script by Grant Morrison, pencils by Vince Giarrano (who, I believe, is another Central New York guy!), inks by Malcolm Jones III, colors by Daniel Vozzo, letters by John Workman
Somebody needs to update Tom's Wikipedia article because it says nuthin' about the absolutely amazin' Ahoy Comics! Tom is a co-founder, editor, and writer of many Ahoy Comics, including the modern classic The Wrong Earth (and its sequels featuring Dragonfly and Dragonflyman), Hashtag Danger, High Heaven, Penultiman, and others. Not tryin to suck up here or anything (oh, maybe I am) but as far as I'm concerned, Ahoy is the best publisher debut of the past ten years, and I love a huge number of the titles they publish. Try one today! Tell 'em a little stuffed bull sent ya!
Here's an interview with Tom in an issue of the Peyer-scripted High Heaven (which also featured Peyer's Hashtag Danger). I'm only showing you one page of this because the whole interview is available on ComicsAhoy.com!
"Tom Peyer" from High Heaven #2 (Ahoy, October 2018)
And here's a fun rainy-day activity all about Tom from one of their recent new superhero multiverse series My Bad, which I also recommend highly. GEEZ JUST PICK IT UP ALREADY.
"Bad Libs: Tom and the No Good, Very Bad New Comic Book Day" in My Bad #1 (Ahoy, November 2021), text by Scott Morse, colors by Kelly Fitzpatrick, letters by Rob Steen (
But now I'm gonna show you some comic appearances of and comics by Tom Peyer that you probably have never seen before, unless you grew up in Syracuse or are stalking the man right now.
cover of Sideshow: Cartoons from the Syracuse New Times (Times-Advocate of New York, January 1982), by Tom Peyer
"Sideshow" was a comic strip written and drawn by Tom during the 1980s and published in the local indie free weekly The Syracuse New Times. I grew up on that newspaper and was influenced by a lot of its left-leaning, humanist and progressive editorial stance and stories, especially in a city where the two major daily newspapers, The Post-Standard (morning) and The Herald-Journal (evening) were well-chewed pablums of iffy, soft journalism, worth the subscription cost mostly only for the comics pages. Nancy and Peanuts and Rip Kirby, baby!
The New Times ceased publication relatively recently (2019) and it's a sad loss. I still have kept some back issues of the paper in the vast Bully Archives; I think you can tell why I saved this one.
The Sideshow book is apparently rare. There's zero copies of it available on Amazon.com (Amazon ad) right now, and no listings on most of the other major online book retailers. I don't know the print run, but it was distriubuted locally, so it probably only had Central New York regional distribution. But I recommend it highly: if you're ever in Syracuse, check used book stores (not that many left) to see if they have it. I've had my copy forty years (which is a neat trick when you're a seven-year-old little stuffed bull) and Tom's cartoons have been a constant inspiration to my own sense of humor and writing.
Here's a handful of my favorite strips from the New Times and the book collection. I've scanned and reproduced them much smaller than in the actual book (which is 11 inches wide) so that while they're readable, you really oughta go on a Duran Duran-style hunt for the book itself.
"Sideshow" was the first place I ever saw the "Conan the Librarian" gag, and as far as I'm concerned, Tom Peyer did it first (and best):
I can never hear a song by REO Speedwagon without thinking of this comic strip, from the days when the radio stations would play their music incessantly:
>
Clark Kent goes to work for the Syracuse newspapers. Remember what I said about journalistic pablum? Yeah, that. (Please note the name Mike Sagert; we'll look at him a little later.)
This comic, about trickle-down economics (timely for today, even!) is one of my favorites, and whenever the subject comes up in conversation, I never resist replying the speech from the fourth and fifth panels.
As you can see from the cover of the book, then-President Reagan was a frequent target for satire by Tom. The strip played up Reagan's disconnection from reality and current events, and helped shape my left-wing political views in my own Republican family household. The other figure on the cover is Lee Alexander's Cat, the (fictional) pet of then-Mayor Lee Alexander, well-known for always travelling out of town rather than satying in Syracuse, and after that well-known for being indicted on 40 counts of extortion, income tax evasion, racketeering and conspiracy. He spent six years in prison. Syracuse politics! It's not as well-known as New York City or Chicago politics but it's just as grafty.
Anyway, Ronald Reagan:
I've also got to tip my hat to Tom for being fond of Ernie Bushmiller's Nancy and for helping me to appreciate the draftmanship and clever design of the strip.
Of course, there were occasional self-portraits of Peyer himself in the strips, which contributes nicely to my usual birthday theme of "where can I find this artist appeaaring inside a comics story?"
Going through old Syracuse New Times has not only provided me with inspiration for my Tom Peyer birthday post, but it's also unleashed a lake-effect, salt-potato, nostalgia for my early home in Syracuse and my first discovery and fandom of comics. That was definitely a Golden Age for me, and how could it not be: lookit how many comic book shops we had! My "usual" was downtown's Dream Days, but I also would shop at Twilight (just around the corner from a huge warehouse of used book where I could happily spend a whole afternoon) and I definitely remember buying Hellblazer #1 at Captain Comics. All of the stores in these ads are long out of business. Twilight's signage was still up as of a couple years ago, but it is now a head shop. (And not a good one that sold concert t-shirts like Liverpool's The Panhandler!)
Dream Days was owned and operated by the late great Mike Sagert, who always took time to talk to a nerdy youngman bull starting out reading and collecting comics. I bought Avengers #197 there, my first Marvel superhero comic after I'd already been collecting Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica and became intrigued by the Bullpen Bulletins news of their super-stuff. I bought X-Men #137 there, probably the single worst first X-Men comic anyone has ever bought, but Mike filled me in on the background of the story and I was there at his store the day follow-up ish #138 was released. He let me buy multiple copies of Daredevil #190, while warning me not to forget the true joy of comic books was the reading, not the investment. (Although I did make out pretty well re-selling those copies on eBay in the 2000s!)
Here's a few of the inexpertly cut-out clippings I still have about Mike Sagert.
In with those same clippings: I'd totally forgotten that Tom Peyer used to write a column for the Syracuse New Times (great title, too!), frequently focusing on the type of comics I wanted to read. His recommndations were gold.
"Recent Comic Books!" Featuring Sugar and Spike, Ronin, the early Alan Moore Swamp Thing, and The New Gods. In just a few years Tom would be editing Swamp Thing and writing New Gods.
Hey, Mike Sterling, check it out! ONE OF US! He's one of us!
So my point, and I do have one, is that I love the work of birthday boy Tom Peyer, and writing about him carries me along to quite a pleasant nostalgic memory lane of my love of comics. You're very much an influence on that love, Tom, and I wish you a happy birthday, and many more.
Besides: Tom Peyer taught me in nine easy steps how to draw for comics!
from Sideshow
"On the Ledge" from DC/Vertigo Comics cover-dated June 1993
Yes, Vertigo! Where you knew you were somebody when your name appeared in the classic "Beard-Hunter" issue of Doom Patrol!
from Doom Patrol (1987 series) #45 (DC/Vertigo, July 1991), script by Grant Morrison, pencils by Vince Giarrano (who, I believe, is another Central New York guy!), inks by Malcolm Jones III, colors by Daniel Vozzo, letters by John Workman
Somebody needs to update Tom's Wikipedia article because it says nuthin' about the absolutely amazin' Ahoy Comics! Tom is a co-founder, editor, and writer of many Ahoy Comics, including the modern classic The Wrong Earth (and its sequels featuring Dragonfly and Dragonflyman), Hashtag Danger, High Heaven, Penultiman, and others. Not tryin to suck up here or anything (oh, maybe I am) but as far as I'm concerned, Ahoy is the best publisher debut of the past ten years, and I love a huge number of the titles they publish. Try one today! Tell 'em a little stuffed bull sent ya!
Here's an interview with Tom in an issue of the Peyer-scripted High Heaven (which also featured Peyer's Hashtag Danger). I'm only showing you one page of this because the whole interview is available on ComicsAhoy.com!
"Tom Peyer" from High Heaven #2 (Ahoy, October 2018)
And here's a fun rainy-day activity all about Tom from one of their recent new superhero multiverse series My Bad, which I also recommend highly. GEEZ JUST PICK IT UP ALREADY.
"Bad Libs: Tom and the No Good, Very Bad New Comic Book Day" in My Bad #1 (Ahoy, November 2021), text by Scott Morse, colors by Kelly Fitzpatrick, letters by Rob Steen (
But now I'm gonna show you some comic appearances of and comics by Tom Peyer that you probably have never seen before, unless you grew up in Syracuse or are stalking the man right now.
cover of Sideshow: Cartoons from the Syracuse New Times (Times-Advocate of New York, January 1982), by Tom Peyer
"Sideshow" was a comic strip written and drawn by Tom during the 1980s and published in the local indie free weekly The Syracuse New Times. I grew up on that newspaper and was influenced by a lot of its left-leaning, humanist and progressive editorial stance and stories, especially in a city where the two major daily newspapers, The Post-Standard (morning) and The Herald-Journal (evening) were well-chewed pablums of iffy, soft journalism, worth the subscription cost mostly only for the comics pages. Nancy and Peanuts and Rip Kirby, baby!
The New Times ceased publication relatively recently (2019) and it's a sad loss. I still have kept some back issues of the paper in the vast Bully Archives; I think you can tell why I saved this one.
The Sideshow book is apparently rare. There's zero copies of it available on Amazon.com (Amazon ad) right now, and no listings on most of the other major online book retailers. I don't know the print run, but it was distriubuted locally, so it probably only had Central New York regional distribution. But I recommend it highly: if you're ever in Syracuse, check used book stores (not that many left) to see if they have it. I've had my copy forty years (which is a neat trick when you're a seven-year-old little stuffed bull) and Tom's cartoons have been a constant inspiration to my own sense of humor and writing.
Here's a handful of my favorite strips from the New Times and the book collection. I've scanned and reproduced them much smaller than in the actual book (which is 11 inches wide) so that while they're readable, you really oughta go on a Duran Duran-style hunt for the book itself.
"Sideshow" was the first place I ever saw the "Conan the Librarian" gag, and as far as I'm concerned, Tom Peyer did it first (and best):
I can never hear a song by REO Speedwagon without thinking of this comic strip, from the days when the radio stations would play their music incessantly:
>
Clark Kent goes to work for the Syracuse newspapers. Remember what I said about journalistic pablum? Yeah, that. (Please note the name Mike Sagert; we'll look at him a little later.)
This comic, about trickle-down economics (timely for today, even!) is one of my favorites, and whenever the subject comes up in conversation, I never resist replying the speech from the fourth and fifth panels.
As you can see from the cover of the book, then-President Reagan was a frequent target for satire by Tom. The strip played up Reagan's disconnection from reality and current events, and helped shape my left-wing political views in my own Republican family household. The other figure on the cover is Lee Alexander's Cat, the (fictional) pet of then-Mayor Lee Alexander, well-known for always travelling out of town rather than satying in Syracuse, and after that well-known for being indicted on 40 counts of extortion, income tax evasion, racketeering and conspiracy. He spent six years in prison. Syracuse politics! It's not as well-known as New York City or Chicago politics but it's just as grafty.
Anyway, Ronald Reagan:
I've also got to tip my hat to Tom for being fond of Ernie Bushmiller's Nancy and for helping me to appreciate the draftmanship and clever design of the strip.
Of course, there were occasional self-portraits of Peyer himself in the strips, which contributes nicely to my usual birthday theme of "where can I find this artist appeaaring inside a comics story?"
Going through old Syracuse New Times has not only provided me with inspiration for my Tom Peyer birthday post, but it's also unleashed a lake-effect, salt-potato, nostalgia for my early home in Syracuse and my first discovery and fandom of comics. That was definitely a Golden Age for me, and how could it not be: lookit how many comic book shops we had! My "usual" was downtown's Dream Days, but I also would shop at Twilight (just around the corner from a huge warehouse of used book where I could happily spend a whole afternoon) and I definitely remember buying Hellblazer #1 at Captain Comics. All of the stores in these ads are long out of business. Twilight's signage was still up as of a couple years ago, but it is now a head shop. (And not a good one that sold concert t-shirts like Liverpool's The Panhandler!)
Dream Days was owned and operated by the late great Mike Sagert, who always took time to talk to a nerdy young
Here's a few of the inexpertly cut-out clippings I still have about Mike Sagert.
In with those same clippings: I'd totally forgotten that Tom Peyer used to write a column for the Syracuse New Times (great title, too!), frequently focusing on the type of comics I wanted to read. His recommndations were gold.
"Recent Comic Books!" Featuring Sugar and Spike, Ronin, the early Alan Moore Swamp Thing, and The New Gods. In just a few years Tom would be editing Swamp Thing and writing New Gods.
Hey, Mike Sterling, check it out! ONE OF US! He's one of us!
So my point, and I do have one, is that I love the work of birthday boy Tom Peyer, and writing about him carries me along to quite a pleasant nostalgic memory lane of my love of comics. You're very much an influence on that love, Tom, and I wish you a happy birthday, and many more.
Besides: Tom Peyer taught me in nine easy steps how to draw for comics!
from Sideshow
Today in Comics History, February 23, 1998: Storm Saxon Successfully Smashes Socialist Strongmen Savagely
from "V for Vendetta: Book Two, Chapter Three: Video" in Warrior #15 (Quality Communications UK, November 1983), script by Alan Moore, pencils and inks by David Lloyd; later reprinted in V for Vendetta #4 (DC, December 1988)
Be sure to tune in on October 1 for the same exciting Storm Saxon adventure (and this panel again)!
Today in Comics History, February 23: Happy birthday, Janet Jackson!*
Born on this day: Janet Jackson! We now pause momentarily to clarify: *No, not that one™. This Janet's a comic book colorist for Marvel, Defiant/Acclaim/Valiant, and other companies: The Amazing Spider-Man, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Web of Spider-Man, Hellstorm: Prince of Lies, Star Brand, Solo Avengers, Mario Bros., Nintendo Comics System, Unity (and more), plus Valiant's The Good Guys, Warriors of Plasm, and Dark Dominion, where she also wrote scripts!
from Marvel Age #50, 87 and 98 (Marvel, May 1987, April 1990, and March 1991), text by Mike Carlin (#50), and Chris Eliopoulis and Barry Dutter (#87 and 98); pencils and inks by Ron Zalme; colors by Gregory Wright (#87) and Renee Witterstaetter (#98)
from Marvel Age #50, 87 and 98 (Marvel, May 1987, April 1990, and March 1991), text by Mike Carlin (#50), and Chris Eliopoulis and Barry Dutter (#87 and 98); pencils and inks by Ron Zalme; colors by Gregory Wright (#87) and Renee Witterstaetter (#98)
Today in Comics History, February 23: Hallelujah! It's George Frideric Handel's birthday!
Born on this day in 1685, so maybe only your grand-parents might remember him: George Frideric Handel, musical composer of classics like The Messiah, Water Music, Music for the Royal Fireworks, and Zadok the Priest. A lot of others, too, but that's as far as I read into the Wikipedia article. Because I have comic books to fill me in about all I need to know for him. Or, as I like to put it: "all I can Handel." (giggle snort)
Here's Handel, his famous The Messiah, his big meanie dad, his similarity to Batman when he's deep in work, and his nightshirt, which was obviously washed in Tide, because it's whiter than white!
from "The Songs of Christmas" in Four Color #1062 [Walt Scott's Christmas Stories] (Dell, December 1959); script, pencils, and inks by Walt Scott
Here's Handel, his famous The Messiah, his big meanie dad, his similarity to Batman when he's deep in work, and his nightshirt, which was obviously washed in Tide, because it's whiter than white!
from "The Songs of Christmas" in Four Color #1062 [Walt Scott's Christmas Stories] (Dell, December 1959); script, pencils, and inks by Walt Scott
Today in Comics History, February 23: Happy birthday, Doug Moench!
Born on this day: Doug Moench, comic book writer; co-creator of Moon Knight, Deathlok, Weirdworld, Six from Sirius, Batman villain Black Mask, and much more!
from Mighty Marvel Calendar 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979 (Marvel, 1975-1978), and
Marvel Age #98 (Marvel, March 1991), text by Chris Eliopoulis and Barry Dutter, art by Ron Zalme, colors by Renee Witterstaetter
Here's Doug (black hair) and artist Rich Buckler (blonde) "creating" Deathlok! And hey look, here's the first professionally published work of George Pérez! Now that he's gotten so big in the industry, it's fun to see where he got his start. (Hey, I actually mean that sincerely and not sarcastically for once!)
from Astonishing Tales #25 (Marvel, August 1974), script by Doug Moench, pencils by George Pérez, inks by Mike Esposito
...and a slightly more accurate piece about the creation of Deathlok, with Moench/Buckler interviewed by by Roy Thomas, from the same book!
from Astonishing Tales #25
Happy birthday, Doug!
from 1975 Mighty Marvel Convention Program Book (Marvel, 1975), photograph by Michele Wolfman
from Mighty Marvel Calendar 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979 (Marvel, 1975-1978), and
Marvel Age #98 (Marvel, March 1991), text by Chris Eliopoulis and Barry Dutter, art by Ron Zalme, colors by Renee Witterstaetter
Here's Doug (black hair) and artist Rich Buckler (blonde) "creating" Deathlok! And hey look, here's the first professionally published work of George Pérez! Now that he's gotten so big in the industry, it's fun to see where he got his start. (Hey, I actually mean that sincerely and not sarcastically for once!)
from Astonishing Tales #25 (Marvel, August 1974), script by Doug Moench, pencils by George Pérez, inks by Mike Esposito
...and a slightly more accurate piece about the creation of Deathlok, with Moench/Buckler interviewed by by Roy Thomas, from the same book!
from Astonishing Tales #25
Happy birthday, Doug!
from 1975 Mighty Marvel Convention Program Book (Marvel, 1975), photograph by Michele Wolfman
Today in Comics History, February 23, 1945: Raise High the Roof Beam Flagpole, Carpenters Marines
from General Douglas MacArthur one-shot (Fox, 1951), creators uncredited and unknown
Today in Comics History, February 23, 1945: Silly! Mountains aren't made of bullets!
from The World Around Us #11 [The Illustrated Story of the Marines] (Gilberton, July 1959), pencils and inks by Gerald McCann
Today in Comics History, February 23, 1836: Remember the Alamo...was in lots of comic books.
"Remember the Alamo" from Fightin' Army #31 (Charlton, September 1959), writer uncredited and unknown
Wow! There sure are a lotta dates in this text story. For weeks I read comic book text stories and no dates. Today: nuthin' but dates! But don't worry: I shall not post this story a second, third, or even ninth time just because the day's date is in it. Bully knows when your patience can be stretched too thin. I will post other comics panels on March 6, the anniversary of the conclusion of the Alamo siege. And, in the meantime, here's s'more February 23rd Alamo stuff for ya! Yes, readers prefer Bully, because Bully provides more!
from "Frontier Scout" in Young Heroes (1955 series) #37 (ACG, June 1955), pencils and inks by Bob McCarty (?), letters by Ben Oda
from "Remember the Alamo!" in Texas Rangers in Action #55 (Charlton, June 1966), script by Joe Gill (?), pencils and inks by Rocco "Rocke" Mastroserio
See ya again on March 6. Bring your tequila!
Today in Comics History, February 23, 2021: Superman prevents nuclear meltdown but he can't stop that newspaper from being taller than it is wide when it's folded in half
promotional item (or, maybe a fan-created unofficial piece) for
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