Fathers
Fathers gone...
from Batman (1940 series) #404 (DC, February 1987), script by Frank Miller, pencils and inks by David Mazzucchelli, colors by Richmond Lewis, letters by Todd Klein
...but never forgotten.
from Daredevil: Battlin' Jack Murdock #1 (Marvel, August 2007), co-plot and script by Zeb Wells; co-plot, pencils, and inks by Carmine Di Giandomenico; letters by Dave Lanphear
Fathers found...
from Uncanny X-Men (1963 series) #148 (Marvel, August 1981), script by Chris Claremont, breakdowns by Dave Cockrum, finishes by Joe Rubinstein, colors by Glynis Wein, letters by Janice Chiang
...missing...
from Generation X (1994 series) #22 (Marvel, December 1996), script by Scott Lobdell, pencils by Chris Bachalo, inks by Al Vey and Scott Hanna, colors by Steve Buccellato, letters by Richard Starkings
...and lost again.
from X-Factor (2006 series) #7 (Marvel, July 2006), script by Peter David, pencils and inks by Ariel Olivetti, colors by Jose Villarrubia, letters by Cory Petit
Fathers misguided...
from Avengers West Coast #57 (Marvel, April 1990), script and pencils by John Byrne, inks by Paul Ryan, colors by Bob Sharen, letters by Bill Oakley
...and those led astray.
from Silent War #2 (Marvel, April 2007), script by David Hine; pencils, inks, and colors by Frazer Alex Irving, letters by Cory Petit
Fathers with tough love.
from Wolverine: Origins #48 (DC, July 2010), script by Daniel Way; pencils and inks by Will Conrad, colors by Andy Troy, letters by Cory Petit
Fathers who know best.
from Franklin Richards: Super Summer Spectacular #1 one-shot (Marvel, September 2006), co-plot and script by Mark Sumerak; co-plot, pencils, and inks by Chris Eliopoulos; colors by Lovern Kindzierski; letters by Chris Eliopolous
Bad fathers.
from Starman (1994 series) #72 (DC, December 2000), script by James Robinson, pencils and inks by Peter Snejbjerg, colors by Gregory Wright, color separations by Jamison, letters by Bill Oakley
Fathers and sons reconciled...
...And grandfathers too.
New fathers.
from Starman (1994 series) #75 (DC, March 2001), script by James Robinson, pencils and inks by Peter Snejbjerg, colors by Gregory Wright, letters by Bill Oakley
Fathers never met.
Men who were like fathers.
from Amazing Fantasy (1995 series) #16 (Marvel, December 1995), script by Kurt Busiek, painted by Paul Lee, letters by Richard Starkings
Fathers with their sons.
from Thor (1966 series) #353 (Marvel, March 1985), script, pencils, and inks by Walt Simonson; colors by Christie Scheele, letters by John Workman
Fathers with their daughters.
from Thor: Whoever Wields This Hammer one-shot (Marvel, June 2011), script by Christos Gage, pencils and inks by Marco Torricelli, colors by Chris Sotomayor, letters by Dave Sharpe
Fathers! Appreciate them!*
from Archie Comics #56 (Archie, May 1952), art by George Frese
*Except for The Mist.
#40: MAD SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON SPECIAL EDITION "The best things in life are free," sang Barrett Strong, and he oughta know...he co-wrote "Heard it Through the Grapevine." But he never got his picture on a bubblegum card, and he never went to Comic-Con San Diego, where he coulda picked up a free copy of MAD magazine's special, which features The Usual Gang of Idiots spoofing America's favorite gathering of the comics fans, Stormtroopers, Gothic Lolitas and little stuffed bulls! There's a funny "Comic-Con Bingo" where you score points if you can locate a Homeless Man Mistaken For Alan Moore, a Huge Campaign for a Doomed Movie (hellllo, Frank Miller!), A Forgotten Celebrity, or MADman Sergio Aragones! Speaking of which, Sergio has contributed four full-color pages of silent strips set at Comic-Con! But the main attraction is a dead-on spoof of Watchmen (entitled, in the grand MAD manner, "Botchmen"). Written by Desmond Devlin and Drawn by Glenn Fabry in a perfect Dave Gibbons imitation, it manages to be a satire not only of everybody's favorite graphic novel featuring Rorshach™ but also a parody of the movie nobody's even seen yet! Plus, just like the real modern-day MAD, plenty of ads! And the price? FREE! (Cheap!)
#37: FUTURAMA COMICS Good news, everyone! Every year on the Fun Fifty I mention the love I have for Bongo Comics and their flagship Simpsons books, but I always forget to mention that their other Matt Groening cartoon book, Futurama Comics, is a particular fave of mine. Well, forgotten no more, Phillip J. Fry, Turanga Leela, and all the rest! I don't read many media tie-in comics...no Buffy Season Eight or Hardball with Chris Matthews: The Comic Book for me, and I'm most certainly not allowed to pick up A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila Comics and Stories. (Neither is anyone else, says the Board of Health.) But I never miss an issue of Futurama, the official comic book of the thirty-first century. If you've seen the series or any of its follow-up movies, you know the routine: the adventures of the Planet Express Delivery team in the year 3008. Highlights this past year featured a flashback to the famous "Less Than Hero" episode in which Fry, Leela and Bender became superheroes, Bender turning an entire planet into a themed gambling world (theme: himself), and a plot by the Evil Robot Santa to take over Earth using robot Santa's Helpers as his slave. (Featuring a kool Kirby-style kover!) The writers and artists capture the look, feel, humor and pacing of the show uncannily: you can hear the voices of the characters practically coming out of the page. Dense with funny dialogue and jokes, Futurama Comics delivers.
#34: THE BLUE BEETLE RADIO SHOW His radio adventures thrilled the wartime audiences: a superhero who battled saboteurs, mad scientists, drug peddlers and Nazis, all while wearing a mask colorful mystery man costume. Whozat? Batman? Captain America? Ma Hunkel, the Red Tornado? No! (But darnit, Ma Hunkel shoulda had a radio series!) It's the superhero you never knew had a radio show, Blue Beetle! Well, I never knew he had a radio show, at least not until I discovered the Blue Beetle Vintage Radio podcast! This is Golden Age Beetle Dan Garrett (Ted Kord and Jaime Reyes aren't even a twinkle in an eye yet), based on the 1940s Fox comic book, so the emphasis is on derring-do, fisticuffs, chilling cliffhangers and radio studio sound effects (watch out for the cornstarch!) You can read more about the show 
40. STAR WARS: TAG & BINK EPISODE I: I often accuse George Lucas—J'accuse!, I go. J'accuse!—of no longer having a sense of humor (really, the novels, comics, and new films are almost devoid of the belly laughs we got from the original trilogy), but once in a while an authorized Star Wars tie-in comes along that reminds us of a grand sense of goofiness and fun before midichlorians came along. Sight gags, pop cultural references, and wacky guest appearances populate a continuity implant of the 
39. ACTION COMICS: Thanks to 
38. ETERNALS: It'll never be considered one of Neil Gaiman's greatest works, but his modern twist on Jack Kirby's Marvel version of the Fourth World has been a delight to me this year for its intricate mysterious building action, the subtle and sublime artwork of John Romita, Jr., and its refusal to slavishly duplicate Kirby's artwork and storylines and instead set out in a new direction that's faithful to the original without being a carbon-copy. In other words, Eternals honors the King by bringing a new approach to some of his more outrageous characters. (Now bring us the conclusion, Neil 'n' John!)
37. FUTURAMA: I'm a big fan of the Bongo Comics line, which has the unenviable task of accurately capturing a couple of the most inventive and funny animated programs of the past several years. Though I dearly miss the TV series Futurama (and I've eagerly lookin' forward to new episodes in 2008), the Bongo Futurama comic often fills the gap with clever and funny new stories. The writers have the characters down pat: just read the pages and you can hear John DiMaggio's abrasive Bender in your head. None of the comics published this year was as innovative or inventive as 2003's Futurama #14 (which I'll get around to reviewin' one of these days as one of my most fun comics, ever), but they're still a consistent delight, and, thanks to HarperCollins's trade book republishing program, might actually be picking up some Futurama and Simpsons fans who have never read a comic book before.
36. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?!: I'm not jus' sayin' this because Kicky 
35. FANTASTIC FOUR: A DEATH IN THE FAMILY: This year, in their own book, Reed Richards built a stalag in an alien realm, Ben Grimm gave up fighting for what he thought was right and walked away, Sue Richards abandoned her children, and Johnny Storm made incest jokes. That's a good enough reason for me to run, not walk, as far away as possible from Fantastic Four. But the spirit and the energy of the true FF lives on in various miniseries and one-shots throughout the year, especially this oddly scheduled special which coulda been a regular issue but no doubt had to be shoveled into the schedule before Civil War rendered my favorite comic book family as a buncha jerks. A Death in the Family is a heartfelt and touching adventure of Johnny refusing to let a silly thing like time stop him from saving his sister's life. Solid action, great characterization, and most of all, the FF behave like family who love and respect each other. Strike the regular Fantastic Four book off the Bully-canon and put this one up there, because in my little button eyes, this is the real FF. Accept no substitutes.
34. RUNAWAY COMICS: Mark Martin's gleefully inventive Runaway Comics heralded his return to floppies this year, and oh boy, how I've missed him. The many who draws the most frantic and cutest baby animals since Walt Kelly (I want him to draw the Bully comic book someday, please!) gave us two issues in 2006 chock-full of more fun than most series manage in 12 issues. Gran'paw, Carrie Nation, Montgomery Wart, and the 
33. I HEART MARVEL: WEB OF ROMANCE #1: Despite my dislike of Civil War, I haven't objected as much to how it's affected Spider-Man: I've enjoyed the new stories and situations that Peter's joining the Avengers and his public unmasking have provided (although it's starting to get to the point where you wonder: how on earth can Marvel continue this story without undoing it?) I've especially been intrigued by the concept of Peter's friendship with Tony Stark—Stark filling a role of mentor and supporter that Pete's been missing since the death of Uncle Ben (which makes the eventual betrayal even more poignant). It's also a storyline that gives us such the lovely and loving portrayal of Pete and Mary Jane in I Heart Marvel: Web of Romance, as Peter struggles to find the perfect Valentine's Day gift for his red-headed reason for living. Points off for signaling the end of the story so early into it, but still a wonderful fun and touching tale and absolute proof against arguments that you can't write good stories about a married Spider-Man.
32. BATMAN/THE SPIRIT: This teaser to Darwyn Cooke's relaunch of Will Eisner's The Spirit series merges the world, the heroes, the supporting characters and the villains of the worlds of Bruce Wayne and Denny Colt virtually seamlessly, and most of that's due to the utter light touch with which the story's treated: although his Batman's grim and focused, Jeph Loeb doesn't sacrifice fun for grittiness. Critics of this one-shot complained it doesn't fit into continuity (Catwoman's in her new uniform while Babs Gordon is walking), but they're missing the point: that it's so freakin' cool to see P'Gell ensnare Commissioner Gordon, the Spirit scolding Batman with "You sure like telling other people what to do!" and a final confrontation that relies on the oldest switcharoo in the book, but it's pitch-perfect and beautifully illustrated. I'm a Spirit fan from way back, so I didn't have a problem recognizing his rogue's gallery as some readers did, but in the end it really didn't matter: gorgeous art, solid action, and a story that is everything a fun comic should be without taking itself too seriously.
31. FRANKLIN RICHARDS: SON OF A GENIUS: If you've read one Franklin Richards story in any of the several specials throughout 2006, you've kinda read 'em all, but that doesn't stop 'em from being silly, goofy, happy adventures of the mischievous son of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman and his pet robot: a characterization that's so pitch-perfect it really ought to be integrated into the mainstream Marvel Universe—adventurous and sneaky Franklin running wild is a lot more interesting than Earth-616 Franklin, who usually spends his appearances sniffling or cowering. Give the kid some spice! As usual, I'd rank this series a lot higher if Chris Eliopoulios's art wasn't so clearly derivative of Calvin and Hobbes—evolve the style in a more original direction and this could've been in my top ten. (Also, mega-bonus points off for wasting a huge percentage of the Thanksgiving Special on that needless and stupid Marvel/Guiding Light crossover comic—one of the worst bait-and-switches of 2006, and worse, a pointless and futile marketing ploy directed at the wrong end of the intended market.)
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