What's Bully (Re*)Reading? 2024 #20-21: Hawkeye: My Life As a Weapon and Hawkeye: Little Hits by Matt Fraction, David Aja, and Javier Pulido

Not only were these the best dozen or so issues of a superhero comic in the 2000s, I'd call them the best dozen or so issues of a superhero comic from Marvel.


Also, for some reason, I am now dressed as a black sheep.


*I have read these stories previously in floppy comic format.

Today in Comics History, April 1: Happy birthday, Tom Raney!

Born on this day: Tom Raney, comic book artist on many books, including Stormwatch, Thor, Outsiders, Uncanny X-Men, Green Lantern, Mutant X, Black Widow, Avengers Academy and more! And this...his first artwork in print!



from Marvel Age #94 (Marvel, November 1990)

Stuff Bully Got: Gently used books!

I went to the Big Reuse thrift shop in Gowanus shop today! They didn't have any $2 record LPs I wanted (tho' if you're a Streisand fan, head on over), but I found some great books! The clerk charged me for the comic price rather than the paperback price so I got 'em all for $3!


Look out for these books soon in my 2024 reading project!

Today in Comics History, December 31, New Year's Eve: And you thought your Christmas Eve was tough, Hawkeye

from Avengers West Coast #67 (February 1991), script by Roy Thomas and Dann Thomas, pencils by Paul Ryan, inks by Danny Bulanadi, colors by Bob Sharen, letters by Bill Oakley

Today in Comics History, November 21: Happy birthday, Björk!

Born on this day: Icelandic pop pixie (and perennial favorite in the Bull household) Björk! She is absolutely one of my most-loved musicians ever.


from Hawkeye (2012 series) #18 (Marvel, May 2014), script by Matt Fraction, pencils and inks by Annie Wu, colors by Matt Hollingsworth, letters by Chris Eliopoulos

365 Days of Power and Responsibility, Day 4: Waiting for the verdict

Panels from Civil War II: The Accused one-shot (October 2016), script by Marc Guggenheim, art by Ramon Bachs and Garry Brown, colors by Ruth Redmond, letters by Clayton Cowles

365 Days of Defiance, Day 49: I still think of you when we dance / Although we can't jitterbug as we did then

To paraphrase Ms. Ciccone: who's that girl? Naw, she's not just another 1971 background character: you know her today as a vital part of Marvel comics and the MCU! Who is she? Go ahead, guess!


Panels from the Ka-Zar story "The Battle of New Britannia!" in Astonishing Tales (1970 series) #8 (October 1971), script by Roy Thomas and Gary Friedrich, pencils by Herb Trimpe, inks by Tom Sutton, letters by Artie Simek
Here's a hint: her name is Barbara!






Want another hint? Okay: She was married to one of the premier heroes of the Marvel Universe, and she's also a superhero herself?






Give up yet? Okay, her last name is Morse. Barbara Morse. You may know her instead, though, as Bobbi Morse, the mellifluous Mockingbird!, here in only her third appearance! It'll be a few issues before she gains a last name and some time before she becomes Agent 19 and then the Huntress and then Mockingbird, but now she's a Marvel Legend! Even though she spent several years kidnapped by Skrulls and yeah I'm gonna forget about that story.


Cover of Hawkeye (1983 series) #3 (November 1983), pencils by Mark Gruenwald, inks by Bob Layton
So remember; punch Nazis! Just like Barbara!

Captain America, Master Battle Strategist

So, let's take a look at the brand-new, surely-not-released-just-to-tie-in-with-a-major-motion-picture Marvel Avengers graphic novel, in which they face off against their deadliest robot foe at a late-night electronic/dance party with lots of young people on Ecstasy! Oh, wait, no, that's Rave of Ultron. What we're perusing tonight is Rage of Ultron.


Panels from Avengers: Rage of Ultron graphic novel (June 2015); script by Rick Remender; pencils by Jerome Opeña; inks by Pepe Larraz with Mark Morales; colors by Dean White, Rachelle Rosenberg, and Dono Sanchez Almara; letters by Clayton Cowles
As in, man! That Ultron is certainly raging! Right in Manhattan, home of the Mighty Avengers! Circa the period when Hank McCoy, the Beast, was on the team, also known as The Best Era of the Avengers. Captain America is right there, to help evacuate the city by telling the panicking crowd to make their way peacefully and patriotically to the bridge. (Say, Cap, which bridge? Ah, he'll tell ya, just hang around.)

The panel above gives only a rough guesstimate of where the destruction is a-happening, but I'd place it as roughly in Midtown Manhattan, which is pretty much where all the destruction in comics books tends to occur. We're not told the precise location in the comic, but I'm making an educated guess that it's Times Square, mainly because of the sheer excess of X-rated movie theaters there. So: they're in Times Square in the 1970s!





Also, because Times Square is pretty much the only place in New York that has a street area that looks half a mile wide.



To be fair to Times Square during the seventies, it wasn't all girly theaters. Just around the corner on 42nd Street is located revival house the Gem Theater, where on the fourth floor you can find the offices of Luke Cage: Hero for Hire! (More recently, the Gem has served as the HQ for Luke's Mighty Avengers team! Who says this isn't the bountiful Bully age of edifying enlightenment? Except I can't explain why Luke Cage isn't running up to help fight Ultron, too. Maybe it's during that glorious issue where he flew to Latveria to demand of Dr. Doom "Where's my money, honey?"


Panels from Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #2 (August 1972), script by Archie Goodwin, pencils by George Tuska, inks by Billy Graham, letters by John Costanza
By the way, check out which mildly magnificent Marvel mag is being perused by ticket taker Bertha!


Cover of Our Love Story #18 (August 1972), pencils by Gene Colan, inks by John Romita, Sr., alterations by Marie Severin
Anyway, my point, and I do have one, is that Captain America does direct the fleeing crowds of civilians to evacuate Manhattan by heading east to the George Washington Bridge.



Um. Cap. The George Washington Bridge is west of Manhattan. (And, pretty darn far north of Midtown.)



Cap's sorta of between a rock and a hard place here even if he wasn't directing panicky people in the wrong direction. There's no easy escape route from Midtown that doesn't involve going into tunnels (the Lincoln Tunnel to the west of Midtown, the Queens-Midtown Tunnel to the east, both in orange), which I can't imagine is the best place to send folks during a crisis. But honestly, Cap? "Keep moving downtown on Broadway, head for the Manhattan Bridge." would probably be the fastest evacuation he could hope for.

Y'know, it's too bad Spider-Man wasn't an Avenger during this era, because if Spider-Man knows anything, he knows where the George Washington Bridge is.



Panels from Amazing Spider-Man (1963 series) #121 (June 1973), script by Gerry Conway, pencils by Gil Kane, inks by John Romita Sr. and Tony Mortellaro, colors by David Hunt, letters by Artie Simek
Then again, that's probably the Brooklyn Bridge that's pictured there, but improperly described as the George Washington (especially since he's show swinging downtown from the United Nations). Does no Marvel Manhattanite know the bridges of New York?

But hey, it's not like Steve Rogers was born in New York City or has lived there ever since he got de-Cap-sicled. Oh wait. Yes, he has.

Sure, I like that new Hawkeye action figure, but I'm really looking forward to the variant version

Today in Comics History, May 8, 1980: Fictional record has real recording date

from Hawkeye (2012 series) #16 (Marvel, March 2014), script by Matt Fraction, pencils and inks by Annie Wu, colors by Matt Hollingsworth, letters by Chris Eliopoulos

Today in Comics History, February 14: We now return to "Hawkeye's Typical Valentine's Day," already in progress

Panels from Hawkeye (2012 series) #9 (June 2013), script by Matt Fraction, pencils and inks by David Aja, colors by Matt Hollingsworth, letters by Chris Eliopoulos

Today in Comics History, December 19: Hawkeye finally figures out how to run his new-fangled electronics...

...get a nine-year-old to do it for him.



from Hawkguy Hawkeye (2012 series) #6 (Marvel, February 2013), script by Matt Fraction, pencils and inks by David Aja, colors by Matt Hollingsworth, letters by Chris Eliopoulos

Today in Comics History, December 18: Someone misses Dr. Druid, for the first and last time ever

from Hawkguy Hawkeye (2012 series) #6 (February 2013), script by Matt Fraction, pencils and inks by David Aja, colors by Matt Hollingsworth, letters by Chris Eliopoulos

Today in Comics History, December 17: Hawkeye invests heavily in the wrong media format again*

from Hawkguy Hawkeye (2012 series) #6 (February 2013), script by Matt Fraction, pencils and inks by David Aja, colors by Matt Hollingsworth, letters by Chris Eliopoulos
*Well, I'm not gonna make fun of him. Because so did I. Anybody wanna buy some used laserdiscs?

Today in Comics History, December 16: Hawkeye realizes he can just go buy some more Band-Aids™

from Hawkguy Hawkeye (2012 series) #6 (February 2013), script by Matt Fraction, pencils and inks by David Aja, colors by Matt Hollingsworth, letters by Chris Eliopoulos

Today in Comics History: Hawkeye regrets his membership in the Royal Society for Putting Things on Top of Other Things

Panels from Hawkguy Hawkeye (2012 series) #6 (February 2013), script by Matt Fraction, pencils and inks by David Aja, colors by Matt Hollingsworth, letters by Chris Eliopoulos

Today in Comics History: Hawkeye cannot remember the word "Christmas"

Panels from Hawkguy Hawkeye (2012 series) #6 (February 2013), script by Matt Fraction, pencils and inks by David Aja, colors by Matt Hollingsworth, letters by Chris Eliopoulos

Today in Comics History, December 15: Hawkeye gets some more guys for Christmas

Panels from Hawkguy Hawkeye (2012 series) #6 (February 2013), script by Matt Fraction, pencils and inks by David Aja, colors by Matt Hollingsworth, letters by Chris Eliopoulos

Today in Comics History, December 14: Hawkeye watches Dog Cops, then throws up in an alley. Coincidence? I think not.

from Hawkguy Hawkeye (2012 series) #6 (Marvel, February 2013), script by Matt Fraction, pencils and inks by David Aja, colors by Matt Hollingsworth, letters by Chris Eliopoulos

Today in Comics History, September 4, 1882: I've seen the lights go up on Broadway

from Hawkguy Hawkeye (2012 series) #10 (Marvel, July 2013); script by Matt Fraction, pencils, inks, and colors by Francesco Francavilla; letters by Chris Eliopoulos and Clayton Cowles

At 3 pm on September 4, 1882, [Thomas] Edison threw the switch that would start up America's first power plant, serving a square-mile area that included some very wealthy and influential customers: J.P. Morgan, the Stock Exchange, and the nation's largest newspapers. "I have accomplished all that I promised," the inventor said.

It would take another two years for the public to trust electricity enough to purchase orders for plants in other cities. Edison promoted electric light as being clean, healthy, and efficient—unlike foul-smelling, dangerous gas—and had reason to think the public believed him. Cables insulated with beeswax and paraffin had been laid under the streets, but before long problems surfaced: horses were shocked trotting down wet streets, workmen electrocuted. [...]

[I]ndustrialist George Westinghouse had developed a a far-reaching system that used high-voltage alternating current (AC), and a former employee of Edison's, Nikola Tesla, invented AC motors and generators that threatened Edison's domination of the electrical industry. In a last-ditch effort to save the business he had created, Edison took advantage of an unusual opportunity to discredit Westinghouse. He gave his full endorsement to a plan to use 1,000 volts of AC—from a Westinghouse generator—to execute criminals sentenced to death in New York State. The first execution turned into a grisly spectacle, damaging Edison's reputation. The board of Edison General Electric decided to adopt AC power, and dropped Edison's name; the company was now called "General Electric."

Edison would refuse to set foot in any General Electric plants for the next 30 years, but his ability to reinvent himself matched his scientific prowess. In the second half of his life he would invent the first motion picture camera, improve his phonograph, and become America's first entertainment mogul. "People will forget," he stated with typical bravado, "that my name ever was connected with anything electrical."

—from The American Experience: Thomas Edison's Miracle of Light

And let's not even mention Topsy the elephant.