"Mr. Doodle" from All Great Comics (1945 series) (Fox, 1945), by Pat Adams
No word on which various races Penelope Pig has won, though.
Showing posts with label May 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label May 2. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 02, 2023
Today in Comics History, May 2, 1936: That last panel really requires a Plop!
According to Wikipedia, the winner of the 62nd Kentucky Derby, which took place on May 2, 1936, was Bold Venture ("horse," Wikipedia kindly informs us), so that must be him there in this here one-page gag comic!
"Mr. Doodle" from All Great Comics (1945 series) (Fox, 1945), by Pat Adams
No word on which various races Penelope Pig has won, though.
"Mr. Doodle" from All Great Comics (1945 series) (Fox, 1945), by Pat Adams
No word on which various races Penelope Pig has won, though.
Today in Comics History, May 2, 2022: Pound sinks as Peggy Carter pounds Nazis! Plus, horrible cow violence.
A fairly tedious headline from Marvel's Earth-616 equivalent of England's Financial Times. Why, the newspaper isn't even printed on pink paper!
from Captain Carter #4 (Marvel, September 2022), script by Jamie McKelvie, pencils and inks by Marika Cresta, colors by Matt Milla, letters by Clayton Cowles
Let's put the Business Times into a larger perspective, shall we? Now witness the firepower of thisfully armed and operational battle station day's typical London newsstand. What, no Beano or Dandy?
You might note that all the other papers are dated Friday, May 20 rather than 5/2. (and 5/2/22 was not a Friday.) So I'm choosing to believe that the Business Times masthead is actually a typo rather than the real thing. And we'll see these front pages again opn May 20! Aren't you lucky?
Still, none of these terrible headliens about our beloved Capt. Pegy Carter can compare to the sheer horror and fright of this British newspaper:
from Captain Carter #4 (Marvel, September 2022), script by Jamie McKelvie, pencils and inks by Marika Cresta, colors by Matt Milla, letters by Clayton Cowles
Let's put the Business Times into a larger perspective, shall we? Now witness the firepower of this
You might note that all the other papers are dated Friday, May 20 rather than 5/2. (and 5/2/22 was not a Friday.) So I'm choosing to believe that the Business Times masthead is actually a typo rather than the real thing. And we'll see these front pages again opn May 20! Aren't you lucky?
Still, none of these terrible headliens about our beloved Capt. Pegy Carter can compare to the sheer horror and fright of this British newspaper:
Thursday, May 05, 2022
Today in Comics History, May 5, 1945: Now is the Winter Soldier of our discontent
Following his near-death in the rocket explosion that put Captain America on ice, Bucky's comatose body is retrieved and arrives in the Soviet Union.
from Captain America (2005 series) #11 (Marvel, November 2005), script by Ed Brubaker, pencils and inks by Steve Epting, additional inks by Mike Perkins, colors by Frank D'Armata, letters by Randolph Gentile
This right fits in with Mark Gruenwald's suggested canon that Baron Zemo's rocket launch and Captain America's disappearence happened on May 2, 1945. (As seen here.)
from Captain America (1968 series) #332 (Marvel, August 1987), script by Mark Gruenwald, pencils by Tom Morgan, inks by Bob McLeod, colors by Ken Feduniewicz, letters by Diana Albers
from Captain America (2005 series) #11 (Marvel, November 2005), script by Ed Brubaker, pencils and inks by Steve Epting, additional inks by Mike Perkins, colors by Frank D'Armata, letters by Randolph Gentile
This right fits in with Mark Gruenwald's suggested canon that Baron Zemo's rocket launch and Captain America's disappearence happened on May 2, 1945. (As seen here.)
from Captain America (1968 series) #332 (Marvel, August 1987), script by Mark Gruenwald, pencils by Tom Morgan, inks by Bob McLeod, colors by Ken Feduniewicz, letters by Diana Albers
Monday, May 02, 2022
Today in Comics History, May 2: Happy birthday, Pinky Lee!
Pinky Lee! Who is he, and how did he come to be? I don't know, and we're not gonna really answer half that question, not even on today, his birthday (born 1907).
To me, Pinky Lee is one of those names you see mentioned or featured in old, old comic books and you never quite know the context, because memory of him has passed long ago from our fleeting, butterfly minds. Well, I'm here to tell you that (checks Wikipedia) Pincus Leff, better known as Pinky Lee, was an American burlesque comic and host of the children's television program The Pinky Lee Show in the early 1950s. Which we all remember, right?
Right?
advertisements from (top) Harvey Comics cover-dated July 1955, and
(bottom) DC Comics cover-dated December 1955
Oh yeah, that Pinky Lee: the one who was always encouraging us to eat healthy, nutritional foods! (Mind you, I don't disagree with his diet plans.) But short of actually sitting down and hunting on YouTube for one of his shows, how can we tell what his humor is like? Check it out:
from Hello Buddies #81 (Harvey, May 1957), writer uncredit and unknown
Ah yes, men's "sophisticated" cartoon magazines of the 1950s: where you can just listen to the radio, steal a comedian's jokes, and get paid pennies to submit them.
But consider this: Pinky Lee was so topical that even if the kids of the mid-60s had no idea who he was, Stan Lee did!
from Fantastic Four (1961 series) #22 (Marvel, January 1964), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by George Roussos, colors by Stan Goldberg, letters by Sam Rosen
Happy birthday, Pinky!
To me, Pinky Lee is one of those names you see mentioned or featured in old, old comic books and you never quite know the context, because memory of him has passed long ago from our fleeting, butterfly minds. Well, I'm here to tell you that (checks Wikipedia) Pincus Leff, better known as Pinky Lee, was an American burlesque comic and host of the children's television program The Pinky Lee Show in the early 1950s. Which we all remember, right?
Right?
advertisements from (top) Harvey Comics cover-dated July 1955, and
(bottom) DC Comics cover-dated December 1955
Oh yeah, that Pinky Lee: the one who was always encouraging us to eat healthy, nutritional foods! (Mind you, I don't disagree with his diet plans.) But short of actually sitting down and hunting on YouTube for one of his shows, how can we tell what his humor is like? Check it out:
from Hello Buddies #81 (Harvey, May 1957), writer uncredit and unknown
Ah yes, men's "sophisticated" cartoon magazines of the 1950s: where you can just listen to the radio, steal a comedian's jokes, and get paid pennies to submit them.
But consider this: Pinky Lee was so topical that even if the kids of the mid-60s had no idea who he was, Stan Lee did!
from Fantastic Four (1961 series) #22 (Marvel, January 1964), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by George Roussos, colors by Stan Goldberg, letters by Sam Rosen
Happy birthday, Pinky!
Today in Comics History, May 2: Happy birthday, Liam Sharp!
Born on this day: comics writer/artist/designer Liam Sharp, whose work includes 2000AD, Judge Dredd, Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman, The Green Lantern, Man-Thing, Spider-Man, Testament (co-creator), Death's Head, and the proverbial much, much more!
from Marvel UK Comics cover-dated March 1994
The recent anthology Wonder Woman: Black and Gold (highly recommended) included a story written, drawn, and featuring by Liam, based on "the mother of all dreams."
from Wonder Woman: Black and Gold #6 (DC, January 2022); script, pencils, inks, and colors by Liam Sharp; letters by Wes Abbott
Happy birthday, Liam!
from Marvel UK Comics cover-dated March 1994
The recent anthology Wonder Woman: Black and Gold (highly recommended) included a story written, drawn, and featuring by Liam, based on "the mother of all dreams."
from Wonder Woman: Black and Gold #6 (DC, January 2022); script, pencils, inks, and colors by Liam Sharp; letters by Wes Abbott
Happy birthday, Liam!
Today in Comics History, May 2: Happy birthday, Glenn Herdling!
Let's all wish a happy birthday to comics writer and editor Glenn Herdling (Namor the Sub-Mariner, Cable, Spider-Man, Blackwulf, Deathlok, etc., and the Piper Houdini novel series)!
from Marvel Age #53, 89, and 101 (Marvel, August 1987, May 1991, and May 1991); text by Mike Carlin (#53) and Chris Eliopoulis and Barry Dutter (#98 & 101); pencils and inks by Ron Zalme; colors by Paul Becton (#53), Gregory Wright (#89) and Renee Witterstaetter (#101)
from Marvel Age #53, 89, and 101 (Marvel, August 1987, May 1991, and May 1991); text by Mike Carlin (#53) and Chris Eliopoulis and Barry Dutter (#98 & 101); pencils and inks by Ron Zalme; colors by Paul Becton (#53), Gregory Wright (#89) and Renee Witterstaetter (#101)
Today in Comics History, May 2, 1885: Typographer nails two boards together; creates new font
from Two-Gun Kid: Sunset Riders #1 (Marvel, November 1995), script by Fabian Nicieza, pencils by Christian Gorney, inks by Michael Halblieb, colors by Marie Javins, letters by Richard Starkings
Today in Comics History, May 2, 1946: Surprise finding determines escape from Alcatraz involved criminals
"America's Finest: Alcatraz," text story from Dick Tracy (1950 series) #43 (Harvey, September 1951), creator uncredited and unknown
Today in Comics History, May 2, 1962: Billionaire buys his way out of a million-dollar lawsuit
from "The Doctor and the Gambler" in Four Color #1337 [Dr. Kildare] (Dell, April 1962), pencils and inks by Doug Wildey
Hey, May 2 is Doug Wildey's birthday! No wonder he used that date in the panel! Happy birthday, Doug!
Today in Comics History, May 2, 1939: Lou Gehrig takes a bath
from "Lou Gehrig: Baseball's Iron Horse" in It Really Happened #5 (Pines, October 1946), pencils and inks by Sam Cooper (?)
Sunday, May 02, 2021
Today in Comics History, May 2, 1905: If you think I'm going to make a Helen Keller joke here you're sadly mistaken*
from "Helen Keller: Conquest of Darkness" in Real Heroes #13 (Parents' Magazine Press, March 1946), creators uncredited and unknown
*I can't even see myself doing it.
Tuesday, May 02, 2017
Today in Comics History, May 2, 1945: Captain America goes into suspended animation to escape encroaching speech balloons
from Captain America (1968 series) #332 (Marvel, August 1987), script by Mark Gruenwald, pencils by Tom Morgan, inks by Bob McLeod, colors by Ken Feduniewicz, letters by Diana Albers
Today in Comics History, May 2: Dynasty II: The Colbys (or, Who's That Brother-in-Law?)
SPOILER WARNING: do not read this post until you've read The 1978 2017 DC Calendar of Super-Spectacular Disasters: July Jabbing! Also, until you've read this month's issue of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. Because that's a really good comic.
Okay!Back Forward in July I challenged you to guess the identity of the double-secret super mystery Guest Villain of DC's 1978 calendar, and the July clue was:
I'mma gonna tell you the truth here: although I've pretty much known since clue one in January that the mystery bad guy is SPOILER WARNING Lex Luthor, I never knew he had a brother-in-law! Sure, everybody knows that Luthor's sister, Lena Thorul (and what a clever anagram that is) is a supporting character of the pre-Crisis DC Universe, but had she actually ever been married?
Turns out...yes! Yes, Lena Thorul did get married. On this very date (which is why I placed the answer to those cryptic clues on this date)!
from Super DC Calendar 1976 (Dc, 1975), letters by Ben Oda
And you didn't send her a toaster. Shame on you.
from "The Great Supergirl Double-Cross!" in Action Comics (1938 series) #317 (October 1964), script by Leo Dorfman, pencils and inks by Jim Mooney, letters by the aptly named Joe Letterese
Oh man oh man oh man, it's another kooky but compelling Silver Age setup to a story of Super-family shenanigans, also including the subsection of super-jerkery. Also: entry #2,420 in my extensive catalogue of characters thinking the word "choke!". Apparently Lena Hurt-Lo had a boyfriend and Supergirl (breathy insert voice: in her secret identity as Linda Danvers, orphan-at-large) stole him away? You jerk, Supergirl! And speaking of jerks, here's Lena's big bad bald brother Lex, rotting away the rest of his six hundred and six consecutive life sentences at supermax jail Metropolis prison, where because of his dangerous nature, he's held motionless in a special capsule designed by Superman to keep Luthor from moving or OH FOR PETE'S SAKE THEY GAVE HIM A TELEVISION SET. Doncha know that Luthor can construct an atom bomb out of a television set, an ordinary pack of playing cards, beef bravy, and that sharpened toothbrush he was shivved with in the prison shower? Luthor tries to get a look at the photograph of Jeff Colby, Lena's boyfriend, but his magic idiot box isn't able to change angles even though he's looking at her without cameras. (Shrugs) The Silver Age!
La la la la la la la la la la (humming The Donna Reed Theme) The next day, Linda/Kara and her boyfriend..."Dick"...meet to go on a double date picnic. As far as I can tell..."Dick"...has no lines in this story and apparently only serves to set things on fire. he thus becomes one of several beards to deceive the world at large that Supergirl actually truly only loves Bill "Biron" Starr, her ancient Grecian boyfriend who is also a centaur. Kara was always a little too into My Little Pony and Superman worried quite a bit about that. As would you.
Anyway, Lena's Thorul-sense is tingling, her ESP warning her wait did we mention she had ESP? Lena has ESP. As the caption (one in every panel!) helpfully reminds us, "Due to a necessarily impurity, Lena has extra-sensory perception of the color yellow." Oh yeah? then who bought that dress? Supergirl spies a crashing plane with the pilot bailing out and immediately jumps to the circumstantial evidence that this must be the same guy Lena's dating. Because comics.
Because Superman has mandated that Supergirl remain under cover and hidden from the human race in her red and blue uniform with a miniskirt, Kara blows Jeff NO NOW STOP IT. YOU'VE GOT A VERY DIRTY MIND. Kara uses her super-breath to land Jeff near to the site of the picnic. But Jeff seems to be hiding something and is acting quite mysterious, hmmmm! HE'S A BIGAMIST! HE'S A MURDERER! and other random guesses.
Spying on Jeff, Linda/Kara/Supergirl learns that he has a mysterious spy car! And that he's transmitting mysterious spy signals! To a mysterious spy base! Mysteriously!
Thus is set up the dilemma of the story, so soap-operaish it's washing my mouth out: Linda knows that Jeff Colby is a super secret agent spy guy with guns and boats and tanks! But she dare not let Lena know that she may be marrying a dirty low-down enemy agent spyyyyyy. (Draw that last word out as long and with as much disdain as you can manage.) Also, here's one time Lena's ESP doesn't warn her of danger! And Linda pronounces the word "choke." This one's got it all!
Even Luthor, finally recognizing Lena's fiance, is aghast at the circumstances. So...it's somebody Lex knows, huh? Could it be...Otis?
With all the subtlety of a script from Three's Company and not even the Chrissie years, Supergirl vows to break up Jeff and Lena! She vows that once she's done, Lena will totally hate Jeff! So, her plan is obvious: Supergirl is going to show Lena Jeff's Gamergate posts on 4chan.
Yadda yadda yadda much misadventure and misunderstanding later, Supergirl finally finds out that Jeff Colby is a spy like us for us: the FBI agent who put Luthor behind bars! Yes, Kara, there can be good spies too! And hey wait, there was one time when it wasn't Superman who put Luthor behind bars? What's up with that?
DID I MENTION THERE'S A JEFF COLBY ROBOT
All's well that ends well and Lena married Jeff to become Lena Thorul-Colby, an ancient Kryptonian name which means "brother-in-law to Lex Luthor." Say, readers, who the heck do you think the perfect husband for Supergirl will be?
MRS. LINDA BULLY
MR. & MRS. BULLY AND SUPERGIRL BULL
KARA ZOR-EL AND HER SUPER-HUNKY HUSBAND, BULLY
Before we move onto the next appearance of Jeff Colby, Husband to the Sister of the World's Most Dangerous Man, let's peek a couple problematic moments in Action #317, such as this explanation of where Supergirl hides her costume. "The Super-Lipstick: What It Is and How It Came to Be!" Man, that's barely one step different that Batgirl's major weapon being her purse.
Say, did I mention the word "problematic?" SUPERMAN NO
Panels from "Superman's Rainbow Face!" in Action Comics (1938 series) #317 (October 1964), script by Otto Binder, pencils and inks by Al Plastino
Anyway, let's take a look at Jeff Colby's next appearance in comics, shall we? Ooh, this looks exciting! I bet accomplished senior FBI agent Jeff is going to aid Supergirl in hunting down the Man with the Explosive Mind! Or maybe he is the Man with the Explosive Mind! Wow, it's so exciting my mind is exploding!
Cover of The Superman Family #211 (October 1981), pencils by Ross Andru, inks by Dick Giordano
So! (clapping my hands together, leaning forward in excitement) Let's see what super-energized action-thribbled escapades Jeff Colby, The Sensational Character Find of 1964, is diving daringly head-first into!
Oh man. He's dead.
He died after his first appearance and before his only other mention.
The 1978 Calendar's clue refers to a character who only appeared once in a Supergirl backup story and then died.
You suck, Jeff Colby.
Okay!
I'mma gonna tell you the truth here: although I've pretty much known since clue one in January that the mystery bad guy is SPOILER WARNING Lex Luthor, I never knew he had a brother-in-law! Sure, everybody knows that Luthor's sister, Lena Thorul (and what a clever anagram that is) is a supporting character of the pre-Crisis DC Universe, but had she actually ever been married?
Turns out...yes! Yes, Lena Thorul did get married. On this very date (which is why I placed the answer to those cryptic clues on this date)!
from Super DC Calendar 1976 (Dc, 1975), letters by Ben Oda
And you didn't send her a toaster. Shame on you.
from "The Great Supergirl Double-Cross!" in Action Comics (1938 series) #317 (October 1964), script by Leo Dorfman, pencils and inks by Jim Mooney, letters by the aptly named Joe Letterese
Oh man oh man oh man, it's another kooky but compelling Silver Age setup to a story of Super-family shenanigans, also including the subsection of super-jerkery. Also: entry #2,420 in my extensive catalogue of characters thinking the word "choke!". Apparently Lena Hurt-Lo had a boyfriend and Supergirl (breathy insert voice: in her secret identity as Linda Danvers, orphan-at-large) stole him away? You jerk, Supergirl! And speaking of jerks, here's Lena's big bad bald brother Lex, rotting away the rest of his six hundred and six consecutive life sentences at supermax jail Metropolis prison, where because of his dangerous nature, he's held motionless in a special capsule designed by Superman to keep Luthor from moving or OH FOR PETE'S SAKE THEY GAVE HIM A TELEVISION SET. Doncha know that Luthor can construct an atom bomb out of a television set, an ordinary pack of playing cards, beef bravy, and that sharpened toothbrush he was shivved with in the prison shower? Luthor tries to get a look at the photograph of Jeff Colby, Lena's boyfriend, but his magic idiot box isn't able to change angles even though he's looking at her without cameras. (Shrugs) The Silver Age!
La la la la la la la la la la (humming The Donna Reed Theme) The next day, Linda/Kara and her boyfriend..."Dick"...meet to go on a double date picnic. As far as I can tell..."Dick"...has no lines in this story and apparently only serves to set things on fire. he thus becomes one of several beards to deceive the world at large that Supergirl actually truly only loves Bill "Biron" Starr, her ancient Grecian boyfriend who is also a centaur. Kara was always a little too into My Little Pony and Superman worried quite a bit about that. As would you.
Anyway, Lena's Thorul-sense is tingling, her ESP warning her wait did we mention she had ESP? Lena has ESP. As the caption (one in every panel!) helpfully reminds us, "Due to a necessarily impurity, Lena has extra-sensory perception of the color yellow." Oh yeah? then who bought that dress? Supergirl spies a crashing plane with the pilot bailing out and immediately jumps to the circumstantial evidence that this must be the same guy Lena's dating. Because comics.
Because Superman has mandated that Supergirl remain under cover and hidden from the human race in her red and blue uniform with a miniskirt, Kara blows Jeff NO NOW STOP IT. YOU'VE GOT A VERY DIRTY MIND. Kara uses her super-breath to land Jeff near to the site of the picnic. But Jeff seems to be hiding something and is acting quite mysterious, hmmmm! HE'S A BIGAMIST! HE'S A MURDERER! and other random guesses.
Spying on Jeff, Linda/Kara/Supergirl learns that he has a mysterious spy car! And that he's transmitting mysterious spy signals! To a mysterious spy base! Mysteriously!
Thus is set up the dilemma of the story, so soap-operaish it's washing my mouth out: Linda knows that Jeff Colby is a super secret agent spy guy with guns and boats and tanks! But she dare not let Lena know that she may be marrying a dirty low-down enemy agent spyyyyyy. (Draw that last word out as long and with as much disdain as you can manage.) Also, here's one time Lena's ESP doesn't warn her of danger! And Linda pronounces the word "choke." This one's got it all!
Even Luthor, finally recognizing Lena's fiance, is aghast at the circumstances. So...it's somebody Lex knows, huh? Could it be...Otis?
With all the subtlety of a script from Three's Company and not even the Chrissie years, Supergirl vows to break up Jeff and Lena! She vows that once she's done, Lena will totally hate Jeff! So, her plan is obvious: Supergirl is going to show Lena Jeff's Gamergate posts on 4chan.
Yadda yadda yadda much misadventure and misunderstanding later, Supergirl finally finds out that Jeff Colby is a spy like us for us: the FBI agent who put Luthor behind bars! Yes, Kara, there can be good spies too! And hey wait, there was one time when it wasn't Superman who put Luthor behind bars? What's up with that?
DID I MENTION THERE'S A JEFF COLBY ROBOT
All's well that ends well and Lena married Jeff to become Lena Thorul-Colby, an ancient Kryptonian name which means "brother-in-law to Lex Luthor." Say, readers, who the heck do you think the perfect husband for Supergirl will be?
MRS. LINDA BULLY
MR. & MRS. BULLY AND SUPERGIRL BULL
KARA ZOR-EL AND HER SUPER-HUNKY HUSBAND, BULLY
Before we move onto the next appearance of Jeff Colby, Husband to the Sister of the World's Most Dangerous Man, let's peek a couple problematic moments in Action #317, such as this explanation of where Supergirl hides her costume. "The Super-Lipstick: What It Is and How It Came to Be!" Man, that's barely one step different that Batgirl's major weapon being her purse.
Say, did I mention the word "problematic?" SUPERMAN NO
Panels from "Superman's Rainbow Face!" in Action Comics (1938 series) #317 (October 1964), script by Otto Binder, pencils and inks by Al Plastino
Anyway, let's take a look at Jeff Colby's next appearance in comics, shall we? Ooh, this looks exciting! I bet accomplished senior FBI agent Jeff is going to aid Supergirl in hunting down the Man with the Explosive Mind! Or maybe he is the Man with the Explosive Mind! Wow, it's so exciting my mind is exploding!
Cover of The Superman Family #211 (October 1981), pencils by Ross Andru, inks by Dick Giordano
So! (clapping my hands together, leaning forward in excitement) Let's see what super-energized action-thribbled escapades Jeff Colby, The Sensational Character Find of 1964, is diving daringly head-first into!
Oh man. He's dead.
He died after his first appearance and before his only other mention.
The 1978 Calendar's clue refers to a character who only appeared once in a Supergirl backup story and then died.
You suck, Jeff Colby.
Monday, May 02, 2016
Today in Comics History, May 2: Andrea Hope misses her one chance to be in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
from Deathlok (2014 series) #6 (Marvel, May 2015), script by Nathan Edmondson, pencils and inks by Mike Perkins, colors by Andy Troy, letters by Joe Sabino
Friday, May 02, 2014
Today in Comics History, May 2, 1960: Sailors set out on voyage without condoms
from "Log of the Snorkel Wolf Pack" in Atomic War! #3 (Ace, February 1953), creators uncredited and unknown
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