variant cover of Heroes in Crisis #5 (DC, March 2019), by Ryan Sook
(Wait a minute...who took that Poloroid?)
Anyway, that means today is the day this took place:
from Batman #427 (DC, Winter 1988), script by Jim Starlin, pencils by Jim Aparo, inks by Mike DeCarlo, colors by Adrienne Roy, letters by John Costanza
However, see April 27 for a conflicting date of these events!
Swamp Thing is possessed! And not, as we all wish, by the spirit of rock 'n' roll, but by an evil entity. Geez, it's never the spirit of rock 'n' roll. (sulks, listens to my Bob Seger albums again)
Panels from The Saga of [the] Swamp Thing (1982 series) #12 (April 1983), script by Martin Pasko, pencils and inks by Tom Yeates, colors by Tatjana Wood, letters by John Costanza
Today's 365 Days of Defiance is brought to you by the suggestion of the Godfather of Swamp Thing Blogging, "Mighty" Mike Sterling over at Progressive Ruin, one of the the World's Finest Comics Blogs Since 1969. Hey, if'n you're a fan of Mike (and who isn't?) and/for of Swamp Thing (ditto), you oughta pitch in a buck or more a month to Mike's Patreon, which helps support his excellent blog and gets you his new series of reviews of every Swamp Thing comic ever. You can free-read the first-installment here, and it looks like it's gonna be a lotta fun. Mike is a good friend and a fine human being, so his writing and his Patreon gets two hooves up from this little stuffed me. As Mike would say, Swamp Thing, won't you?
I'm still pretty busy picking up all the confetti and streamers from my birthday party yesterday, so in order to catch up, here's a guest submission for 365 Days of Star Wars Comics, sent in by my good pal Mister Mike Sterling. Thanks, Mike! He's sent me a cover that I can only describe as another entry in the long list of Archie's Generic Celebrities: Not Actually Threepio and Artoo!
Cover of Mad House #111 (February 1978), artist uncredited
Thanks again, Mike! A slice of day-old birthday cake is being emailed to you now as we speak! Also: HAPPY MIKE'S GIRLFRIEND'S BIRTHDAY! Bullincidentally.
Panel from Uglydoll Comics (Free Comic Book Day 2013) one-shot (May 2013), script by Travis Nichols, pencils and inks by Ian McGinty, colors by Space Goat Productions, LLC
That's weird, because I got comics! Lots and lots of lovely free comic books from my favorite comic book store in the whole universe, Bergen Street Comics here in lovely Brooklyn. (Stop in and say hi to Tom and Tucker!) They had a big assortment for me, but I missed out on (by my own fault of lateness!) a copy of one of my most eagerly awaited FCBD books, the new tie-in to David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim's lovable felt friends, Uglydoll Comics! But never fear...once he learned I missed out on it, my good pal "Marvelous" Mike Sterling promised to send me a copy.
Hooray, Mike! Mike's from my second favorite comic book store, Ralph's Comic Corner as well as being a comics blogger extraordinary for the multiple award-winning* Progressive Ruin—home for all things Swamp Thing and Sluggo-related since 1969. Mike's also a big proponent and champion of Free Comic Book Day (see his post on Ralph's very successful Free Comic Book Day 2013 here). How big a champ of FCBD is he? So big he mailed me a free comic! Thank you, Mike! I say in HTML-coded bold letters. Heck, let's make 'em in HTML color! THANK YOU MIKE! I have enjoyed this comic book, very very very much!
And so did all my pals!
Thanks again, Mike! You rock! In that totally rocking way, of course.
(And by the way, since you can never watch it enough, here's me and my Uglydoll pal Ox in a little video I like to call "Go West." Because we did.)
*I am not certain if Mike has actually won any awards for Progressive Ruin, but gosh darnit, he oughta have. Even if he hasn't, he as at least won...my little stuffed heart!
Panels from Detective Comics #385 (March 1969*),
script by Bob Kanigher,
pencils by Bob Brown,
inks by Joe Giella,
It's not Batman's birthday today (that was February 19) but it is the birthday of two pals of Alfred and mine: friends and fellow bloggers, Mike Sterling and Andrew Weiss. Go on over to their blogs and wish 'em a happy birthday! (I don't know why they don't just stay six, though.) Happy Birthdays, Mike and Andrew!
Say it ain't so, Mike Sterling! Today Mike is so busy fielding phone calls about when the Watchmen prequels are going to be available, and if there will be accompanying pogs, that he hasn't had time to do a complete post for the day! Don't worry, Mike! I will help you out! I hereby donate this post to Progressive Ruin so Mike can have a day to relax! Kick up your heels and dance, Mike!
NO, SLUGGO
panels from Four Color #1034 [Nancy and Sluggo Summer Camp] (Dell, September 1959)
YOU CAN'T BE ON "MYTHBUSTERS"
Even though I know how much you want to meet Kari Byron.
L: House of Secrets #92 (June-July 1971), art by Bernie Wrightson
R: Saga of the Swamp Thing #33 (February 1985), art by John Totleben and Tatjana Wood
(Click picture to Adrienne Barbeau-size)
"Dancing on the Ceiling" by Lionel Richie (1986), directed by Stanley Donen
I suppose they both owe a lot to Fred. (And Stanley Donen, who also directed this.)
But for sheer unadulterated Sluggosity, there's no one who can beat Marvelous Mike Sterling, whose Sluggo Saturdays are burnin' up the internet each and every sixth day of the week. Forget those Secret Saturdays, your Saturday Night Live, or your Ian McEwan novels...Sluggo Saturdays over at ProgressiveRuin.com are where it's at, baby!
It's a special day here at Comics Oughta Be Fun, and that means we're not gonna post a silly panel of Ben Grimm doing something for our amusement. (Until later.) No, this is a momentous occasion for celebration, mirth, and drinking chocolate milkshakes (especially the milkshake part), because on this day was born...well, let's see, let's look at my birthday book...on this day was born the miniskirted Lois Lane of them all, Dana Delaney, and my favorite actor, William H. Macy, who delighted us so much with his star turns in Fargo and the television series Maude...but as much as I love 'em both, my heart today belongs to a man whose praises I must sing as he hits the big FOUR-OH, which in little stuffed bull years is as near to the grave as you can be and not be Boston Brand. I'm talking about that beautiful, brawny blogger we all know and love, the Michael with the mostest, Mister Mike Sterling of ProgressiveRuin.com. Happy birthday, Mike!
Now, everybody who knows anything about Mike, anybody who's read his blog for any amount of time or met the man in the legendary comic book store he works in, knows at least one important fact about Mike Sterling: the man is the world's biggest fan of that famous comic book swamp creature, the misunderstood monster within whom beats the heart of a gentle, loving man, but who has by circumstances and some abracadabering been transformed into a creature of grass and moss, of vines and leaves. A recluse who lives in his southern swamp, this creature nonetheless is one of the most important characters in his superhero universe. It's no wonder Mike Sterling is this hero's number one fan. Yes, folks, as we all know,
Mike Sterling loves Man-Thing!
Yup, it's true! Mike Sterling loves and adores Man-Thing above all over comic book characters. Why, here he is reading one of his favorite issues of his champion character!:
Corner Mike next time you see him and ask him to tell you all about Man-Thing! The guy loves to talk for hours about Ted Sallis's muck-encrusted alter-ego and his place in the modern Marvel Universe. Wanna have some fun? Pounce on Mike and ask him a series of fast-paced trivia questions about Man-Thing! Mike Sterling knows them all! You can't stump this guy on Man-Thing trivia!
As we're all aware, Mike is also a great fan of the paranormal and the unexplained. He enjoys the supernatural and often is caught scanning the skies for UFOs and other extraordinary objects! Mike is well-aware you may scoff at his extra-normal beliefs, but he will patiently tell you that there is no evidence at all that extraterrestrials did not visit us and build the Eiffel Tower! be sure to show him your assortment of blurry photographs of swamp balloons and weather gas...Mike wants to believe!
Mike is also a firm believer in the power of faith healing.
In fact, Mike is so involved in the world of healing by touch that he actually once ran a faith revival in order to bring the miracle of this work to the common people!
So be sure to tell him you too believe in this precious miracle by touching him in public. His touch with heal you!
Another thing I love about Mike Sterling: he's a huge fan of seeing his favorite comic book character fight a bear!
Mike's also got a soft spot for those who practice magic! Mike is often heard to declare: "Magic has got to be real...since we haven't seen it in public, that means it exists, because only wizards and witches could keep magic hidden from us so well!" You can't argue with logic like that!
Also, make sure you wish Mike a happy fortieth birthday by giving him one of the hidden handshakes of the many secret societies he belongs to! Just don't ask him which ones...coz he'll have to kill you!
Yes, Mike Sterling is a man of many interests and talents, and yet it all comes back to the guiding center of his life—his love for Man-Thing. Here's a special birthday video for you, Mike! I realize you know it all by heart since you're such a huge Man-Thing fanatic, but be sure to read along with the record!
Yes, it's just not a birthday celebration without Mike's special favorite pal Man-Thing hanging about! So, make sure you invite him to the birthday party!
And for your vegetarian guests, be sure to serve a festive birthday salad!
Why, when his favorite hero Man-Thing is around, Mike's birthday party is sure to be a smashing success!
And now, it's time to start Mike Sterling's 40th birthday party!:
Oh, wait, sorry. I captioned that wrong. Try this one!:
You always have to be careful when you're lighting up so many candles as Mike will have on his birthday cake, so...
Whoops, got a little bit out of control there. Luckily, we've got 40 more candles, and...
That'll happen when you're trying to get forty candles lit at once! Still, nothing that you can't fix with a little extra frosting and 40 more candles and...
Seriously, Mannie, maybe you ought to step aside and let somebody else try it this time...
Okay, Mike, we'll just have to go without the 40 candles on your cake this year. But now it's time to open your gifts. I got you something that I knew you'd love and adore, combining two of your favorite things in the world:
MAN-THING POGS!
So, join me in wishing a very Man-Thing birthday to the biggest fan of Man-Thing around, Mister Mike Sterling, and hope that he has a wonderful year ahead full of Man-Thing and all the joy that Man-Thing can bring to you in...
Meme Weekend continues with Mike Sterling's Tom "Pieface" Kamalku's Casebook Meme. (I already used this joke in the comments on Mike's page, but when I saw everyone was Photoshopping theirs, I just had to jump off that cliff with them.)
It's a special day here at Comics Oughta Be Fun, and that means we're not gonna post a silly panel of Ben Grimm doing something for our amusement. (Until later.) No, this is a momentous occasion for celebration, mirth, and drinking chocolate milkshakes (especially the milkshake part), because on this day was born...well, let's see, let's look at my birthday book...on this day was born the miniskirted Lois Lane of them all, Dana Delaney, and my favorite actor, William H. Macy, who delighted us so much with his star turns in Fargo and the television series Maude...but as much as I love 'em both, my heart today belongs to a man whose praises I must sing as he hits the big FOUR-OH, which in little stuffed bull years is as near to the grave as you can be and not be Boston Brand. I'm talking about that beautiful, brawny blogger we all know and love, the Michael with the mostest, Mister 
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQenrY-T9_-EUVG2XBTW-ZiSnvw_V3JFU-8tiFlhrdgKCUBaE56ekbiILucymY9gA-xa4zdGy_z1Njojw78Z-YnlUiN4PIRRurK7GzqoEg3B-PmXl2RJaS1ZaVKVCEHP-m-WVr2xjqailLu1jlzylysiBGc3sVXLXNMFDzAURyrHhKBfcqyO4/s1600/button-libertybellmarch.jpg" "It's...")
