The Unsettling Slang of Warren Worthington III

Sure, it's usually Hawkeye who's the one uttering utterly unsettling slang in the Marvel Universe...the sort of talk that makes you step back a little from Mister Clint Barton. The kind of metaphor that probably is just taken out of context, right? You know, the slang that doesn't quite seem like it belongs in a comic book?

Well, fear no more: Clint Barton's cleaned up his act (Dying a couple times will do that to ya)! Maybe because he's too busy keeping track of what identity he is this week (seriously, this guy's just one codename short of a Hank Pym), but Hawkeye's been on his best behavior recently. But I'm afraid we can't say the same thing about millionaire mutant Warren Worthington III:


Panel from Champions #5 (April 1976), script by Tony Isabella, layouts by Don Heck, finishes by John Tartaglione, colors by Janice Cohen, letters by Irving Watanabe

Hey-oh! We're sure he's just referring to a plate of creamed spinach or corn or something, I betcha.

Anyway, there you have it: The Unsettling Slang of Someone Other Than Clint Barton for Once. No more laughing behind your back at you, right, Hawkeye?


Panel from Tales of Suspense #57 (September 1964), script by Stan Lee, pencils and inks by Don Heck, letters by Sam Rosen

Geez, Hawkeye, no!!

The Unsettling Slang of Jack Kirby's Steve Rogers

Sure, we all love Jack Kirby's wild, powerful, dynamic artwork and his way-out, mind-bending plots and stories...but even the biggest little stuffed Jack fan has to admit...sometimes his dialogue could get a little...well, far out, to put it kindly. No, I'm not necessarily talking about the "frequent" usages of quotation marks to display "emphasis"...or his grand full-page speech declarations by mighty villains declaring that they will soon rule the universe once they get their "hands" on the "Anti-Life Equation" (which they never taught me in math class, I can tell ya!). No, sometimes it's as simple as an awkward phrase or turn of the pen which has even the most unlikely characters declaring aloud something you'd not expect them to say:


All panels from Captain America and the Falcon #200 (August 1976), scripted and pencilled by Jack Kirby, inked by Frank Giacoia, colored by Don Warfield, letters by John Constanza

Whoops, no, not that one. Weird as it is. No, take a big steamin' Kirby-sized gander at this proclamation outta Cap's mouth:



Wha...what, Cap? Didja just say what I think you were saying? (Um, not that I know what it means, bein' a little six-year-old bull 'n' all). Golly. I know you hung aroudn with salty-languaged soldiers in the Big One, but this kinda Unsettling Slang out of the mouth of the Red, White, and Blue Avenger doesn't seem to be quite what I expect! Oh well, maybe he's simply referring to its basic meaning of "having a good time." Or, it's entirely possible he's been borrowing and listening to Rick Jones's LP of this classic 1970s album.

Then again, what with his many years spent chillin' among the native Inuits up North, I've always had Cap pegged as more of a fan of "The Mighty Quinn."

Say, speaking of music loves of the superheroes... Falcon: what's your favorite Elvis song?:



Huh! You, too?

The Unsettling Slang of Mister Clint Barton, Part 8

Hey, we haven't done one of these in a while, have we? No, we haven't. So let's check in with the fearlessly frantic archer of adventure, Mister Oliver Qu Clint Barton, the high-flyin' Hawkeye! He's an Avengers extreme and the superhero voted Most Likely To Shoot You In The Butt With An Arrow three times running (losing in '79 narrowly to Beast during his Robin Hood phase). Not content with mastering the fine art of toxophilousity, Mister Hawkeye is also best known for shooting off his big mouth. Even during a tender scene with Wanda "No, I would never rewrite the world in my father's image and reduce the world mutant population to fewer than 200, why do you ask?" Maximoff, Clint's likely to spoil a sentimental moment with a discussion of religion:


Panels from Avengers #181 (March 1979), written by David Michelinie, pencils by John Byrne, inks by Dan Green, colors by Françoise Mouly (yes, that Françoise Mouly), lettering by Elaine Heinl
(Click to embiggen. Or, direct your tender eyes below:)


Whoa, that's a conundrum for the ages, Hawkeye. Maybe you should consult with one of the Avengers who knows a little more about religion, like, say, Thor. But in truth, take a poll of most ursines and I think you'll find very, very few are Roman Catholic...


Well. Whaddaya know! Like the proverbial stopped clock, Hawkeye's right at least twice a day. Ain't that the truth, Mister Barton?

The Unsettling Slang of Mister Clint Barton, Part 7

The interior monologue of a superhero tells you a lot about his or her personality. Captain America, in quiet moments of repose, is likely to think on the American people and how much society has changed since the 1940s. Spider-Man will likely consider his plummeting bank account, concerns over his grades or Aunt May, or what great power is accompanied by. Thor will muse on the hallowed halls and the great green fields of Asgard, and whether or not Loki is giving Highfather Odin a hotfoot at the moment. Tony Stark is plotting his smooth, smooth romantic moves with the suave attitude and sureness of Billy Dee Williams. And Hawkeye? Do you wonder sometimes if, even when he's just thinking, whether Hawkeye uses cringeworthy, unfortunate slang when he's pinned to the floor in a sticky mess of gooey Adhesive X?


Panel from Giant Size Avengers #3 (February 1975), written by Steve Englehart and Roy Thomas, art by Dave Cockrum and Joe Giella, lettering by "L. G. Peter," coloring by Petra Goldberg

Still, who's to say that gummed up in a sticky, gloppy trap like that, we wouldn't think the same sort of unfortunate slang? But Hawkeye's always a good sport about this blog ragging him. Say, Hawkeye: Why do you always use so much unfortunate slang, huh? What's the reason?


Panel from Giant Size Avengers #2 (November 1974), written by Steve Englehart, art by Dave Cockrum, lettering by Tom Orzechowski, coloring by Bill Mantlo

The Unsettling Slang of Mister Clint Barton, Part 6

Panel segments from Avengers/JLA #4 (March 2004),
written by Kurt Busiek, art by George Perez and Tom Smith, letters by Comiccraft

Ol' Hawkeye's words are fading out not because of poor scanner skills, but rather because he's being pulled back to his own comfy universe following the defeat of Krona. Just in time, too...I think there was a spatula reference coming up.

It only goes to prove...in any universe, Hawkeye's gonna say something that'll make you feel uncomfortable.

The Unsettling Slang of Mister Clint Barton, Part 5

One definition of a Clint Bartonism: words strung together that have never been spoken in that order before or since:


Panel from Secret Wars #8, (December 1984), written by Jim Shooter, art by Mike Zeck, John Beatty, and Christie Scheele

Bits of Bully Business

Please excuse a mildly truncated post tonight: your little stuffed host's bean-filled back is straining under the weight of the triple-threat of the Real World—no, not Judd Winick, Pamela Ling, and Puck, but the three-pronged timesucker that is travel (generally fun, but it can get tedious when you can hardly lay your own head on your own pillow for more than a couple nights in a row), a summer cold (I'm trying to suck it up, but it's not as much fun as sucking up a chocolate malt...ah-choo!), and work (running about a publishing company stacking books in tidy attractive piles by size, color, and sometimes ISBN can really wear you down!). I hope to be up to full running speed again by this weekend, but I'll have posts for you all week long.

In the meantime, how about a couple links for you P. G. Wodehouse fans? First, BBC7 has finished its rebroadcast of the radio dramatization of Joy in the Morning, one of the finest Jeeves books, but shed no tears in your hot sweet milky tea: beginning this week BBC7 starts the serialization of the radio version of The Inimitable Jeeves, also starring Michael Hordern (Gandalf in the radio version of The Lord of the Rings) as Jeeves, and as Bertie, Richard Briers (the lucky, lucky man who got to share a bed with the lovely, lovely Felicity Kendal in The Good Life/Good Neighbors, depending on which side of the pond you're on). You may remember The Inimitable Jeeves as the very first entry in A Wodehouse a Week, and trust me, this is wonderful Wodehouse and jovial Jeeves. But Bully (you may be saying), I do not live in the UK and therefore do not have access to all the wonderful wireless programmes on Auntie Beeb that you recommend! Never fear, chums, because if you're reading this blog, you've got a way to listen to BBC7! Simply skip on over to the BBC7 website "Listen Again" page, click on "Monday" at the top of the page, and scroll down until you find The Inimitable Jeeves. The Monday page and hence the show is available starting every Tuesday for the next six days, so you'll find episode 1 there now, and episode 2 will pop up like clockwork next Tuesday. While you're there, stroll about the other days of the week to find some more excellent BBC comedy and drama programming. I highly recommend the final episode of The Harpoon (running on Mondays), a witty and outrageous "Boy's Own" sketch comedy show in the vein of Ripping Yarns, and Giles Wemmbley-Hogg Goes Off (Fridays).

But what if, like boisterous Bully backer Eric notes in a comment on my most recent "A Wodehouse a Week," ("If I had to choose between comic books and Wooster and Jeeves, I would be sorely tempted to choose the latter."), you have to make the Solomon-like decision of picking either Wodehouse or comics? But, as I often decide when trying to choose between apple pie and ice cream for dessert, why not choose both, by checking out "Summer Moonshine," what may be the world's only Wodehouse comic! It's brilliantly realized in comic strip form by John Lustig (you know and love him as the creator of "Last Kiss"). Beautiful stuff, and you can be sure this li'l stuffed bull is gonna order a signed print of the strip and hang it proudly on my apartment wall next to all the photos of Felicity Kendal! (A tip o' the nose ring to Bookseller Chick for pointing me to the strip, and to Jaunty Jonathan Miller for alerting me of it in the comments!)

And finally, because, after all, this is Comics Oughta Be Fun, we proudly bashfully present:

The Unsettling Slang of Mister Steve Rogers

Panel from Captain America and the Falcon #201 (September 1976), written and pencilled by Jack Kirby, inked by Frank Giacoia, colored by Phil Rache

The Unsettling Slang of Mister Clint Barton, Part Four

Both panels in this post are from Avengers #102 (August 1973), script by Roy Thomas, art by Rich Buckler and Joe Sinnott

Bonus "Sometimes you can teach an old archer a new trick" panel!:

In which both Uatu and I make a promise to you.

Hullo, Bully fans! I'd hoped to fill you in today with a couple photo-filled adventure-anecdotes about my quick trip last week to Seattle, home of one thousand coffee shops (in the University area alone), but it's been such a long and hectic day and I'm just settling down to a little International Coffee* "me" time right now, so here's my solemn promise: short picture post today, longer photo post tomorrow or Wednesday. A little teaser for the moment: big-ass doughnuts!

And now, for something completely comics, The Unsettling Slang of Uatu:


Panel from Avengers #118 (December 1973), written by Steve Englehart,
pencils by Bob Brown, inks by Mike Esposito or Frank Giacoia

And he's a Watcher. You can take him at his word. Even if his head is an unsettling contradictory shape.

See ya tomorrow (or Wednesday) with Seattle photos, or at the very least another brief post tomorrow. I'm off to watch The Riches. I love Eddie Izzard.

*My favorite International Coffee joke, which probably few people will get: "Do you remember that charming café on Risa?...That android!...That Klingon!...That Captain!...Jean-Luc!" (This might explain part of the joke.)

The Unsettling Slang of Miss Gwen Stacy

from Spider-Man: Blue #4 (Marvel, October 2002), script by Jeph Loeb, pencils and inks by Tim Sale, colors by Steve Buccellato, letters by Wes Abbott
Gwen. (heartbeat thumps wildly)

The Unsettling Slang of Mister Clint Barton, Part 3

Panel segment from Avengers #109 (March 1973), written by Steve Englehart, art by Don Heck and Frank McLaughlin

Special bonus "sometimes it takes a handcapped man to say what we're all thinking but are too afraid to say" panel!::

Panel segment from Daredevil #99 (May 1973), written by Steve Gerber, art by Sam Kweskin and Syd Shores

The Unsettling Slang of Mister Clint Barton, Part 2

Panel from Avengers #105, November 1972, art by John Buscema and Jim Mooney

Special bonus unsettling-angle panel!:

Panel from Daredevil #99, May 1973, art by Sam Kweskin and Syd Shores

The Unsettling Slang of Mister Peter Parker

What with work, travel, and yummy, yummy, turkey, this is a busy busy Bully week, folks, so hope you'll excuse brief picture-oriented entries most of this week. Most of them are going to be from the great but not quite successful black-and-white Spectacular Spider-Man magazine of 1968, featuring the fantastic artwork of Jazzy John Romita. That alone is worth the price of admission, especially in glorious black-and-white, but there's a few oddities lurking within these greyscale pages. For example:


from Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine #1, July 1968

Whoa, who says that it wasn't the Mighty Marvel Age of Innuendo and Double-Entendre?

The Unsettling Slang of Mister Clint Barton

From Avengers #109. All dialogue guaranteed verbatim!