Eep Opp Ork! AH! AH!

If you're a fan of superhero comic books, you probably know the work of artist Adam Hughes. And if you know Adam Hughes, you know his artwork is notable for a couple specific things:



That's right: he signs his art with the two letters A and H! (And one a' these: !) Like so:



Mister Hughes is so well known for his AH! signature that even his Official Adam Hughes Website is titled "Just Say AH!"



Why, if you look carefully, you may be able to spot the AH! signature in each of these Adam Hughes pictures. Take your time to find the signatures...go ahead, you may take as much time as you need looking at the pictures.








Yep, I know there's no immediately visible "AH!" in that last image. But don't let me stop you; keep on looking as long as you need to. The AH! might just be there somewhere.

But the thing about Adam Hughes that a lot of people don't know (and I intend to remedy!) is that he very frequently appears in comic books as a surprise character appearing just off-panel. That's why so many comic book characters are shown reacting to the arrival of Adam Hughes! For example, Adam hangs out in urban police stations...



...and in the deepest reaches of the galaxy...



And in the Old West, everybody loves Adam Hughes!



Please remember not to mispronounce his name! It's AH!, not



And whatever you do, please do not mistake Kid Black Panther for Adam Hughes.



So there you go! Whether you're looking for a good-girl artist for your comic book covers, or a cameo guest star in your story...



So, thank you, Adam Hughes, for making us search as diligently for your distinctive AH! signature, as diligently as Batman searches for clues!

366 Days with Alfred Pennyworth, Day 213

Panels from "The Scarecrow's Trail of Fear!" in Batman #262 (April 1975), script by Denny O'Neil, pencils by Ernie Chan, inks by Dick Giordano,

The Reason Why Donald Duck Was the Only Eligible Athlete to Carry the Olympic Torch in Duckburg

If you came to this post first, it actually begins here.

Panels from "The Olympian Torch Bearer" in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #286 (July 1964), script, pencils, and inks by Carl Barks, colors by Western Publishing Production Shop, letters by Garé Barks

The Official Comic Book Panels of the Day of the 2012 Olympics, Day 5

Panels from "The Olympian Torch Bearer" in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #286 (July 1964), script, pencils, and inks by Carl Barks, colors by Western Publishing Production Shop, letters by Garé Barks


Stay tuned this Saturday to see the comic book covers of this tale, featured in Same Story, Different Cover!

Maybe I'm A-Maze-d Monday: More fun than a barrel of corgis

Since we can't participate in the London 2012 Olympics of which this blog is the Official Comics Blog, why don't we all participate in an entirely different kind of sporting event for the evening that comes straight to us from our pals in London: a thrilling Captain America maze from the British Marvel Story Book Annual 1967!


"Captain America's Quest" maze from Marvel Story Book Annual 1967 (UK)

Pretty cool, huh? And you don't even need a guy with a baseball bat to hit Nazis over the head like that guy in that movie! ("Thump!")

This British Marvel Story Book Annual is quite a different animal from the American Marvel annuals and even the UK comics annuals that reprint comic stories from US Marvels.


Cover art by R. W. Smethurst

Only it only cost you ten and six! (That's 10 shillings and sixpence.) In post-decimalization Sterling that would have been 52½p: the inflation equivalent of £7.70 ($12.09) today. That's an awful good value for a 100-page hardcover, full-color book. Here's the gorgeous bright endpapers:



The Story Book Annual consists of several brightly illustrated prose stories starring the major Marvel heroes of the sixties (no Avengers, X-Men or Daredevil, but pretty much everybody else), puzzles like the one above, joke pages and informational features...and my favorite feature, a few Marvel board games you can play with dice and markers—use any coins for markers, if you don't have ha'pennys on you. And if you haven't got a ha'penny, then God bless you.

Here's the Sorry-esque Fantastic Four board game where each of the FF must rush back to the Baxter Building (presumably after Johnny has blazed that big "4" in the sky). Do you want to play Back to Headquarters? Sure, we all do!



Just save or drag the two board game images (there's a pair of them, one on the left and one on the right) to your desktop—the original images should each be 700 pixels tall. Print 'em both out separately on heavy paper or card stock (Reed Richards reminds you to make certain you have plenty of ink in your color inkjet cartridges, which apparently he invented), then trim and tape together! Hooray! Hours (or at least a good 45 minutes) of fun and excitement with the Fantastic Four! Play it again and again, and then give yourself an Olympic Medal when you win! Excelsior, true believers!

366 Days with Alfred Pennyworth, Day 212

Panels from DC Comics Presents #83 (July 1985), script by Mike W. Barr (who else?), pencils by Irv Novick, inks by Dave Hunt, colors by Gene D'Angelo, letters by Albert DeGuzman

The Official Comic Book Panel of the Day of the 2012 Olympics, Day 4

Panels from "The Tasty Trophy" in Winnie-the-Pooh #2 (May 1977), script by Vic Lockman, pencils and inks by Pete Alvarado

Ten of a Kind: The Official Ten of a Kind of the 2012 Olympics

(More Ten of a Kind here.)

366 Days with Alfred Pennyworth, Day 211

Panel from DC Challenge #7 (May 1986), script by Paul Kupperberg, pencils by Joe Staton, inks by Steve Mitchell, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by John Costanza

The Official Comic Book Panel of the Day of the 2012 Olympics, Day 3

Panel from Four Color #432 [Bugs Bunny and the Rabbit Olympics] (October-November 1952), script by Don R. Christensen, pencils and inks by Fred Abranz

Today in Comics History, July 28, 1959: Mervin D. Cooke born, gets a pen for his christening

from Gotham Central #20 (August 2004), script by Ed Brubaker, pencils by Michael Lark, inks by Stefano Gaudiano, colors by Lee Loughridge, letters by Clem Robins

Different Story, But Pretty Much the Same Cover: The Official Same Story, Different Cover Post of the 2012 Olympics

Left: Action Comics #220 (September 1956), pencils and inks by Al Plastino
Right: Action Comics #304 (September 1963), pencils by Curt Swan, inks by Sheldon Moldoff

(Click picture to 100-foot-puppet-of-Lex-Luthor-size)

Yep, you read the header right: this is a Different Story, But Pretty Much the Same Cover! We've gotten used to Silver Age comic stories being reprinted ad infinitum on a cycle of a decade or so, keeping with the universal truth that no one past the age of 15 ever reads comic books. However, this isn't one of those cases! Although the story in Action #304 takes its title and initial premise from the story in #220—Superman performs poorly against mighty galactic athletes in the Interplanetary Olympics—each takes a different approach. #220 is a fairly straightforward story where Superman discovers one of his competitors is cheating by concealing Kryptonite in the Olympic Area. #304 ups the stakes by not only including Lana Lang (huh?), but by eliminating the possibility of Kryptonite in the area fairly early on in the story. The eventual outcome: Superman has been "throwing" the competition by performing poorly, to prevent aliens from stealing his superpower when he performs amazing deeds (huh?). The baddies escape on their rocket-powered planetoid (huh?) but luckily are apprehended by the Intergalactic Police ("To Protect and Serve...In Spaaaaaaaaaace!"). Stick around over the next couple weeks for each day's Official Comic Book Panel of the Day of the 2012 Olympics...I'll be presenting panels and sequences from both stories!

In the meantime, here's the cover of Superman #284, which does reprint the story from Action Comics #304. Who says this ism't the age of generous five-ringed Bully-bloggering?


Cover of Superman v.1 #284 (February 1975), pencils and inks by Nick Cardy