Saturday, March 18, 2017

Today in Comics History, March 18, 1988: Terry Long hits rock bottom


from The Draft one-shot (Marvel/New Universe, July 1988), script by Mark Gruenwald and Fabian Nicieza; pencils by Herb Trimpe; inks by Kyle Baker, Mike Gustovich, Klaus Janson, Lee Weeks, and Keith Williams; colors by Michael Higgins; letters by Jim Novak

365 Days of Defiance, Day 77: The Patience of Angles



Panels from "Iron Will" in Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #6 (February 1999), script by Mark Waid, pencils by Ron Garney, inks by Dan Green, colors by Jean Segarra-Rosa, letters by John Costanza

Friday, March 17, 2017

365 Days of Defiance, Day 76: For All Mankind



Panels from Ms. Marvel (2014 series) #2 (May 2014), script by G. Willow Wilson, pencils and inks by Adrian Alphona, colors by Ian Herring, letters by Joe Caramagna

Thursday, March 16, 2017

Today in Comics History, March 16, 1936: Water damage decreases value of comic, life



from "Jailbreak!" in Amazing Detective Cases #8 (Marvel/Atlas, September 1951), pencils and inks by Al Hartley

365 Days of Defiance, Day 75: If I could buy back the years, oh, oh, Orion

ORION HAS A POSSE, and just to continue the meme created by Shepard Fairey...


Page portion from "Orion" in Who's Who in the DC Universe (1985 series) #17 (July 1986); text by a whole lotta writers; pencils by Jack Kirby; inks by Greg Theakston; colors by Anthony Tollin, Len Wein, Tatjana Wood, and Tom Ziuko

...Orion is 6'1" and 195 pounds. Unless you happen to subscribe to Peter David's weird-ass retcon that the New Gods are actually giants, and that when you come and go through a Boom Tube it shrinks or embiggens you as needed. In which case Orion is 306'1" and whoa cut down on the cheeseburgers pounds.


Panels from Supergirl (1996 Series) #29 (February 1999); script by Peter David; pencils by Leonard Kirk; inks by Robin Riggs; colors by Gene D'Angelo; color separations by Digital Chameleon; letters by Pat Prentice

I personally do not accept that as part of my personal DC canon. Mister David, I say it's spinach and to hell with it.

Anyway, Orion has a posse of ordinary people, just regular civilians, but they're willing to throw down to fight Darkseid. Just some guys in suits and sweaters and a girl in a green dress. Say, where do you get a gr...wait, that doesn't work. Anyway: they will fight for the right to stop Darkseid!




Panels from The New Gods (1971 series) #2 (April-May 1971), script and pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Vince Colletta, letters by John Costanza

Hey, if these average joes (and josephine) can stand up to and defy Darkseid, there's hope for us all.

Hey, special Bully Thank Yous and Encyclopedic Knowledge No-Bull Prizes go to Alex Adrian and to Mark Hale for helping me remember where that riDONKulous idea of Millennium-type Giant New Gods came from. I shake my hoof at thee, Mister So-Called Peter David!

Today in Comics History, March 16, 2006: On Earth-555, Garfield the Cat protects the Great Wall of China from warriors and Mondays


from newuniversal: Shockfront #1 (Marvel/New Universe, July 2008), script by Warren Ellis, pencils by Steve Kurth, inks by Andrew Hennessy, colors by Chris Chuckry, letters by Rus Wooton

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

365 Days of Defiance, Day 74: The Web of the Amazing Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man

Peter Parker, the Pulchritudinous Pspider-Man, has been cornered by the Gruesome Grinning Green Goblin! (Gosh!) Also, he's besieged by bonsters monsters! Luckily, Spidey realizes just in time that it's just a buncha playing cards illusions, and he knows exactly the precise way to conquer Green Goblin! Spider-Man knows at last...the way to beat him!



Panels from Spectacular Spider-Man (1968 magazine series) #2 (November 1968), script by Stan Lee, layouts by John Romita, Sr.; finishes by Frank Giacoia; letters by Sam Rosen

He has come upon the clever plan of webbing Norman's Goblin Glider away from him! The superhero equivalent of jamming a broomstick into your nemesis's bicycle spokes!


Let us all salute Spider-Man for coming up with a clever strategy and for defying not only the Goblin but overcoming his own deepest fears. Please try not to remember, however, the storyline that followed this one where the Green Goblin sued Spider-Man for reckless endangerment in Manhattan Civil Court.

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Today in Comics History, March 14, 1931: 1.21 gigawatts are once again expended


from Back to the Future: Citizen Brown #2 (IDW, June 2016); adapted from the video game story by Bob Gale, Michael Stemmle, Andy Hartzell, and Jonathan Straw; adapted by Bob Gale and Erik Burnnham;script by Erik Burnham; pencils and inks by Alan Robinson; colors by Maria Santrolalla; letters by Shawn Lee

Today in Comics History, March 14, 1935: Into the mob for thirty large, Shirley Temple is fitted for cement overshoes


from Dennis the Menace Giant #7 [Dennis in Hollywood] (Hallden/Fawcett, Winter 1959), script by Fred Toole, pencils and inks by Al Wiseman

365 Days of Defiance, Day 73: Thor continues to say thee nay


Panels from Thor (1966 series) #156 (September 1968), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Vince Colletta, letters by Sam Rosen

Monday, March 13, 2017

365 Days of Defiance, Day 72: Flash Before Your Eyes

One of the most poignant and deservedly emotional final scenes in modern comics is the death (for a pretty long time by comic book standards) of Barry Allen, the Fastest Man Alive: The Flash. He ran rings around the Anti-Montor's anti-matter anti- cannon, sacrificing his life to save not one world, but five.





Panels from Crisis on Infinite Earths #8 (November 1985), script by Marv Wolfman, pencils by George Pérez, inks by Jerry Ordway, colors by Anthony Tolin, letters by John Costanza

The question is not "will Flash save me?" Because Flash: he'll save every one of us.



A tip of my little stuffed fedora (actually, it's a homburg) and a Thank-You-Very-Much No-Bull Prize to Sean Murphy for the suggestion of this story for this feature. Sean, as the kids say today, you are so super money market!

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Ten of a Kind: The Oval Office














(More Ten of a Kind here.)

365 Days of Defiance, Day 71: The Sweet Taste of Rebellion



Panels from Seven Soldiers: Klarion the Witch Boy #1 (June 2005); script by Grant Morrison; pencils, inks, and colors by Frazer Irving; letters by Pat Brosseau

Saturday, March 11, 2017

365 Days of Defiance, Day 70: You can't pull the wool over this little sheep's eyes

As we saw yesterday, the Justice Society was founded to fight injustice, to right that which is wrong, and to serve all mankind! Also: they couldn't remember how to spell the word "League." (It's confusing! I keep wanting to write "Leeg!") So how is speedy founding member All-Flash (not actually his name but instead the name of his comic book) going to battle fascists within the borders of the contiguous forty-eight states? (To heck with Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, etc.) By exceeding the laws of physics and breaking every traffic rule in the county, that's how!:



Panels from All Star Comics #4 (March-April 1941), script by Gardner F. Fox, pencils and inks by Everett E. Hibbard

Flash leads by example! I mean, not the dressing up in red and blue tights and wearing a salad bowl on your head example, but by teaching how to resist the snakes within our midst! In other words, he's rousing up the general public by teaching them about the terrors of loathsome hate literature. Also: knowing is half the battle!



Remember: to successfully and morally resist the forces of fascism in our great country, do not have the wool pulled over your eyes. (Exception: the great hero Sheep-Man.) Also, play darts with guns! No, ignore that last one. Just don't stand still twiddling your thumbs when you hear hate speech, no matter who it's coming from. (There is no exception for the "highest office" in the land, by the way.) Isn't that right, Flash?


And that's what the Flash will always believe in: truth, equality, and tolerance for all people regardless of nationality, with zero tolerance for racial slurs


OH FOR PETE'S SAKE JAY YOU WERE DOING SO WELL UNTIL THAT LAST PANEL

Friday, March 10, 2017

Fun with Comics Romance Novels: The Diana Prince Romances


365 Days of Defiance, Day 69*: The Justice Society is formed to fight the fifth column by using big-ass word balloons



Panels from All Star Comics #4 (March-April 1941), script by Gardner F. Fox, pencils and inks by Everett E. Hibbard

Tune in tomorrow to see how Flash, the Master of Going Faster, deals with the enemies of America! (Hint: he goes quicker than them.)

* Nice.**
** This footnote satisfies the requirement by international internet law that all mentions of the number sixty-nine be accompanied by the word "nice."


Thursday, March 09, 2017

365 Days of Defiance, Day 68: Squirrel Girl knows the drill


Panels from The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (2015 series) #13 (December 2016), script by Ryan North, pencils and inks by Erica Henderson, colors by Rico Renzi, letters by Travis Lanham

Wednesday, March 08, 2017

Esquire: Man at His Swingingest.

Recently a national poll (or, juicing up some Google search terms, I dunno which it is) determined The Most Popular Superhero in Each State!


I was especially little-chuffed-bull to discover that my home state of New York picked Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man as their favorite son. I'd certainly argue that Petey is the quintessential New York superhero, and I'm proud to have him rep me in Superhero Congress. It's also a great time to re-run this classic Bully blog post from January 21, 2009 (back when I was only six) which also asserted the Web-Slinger belongs inside the Big Apple, aside from the part you literally don't want a spider inside your eatin' apple. Re-read and re-enjoy!




Esquire magazineHey, it's Clint Eastwood, the man so tough Chuck Norris calls him 'Dad,' on the cover of the January 2009 Esquire magazine. I'm allowed to read a few magazines made for grown-up folks, and Esquire is one of them, partly because of the incisive political and cultural reporting, partly for the style, cooking, automobile and fine living tips, but mostly for the incredible babes.

One of my favorite sections in Esquire is the monthly "What I've Learned" feature, where a celebrity passes on life lessons he or she thinks are important and helpful details useful for enjoying life, the people around you, and your world to its fullest. It's always fun to see what life lessons, say, Larry Hagman or Shelley Long have to pass onto a little stuffed bull. (Mostly: take care of your liver, and what was I thinking leaving network television's highest rated sitcom?!?, in that order.)

January's Esquire was therefore fifty times as fun to this little stuffed reader when I opened it to discover this is an all-"What I've Learned" feature issue. Not one, not two, not seventeen, but fifty people in entertainment, sports, politics, literature, and everyday life were spotlighted, every man and woman Jack and Jackie of 'em contributing a big-ass overflowing cornucopia of home-spun wisdom that not only do they take, they can dish out. Why fifty? Because each contributor represents a different state in the USA, so it's like a all-country road-trip with fifty great people riding shotgun. (And you can read it sitting on the toilet.) California provides cover boy Clint Eastwood, Nevada Wayne Newton, North Carolina Charlie Daniels, Indiana Larry Bird, Iowa Cloris Leachman, Alaska Sarah Palin a polar bear hopped up on fermented salmon.

Hey, let's see who's repping my favorite state, the place I live, the Empire State, the state that is so great they hired Stan Lee to write their state motto: New York. Which inspirational person will be representing New York, I wonder?:

Esquire magazine

Wha... Huh... Uh... Ummmm... Wha... Noooooooo.. No, Esquire magazine. Paris Hilton is not allowed to be the public face of lessons learned from New York. I simply will not let this happen. This will not stand! Especially with life lessons like
  • Having a nightclub in your house really helps for a party, because then you don't need to go out.
  • Things may seem to naturally come my way. But I work hard for them too. I have good karma.
  • I put pheromones in a lot of my fragrances, and that attracts people to you. My new fragrance is called Fairy Dust. I'm dressed kind of like Tinkerbell.
No! Nein! Non! Nyet!

Okay, Bully, deep breath. If there's one thing Mama Bull taught you...a "what I've learned" of my own...is that bulls don't just sit back and lament mishaps when they can be fixed. A bull is an animal of decision and action. And tho' I may be a very little stuffed bull, I'm handy with a scanner, and the internet, and Adobe Photoshop Elements for Bulls 5.0. All I had to do was scratch my little fluff-filled head and come up with the name of a person synonymous with New York, whose very existence makes New York a better, happier, safer and funner place every single day of the year. After I came up with that person, the rest was easy as pie.

So pick up your copies of Esquire Volume 151, Number 1, tear out pages 80 and 81, crumple them in a ball and toss them out the window or at those pesky squirrels in your back yard, and replace them carefully with this new improved version of a New York celebrity telling us what he's learned that I made up for you:

Esquire magazine
(Click picture to Big Apple-size)


There we go. Much improved. Now, let's see who's on the next page. Ah, Florida, who will you...JEB BUSH?!? NOOOOOOOOO!

Okay, don't panic, folks. I've got this thing under control.