St. Patrick's Day: Darby O'Gill and the #009900 People

For your St. Patrick's Day pleasure (because I can't email you a corned beef and cabbage dinner or ask the Pogues to personally appear in your living room), here's several panels from Dell's comic book adaptation of the 1959 Walt Disney film Darby O'Gill and the Little People, starring Albert Sharpe, Janet Munro, and that most Irish of actors, Sean Connery. And to allow you to get to get back more quickly to your choruses of "Haul Away Joe" and your perfectly poured pint of delicious, creamy, black-as-the-grave Guinness, I'll abridge it by only posting the panels that are overwhelmingly green. (And as always, hover over the images for some alt-text that will no doubt have me a the defendant in a suit by the Irish Anti-Stereotype League.)

It's a well-documented fact* in comic publishing history that this book used up so much green ink that Dell had to cancel their long-running Green Hornet and Tales of the Green Beret series. I hereby proudly bring you, in all its Alex Toth-pencilled, evergreen emerald elegance...

























from Four Color #1024 [Darby O'Gill and the Little People] (August 1959), pencils and inks by Alex Toth
I can not tell a lie: t'was my little stuffed self who tinted that Dell Pledge to Parents a lovely shade of green, but the rest of the overwhelmingly-verdant comic book panels I've posted were as kelly as the day they were published. And in the spirit of O'Photoshoppery, I've also tinted this inside front-cover photosummary with that most lovely of shades as well. Never let it be said that Ted Turner has a monopoly on colorizing movies!


I've left the most delightful part for last: a lovely back cover pin-up of that comely Colleen, the ever-radiant Janet Munro.


'Tis true as far as Disney heroines go that Janet Munro is no Hayley Mills, but I've proudly and unabashedly ruined the value of my copy of One Four Color #1024 by cutting the pin-up out and hanging it on my wall. Happy St., Patrick's Day, Miss Munro! Happy St. Patrick's Day, Sean Connery! Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!


*No it isn't.

366 Days with Alfred Pennyworth, Day 77

Alfred Pennyworth's "Who's Who in the DC Universe" page from Batman Annual #15 (1989), pencils by Joe James, inks by Denis Rodier

St. Patrick's Day: A barrel O'Laughs

It's that time of year again! Happy St. Patrick's Day!


"Maw Green" from Four Color #206 [Little Orphan Annie] (Dell, December 1948), script, pencils, and inks by Harold Gray
I don't know why this is colored in red instead of green!

Today in Comics History, March 17, 1978: Time Machine Arriving Too Late to Send a Birthday Card

from World's Finest Comics #251 (DC, June 1978), script by Bob Haney, pencils by George Tuska, inks by Vince Colletta, colors by Jerry Serpe, letters by Ben Oda
(It was on March 15!)

Darkseid Does Some Dumb Stuff

Sure, he's noble and regal and dangerous and deadly. But sometimes Darkseid does some dumb stuff. (Hence, the title of the post.)

Darkseid trips and falls flat on his face!

Panels from Superman/Batman #38 (September 2007), script by Alan Burnett, pencils by Dustin Nguyen, inks by Derek Fridolfs, colors by Randy Mayor, letters by Rob Leigh

Darkseid drinks needlessly expensive designer coffee!

Panels from Sovereign Seven #1 (July 1995), script by Chris Claremont, pencils and inks by Dwayne Turner, colors by Gloria Vasquez, separations by Olyoptics, letters by Tom Orzechowski

Darkseid Breaks and Enters!

Panels from Action Comics #593 (October 1987), script, pencils, and figure inks by John Byrne, background inks by Keith Williams, colors by Tom Ziuko, letters by John Costanza

Darkseid doesn't have an escape plan!

Panels from JLA: Another Nail #1 (May 2004), script and pencils by Alan Davis, inks by Mark Farmer, colors by John Kalisz, letters by Patricia Prentice

Darkseid breaks into a secondhand clothing shop!

Page from Super Powers v.3 #3 (November 1986), script by Paul Kupperberg, pencils by Carmine Infantino, inks by Pablo Marcos, colors by Joe Orlando, letters by Albert DeGuzman

...and then he gets mugged!

Not to mention all of these.

Panels from Ambush Bug #1-4 (June-September 1985), plot and pencils by Keith Giffen, script by Robert Fleming, inks by Bob Oksner, colors by Tony Tollin, letters by John Costanza

Yes, occasionally...Darkseid Does Some Dumb Stuff.

Caption from Superman/Batman Annual #1 (December 2006), script by Joe Kelly, colors by Guy Major, letters by Rob Leigh.

366 Days with Alfred Pennyworth, Day 76

Panel from Batman v.1 #31 (October-November 1945), script by Don Cameron or Joe Samachson (?), pencils and inks by Jerry Robinson, letters by Ira Schnapp

We would just like to point out

LEX LUTHOR

BUILT A TARDIS

Panel from The New Adventures of Superboy #50 (February 1984), script by Paul Kupperberg, pencils by Kurt Schaffenberger, inks by Dave Hunt, colors by Jerry Serpe, letters by John Costanza

366 Days with Alfred Pennyworth, Day 75

Which inspires this exchange between Dick and Barbara:


Panels from Detective Comics #872 (January 2011), script by Scott Snyder, pencils and inks by Jock, colors by David Baron, letters by Jared K. Fletcher

Now these are my heroes.

Panels from Action Comics v.2 #7 (May 2012), script by Grant Morrison, pencilled by Rag Morales, inked by Rick Bryant, colored by Brad Anderson, lettered by Patrick Brouseau



Panels from Amazing Spider-Man #681 (May 2012), script by Dan Slott and Chris Yost, pencilled by Giuseppe Camuncoli, inked by Klaus Janson, colored by Frank D'Armata, lettered by Joe Caramagna


This is what my heroes do. And succeed. Is it any coincidence these stories are written by some of the best creators in the business today?

366 Days with Alfred Pennyworth, Day 74

Panels from Batman: Haunted Gotham #1 (February 2000), script by Doug Moench, pencils by Kelley Jones, inks by John Beatty, colors by Daniel Vozzo, letters by Willie Schubert

Today in Comics History: At Last Pi Day Has Come!

Panel from Superman & Batman: Generations II #4 (November 2001), script, pencils, inks, and letters by John Byrne; colors by Trish Mulvihill

Today in Comics History: Batman reads the secret Charlie Sheen diaries

Panel from Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #73 (July 1995), script by James Robinson, pencils and inks by John Watkiss, colors by Digital Chameleon, letters by Willie Schubert

Dumbass Things You Shouldn't Do in the Stephen J. Cannelloverse

In a multiverse which contains the tough-guy no-holds barred worlds of The Rockford Files, Baretta, Black Sheep Squadron, Hardcastle and McCormick, Wiseguy, The Commish, 21 Jump Street and, uh, The Greatest American Hero, you should beware of doing dumbass things that you know deep down are going to get your face bashed in by the stars of the show around whom that world revolves. But of all the shows from Silk Stalkings to Tenspeed and Brown Shoe, of all the characters in the Stephen J. Cannelloverse from Richie Brockelman to Rick Hunter, who is the one person you most don't wanna do dumbass stuff to?...

Here's a hint: if you do that dumbass stuff, you're a fool, and I pity you.



Pages from The A-Team (Marvel, March 1984), script by Jim Salicrup, pencils and colors by Marie Severin, inks by Chic Stone, letters by Brad Joyce
Yep. Do not bother Mr. T. while he's drinking his milk.

I like these pages a lot. They've got a cinematic vibe, doing something you can do easily on the TV screen but which isn't often seen on the comic page, certainly at that time. Eisner has done it, and Frank Miller was doing it in the mid-80s, but you wouldn't expect to see this technique used in an off-the-beaten-616-track miniseries like The A-Team, which holds the "camera" steady and lets its figures wreck havoc throughout, allowing us to precisely follow the action, the motion, and the ass-whupping therein. Bob and Ray have the right idea: get out of the way and let the chaos commence. Then, create a critically acclaimed comedy radio show about it. Anyway, my point, and I do have one: Marie Severin is wonderful. But we all knew that already, right? Right.

So, what have we learned?


To sum up: don't do dumbass things around Mr. T. 'Coz you know what happens.


Ah. I love it when a plan comes together.

Today in Comics History, March 13, 1781: Thank you for finishing that sentence, Batman

from "The Deadly Numbers Game!" in Batman #250 (DC, July 1973), script by Frank Robbins, pencils by Irv Novick, inks by Dick Giordano, letters by Milt Snapinn (?)

366 Days with Alfred Pennyworth, Day 73

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!


*This comic book is as old as Mike Sterling!

Grover Groundhog/Angel Love Team-Up

366 Days with Alfred Pennyworth, Day 72

Panel from Batman v.1 #52 (April-May 1949), script by Bill Finger, pencils by Bob Kane (Batman and Robin figures only) and Lew Schwartz, inks by Charles Paris, letters by Ira Schnapp

Ten of a Kind: Rest in Peace, Moebius (1938-2012)

But, you know, ten covers isn't enough to do justice to M. Giraud, so here's one more [big-ass big-widescreen big-impressive] cover (click to galacti-size):

(More Ten of a Kind here.)

366 Days with Alfred Pennyworth, Day 71

Panels from Batman: Shadow of the Bat #44 (November 1995), script by Alan Grant, pencils and inks by Barry Kitson, colors by Pat Garrahy, separations by Android Images, letters by Bill Oakley

Wonder Woman and Clock-Fu Remind You to Set Your Clock Ahead One Hour