365 Days of Star Wars Comics, Day 244: Marvel Baby Lando Calrissian makes me feel funny

Variant cover of Lando #1 (September 2015); pencils, inks, colors, and letters by Skottie Young

Today in Comics History, August 31, 1939: Spider-Man Noir blows off Mary Jane Noir's play to see a magician saw Black Cat Noir in half

from Edge of Spider-Verse (2014 series) #1 (Marvel, November 2014); script by David Hine and Fabrice Sapolsky; pencils, inks, and colors by Richard Isanove; letters by Clayton Cowles

365 Days of Star Wars Comics, Day 243: A-Holes of the Star Wars Universe

Panels from Star Wars: Dark Force Rising #3 (July 1997), script by Mike Baron, pencils by Terry Dodson, inks by Kevin Nowlan, colors by Pamela Rambo, letters by Ellie de Ville

365 Days of Star Wars Comics, Day 242: When you comin' home, Dad? / I don't know when, but we'll get together then

Panels from Star Wars: Jango Fett one-shot (January 2002); script by Ron Marz; pencils, inks, and colors by Tom Fowler; letters by Dan Jackson

Today in Comics History, August 29, 1970: FDR is attacked by that sexy French feather duster from Beauty and the Beast

from Silverblade #2 (DC, October 1987), script by Cary Bates, pencils by Gene Colan, inks by Steve Mitchell, colors by Joe Orlando, letters by Gaspar Saladino

365 Days of Star Wars Comics, Day 241: Well, that explains that

Panels from Star Wars: Tag & Bink Are Dead #2 (November 2001), script by Kevin Rubio, pencils by Lucas Marangon, inks by Howard Shum, colors by Michelle Madsen, letters by Steve Dutro

Today in Comics History, August 28: Kirby: Like a Rock

Jack Kirby is a big slab of rock.

Now hold on, hold on. Let me explain.

Jack Kirby is the monolith from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Or, to call it by its familiar nickname, TMA-1. Howdy, T!


Now, that's not just because Jack did the oversized treasury edition adaptation of 2001 (and can you think of a Marvel book more deserving of that big-ass format?), but that's a good enough place to start. Along with being glad that Jack Kirby never did a comic book adaptation of Kubrick's Lolita or Eyes Wide Shut. (Although I would have dearly loved to see Jack's version of Dr. Strangelove or A Clockwork Orange. Heck, even Barry Lyndon!


Splash page from Marvel Treasury Special: 2001: A Space Odyssey one-shot (1976), script and pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Frank Giacoia, colors by Marie Severin and Jack Kirby, letters by John Costanza

365 Days of Star Wars Comics, Day 240: You're not my real dad

Panels from Star Wars Annual #1 (1979), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Mike Vosburg, inks by Steve Leialoha, colors by Bob Sharen, letters by John Costanza
Let's recap:


So, Luke's father and Darth Vader are not the same guy. Hmmm. Works for me. That can never be redacted!

365 Days of Star Wars Comics, Day 239: I go out walkin' after midnight, out in the moonlight

Hey, remember when Darth Vader did this?:


Panels from Star Wars (2015 Marvel series) #2 (April 2015), script by Jason Aaron, pencils and inks by John Cassaday, colors by Laura Martin, letters by Chris Eliopoulos
Big whoop. Luke Skywalker can do this:


Panels from Star Wars: Dark Empire #1 (December 1991); script by Tom Veitch; pencils, inks, and colors by Cam Kennedy; letters by Todd Klein
Like father, like son? Think about it, won't you?

365 Days of Star Wars Comics, Day 238: Lando: cool as a cucumber under pressure

Panels from Star Wars: Empire's End #1 (October 1995), script by Tom Veitch, painted art by Jim Baikie, letters by L. Lois Buhalis

Geez, Marvel, really?!? (Vietnam War Department)

From the "Next Issue" blurb page in Marvel's recent The Punisher #16, a promo of issue 17's cover:


Um, Marvel. Probably not the most prudent and sensitive way to feature actual names of U.S. military killed in Vietnam is to put them in a legible image of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall as a backdrop to your Punisher/Captain America comic book slugfest.

Showing an intelligent consideration by Marvel, by the time the actual issue came out two weeks later, the cover looked like this instead, with the Wall's names obscured...


Cover of The Punisher (2014 series) #17 (June 2015), art by Mitch Gerads
...except for one name, Mitch Gerads. The book's artist.


So, anybody else besides me find the concept of the artist putting his own name (complete with cheeky P!nk-style "!" in place of an I) on a depiction of the Vietnam Wall alongside the actual historical names of casualties...not quite right?

In other words: geez, Marvel, really?!?

365 Days of Star Wars Comics, Day 237: Go that way! You'll be malfunctioning within a day, you nearsighted scrap pile!

Cover of Star Wars: Droids (Dark Horse 1994 limited series) #4 (July 1994), painting by Kilian Plunkett

Where the Heck II: Veteran of the Secret Wars (Continuing Credit Where Credit Is Due)

We're about halfway through Marvel's gynormous Secret Wars mega-event, or as I prefer to call it "You liked the Age of Apocalypse? Well, here's fifty of 'em!". Although they're kind of using up their "What If?" quota for the 2010s pretty fast, I'm enjoying a lot of the series, especially Planet Hulk, X-Men '92, Runaways, Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, Ghost Racers, Giant-Size Little Marvel, Captain Marvel & the Carol Corps, and the "nontinuity" of Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars flashing back to the original Secret Wars. And last week's Howard the Human was as delightfully surreal as I had hoped, with glorious art by Jim Mahood, reminding me of Mark Martin's Gnatrat from the 1990s. (And yes, that's a big compliment from yours little stuffed truly.)

But you may remember when I recently chided Marvel Comics for listing the creators of Iron Man incorrectly in Armor Wars #1. To sum up briefly, the "created by" line reads


when it should read

Iron Man created by Stan Lee, Don Heck,
Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby

Yeah! Don't forget Heck and Lieber, guys!

Sadly, though, the credits pages of Armor Wars #2 continued to insist


And #3 and 4 averted redressing the problem by avoiding any "created by" credit whatsoever:


C'mon, Marvel! You've got one issue of Armor Wars left in the miniseries to give Heck 'n' Lieber their due. especially since you'd gotten it right up until that point, as seen in tehthecredits of Superior Iron Man #9:


Heck, if you can get this guy's credit right...


That's about all I need to say right now about Secret Wars: Fight for the Right to Party, except for this...


Panel from "Misty and Danny Forever" in Secret Wars: Secret Love #1 (October 2015); script by Jeremy Whitley; pencils, inks, and colors by Gurihiru; letters by Clayton Cowles
…which is set on a realm of Battleworld so bizarre that Colleen Wing's apartment door opens outwards (even though its hinges aren't on the outside). Are they on the same world as Mystery Science Theater 3000's "Gunslinger?"


If so, I so wanna see the Daughters of the Dragon fight Roger Corman!

(And remember:)

Iron Man created by Stan Lee, Don Heck,
Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby

365 Days of Star Wars Comics, Day 236: I'm not quite certain the Star Wars Universe has mastered the art of the turtleneck

Panels from the Star Wars comic strip adaptation of Brian Daley's early proto-Expanded Universe novel Han Solo at Stars' End (novel April 1979, comic strip circa 1980), reprinted in Classic Star Wars: Han Solo at Stars' End #2 (April 1997), script by Archie Goodwin, pencils and inks by Alfredo Alcala, colors by Perry McNamee

Ten of a Kind: Hot Fun in the Summertime

(More Ten of a Kind here.)

365 Days of Star Wars Comics, Day 235: In space, no one can see Carmine Infantino's vanishing point

Cover of Star Wars Weekly #113 (April 23, 1980), pencils by Carmine Infantino, inks by Bob Wiacek
And here's a bonus better look: Infantino and Wiacek's original pencils and inks for the cover!:

365 Days of Star Wars Comics, Day 234: Comics Oughta Be Fun: replacing Caturday with pictures of Princess Leia in a jumpsuit since 2015

Panel from Princess Leia #4 (August 2015), script by Mark Waid, pencils by Terry Dodson, inks by Rachel Dodson, colors by Jordie Bellaire, letters by Joe Caramagna

365 Days of Star Wars Comics, Day 233: If Ewok puns persist for more than four hours, please consult your doctor

Panels from Ewoks (1985 Marvel/Star series) #12 (March 1987), script by Dave Manak, pencils by Warren Kremer, inks by Jon D'Agostino and Jacqueline Roettcher, colors by George Roussos, letters by Grace Kremer

365 Days of Star Wars Comics, Day 232: Meanwhile, in the Star Wars Mirror Universe...

Panels from Darth Vader #4 (June 2015), script by Kieron Gillen, pencils and inks by Salvador Larroca, colors by Edgar Delgado, letters by Joe Caramagna

365 Days of Star Wars Comics, Day 231: The cold opening to Episode One of Yoda's new NBC sitcom

Panels from Star Wars: Jedi: Yoda one-shot (June 2004), script by Jeremy Barlow, painted art by Hoon, letters by Michael David Thomas

365 Days of Star Wars Comics, Day 230: Pinpoint the moment the artist got tired of drawing Star Wars

Panels from Star Wars: Crimson Empire III: Empire Lost #6 (April 2012), co-plot and script by Mike Richardson, co-plot by Randy Stradley, pencils and inks by Paul Gulacy, colors by Michael Bartolo, letters by Michael Heisler

365 Days of Star Wars Comics, Day 229: This episode of Star Wars is brought to you by C-3PO and his cereal

Cover of Star Wars Weekly (Marvel UK 1978 series) #13 (May 3, 1978), pencils by Howard Bender, inks by Tony DeZuniga, colors by George Roussos

365 Days of Star Wars Comics, Day 228: Oliver Stone's Star Wars Cut

Panels from "The Emperor's Court" in Star Wars Tales #14 (December 2002), script by Jason Hall, pencils by Ramon Bachs, inks by Raul Fernandez, colors by Dave Nestelle, letters by Steve Dutro

Today in Comics History, August 16: Happy birthday, Jason Todd!

Today in Comics History: Cyclops goes clubbing!


from Detective Comics #790 (DC, March 2004), script by Andersen Gabrych, pencils by Pete Woods, inks by Cam Smith, colors by Jason Wright, letters by Clem Robins
Hey, August 16 is also the birthday of Robin II, Jason Todd! Are ya gonna throw him a big party today, Bruce?


Oh. Whoops.