"He's Armed and Dangerous, Charlie Brown"

An alarmingly atypical Peanuts Sunday strip I found in We're Right Behind You, Charlie Brown, one of the great old Holt, Rinehart and Winston Peanuts paperbacks from when I was a tiny stuffed bull. (As this book was published in 1964, I'm sure it's reprinted in one of the recent Fantagraphics Complete Peanuts volumes, but I'm not certain which one.)

The angels stole my police box.

When I was in London in December, on the final day of my holiday, I took a walking tour through Notting Hill and, as the group cut up a long old street (The Piggeries, now known as Pottery Lane) I looked up at the rooftops to my left and spotted this:

I was at the tail-end of the tour group (it's hard keeping up with little legs and small hooves) so I wasn't able to ask the tour guide, the cheerful and well-spoken Brian, what that mysterious sad angel statue was for, so I just pulled out my little Instamatic, snapped that photo, and trotted quickly after the group to avoid being left behind.

Flash forward nine months later. Today I'm catching up watching episodes of the third series of Doctor Who that taped while I was on vacation last week. I've just finished watching "Blink", in which mysterious weeping angel statues threaten to [SPOILER ALERT] steal the personal time of those who take their eyes off the angels. The angels hijack the TARDIS and leave The Doctor and Martha stranded in 1969, from which they must send messages to the future of 2007 to put things right that once went wrong.

It's a brilliant, creepy episode: sad, funny, clever and all the more for being one of the episodes where David Tennant and Freema Agyeman hardly appear—the focus is on the latter-day character Sally Sparrow who tries to unravel the mystery. And at last a piece of the puzzle falls into place for me. I'm glad I saw the angel, I'm glad I stared her down. Because you always need to face the angels. And you always need to know where your TARDIS is.

Sometimes I despair the world will never see another man like him.

As long as we're thinking about funerals...

Ten of a Kind = (Four Weddings + A Funeral) x 2

(More Ten of a Kind here.)

Separated at Birth: I've looked at Skrulls from both sides now

L: Avengers Annual #14 (November 1985), art by Kerry Gammill and Kyle Baker
R: Fantastic Four Annual #19 (November 1985), art by Kerry Gammill and Joe Sinnott
(Click picture to double-size-annual-size)

Saturday Morning Cartoon: "Paris Is On (Jason Forrest Remix)" by Paul Brill

"Paris Is On (Jason Forrest Remix)" by Paul Brill (2006), directed by Joel Trussell

Subscription ads oughta be fun, Part 2!

"Deck the Halls with Marvel Comics," art by ???
Printed in Marvel Comics dated March 1983 (this was in Fantastic Four #252)


"Uncanny X-Mas Savings," art by Marc Silvestri (?)
Printed in Marvel Comics dated January 1990 (this was in Damage Control v.2 #3)


"Bet You Can't Top This Special Offer," art by ???
Printed in Marvel Comics dated December 1982
(this was in Hercules, Prince of Power v.1 #4)


"Give a Marvel Holiday Gift Subscription," art by John Byrne
Printed in Marvel Comics dated March 1984
(this was in Hercules, Prince of Power v.2 #1)

See also.

What I Did on My (Late) Summer Vacation

I didn't go to London this year for vacation. (Next year I hope to again!) But instead I had a lovely and peaceful time in...



...Granite Falls, Washington! About an hour's drive northwest of Seattle, nestled in the shadow of Mount Pilchuck, foresty and peaceful!



I rented a small cabin out in the quiet and placid woods. Just my size!



Babbling Canyon Creek ran just behind the cabin, right off the porch.



There were lots of fun and relaxing things to do. I played in the yard...



...and contemplated the river...



I brought a lot of books to read (and read almost all of them!) I also brought and read Essential Marvel-Two-In-One Volume 2, so expect a lot of Ben Grimm posts soon!



Every day was beautiful, so I liked walking through the woods on the long quiet road.



I walked all the way to the end of the road!



There's a lovely little one-lane bridge over the Creek that leads back into town.



Busy bustling downtown Granite Falls is the place to be!



You can buy everything you need here.



Everything. I will buy Mister Groth a present while I'm here!



But even though I didn't get to go to London on this holiday, I still kinda traveled there by doing a new jigsaw puzzle of the London A-Z map!



Hmmm, funny, it looked different on the box.



This is my least favorite part...turning over all the pieces.



I'm quite methodical when it comes to jigsaw puzzles. Working from the outside in is always a good start!



I know London so well I hardly have to look at the box!



As the sun comes up early in the morning I'm almost finished.



You know you're in the home stretch when you only have seven more pieces.



Oh no! I can't find the final piece!



Hooray! Another jig successfully sawed. And hey look, I'm seeing London even on my Washington State vacation!



I love London to pieces. But Granite Falls was pretty cool too! Thanks for coming along with me on my summer holiday!

Ten of a Kind Extra: When you're a professional pirate/you don't have to wear a suit

(Warning: this post be rated arrrrr.)

Arrr, Jim lad! Just like 'twere last year on this 'ere date, today do be International Talk Like a Pirate Day, arrrr me hearties. Shimmy up the mains'l, swab out the poop deck, shiver yer timbers and hoist a cup o' grog t' salute the cap'n and do be lookin' wit' yer one good eye at this 'ere treasure chest. 'Tis not pieces o' eight, but pieces o' ten...a Ten o' a Kind Extra:





















And if ye managed t' survive the Black Spot and ye be lookin' for more swash-bucklin' fun on this 'ere Jolly Roger Day, tug out yer spyglass an' cast yer peeper t' starboard f'r the annual viewin' o' a reconstruction of the best pirate comic book of all time: Tales of the Black Freighter: Marooned. Arrrr.

(More Ten of a Kind here, me hearties.)