365 Days with Hank McCoy, Day 82

Panels from [Uncanny] X-Men #113 (September 1978), co-plot and script by Chris Claremont, co-plot and script by John Byrne, inks by Terry Austin, colors by Glynis Wein, letters by Annette Kawecki

Slam the vote! (Before midnight tonight.)

Have you cast your vote yet in the Supporting Character Slamdown Rory versus Storm battle? Gosh, that makes it sound like Alexis Bledsel from Gilmore Girls is going to fight Halle Berry from the X-Men movies. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Anyway, there's still time to vote!



Vote before 12:01 AM, Wednesday, March 24, and look for the results...and the next bout...just after midnight!

Monday Night Murals: Who's to say where the wind will take you

Let's do a nice, simple, springtime mural today to celebrate the first week of spring! And what better time than spring for...flying kites!

Usagi Yojimbo (Dark Horse) #46-47 (March-April 2001), art by Stan Sakai and Tom Luth

(Click picture to kite-eating-tree-size)

Here's a lovely pastoral landscape from the world of Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo #47 and 46. Yep, I got those in the right order...if open up the issues and lay them down, the back and front of #47 go to the left of #46. This isn't Usagi's first encounter with kites:—there's an earlier comic called "A Kite Story" in the Fantagraphics Usagi #20:



I had a Batman kite when I was a tiny bull, but nothing like the wonderful colorful Japanese kites featured on these covers. Here's a great site on the creation, design, and multiple purposes of Japanese kites.

Now stop hanging around staring at a computer screen and go outside and fly one!

365 Days with Hank McCoy, Day 81

Beast's data page from The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Deluxe Edition #2 (Marvel, January 1986), written by Peter Sanderson, pencilled by Kerry Gammill, inked by Josef Rubinstein

Supporting Character Slamdown: And So It Begins!

Could The Thing take The Hulk? (Much as I'd like to disagree, he usually can't.) Can Ghost Rider beat Thor? (Why, I'd set my own head on fire to see that!) How about Ant-Man...can he defeat Giant-Man? (Now that's just plain silly.) As fanboys, fangirls, and fanbulls of the Marvelous Mighty World of Marvel, we've argued all of these bouts back and forth one bajillion times. What the heck can the Marvel Universe give us that's new? Dazzler vs. Doctor Doom? Spider-Man vs. The Juggernaut? Aunt May vs. Galactus? Hank Pym vs. Janet van Dyne?!? We've seen these all, and we know how they end. You wouldn't put your money down on any of these fights any more than you'd bet against Gene Hackman in Hoosiers. But what if...What If?™...a little stuffed bull really gave you some throw-downs to tickle your fancy. What then, huh? Huh? Huh?

Tonight begins an all-new running feature (and let's hope it doesn't run for months and months and months and months):

Supporting Character Slamdown!

Quite simply, the rules are this: there are no rules! Well, yes, there are a few. I've chosen sixty-four of the Marvel Universe's supporting characters...those guys and gals that hang around the lead hero like limpets on a cruise ship, waiting for their day in the sun, a chance subplot, or (gasp) an exciting wedding scenario! Or even, just to hog some of the spotlight for a while, a juicy death scene! And I'm going to pit them against each other, one by one, until there's only one cast member standing...winner takes all! (Which, as of this writing, is a bag of Pepperidge Farm Milano Cookies and the home version of the "Family Feud" board game. I need some better promotional considerations.)

Each Ultimate Earth-616 Fighter has been chosen to fit specific guidelines that I myself, the Little Stuffed Beyonder of this Battleworld, see fit to enforce or not as the case may be! Go ahead, argue with me in the comments...just try it...yer outta here! Aw, c'mon back, you know I wouldn't hurt a fly. Also, I'm depending on you guys for buying popcorn and Cokes. Each fighter will be a supporting character in the Marvel Universe, and more important, not a trained fighter. (So no Dum-Dum Dugans in here). With very few exceptions, nobody's going to have had their own comic book series or a special codename. We're talking boyfriends and girlfriends, dads and aunts, receptionists and bureaucrats, and maybe a supermodel or two! But no superheroes...no supervillains...just ordinary joes and jills beatin' the stuffin' outta each other! Now that's entertainment!

And you know what the best thing is about this all?

You choose the winner!

That's right, true bull-lievers! Each and every one reading this blog has a chance to cast their votes for who they want to win in every bout! Vote for who you think will win! Or vote for who you would like to win! Or vote for the girl with the nicest legs! I don't care! Just vote! Vote, my monkeys, vote!





In the swampy corner: Richard Rory, supporting character from Man-Thing, Daredevil, Foolkiller, She-Hulk and just about everywhere else Steve Gerber had a chance to write him!



His strengths: he knows how to survive in harsh environments like the Citrusville Swamp! He's faced off against supervillains like Foolkiller and lived to tell the tale! And, he's totally kissed She-Hulk! His weaknesses: A George Harrison fan, Rory will probably take the path of peace and harmony...and, since he's aware that he's in a comic book, he might refuse to play along with this very blog post! DING!







And, in the fashion corner: Chili Storm! Supporting player in all sixty-three different Millie the Model comic book series, Ms. Chili's role as rival model to Millie ensures that she knows how to play the game of sneakiness and subversion! (And, in a mild violation of this tournament's rules, she's had her own short-lived title, but who's gonna tell her that? In the words of Bil Keane's ghostly arch-nemesis, 'Not me!')





Her willingness to fight dirty is a definite strength for this glamour girl...and who needs a weapon besides killer looks and a razor-sharp tongue that would cut adamantium? Chili's weakness? Born with no belly-button, she may be a clone or hatched from an egg. We don't know. But she's ready to fight! DING!





Now here's where it gets exciting, folks: vote for your favorite!:



Vote before 12:01 AM, Wednesday, March 24, and remember, Bully knows when the ballot boxes have been stuffed! (Also, the manicotti, nom nom nom.) Until then, watch out for the hippie-hippie shakes and the supermodel smackdowns, and remember: may the best supporting character win this contest!

365 Days with Hank McCoy, Day 80

Cover of Fun & Games Magazine #5 (January 1980), art by Owen McCarron

Ten of a Kind: Pamcakes!

(More Ten of a Kind here.)

Separated at Birth: Someday you and I will take our love together to some sky

Panel from Fantastic Four Annual #3 (1965), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Vince Colletta, letters by Artie Simek



Cover of Fantastic Four: The Wedding Special one-shot (January 2006), art by Gene Ha


Say, in that cover above, who are those two bums in the church doors trying to crash the wedding?:

Why, it's Stan 'n' Jack!





Say, has anyone ever mentioned Reed and Sue's wedding song before?

Here's "Oh Promise Me" performed by a music box:





And by opera singer Carmela Ponselle (sister of the more famed vocalist Rosa Ponselle):





Now, the version that the 1966 Reed and Sue would have probably been most familiar with is the 1945 Nelson Eddy cover:





But I like to think that ever-with-it Ben Grimm might have picked out this arrangement for them: the smooth and satiny sound of The Platters:




Which only goes to show: sometimes a classic is more timeless than a 90s rock song:


Panel from X-Men #30 (March 1994), script by Fabian Nicieza, pencils by Andy Kubert, inks by Matt Ryan, colors by Joe Rosas, letters by Bill Oakley

Onna other hand, who wouldn't want this for their wedding song? I know me an' Keira Knightley will enjoy dancing to this!:

365 Days with Hank McCoy, Day 79: Oh My Stars and Garters Week, Day 7

Panel from New X-Men #123 (April 2002), script by Grant Morrison; pencils by Ethan van Sciver and Tom Derenick; inks by Tim Townsend, Danny Miki, Scott Hanna, and Sandu Florea; colors by HiFi Design, letters by Saida Temofonte

Saturday Morning Cartoon: The Bear That Wasn't

The Bear That Wasn't (1967), directed by Chuck Jones, narrated by Paul Frees;
based on the book The Bear That Wasn't by Frank Tashlin

See storyboards for the film by animator Irv Noble

365 Days with Hank McCoy, Day 78: Oh My Stars and Garters Week, Day 6

Panels from Avengers #187 (September 1979), co-plotted by Mark Gruenwald and Steven Grant, co-plotted and scripted by David Michelinie, pencilled by John Byrne, inked by Dan Green, colored by George Roussos, lettered by Jim Novak

Here, have a macrocephalic Spider-Man.

Page from Marvel Team Up Annual #4 (1981), script by Frank Miller, breakdowns by Herb Trimpe, finishes and inks by Mike Esposito, colors by George Roussos, letters by Diana Albers

365 Days with Hank McCoy, Day 77: Oh My Stars and Garters Week, Day 5

Panel from Uncanny X-Men #390 (February 2001), script by Scott Lobdell; pencils by Salvador Larroca; inks by Tim Townsend, Larry Stucker, Dexter Vines, Danny Miki, and Scott Hanna; colors by Hi-Fi Colour Design; letters by Richard Starkings and Comicraft

365 Days with Hank McCoy, Day 76: Oh My Stars and Garters Week, Day 4

Panel from Avengers #194 (April 1980), script by David Michelinie, pencils by George Perez, inks by Joe Rubinstein, colors by Ben Sean, letters by John Costanza

St. Patrick's Day: When the world is too dark and I need the light inside of me, I'll walk into a bar and drink fifteen pints of beer

from Hellblazer #42 (June 1991), script by Garth Ennis, pencils by Will Simpson, inks by Mark Pennington, colors by Tom Ziuko, letters by Gaspar Saladino


The Pogues "If I Should Fall from Grace with God" (1987)


The Pogues "Streams of Whiskey" (1984)


The Pogues "Misty Morning, Albert Bridge" (1989)


The Pogues "Thousands Are Sailing" (1988)


So come fill up your glasses with brandy and wine
What ever it costs, I will pay
So be easy and free, when you're drinking with me
I'm a bull you don't meet every day

365 Days with Hank McCoy, Day 75: Oh My Stars and Garters Week, Day 3

L: Panel portion from [New] Defenders #128 (February 1984), script by J. M. DeMatteis, pencils by Alan Kupperberg, inks by Mike Mignola, colors by Paul Becton, letters by Janice Chiang
(Click picture to what Hank did!)

These Romans are crazy!

Happy Ides of March! Now, unless you got yourself a good classical education back at the old alma mater, you probably only know one thing about today: that it's on March 15 that Caesar bought the farm. Also, after putting the money down and signing all the papers for his new agricultural estate, he died. (He is an ex-Caesar.) But which one of us actually knows what led to and caused the death of Caes...yes, yes, Mr. Shakespeare, I see you in the back of the class, you can put your hand down, please. Anyway, for the rest of us who don't know our Ides of March from our Fourth of July, here's the real story, unabridged and unexpurgated, of what happened to Caesar and his Home of Rome: sit back, drink your mulled wine, and read on:























































And that's exactly the way it happened.

Bonus!: Jack Kirby's designs for a 1969 university production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.