from Batman: Killing Time #1 (DC, May 2022), script by Tom King, pencils and inks by David Marquez, colors by Alejandro Sánchez, letters by Clayton Cowles
Wednesday, March 01, 2023
Today in Comics History, March 1: Ice Bear, NO!
from Batman: Killing Time #1 (DC, May 2022), script by Tom King, pencils and inks by David Marquez, colors by Alejandro Sánchez, letters by Clayton Cowles
Ten of a Kind #429: In like a lion...
from "Marching Along" in Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine Series #151 (Hallden/Fawcett, April 1976), creators uncredited and unknown
(More Ten of a Kind here.)
The 1978 2017 DC Calendar of Super-Spectacular Disasters: March Mice-ing
This is an expanded and updated version of a post originally published March 1, 2017.
Hey, it's March 1! (C'mon, go along with me on this one for once.) Time to say "bunny, bunny!" Time for things to come in like lions or lambs, to eventually go out the complete reverse way. It's also time to check in once again with The1978 2017 2023 DC Calendar of Super-Spectacular Disasters! So strike a pose, there's nothing to it: March!
"March: Green Lantern/Green Arrow" in The 1978 Calendar of Super-Spectacular Disasters; artwork by Mike Grell
(Click picture to Giant Rat of Sumatra-size)
In this month's exciting contribution to the all-out big-deal disaster that threatens to tear apart the entire DC Universe we dare not call it a crisis!): Hal Jordan and Oliver Queen are invited to be the grand marshals (as opposed to my sister, the grand Marshall) of the NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade! Meanwhile at their homes, Green Lama and the Hulk sulk.
I bet they've been invited to marshal their way down Fifth Avenue by New York City Mayor Abe Beame, which is pretty odd, because he lives in the Marvel Universe!
Panels from Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man (1976 series) #1 (December 1976), script by Gerry Conway, breakdowns by Sal Buscema, figure finishes by Mike Esposito, background finishes and colors by Dave Hunt, letters by Joe Rosen
And that's why Abe Beame breathed a relieved sigh and wiped his forehead with relief when Ed "How'm I doin'?" Koch defeated him in the 1977 Mayoral Elections.
Anyway, back in the 1977 DC Universe, thar be rats here!
And I think we all know who's responsible for that, right?: Neal Adams!
Cover of Batman: Odyssey (2011 series) #7 (June 2012), pencils and inks by Neal Adams
Still, Green Arrow shouldn't be left to fight rats, especially when it's his ward Speedy who has all the rat-battlin' experience!:
Panel from The Brave and the Bold #102 (June-July 1972), script by Bob Haney, pencils by Neal Adams, inks by Dick Giordano
Anyways! As I did last month, I've taken all the "clues" to the secret identity of the ultimate criminal mastermind from the previous month's calendar, and tallied them up by blacking out the squares on the big Justice League computertron featured on the calendar's final spread. Here's what we've got so far:
Wait, if you squint a little bit all those dots look like a bull charging...hey! No, it was not me! And if you think that the JLA computer is kind of weak sauce, just remember it was like forty years ago! Everybody's computer looked like a Lite-Brite! Cases in point:
Panels from:
Top: Superman (1939 series) #405 (March 1985), script by Craig Boldman, pencils by Alex Saviuk, inks by Karl Kesel, colors by Gene D'Angelo, letters by Ben Oda
Middle: Iron Man (1968 series) #130 (January 1980); co-plot by David Michelinie; co-plot, script, pencils, and inks by Bob Layton; colors by Ben Sean; letters by Jim Novak
Bottom: Incredible Hulk Annual #6 (November 1977), plot by Len Wein, plot and script by David Anthony Kraft, pencils by Herb Trimpe, inks by Frank Giacoia and Mike Esposito, colors by Janice Cohen, letters by Gaspar Saladino
Finally, there's one more clue you'll find within the day boxes of March's calendar itself. Let's check it out with all the keen attention of Batman, the intuitiveness of Elongated Man, and the butt-scratching of Detective Chimp:
Hmmm, an outfit suitable for St. Patrick's Day. Could it be...Jack O'Lantern?
Maybe it could be...Tommy Monaghan, Hitman? After all, he is the only good thing to come out of Bloodlines!
No wait, I know who it is, and he's the perfect suspect, because he would not be invented for another seventeen years: Kyle Rainer!
The perfect crime!
Hey, it's March 1! (C'mon, go along with me on this one for once.) Time to say "bunny, bunny!" Time for things to come in like lions or lambs, to eventually go out the complete reverse way. It's also time to check in once again with The
(Click picture to Giant Rat of Sumatra-size)
In this month's exciting contribution to the all-out big-deal disaster that threatens to tear apart the entire DC Universe we dare not call it a crisis!): Hal Jordan and Oliver Queen are invited to be the grand marshals (as opposed to my sister, the grand Marshall) of the NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade! Meanwhile at their homes, Green Lama and the Hulk sulk.
I bet they've been invited to marshal their way down Fifth Avenue by New York City Mayor Abe Beame, which is pretty odd, because he lives in the Marvel Universe!
Panels from Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man (1976 series) #1 (December 1976), script by Gerry Conway, breakdowns by Sal Buscema, figure finishes by Mike Esposito, background finishes and colors by Dave Hunt, letters by Joe Rosen
And that's why Abe Beame breathed a relieved sigh and wiped his forehead with relief when Ed "How'm I doin'?" Koch defeated him in the 1977 Mayoral Elections.
Anyway, back in the 1977 DC Universe, thar be rats here!
And I think we all know who's responsible for that, right?: Neal Adams!
Cover of Batman: Odyssey (2011 series) #7 (June 2012), pencils and inks by Neal Adams
Still, Green Arrow shouldn't be left to fight rats, especially when it's his ward Speedy who has all the rat-battlin' experience!:
Panel from The Brave and the Bold #102 (June-July 1972), script by Bob Haney, pencils by Neal Adams, inks by Dick Giordano
Anyways! As I did last month, I've taken all the "clues" to the secret identity of the ultimate criminal mastermind from the previous month's calendar, and tallied them up by blacking out the squares on the big Justice League computertron featured on the calendar's final spread. Here's what we've got so far:
Wait, if you squint a little bit all those dots look like a bull charging...hey! No, it was not me! And if you think that the JLA computer is kind of weak sauce, just remember it was like forty years ago! Everybody's computer looked like a Lite-Brite! Cases in point:
Panels from:
Top: Superman (1939 series) #405 (March 1985), script by Craig Boldman, pencils by Alex Saviuk, inks by Karl Kesel, colors by Gene D'Angelo, letters by Ben Oda
Middle: Iron Man (1968 series) #130 (January 1980); co-plot by David Michelinie; co-plot, script, pencils, and inks by Bob Layton; colors by Ben Sean; letters by Jim Novak
Bottom: Incredible Hulk Annual #6 (November 1977), plot by Len Wein, plot and script by David Anthony Kraft, pencils by Herb Trimpe, inks by Frank Giacoia and Mike Esposito, colors by Janice Cohen, letters by Gaspar Saladino
Finally, there's one more clue you'll find within the day boxes of March's calendar itself. Let's check it out with all the keen attention of Batman, the intuitiveness of Elongated Man, and the butt-scratching of Detective Chimp:
Hmmm, an outfit suitable for St. Patrick's Day. Could it be...Jack O'Lantern?
Maybe it could be...Tommy Monaghan, Hitman? After all, he is the only good thing to come out of Bloodlines!
No wait, I know who it is, and he's the perfect suspect, because he would not be invented for another seventeen years: Kyle Rainer!
The perfect crime!
The 1978 2017 2023 Amazing Spider-Man Mighty Marvel Comics Calendar: March Much-Ado
(Click picture to Superior Foes-size)
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Today in Comics History, February 28, 2019: Yet another dumbass missing
from "The Blizzard, Chapter Six: Lighting the Fire" in Image! 30th Anniversary Anthology #6 (Image, October 2022); script by Geoff Johns; pencils, inks, and colors by Andrea Mutti, letters by Rob Leigh
Oh, you'll be seein' this panel again, you betcha.
Today in Comics History, February 28: Happy birthday, Brian Jones!
Born on this day in 1942: the O.G. Rolling Stone Brian Jones (founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and the band's original leader).
from Red Rocket 7 #4 (Dark Horse, November 1997); script, pencils, and inks by Mike Allred; colors by Laura Allred
Brian died on July 2 or 3, 1969, after drowning in his swimming pool. The following comic is very likely not how he died.
Brian Jones: so cool except for the drugs everybody wants to be him or look like him!
from ARIA: Summer's Spell #1 (Image, March 2002); script by Brian Holguin; pencils and inks by Lan Medina; colors by Raymund Lee, Edgar Tadeo, and Arsia Rozegar; letters by Dreamer Design
Happy birthday, Brian. Rest in peace.
from Red Rocket 7 #4 (Dark Horse, November 1997); script, pencils, and inks by Mike Allred; colors by Laura Allred
Brian died on July 2 or 3, 1969, after drowning in his swimming pool. The following comic is very likely not how he died.
Brian Jones: so cool except for the drugs everybody wants to be him or look like him!
from ARIA: Summer's Spell #1 (Image, March 2002); script by Brian Holguin; pencils and inks by Lan Medina; colors by Raymund Lee, Edgar Tadeo, and Arsia Rozegar; letters by Dreamer Design
Happy birthday, Brian. Rest in peace.
Today in Comics History, February 28, 1989: Rhodey regrets putting his delicious Eggo™ waffle down on Tony's corpse
cover of Iron Man (1968 series) #243 (Marvel, June 1989), pencils and inks by Bob Layton
Today in Comics History, February 28, 196X: Whoa, that escalated quickly
from Infinity Inc. (1984 series) #18 (DC, September 1985), co-plot and script by Roy Thomas, co-plot by Dann Thomas, pencils by Todd McFarlane, inks by Pablo Marcos, colors by Adrienne Roy and Anthony Tollin, letters by David Cody Weiss
Monday, February 27, 2023
Today in Comics History, February 27: Happy birthday, Andy Lanning!
A happy birthday today to Andy Lanning: comic book scripter, often with Dan Abnett (The Legion, Resurrection Man (co-creator!), Guardians of the Galaxy, Nova, The Punisher, more) and inker (Fantastic Four, Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, Ultimate Spider-Man, The Sleeze Brothers (penciller and co-creator!), DCeased: War of the Undead Gods, etc.)!
"Look Who's Talking!" from Marvel Comics cover-dated January 2008
Happy birthday, Andy!
from Marvel Age: Punisher Anniversary Magazine #1 one-shot (Marvel, February 1994), text by Karl Bollers
"Look Who's Talking!" from Marvel Comics cover-dated January 2008
Happy birthday, Andy!
from Marvel Age: Punisher Anniversary Magazine #1 one-shot (Marvel, February 1994), text by Karl Bollers
Today in Comics History, February 27, 1941: And then Alfred Hitchcock walked up on stage and bitchslapped John Ford in the face
from Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense (NBM, March 2022), script by by Noël Simsolo, translation by Monatan Kane, art by Dominique Hé, lettering by Ortho
Sunday, February 26, 2023
Today in Comics History, February 26, 1942: And then Bette Davis walked up on stage and bitchslapped Joan Fontaine in the face
from Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense (NBM, March 2022), script by by Noël Simsolo, translation by Monatan Kane, art by Dominique Hé, lettering by Ortho
Saturday, February 25, 2023
Today in Comics History, February 25: Happy birthday, Sean Astin!
It's the birthday today of everybody's favorite halfling, actor Sean Astin, who you may remember from such motion pictures and televisual shows as The Goonies, Rudy, Memphis Belle, Icebreaker, 24, Stranger Things, and a little thing called The Lord of the Rings, soon to be remade at Warner Brothers but probably without Sean, so boo hiss.
Does Sean enjoy MAD magazine? See for yourself!
from MAD #260 (January 1986)
Does Sean enjoy MAD magazine? See for yourself!
from MAD #260 (January 1986)
Today in Comics History, February 25: Happy birthday, June Tarpé Mills!
Born on this day in 1912: comics writer and illustrator June Tarpé Mills, one of the first major female comics artists (Reg'lar Fellers Heroic Comics, Amazing Man Comics, Our Love Story, Amazing Mystery Funnies, Funny Pages, Prize Comics, more) and the creator of the first woman action hero, Miss Fury, for Marvel/Timely.
from "Golden Girls" in Fearless (2019 series) #4 (Marvel, December 2019); script by Trina Robbins; pencils, inks, and colors by Marguerite Sauvage; letters by Cardinal Rae
A very happy birthday to you, Miss Mills!
from Girl Comics (2010 series) #2 (Marvel, July 2010), text by Trina Robbins (?), Mills illustration by Colleen Coover
from "Golden Girls" in Fearless (2019 series) #4 (Marvel, December 2019); script by Trina Robbins; pencils, inks, and colors by Marguerite Sauvage; letters by Cardinal Rae
A very happy birthday to you, Miss Mills!
from Girl Comics (2010 series) #2 (Marvel, July 2010), text by Trina Robbins (?), Mills illustration by Colleen Coover
Today in Comics History, February 25, 1947: Kool-Aid is uncharacteristically silent
from "Memories of Hator" in Wonder Woman: Black & Gold #5 (DC, December 2021); script, pencils, inks, and colors by Trung Le Nguyen, letters by Rob Leigh
Today in Comics History, February 25, 1911: Then Everett True got into a fistfight with President Taft until they both laughed about it, then sat down and ate an entire roast elephant
Alley Oop (Newspaper Enterprise Association, April 21, 1969), by V. T. Hamlin with assistance by Dave Graue
(Special thanks to the CLASSIC COMIC STRIPS Twitter feed for bringing this one to my little stuffed attention!)
Friday, February 24, 2023
Today in Comics History, February 24: Happy birthday, Andi Watson!
Born on this day: comics writer and artist Andi Watson, creator of Breakfast After Noon, Slow News Day, Geisha, Skeleton Key, Love Fights, Glister, Princess at Midnight, and scripter on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens vs Predator: Xenogenesis, Clubbing, Namor, and many more! Here he is, a self-portrayal both tiny and insignificant, bowing down before Dark Horse editor James Rich (no, that's not Namor!) and a demon version of Stan Sakai (altho', Stan Sakai as an infernal being? No way. He's too nice!):
from Usagi Yojimbo (1996 series) #100 (Dark Horse, January 2007); script by James S. Rich; pencils, inks, and letters by Andi Watson
Happy, happy birthday to you, Andi! Draw yourself larger in the comics next time!
from Usagi Yojimbo (1996 series) #100 (Dark Horse, January 2007); script by James S. Rich; pencils, inks, and letters by Andi Watson
Happy, happy birthday to you, Andi! Draw yourself larger in the comics next time!
Today in Comics History, February 24: Happy birthday, Abe Vigoda!
This is an expanded and updated version of a post originally published February 24, 2022.
Born on this day in 1921, so it's the 102nd birthday of Abe Vigoda, who gets to be in this blog feature not only because I like him, but also because he's appeared in comic books! More specifically, here's his Barney Miller character Fish, in an issue of Iron Fist:
from Iron Fist (1975 series) #8 (Marvel, October 1976), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by John Byrne, inks by Dan Adkins, colors by Bonnie Wilford, letters by Joe Rosen
So, who d'you think that artist "Byrne" is that Fish is talking about? MAKE A GUESS.
Born on this day in 1921, so it's the 102nd birthday of Abe Vigoda, who gets to be in this blog feature not only because I like him, but also because he's appeared in comic books! More specifically, here's his Barney Miller character Fish, in an issue of Iron Fist:
from Iron Fist (1975 series) #8 (Marvel, October 1976), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by John Byrne, inks by Dan Adkins, colors by Bonnie Wilford, letters by Joe Rosen
So, who d'you think that artist "Byrne" is that Fish is talking about? MAKE A GUESS.
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