Forbidden New Year's Eve

Well, that's pretty much another year down.  

It was a rough one, but likely no matter how bad your year was, this New Year's Eve was about to be a real disaster for his guy, as you can "plane-ly" see on this cover to Forbidden Worlds #60 (November, 1957) by Ogden Whitney.

Stan Lee 100

Stan Lee was born 100 years ago on this date.  

Remembering the man and his life (December 28, 1992 to November 12, 2018), with a group of Marvel Comics that he wrote...

...that were one hundred issues!

Strange Tales #100 (September, 1962)

The first of the Stan Lee 100 issues, with a cover drawn by Jack Kirby and inked by Steve Ditko (names that would always be there to help Stan Lee reach his heights).

Though there were a few Marvel super heroes at this time, this anthology book was still odd horror tales, with stories plotted by Stan, and likely written by Larry Leiber, with art by Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Don Heck.

This issue was reprinted in the Marvel: June 1962 Omnibus (2021).

The next issue of Strange Tales would see half the book taken over by the Fantastic Four's Human Torch, with Doctor Strange and Nick Fury to follow in years to come.

Journey Into Mystery #100 (January, 1964)

Here begins a run of stories that Stan Lee would be better known for, this one featuring Thor, the god of thunder!

Under a cover by Jack Kirby and Sol Brodsky, with interior work by Don Heck, Thor faced off against Mr. Hyde (who debuted in the previous issue).  While successful against Mr. Hyde, Jane Foster did not impress Thor's father, Odin, and thus Odin would not allow Thor to marry the young nurse Thor was infatuated with.

This tale has been reprinted many times, including in Thor's first Marvel Masterworks, and his first Epic Collection.

Tales To Astonish #100 (February, 1968)

This issue features a battle royal between the two characters, Hulk and the Sub-Mariner, that shared the title.

With a cover by Marie Severin and Dan Adkins (who also did the inside, with a little inking assistance from Roger Brand), the two heroes often branded villains battled (though it was the fault of neither...the Hulk was being controlled by the Fantastic Four villain, the Puppet Master).

Among other places, this story was reprinted in the third Hulk Marvel Masterwork and in the third Hulk Epic Collection (and would fit in a second Sub-Mariner Epic Collection whenever Marvel makes one).

Captain America #100 (April, 1968)

Here, Stan Lee returns to a character he had worked on since World War II (as Captain America took over the Tales To Suspense title that he had shared with Iron Man).

Jack Kirby supplied the cover (with inks by Syd Shores and Joe Sinnott), with interiors by Kirby and Shores, where Cap, Black Panther and Agent 13 (Sharon Carter) battle who they think is Baron Zemo in Wakanda, defeating the man, with Cap suggesting to Black Panther to join the Avengers as his replacement (which he would).  The issue also features a bit on Steve Rogers' origin, and his meeting with the Avengers.

This issue was reprinted in Captain America's second Marvel Masterwork as well as in his second Epic Collection (and a few other places).

Fantastic Four #100 (July, 1970)

Stan Lee's great triumphant issue 100, where he had written all the previous issues of as well, along with Jack Kirby.

Here, with Kirby inked by Joe Sinnott, the Fantastic Four, along with Inhuman Crystal (who was a part of the team), battled all the FF foes...sort of.  The Mad Thinker and Puppet Master had made android duplicates of the villains, and set them against the five heroes, in an epic tale, celebrating 100 issues with the same writer/artist.

This issue would be reprinted in the tenth Fantastic Four Marvel Masterwork, as well as in their sixth Epic Collection.

Amazing Spider-Man #100 (September, 1971)

Another Stan Lee triumph, as he had written all of the issues previously, though here, he had a few artists working with him over the decades, including Steve Ditko and John Romita.

Under a cover by John Romita and Frank Giacoia, with interiors by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia (and backgrounds by Tony Mortellaro), Peter Parker struggled with his spider powers (nothing new), faced hallucinations of his old foes (new and old), and, by the end, ended up with six arms (totally new).  Hey, Stan could always put Peter through his paces, and an anniversary issue was no exception!

This issue was reprinted in the eleventh Amazing Spider-Man Marvel Masterwork, and in the sixth Epic Collection of that series.

Truly, a touch of the career that was Stan Lee's, and a nice look at the overall history he created, on this, what would have been his 100th birthday.

Excelsior!

 

Merry Christmas With Impulse

Merry Christmas!

May you and yours enjoy the holiday as much as young Impulse does, opening all his gifts from Max Mercury and Helen Claiborne watch with amusement, on this cover for Impulse #34 (February, 1998) by Craig Rousseau and Wayne Faucher (the story inside isn't Christmas related, instead a time travel story, where things go wrong....).

Merry Christmas From Harley Quinn

Harley Quinn channels the three ghosts of Christmas, in this variant cover by Frank Cho for Harley Quinn #33 (Early February, 2018), to help wish everyone a Merry Christmas.  

A Christmas Laugh

Santa Claus gets the royal treatment as Christmas approaches, as Rudolph looks on.  Here, on the cover of Laugh #5 (February, 1988), by Dan DeCarlo, we see Archie, Jughead, Sabrina, Betty and Veronica fuss over St. Nick, all while Josie and the Pussycats sing carols for him.  

A Kicking Legion Christmas

Feeling a little alone in the 20th century...

...Karate Kid invited his friends, the Legion Of Super-Heroes, back from the 30th century to share some time with him at a local mall.  

Sadly, it was a mall that Superman villain, the Toyman, was going to rob.  This put Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, Sun Boy, Colossal Boy, Princess Projectra, Cosmic Boy, Shadow Lass, Brainiac 5 and Chameleon Boy into action for the Christmas holiday, in this December 1978 entry from the DC Calendar of Super-Spectacular Disasters by Jim Sherman and Jack Abel.

A Christmas Spirit

Just a little Christmas Spirit to help get you in the mood for the holidays, here, Will Eisner's classic hero, Denny Colt, in his alter ego of the Spirit, from Warren Magazine's The Spirit #12 (February, 1976)...

...with reprints of newspaper strips that revolve around Christmas from the 1940s and 1950s.

Remembering Artist John Buscema

Remembering the "big" art of artist John Buscema (December 11, 1927 - January 10, 2002) with a look at his covers for Conan The Barbarian, from the Marvel Treasury Edition line.

John did a lot of big art in his time at Marvel, but few were as big as these covers covering Robert E. Howard's best known character.

John did the covers for three editions of the Marvel Treasury Edition featuring Conan the Barbarian:  #15 (inked by Ernie Chan) for 1977, #19 (which is all John's work) for 1978, and #23 (inked by Joe Sinnott).

These included reprints from the Savage Sword of Conan as well, which, for these treasuries, were presented in color, instead of their original black and white, as well as many pages of pin-up art, with the last edition also including a sample from the Conan newspaper strip.

Celebrating Artist Jose Delbo

Celebrating artist Jose Delbo on his birthday (December, 9, 1933) with a look at the covers he drew for Wonder Woman in the bronze age!

While he also drew Wonder Woman interior pages much more frequently, the few covers he did were stunners! 

Wonder Woman #253 and #255 (March and May, 1979)

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Wonder Woman #256 and #258 (June and August, 1979)

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Wonder Woman #259 and #260 (September and October, 1979)

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Wonder Woman #263 (January, 1980)

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These covers were all inked by Dick Giordano (who drew more than a few Wonder Woman covers on his own) except for #256, which was inked by Vince Colletta, and #260, which was inked by Frank Chiaramonte! 

Bugs Bunny's Christmas Party

It's time to get this Christmas party started...

...and what better way than with Bugs Bunny's Christmas Party #6 (November, 1955), by Ralph Heimdahl and Don McLaughlin's painted cover...

...with Bugs, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Petunia Pig, Tweety and Sylvester starting to celebrate the Christmas holiday in this Dell giant!

The Adventures Of Private Olsen

With all his years in comics, young Jimmy Olsen, a healthy lad, must at one point served in the United States Armed Forces... 

...and he did, in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #23 (September, 1957), under this cover by Curt Swan and Ray Burnley!

The Adventures Of Private Olsen

Here, in this tale by Otto Binder, Curt Swan and Ray Burnley, Jimmy goes on a story for the Daily Planet, to find out what it's like to be in the army, getting a little help from Superman and his friend, Colonel Otis.  Going undercover as Private Hudson, Sgt. Blye decides to make a little money off the boy, by betting he'd fail, but also hedging his bet by making everyone else think he's a general's son, who would be a natural soldier. 

 

Superman comes in to help Jimmy succeed, and even Sgt. Blye comes around at the end, as Jimmy nearly gets launched into space, looking for the bet money Blye had collected.  Jimmy decides army life isn't for him, and goes back to do his story for Perry White.

Charles M. Schulz 100

Celebrating what would have been cartoonist Charles M. Schulz's 100th birthday!  (November 26, 1922 to February 12, 2000).

Creator of the Peanuts comic strip, that introduced the world to Charles and Sally Brown, Schroeder, Snoopy, Linus and Lucy Van Pelt, Woodstock, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Franklin and so much more, taking a look at life though a child's eyes, and having a smile while doing it.

The strips ended in January, 2000, followed soon after by their creator, but they will live on in our hearts and minds (and even recent collections by BOOM! studios, and thanks to their animated specials, it is hard to celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas without the Peanuts gang. .

 

Have A Fantastic Thanksgiving

For all those who are able to spent this holiday with their families, and those thinking of those families, may you all have something to be thankful four...er, for, not unlike the Fantastic Four!

Here, the cover to Fantastic Four #564 (April, 2009) by Bryan Hitch, with Reed and Sue presenting a turkey to those they love for the holiday, in a cover that is evocative of a Norman Rockwell painting (and the JSA had done one like that too, as you can see here!).

Happy Thanksgiving!

Remembering Artist Steve Lightle

Remembering artist Steve Lightle (November 19, 1959 - January 8, 2021) on his birthday with the covers to the Cosmic Boy mini-series from December, 1986 to March, 1987, with Cosmic Boy and Night Girl discovering a secret hidden by the Time Trapper...

...that would later rock the Legion of Super-Heroes to its core.

Cosmic Boy #1 and #2 (December, 1986 and January, 1987)

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Cosmic Boy #3 and #4 (February, 1987 and March, 1987)

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This led to one of the saddest stories of the post-Crisis Legion era, featuring Superboy, with Steve also providing the first cover to the story's end with Legion of Super-Heroes #37 (August, 1987).

Remembering Artist Darwyn Cooke

Remembering artist Darwyn Cooke on his birthday (November 16, 1962 - May 14, 2016), with a look at a few covers to an often overlooked series...

...that of Star Spangled War Stories, featuring the G.I. Zombie, soldier Jared Kabe, who fights and dies for his country, again and again, aided by fellow soldier, Carmen King.

Star Spangled War Stories #1 and #2 (September and October, 2014)

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Star Spangled War Stories #3 and #4 (December, 2014 and January, 2015)

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Star Spangled War Stories #5 and #6 (February and March, 2015)

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America At War - The Best Of DC War Comics

 

Celebrating those who served in the United States Armed Forces, a look at the war comics that were published by DC Comics from the 1940s to the 1970s, via America At War - The Best Of DC War Comics, which is a Fireside book released for October, 1979, collected by Michael Uslan, with this Joe Kubert cover featuring Sgt. Rock.

This book breaks down DC's war heroes by decade, so that's what will happen here.

1940s

Where it all began with World War II, this section features Blackhawk with his origin from Military Comics #1 (August, 1941), Hop Harrigan from All-American Comics #48 (March, 1943), Boy Commandos from Detective Comics #82 (December, 1943), Superman from Superman #25 (November-December, 1943), as well as a cover to Boy Commandos #4 (Fall, 1943) and a run from the Superman newspaper strip where Clark Kent joins the army.

Blackhawk and the Boy Commandos have been covered before, this Superman was the one who was in the JSA, and Hop Harrigan was a young pilot (who had associations with the Justice Society as well, and was America's Ace of the Airways, even being in his own movie serial).

1950s

Next up, a group of tales including one from Our Army At War #67 (February, 1958), with Sgt. Rock from Our Army At War #83 (June, 1959), Gunner & Sarge from Our Fighting Forces #49 (September, 1959), and Mademoiselle Marie from Star Spangled War Stories #87 (November, 1959), with covers from G. I. Combat #54 (November, 1957) and Our Fighting Forces (September, 1959).

Thankfully, Sgt. Rock, Gunner & Sarge and Mlle. Marie have all already been covered...

..including times that they have teamed up together.

1960s

Continuing on, with covers from Our Army At War #112 (November, 1961) and Our Fighting Forces #102 (August, 1966), as well as stories from G. I. Combat #87 (April-May, 1961) with the World War II's Haunted Tank, World War I Enemy Ace from Showcase #57 (July-August, 1965), Sgt. Rock and Easy from Our Army At War #160 (November, 1965), the War That Time Forgot from Star Spangled War Stories #134 (August-September, 1967) and Captain Hunter from Our Fighting Forces #102 (August, 1966).

The Haunted Tank, Enemy Ace and the War That Time Forgot all were previously covered...

...and Captain Hunter was Phil Hunter, a Green Beret looking for his brother, Nick, in 1960s Vietnam, as DC takes war beyond World War II. 

1970s

Finishing up in the decade this volume was printed, with stories from Our Army At War #235 (August, 1971), Our Army At War #233 (June, 1971), Star Spangled War Stories #183 (November-December, 1974), and Weird War Tales #3 (January-February, 1972) and covers from Army At War #1 (October-November, 1978), Our Army At War #233 (June, 1971) and Star Spangled War Stories #183 (November-December, 1974).

Mostly generic war stories, with one Sgt. Rock, and a story of the Unknown Soldier, who has been covered before...

....all with the hopes of war no more.

Celebrating Artist Barry Kitson

Wishing artist Barry Kitson the happiest of birthdays today, and treating fans with a look at the covers for some of his greatest work, that of the covers to the 12 issue mini-series, JLA: Year One, starting with the wraparound cover to the first tradepaperback with all the issues from July, 1999, featuring the origins of the JLA in their earliest days (but, through a post-Crisis lens, with Black Canary replacing a not yet existing Wonder Woman as a charter member..., and Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and Martian Manhunter as the other charter members, with Superman, Batman, Green Arrow, Atom, the Doom Patrol and more as guest stars).

JLA: Year One #1 (January, 1998)

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JLA: Year One (#2 and #3, February and March 1998)

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JLA: Year One (#4 and #5, April and May 1998)

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JLA: Year One (#6 and #7, June and July 1998)

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JLA: Year One (#8 and #9, August and September 1998)

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JLA: Year One (#10 and #11, October and November 1998)

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JLA: Year One (#12 and Deluxe Edition, December 1998 and July 2017)

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These aren't Barry's only later day trips to DC's modernized Silver Age, but more later!