Celebrating Artist Bob Layton

Celebrating writer/artist Bob Layton on his birthday (September 25, 1953) with Hercules...that is, the mini-series, Hercules: Prince of Power.  

Set in the 2300s, this series follows Hercules as he runs through the galaxy, meets Recorder 417 and Galactus (and had a few follow ups, all of which deserve to be collected again).

Hercules #1 and #2 (September and October, 1982)

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Hercules #3 and #4 (November and December, 1982)

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Sorcery Vs Red Sonja

Red Sonja usually fought monsters and men, but occasionally fought sorcerers, like the evil Kulan-Gath (as shown in these two versions of Red Sonja #12 (July, 2006, by George Perez and John Romita Jr).

But, Kulan Gath began his career in Conan The Barbarian #14 (March, 1972), and faced Red Sonja (via possession) along with Spider-Man in Marvel Team-Up #79 (March, 1979).

Kulan Gath would also return to fight the X-Men in Uncanny X-Men #190 and #191, February and March 1985, as well as the Avengers in Avengers #28 through #30, May to July, 2000.

Remembering Joe Kubert

Remembering artist, editor, art teacher and founder of the Kubert School, Joe Kubert, on his birthday (September 18, 1926 - August 12, 2012).  

As this birthday is something special, here it is recalled with his 3 DC Specials.

DC Special #5 (October-December, 1969)

This special has a nice sample of Joe Kubert's work at DC, as well as a history of the artist.

Included here are:

Our Army At War #113 (December, 1961) with Sgt. Rock, a story of young Eagle Feather from Showcase #2 (May-June, 1956), Hawkman vs. the Matter Master from Brave and the Bold #35 (April-May, 1961) and a Viking Prince story from Brave and the Bold #18 (June-July, 1958).

DC Special #12 (May-June, 1971)

This issue featured the Viking Prince, with stories from Brave and the Bold #1, #5 and #16 (August-September, 1955, April-May, 1956 and February-March, 1958, though the cover for #16 is by Irv Novick) as well as non-Kubert stories featuring the Silent Knight and The Golden Gladiator from Brave and the Bold #1 (August-September, 1955).

More on the Viking Prince here!

DC Special #26 (February-March, 1977)

This special focused on the Enemy Ace, with stories from Star Spangled War Stories #143 (February-March, 1969, but sadly, edited), a feature from Star Spangled War Stories #139 (June-July, 1968) and Hans von Hammer's debut from Our Army At War #151 (February, 1965) (with more about Enemy Ace here). 

For these, and so many more, like Ragman and Tarzan, we will remember Joe Kubert.

Celebrating Artist Mike Mignola

Celebrating the birthday of artist Mike Mignola (September 16, 1960) with something cosmic...Cosmic Odyssey, that is.  

A 4 issue mini-series of the late 1980s, setting the heroes of Earth, including the Justice League, and Doctor Fate, the Demon, Starfire and more against the forces of Apokolips under Darkseid.

Cosmic Odyssey #1 and #2 (December and Winter, 1988)

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Cosmic Odyssey #3 and #4 (Holiday, 1988 and January, 1989)

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Celebrating Artist Mike Grell

Celebrating artist Mike Grell on his birthday (September 13, 1947) with the first twelve covers for the 2009 Warlord series...

...with Travis Morgan as the Warlord, and a cast of characters from the lost world of Skartaris.

Warlord #1 and #2 (June and July, 2009)

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Warlord #3 and #4 (August and September, 2009)

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Warlord #5 and #6 (October and November, 2009)

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Warlord #7 and #8 (December, 2009 and January, 2010)

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Warlord #9 and #10 (February and March, 2010)

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Warlord #11 and #12 (April and May, 2010)

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Celebrating The Monkees

Celebrating the Anniversary of the debut of the Monkees TV show on September 12, 1966 on NBC.  The show featured light comedy and music by the band, featuring Davy Jones, Peter Tork, Michael Nesmith and Micky Dolenz.  

The show lasted 2 seasons with 58 episodes, ending on March 25, 1968, followed up by the movie, Head, in November, 1968 and an NBC TV special, 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee on April 14, 1969, and an ABC one hour special, Hey Hey It's The Monkees, on February 17, 1997.

The band also had 9 albums under their original run, and 4 reunion albums from the 1980s to the 2010s.

Dell, a powerhouse in comics at the time, provided 17 issues of comics, based on the Monkees series, with interior art mostly by Jose Delbo, with the last issue being a reprint of the first. 

The Monkees #1 and #2 (March, and May, 1967)

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The Monkees #3 and #4 (July, and September 1967)

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The Monkees #5 and #6 (October and November, 1967)

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The Monkees #7 and #8 (December, 1967 and January, 1968)

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The Monkees #9 and #10 (February and March,1968)

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The Monkees #11 and #12 (May and June, 1968)

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The Monkees #13 and #14 (July and August, 1968)

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The Monkees #15 and #16 (September and November, 1968)

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The Monkees #17 (October, 1969)

Amethyst Princess Of Gemworld

Amy Winston was just a normal teenager...or so she thought.  In reality, she was Amethyst, Princess Of Gemworld, possessing magical powers and the will to fight for her enchanted land....though finding this out shattered her own world, as shown on these 2 covers for her original mini-series, issues #5 and #8 from September and December, 1983 by George Perez and Ernie Colon.