The Mighty Superman

 

Superman, the defender of truth, justice and the American way, shows that part of that is also to defend the entire Earth, represented well by this image by Neal Adams and Dick Giordano, from the February entry of the 1976 Super DC Calendar.

Love Behind Bars

Love Behind Bars...where love flourished, even when jail time is involved.

Here's a pair of issues of DC's Young Love that focuses on a couple, imprisoned by love!

Love Behind Bars

First up, Young Love #119 (December-January, 1975/1976) with a cover by Bob Oksner, and story by Robert Kanigher, Art Saaf and Vince Colletta, with the story of how Stephie's boyfriend, Vic, went to jail for auto theft,  as he stole a car to keep her from getting wet in the rain.  

Stephie then had to decide if she would take him back after he served his time against all the advise of her friends...

...this one ended with a cliffhanger...

...but wait!  There's more!

Love Behind Bars II

With Young Love #124 (March, 1977), under a cover by Dick Giordano, Robert Kanigher, Ric Estrada and Vince Colletta continue the story of Stephie and Vic.  

Stephie runs away when Vic gets out of prison, heads to New York City, has her wallet stolen by an old man on the bus, is taken advantage of by an older couple, who take her to a house of prostitution pretending to be a halfway house, where she was about to be taken by a client, but saved as the police raid, though she is arrested with the other street girls.  

In prison, Stephie is surprised, as Vic arrives to take her home, who still loves her (even if she inexplicably went from a redhead to a brunette!).

Mystery Unknown President

An alien is found to be suffering delusions....he thinks there is a planet called Earth, and that that planet has a president....

...but which president?

That depends on what decade you read the tale.

1950s

In Mystery In Space #30 (February-March, 1956), with a story by Otto Binder, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella (with a cover by Gil Kane), the patient alien has delusions of Earth, under a President Izen-Hower (Dwight D. Eisenhower).

Such is the first case of The Impossible World Named Earth!

1970s

When the tale by Binder, Infantino and Giella was reprinted in From Beyond The Unknown #17 (June-July, 1972) with a cover by Murphy Anderson, the delusional alien got to see visions of Nee-Xon (because Richard Nixon was now President, and DC, trying to hide their reprints, changed to the current President).

Making this a second case of The Impossible World Named Earth!

 

A Valentine Day Impulse

Happy Valentine's Day!

Bart Allen (Impulse) looks like he's having a happy one with Cissie King-Jones (Arrowette)....much to the concern of his friend, Carol Bucklen, in Impulse #59 (April, 2000), with cover by Ethan Van Sciver and Wayne Faucher.

 

Marveling At The Football SuperPro

Seems like a good day to mention the Marvel Comics NFL SuperPro, a 12 issue series (with a couple of special editions) that ran in the early 1990s, with a super powered football player, fighting crime.

Phil Greyfield met with Spider-Man and Captain America, and had Instant Replay, Quick Kick and Sanction as his main foes (as well as basketball, hockey and baseball), with cover art mostly by John Romita, Ron Frenz and Joe Sinnott (with Jose Delbo doing most of the inside art).

Those crazy 1990s! 

NFL SuperPro #2 and #3 (November and December, 1991)

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NFL SuperPro #4 and #5 (January and February, 1992)

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NFL SuperPro #6 and #7 (March and April, 1992)

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NFL SuperPro #9 and #10 (June and July, 1992)

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NFL SuperPro #11 and #12 (August and September, 1992)

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National Pizza Day 2023 With Jughead

Jughead Jones is not the person you want to share National Pizza Day with, as Archie Andrews finds out on this cover for Jughead's Double Digest #94 (July, 2003) by Stan Goldberg and Jon D'Agostino, but try to enjoy this day with a pie yourself!

Early Legion Of Super-Heroes Weddings

Even though the Legion of Super-Heroes was an early example of science fiction in comics when it started its series in Adventure Comics, it also pioneered more interaction between its rather large cast of characters in the 30th Century, as the boys and girls of the future team started to pair off.  

Here, we show two budding romances of the early Legion era, the couples of Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl, along with Ultra Boy and Phantom Girl.

Lighting Lad (Garth Ranzz of Winath) and Saturn Girl (Imra Ardeen of Titan) were two of the three founders of the Legion of Super-Heroes, their feelings for each other grew during an early run of stories in Adventure Comics, dealing with Lightning Lad dying for Saturn Girl, then her working with the other Legion members to bring him back (main stories reprinted in Adventure Comics #403 of March-April, 1971), while Ultra Boy (Jo Nah of Rimbor) and Phantom Girl (Tinya Wazzo of Bgztl) came together based mostly on one tale, when Ultra Boy was accused of a crime in Adventure Comics #316 (January, 1964), and Phantom Girl was his only advocate.

But, now to the main story...

The Weddings That Wrecked The Legion

This tale was featured in Adventure Comics #337 (October, 1965) by Edmond Hamilton and John Forte (with cover by Curt Swan and George Klein), with the newly elected leader, Brainiac 5, briefing the team about a new menace and his Plan-R to fight it (but Ultra Boy and Phantom Girl are too interested in each other to pay attention).  Brainiac 5 calls out the couple on this, with Saturn Girl rising to their defense, with Brainy turning on her, chiding her and Lighting Lad for similar behavior.  The couples go off, drawing closer, and both deciding to marry (though that will mean they will no longer be team members, as the Legion Constitution has a bylaw against married members).

Now short members, the team recruits, finding three new super powered youths (who are really members of the invading force trying to learn more of Plan-R).  Now in the Legion Clubhouse, the three enemy aliens find the plan, and head to their home...unaware the plan was a fake, and that this was all a plan by Brainiac 5 and Saturn Girl to find the invaders home, and defeat their plans.  The marriages weren't real, so the couples return to active membership, but wish that maybe they were real.

It would take a long time for the Legion to see any real team marriages, with Bouncing Boy marrying Duo Damsel (Triplicate Girl for half the Adventure Comics run) in Superboy #200 (January-February, 1974) and Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl getting married in the All New Collectors' Edition #C-55 (March, 1978), ending the rule against married Legion members.  Ultra Boy and Phantom Girl would have to wait decades more (as well as a few reboots) for their wedding, but love finds a way....