So Daniel Butler, artist of Copernicus Jones, has been drawing personalized Twitter icons for folks, and, well, you can see what I asked for…and baby, I sure got it. If you want Mr. Butler to create an icon just for you, then hie yourself hither to this site for details and samples!
In other news…I don’t really have an April Fool’s Day post this year, which is only the second AFD I’ve missed, so hey, you know, my record’s still pretty good. Besides, will I ever top this? No sir, I will not.
However, I did add a new category for my previous April Fool’s posts, so you can go enjoy my past glories, back when this website was good. And the 2005 posts may not make sense out of context without seeing this, a screenshot of when pal Dorian and I switched our website templates for the day. …Of course, neither of our sites now look like they did then, so consider the word “context” at its lowest value, if you would.
Also, the joke here is that I included two fake items. …I wonder if anyone out there is still going store to store looking for them?
Usually I have a few words of introduction to my End of Civilization posts, but after looking at this cover for the April 2012 edition of Diamond Previews:
…all I have to say is this:
And now, we rejoin the End of Civilization, already in progress:
p. 66 – Marvel Classic Character Series 2 #1:
I don’t really have any specific to say about the statue itself…
…though admittedly “petulant little boy pout” is a brave choice of expression for a statue. However, I find myself curious about this:
“Hmmm…I was waiting for a good jumping-on point to start buying these statues! A new number one? I’M IN.”
p. 74 – Before Watchmen: Minutemen #1:
Look for the follow-up mini-series fIREHOSE in 2013!
p. 76 – Before Watchmen: Comedian #1:
I swear, the more I see this cover, the funnier it gets. Appropriate given that it’s the Comedian, but I’m not sure that was the intention. But man, just look at that, and imagine it staring back at you from the comic rack. …And into your unquiet dreams.
p. 132 – Superman Family Adventures #2:
If even the Tiny Titans guys have trouble making that Superman costume look appealing…well, I don’t know what to tell you.
p. 150 – Mars Attacks #1:
55 different covers? You’d probably have to go to 50 different stores to find them all!
Ah, but I kid. But I can imagine what the price guide listings for this are going to look like: “‘Destroying A Dog’ cover – $45.00. All other covers – cover price.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, the other fifty-five covers weren’t enough? You gotta ask about another one?”
p. 151 – Mars Attacks #1 Complete Comic Book Box Set:
And then there’s this…a complete set of all 55 covers, plus a bonus 56th cover only available in this set, for only $199.95. …I absolutely admire this in all its evil glory.
p. 166 – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 1 – Change Is Constant Deluxe Edition:
Like that one time a big-time movie director decided to change the Ninja Turtles into aliens? That was pretty deluxe right there.
p. 236 – Richie Rich Gems: Treasures TP:
You know, up to a certain age, you kinda want to be Richie Rich and have access to all that cash and neat stuff, and past a certain age, you hope that the proletariat, as represented by Freckles and Pee Wee, rises up and drag Richie through the streets.
p. 256 – Soldier of Fortune Magazine Presents #1: Stealth:
1. No, it’s not about the not-evil-but-misunderstood robot plane.
2. Didn’t Soldier of Fortune magazine have, in the 1980s, a comic in the back pages with some scantily-clad gal explaining different types of military equipment and tactics? Where’s our collection of those strips?
2a. Don’t ask how I know about that.
3. Nothing to do with these comics, but I remember a classified ad in the back of an issue of SOF offering the services of “Jon Sable, Freelance.” …In-joke from the editors, or innovative marketing from First Comics? I’ll never know.
3a. Don’t ask why I was looking at the classified ads in Soldier of Fortune.
p. 279 – Dark Shadows #9:
“Another hilarious issue of Dark Shadows, a perfect jumping on point for fans of this year’s hit comedy sensation!”
p. 318 – Alien The Illustrated Story:
A reprint of the Heavy Metal adaptation of the film by Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson…hopefully lacking the original’s “special feature” of the binding falling apart if you looked at it sideways.
p. 345 – The Amazing Spider-Man Kit:
Hmmm…having this tiny Spider-Man gives me an idea for my next short film:
“OW! A–a Spider-Man! It bit me! But why is it burning so? Why is it glowing that way?”
LOOK OUT, HERE COMES…THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN-MAN!
…I need a vacation.
p. 354 – Porn King The Autobiography of John C. Holmes SC:
…Which kind of begs the question about this shipping to comic book shops in the first place.
p. 371 – V for Vendetta “Accountable” Black T-shirt:
Fight back against The Man with this fully-licensed Warner Brothers product!
p. 383 – Universal Monsters Select Metaluna Mutant:
SON OF A…you mean, if I’d just waited, what, a decade and a half or so and not bought the Interocitor-less Metaluna Mutant action figure that was offered way back when, I could have had the Interocitor-laden Metaluna Mutant now being offered instead? Oh, the tragedy!
p. 384 – Walking Dead Mini-Mates Series 1:
Don’t have any joke or sarcastic comment here…just wanted to point out the mini-fig with its intestines hanging out. That’s…certainly something.
p. 391 – Mr. Potato Head The Wizard of Oz Collector’s Set:
Man, what the hell did the Cowardly Potato fall into? Was he following the Brown Brick Road? Were there no “Curb Your Little Dog Toto, Too?” signs? …Ew.
…that I’ve been in bit of a Low Content Mode this week. Sorry about that, but there’s been a confluence of events and moods and time constraints that’s been in the way of producing daily content here. Which also means that I’ve not yet finished the new End of Civilization post, which usually would be up the Thursday after the release of Diamond Previews. There will be an EoC post, but it’ll have to wait ’til tomorrow.
Again, I’m not goin’ anywhere, but your pal Mike needed just a slight break from the site for a while. I still love you! Well, like you. …”Like” you, at least. I mean, I’m not totally disgusted by you, by any means. Mostly.
Just so there’s something about comics in this post, I did read this week’s new issue of Superman, with the debut of the new creative team. Other than editorial notes pointing out tie-ins to stories in other current DC titles I’ll never get around to reading, I thought this issue was…a little better than the previous storyline. At the very least, I felt like the character of Clark/Superman was a little more relatable than in the earlier issues. Probably didn’t hurt that the new creative team isn’t trying to squeeze 40 pages of story into a 20-page package, which sounds like “hey, getting my money’s worth!” but in practice results more in “infodump” than “story.”
That one National Lampoon cover must surely be one of the most mimicked in publishing history…and our little stuffed pal Bully gathers together several examples from the funnybook world.
Discussing this particular Nobody’s Favorite Alpha Flight character started a brief discussion among a few pals of mine about the early issues of that series and its focus on “body horror”-type stories. Probably an essay in there somewhere, should I ever find the time.
Dr. Polite Scott takes a look at one of the few Curt Swan-drawn PSAs from Silver Age DC Comics…the article includes links to the other two Swan PSAs.
So they announced the soundtrack listing for the Avengers movie, and lo, there was a wailing despair heard across the land. I don’t know, the soundtrack doesn’t look that bad.
It came to him in unquiet dreams borne of reading both the recent Nancy Is Happy collection and this site, said reader John L., and thus did he create this most terrifying image. What is seen cannot be unseen:
