Mikester

And now, something absolutely terrifying.

filed under Categories golden age 11 Comments

Was just doing a little sightseeing over at the Grand Comics Database and just happened to see Startling Terror #11 (July 1952), with this cover by L.B. Cole:


The Ghost Spider of Death? Great googly-moogly.

The text is a bit hard to read in that scan, but I found a picture of a slabbed-and-graded copy that had a better view of that blurb, and have transcribed it here:

“Have you ever wondered why wickedness and evil remain in the world? How is it that some things can be explained, while others cannot? Are you sure you can walk without turning to see if you’re being followed? If you can sleep without fearing the unknown…then read this story for it may be the answer. Story? There are many who claim to have seen…and been bitten by…THE GHOST SPIDER OF DEATH!!”

So the Ghost Spider of Death’s bite isn’t immediately fatal, I guess. Also, the Ghost Spider is the reason why some things can’t be explained. Like tides, or magnets. THE GHOST SPIDER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR BOTH.

The logical conclusion to be drawn here is that “Ghost Spider of Death” is the answer to everything. Feel free to use when necessary.

Dwayne McDuffie (1962-2011).

filed under Categories obituary 7 Comments


Dwayne McDuffie, comics and animation writer/editor, and cofounder of Milestone Media, passed away earlier this week. While I’ve enjoyed many of his works – in particular, Milestone’s Hardware and Icon, as well as his work for DC Comics’ animation unit (including the screenplay adaptation of All Star Superman, just released this week) – I think his multiple Damage Control mini-series, about the folks who clean up after superhero battles, may be my favorite.

He was a strong and unique voice in the comics industry, and he was taken from us too soon. My condolences to his family, his friends…and to all of us.

Pals Kevin and Chris have more insightful things to say about the man…especially make sure to check out Chris’s article, which includes a particularly-pointed series pitch written by McDuffie. And Dr. Polite Scott links back to his coverage of McDuffie’s Canadian anti-drug comics.

• • •

A beloved figure from science fiction television has also passed away this week: Nicolas Courtney, whose portrayal of the Brigadier on Doctor Who has spanned decades, has died at the age of 81. My best wishes to his family, friends, and fans.

• • •

Just two reminders to appreciate people while they’re still around for you to do so.

I picture Baron Winters and Captain Carrot always bickering with each other, like Green Arrow and Hawkman used to do.

filed under Categories reader participation, swamp thing 21 Comments

Here’s a colorful cast of crazy characters from the May 1983 DC Comics retailer order form…click on the pic below for a larger image:


Now that’s a Justice League line-up I’d like to see.


I was trying to come up with some funny dialogue or a humorous caption for the above picture, but my fever-addled brain is having none of it, so you folks go ahead and give it a shot. My favorite gets…oh, I don’t know, a big fat plug for their webpage or whatever on my site, for all the good that’ll do you. Just keep it…somewhat clean, is all I ask. (Both the submission and the website you’d like me to plug.)

BONUS: house ad from Superboy #189 (August 1972):

“…He stands in imminent peril of becoming the eternal pawn of THE INFERNAL ONE.”

filed under Categories advertising, publishing, retailing 7 Comments

I have an odd fascination with the unpublished Redeemer series written and drawn by Joe Kubert, and originally intended for release in the mid-1980s from DC Comics. It may be because it was one of my early encounters with the comic book version of “vaporware” – an advertised and hyped product (prominently featured in a favorite comics ‘zine at the time, Amazing Heroes, containing several completed pages of the first issue) that ended up never appearing.

At the shop, we newly uncovered another old box or two of promotional comics material, including a handful of DC’s “Coming Attractions” flyers listing forthcoming funnybook releases, dated October 1983 through January 1984. The front page feature of the October flyer was Redeemer:


And here is the specific information for the first issue, including what I’m assuming is the cover, though I suspect some kind of, um, Speedos or something would have been colored onto the final product:


And over the next thee installments of “Coming Attractions,” we get the info for issues #2-#4:


No idea if it got any farther than that before folks realized this series wasn’t going to happen and, hey, we should probably stop telling people about it. But reading those descriptions…just picture Kubert drawing all that. This would have been one crazy and beautiful-looking series.

Bob Rozakis writes briefly about the series’ demise, citing, among other reasons, complaints regarding the religious connotations of the title. (Wonder how those people reacted to Preacher?)

This interview indicates that the completed Redeemer stories may yet appear in a forthcoming Kubert anthology series. Can’t wait to see ’em. (Also, Kubert is doing a new Hawkman story for this anthology series, and I know you folks want to see that!)

Sometimes a Superbaby has just about enough of your guff, grabs his bindle, and hits the road…

filed under Categories superman 8 Comments

…or “hits the air,” rather:


And just what does a Superbaby put in his bindle? The panel just previous to the one above reveals the answer:


Why, toy cars and planes, of course. NOT SHOWN: the Kent family pickup truck, crushed by Superbaby into a lump approximately the size of a tennis ball prior to its bindle insertion.

images from Superboy #189 (August 1972) by David George, Bob Brown & Murphy Anderson

In which I discuss my favorite topic.

filed under Categories blogging about blogging is a sin, sir-links-a-lot 2 Comments

So I’ve become involved in more online funny business…some of my fellow Bureau Chiefs (the gang responsible for the still-ongoing Fake AP Stylebook and the forthcoming book Write More Good) have started a new project: specifically, Matt Wilson and Ken Lowery have created The Content Farm, a parody of those “how-to” instructional sites that pollute all your attempted Google searches. There is also a related Twitter feed with links to the Tumblr site, as well as original short gags. Anyway, I’ve been contributing to the shenanigans, with my first full-length piece “How to Make A Peanut Butter Sandwich” making it to the main site a couple of days ago. Ken wrote this piece, “How to Tell If You Are Bleeding from The Scalp,” which is my personal favorite and the entry I always cite when trying to explain this site.

We have lots more planned, so please keep visiting The Content Farm for more helpful hints and life strategies.

In other news involving me:

Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!

filed under Categories superman 14 Comments


1. Drivers are going to have to stop waaaay back from this traffic light statue in order to see the lights change. Or they’ll have to strain their necks to see what’s goin’ on way up there.

2. I don’t know that I’d want to put my trust in a spring-wound traffic light.

3. Now I assumed that this seemed like an awful lot of effort to control traffic on a single-lane road, but maybe it’s simply there to frighten off anyone approaching from miles away.

4. I hope this statue ends up making an appearance in the series finale of Smallville.

OBEY

MY SAFETY CODE

image from Superboy #96 (April 1962) by Robert Bernstein & George Papp

“Spiderman is all, ‘Yo, dude! Check out mah spiderskills. I love how radioactivity is equal to magic.'”

filed under Categories batman, superman 10 Comments

From Yahoo! Answers:


This response gets right to the point:

“batman is a superhero dont listen to what anyone says they r complete dumb asses lol batman could very well be the greatest superhero in DC he might not have superpowers but he can defeat superman”

This next person goes the comparison route:

“batman is probably the best superhero. All the others are cheap.
Superman just says ‘hold a sec, busy flying and being a superhuman alien who’s indistinguishable from humans.’
Spiderman is all, ‘Yo, dude! Check out mah spiderskills. I love how radioactivity is equal to magic’
But batman says, ‘Hey, with a butt-load of money, anyone can be a superhero.'”

I’m assuming he meant “Spider-Man.”

BONUS: Everything old is new again:


Best answer, as chosen by the person originally asking the question:

“Only if it’s powered by kryptonite!”

Kryptonite lightsabres, man. Possibly the greatest thing the Internet has brought us (as discussed before).