Mike’s Lunchtime Update 3013.

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  • Those Church ‘n’ Birdie cats, they pulled a fast one…America’s most beloved comic strip about a comic shop, The Rack, has returned! The cast is reintroduced here, and behold, the first “new look” strip! Characters live, characters die, nothing will ever be the same again!

  • And now, as part of an ongoing examination of the work of filmmaker Jim Wynorski, here’s an in-depth look at the cinematic classic The Return of Swamp Thing.

I tried to squeeze the phrase “Peanuts Expanded Universe” into this post, but I ultimately decided against it.

filed under Categories peanuts, sir-links-a-lot 3 Comments

  • Yet another online acquaintance has met me in the flesh, and lived to tell the tale…this time, it’s Bob at Tearoom of Despair, who came all the way from New Zealand for his tour of American comic shops. (You may remember Bob as the fellow who kindly sent a copy of this Swamp Thing comic to me.) He had some nice things to say about, not just me, but some other notable funnybook-sellin’ folks, so go read, already. Also, Bob and his wife were quite nice people, and I was glad to meet them.

    Also, Nik is making me just slightly worried in the comments, there.

  • Boom Studios finally explains its Peanuts teaser by announcing the Peanuts graphic novel Happiness Is A Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown. Honestly, I was expecting a monthly comic of (mostly) newly-produced material, like the old Dell / Gold Key ones from the ’60s. “Peanuts graphic novel” is not a phrase I was anticipating. Looks interesting, judging by the sample pages…Charles Schulz is credited as the writer, and it looks like storylines from the original strips repurposed by new artists into a traditional comic book-style format. Of course, this has me wondering if we’ll see new Peanuts stories in the comic (or graphic novel) format. If so, it’ll be strange having a continuation of the characters’ stories in print (as opposed to new animated specials), as the comic strip point of origin is restricted to eternal reruns.

    Renowned Peanuts expert pal Nat has a few words to say about this, as one might imagine…particularly regarding the publication timeline.

  • Gerry over at CO2 Comics talks about his early cartooning encouragement from his algebra teacher and an honest-to-goodness famous cartoonist!

  • Andrew’s latest Nobody’s Favorites entry attempts to explain the inexplicable.

  • If someone were to ask me just why pal Dorian’s Flop posts were funny, I’d have no idea what to say beyond “they just are, man.”

From the never-ending box of promotional material…

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…comes this swell back cover ad from the fourth issue of the Eclipse Extra retailer giveaway, dated March 1985:


In a fair world, we’d be up to about issue 300-something of Mr. Monster by now. Of course, there have been several mini-series and spin-offs over the years, but there just wasn’t anything quite the like the demented energy and creative diversity of those original ten issues. And while I liked the “serious” Mr. Monster origin story in the series that followed, I had a bit of difficulty getting back into the not-so-serious version of the character presented in the stories published after that second series. Not that I was all “I demand my Mr. Monster be serious stuff now,” but…I don’t know, it just felt like something had changed. Maybe it’s not you, baby, it’s me…perhaps I’d just read enough Mr. Monster at that point.

Anyway, those old Mr. Monster comics were some fine books, even if the later issues didn’t quite grab my fancy the way those earlier ones did. But I’ll tell you, I’d still read the hell out of this crossover!

I have absolutely no memory of ever seeing anyone wear this shirt…

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…but surely somebody did:


Almost, but not quite, up there with those Metal Men t-shirts in the “not really explaining what all this is about” department. Though I guess that’s probably the point of wearing a shirt like this…the right people will know, man.

Hey, remember that time in the ’80s when Howard Chaykin did an adult-themed Blackhawk mini-series, and it was relatively popular and there were follow-up Blackhawk comics by other creators that were also adult-ish and slightly naughty and they were still getting enough attention that DC actually produced a little bit of point-of-sale signage to tell everyone “hey, Blackhawk’s in our weekly anthology book?”


And there it is. There’s tape residue on the back, so this sign was up at the shop at some point. Hopefully when the book was coming out in 1988, and not, say, in 1993.

I’m pretty sure this next bit of comics retail detritus, dated 1987, was intended to get names and addresses for store mailing lists…at least, that’s how it should have been used:


In case you can’t read the text:

“We the undersigned, wish to voice our opinion as guaranteed by the first amendment. The Mutant Registration Act as outlined by the government must be repealed if we are to maintain our freedoms as specified in the Constitution.”

Pretty sure “First Amendment” is supposed to be capitalized. Also, has the Mutant Registration Act been repealed yet? I haven’t been keeping up.

The recusal of Neilalien.

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Today, on the 11th(!) anniversary of his website, the irreplaceable, inimitable Neilalien has announced his semi-retirement from the world of comics blogging.

I’ve often spoken before of Neil’s great influence on, not just me, but many of us who blog about the funnybooks on the internet, and his regular contributions will be missed. But I’m glad he’s still leaving the channel open for the occasional communiqué from the unknown realms into which he’s journeying.

Excelsior, Neilalien!

Now if I can actually play as Galactus, you’ve got a sale.

filed under Categories reader participation, sir-links-a-lot 6 Comments

So I asked for caption submissions for that Swamp Thing/Starfire/Robin pic, and several of you delivered some good lines. I have picked this one as the winner, emailed to me in that time-honored format of the gag motivational poster:


That’s from reader Michael (whose fine first name had no influence upon my decision), and you can visit his website, with many more funnybook-related motivational posters like the above, at Michael Paciocco’s Mind.

Thank you, Michael, and thank you to everyone else who contributed!

In other news:

  • Tim O’Neil writes smart about the passing of Dwayne McDuffie and the great value of his work.

  • Siskoid has his tribute to Doctor Who‘s Nicholas Courtney, in the form of unauthorized Dr. Who CCG game cards.

  • So that Chris Sims guy has a story in Image Comics’ Skullkickers #6 and would like you to buy it. I have read it, and it is the kind of subtle, thoughtful and heartstring-tugging work you’ve come to expect from anything with the name “Chris Sims” slapped on it. Very recommended.

  • Speaking of Sims, he and Matt interview Kevin Church in the latest War Rocket Ajax episode. BONUS: episode title comes from something mentioned during the show that I found on a message board five years ago. Good memories, those guys.

  • I’m not big on this type of fighting game, but after seeing some footage of the Galactus battles in Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, I’m intrigued. Here’s an article with some details on his appearance in the game, and an embedded video showing the big guy in action (short ad at beginning of video, Galactus shows up at the 45 second mark).

  • And now, for no good reason other than that my pal Corey pointed out to me that it was up on the YouTube, here is one of my all-time favorite SNL sketches:


    It’s not so much that it’s laugh-out-loud funny as it is just damned peculiar.

And now, something absolutely terrifying.

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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).

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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):