I didn't find an opening briefcase, I wanted a 'Pretty Woman' shot there.

Career Opportunities, part two

"Career Opportunities, page 6"
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Khonshu panel on page six from Moon Knight #22, first series, the backup story "Moon over Alamein" Written by Alan Zelenetz, pencils by Greg La Rocque, inks by Joe Albelo. That was the best picture of the old statue out of a fistful of issues I grabbed the other day.

Trish from Devil May Cry takes the Marlene Alraune role, and Marlene predates Tomb Raider in hot gun-toting archeology by over a decade.

What was the main inspiration for this one? Would you believe geographical convenience? Since I had bought them on various lunch hours, Moon Knight, Batgirl, and Batman--yeah, and the Scarecrow and Bane, too--were all on my desk at work. Batgirl ended up placed more by MK, and since she couldn't lift her included 'Shadowtech' accessory, she held Moon Knight's staff...that sounded dirty. The rest wrote itself. (Incidentally, I hate the neck joint on that particular Batman.) I did borrow my son's Bane figure though, since mine came with his 'Osito' bear that's still rubberbanded to his arm.

I have at least two other Batgirl figures, and particularly like the Thrillkiller style one from DC Direct. But it's funnier, hopefully, with a tiny, rage-filled, new-animated style one. Let me know if it works, and check the "homemade posts" or "toys" label for old ones.

Also, while I do like the Marvel Legends Werewolf by Night, how cool would it be to have a crazy Bill Sienkiewicz style one? Ah, if only. Read more!

Sometimes, silent panels might not be the best idea.

From "Gorilla Man" Originally from Men's Adventure #26 and reprinted in Chamber of Chills #23, art by Robert Sale?

Just a quick one today. It's that time of year where I work a bunch of overtime under the theory that I'll make some extra money for more comics and toys. To date, it's never worked out that way, and with the economy flaming out and spiralling in, I don't know if I see it happening this time either.

I did get out to look for the remaining DC Superheroes I hadn't picked up yet, and Target hadn't restocked them yet. I only bought two the first and only time I've seen them so far, and I'm hoping it doesn't bite me in the ass in finding Penquin, Red Tornado, and Batman. Whatever they're calling the retro-seventies style Batman, I forget.

I haven't seen Cloverfield yet, although I do want to. Although, my first thought from some of the reviews, was that it's only what, under eighty minutes? I'm not expecting a three-hour tour, but damn, do I get credit towards another movie? I've also managed to avoid seeing what the monster looks like yet, if there's even a good look to be had in the film. I do wonder if my wife will like it at all, if we end up going, since I have at least one friend that got a good dose of motion sickness there.


I mentioned a couple weeks back that I got a ton of old Marvel horror reprints. I'll be charitable and say, they aren't as good as EC Comics. The above panel is from "Where Lurks the Ghost!" Written by Stan Lee, art by Steve Ditko, and originally presented in Tales to Astonish #25. It's a little hackneyed: guy who doesn't believe in ghosts bets he can spend the night in a haunted house, where he runs into the old night watchman/caretaker. Guy spends the night peacefully, until the next morning when he boasts about his feat and his friends point out the night watchman died ten years ago. Yeah, that was probably an old story then, especially--

since Stan had done that one before, in "I Was Locked in a Haunted House!" From Uncanny Tales #7, reprinted in Chamber of Chills #15, art by Joe Maneely. In this 1953 version, there's the added wrinkle of the house disappearing as well afterwards, which only works if you're new to the neighborhood or not very observant. It's not bad, but I have to admit, if I could get Ditko to re-draw one of my stories, why not? I'm not bagging on Stan, either--this is from the era when they figured the pool of comics readers turned over every so often, so this would be new to the new crop of readers.

I've mentioned before that I've read a good amount of Marvel horror, a spot of EC's reprints, and almost none of DC or other companies output. How to remedy that...try hitting up The Horrors of It All, which has a bloody ton, as it were, of horror comics, news, and links to old public domain movies. Finally saw Dementia 13 over there the other day. Check it out, and there's a couple more new sites in the sidebar, too. I have to finish up on tomorrow's post, so check now! Read more!

Pre-emptively defending a character I'm about to mock later...

Shoot, it's Monday? Holiday or no, I guess I should get to writing here...I had something else planned for today too, but then I got to thinking about the homemade comic I've got ready for Wednesday (really need a better name for those) because I make fun of a character I really, really like: Marlene Alraune, from Moon Knight.

As quick as I can: Marlene's dad was the archeologist who discovered the statue of Khonshu, Egyptian god of vengeance (or justice, depending on when you ask). Her dad then got killed by the mercenary Bushman, who also killed fellow merc Marc Spector. Spector, however, was either not quite dead, or brought back to life by Khonshu, again depending on when you ask. Spector became Moon Knight, and started a long-term relationship with Marlene.

Now, Marlene may have started as a pretty traditional girlfriend character, she quickly became both more supportive and more helpful. Mary Jane Watson seems about as supportive as J.Jonah Jameson when compared to Marlene. For example, let's check out Moon Knight #10, first series, "Too Many Midnights" Written by Doug Moench, art by Bill Sienkiewicz. This was still pretty early in their run, but well on the right track.

Deep in the sewers of New York, Moon Knight has just beaten the glorified cat burglar the Midnight Man (no, not that one!) only to discover it was all a trap orchestrated by his first villain, Bushman. Bushman's already flooding the trap, has MK's butler Samuels hanging from a rope in the waterfall, and has smashed up the aforementioned statue of Khonshu.

Bushman is working on the theory that by leaving Spector for dead in the desert, he created Moon Knight, at least as much as any stupid statue. It works pretty quickly: Marc had already lost his "extra strength," as Marlene mentions on the next page, so it probably didn't take much to shatter his remaining faith in Khonshu or himself.

While Marlene and Frenchie begin to search the sewers, the panicked Midnight Man threatens MK at gunpoint to find a way out of their trap. That at least wakes him up for a moment, and he pulls it together long enough to loosen bricks and pull the plug on the rising water.

The Midnight Man escapes first, leaving Moon Knight to rescue the bound Samuels. (Interestingly, I always thought of Samuels as just a butler, but I think in the recent Charlie Huston relaunch, he was a bit more Alfred-like, helping maintain some of the equipment.) They end up washed into the river, and Marlene and Frenchie find only his cloak.

Although neither are badly hurt, Spector is losing it, clutching the head of Khonshu and babbling, and Samuels can't convince him that he's not a failure. Spector wanders off, and Samuels gets back home to tell Marlene the good news that her boyfriend's alive, but insane.

Marlene sets the rest of Moon Knight's informants to look for him, and they don't have as much luck as you'd expect in finding a lunatic in a silver costume talking to a statue's severed head. Bushman escalates his crimewave, spinning newspaper-style, as the city believes Moon Knight either dead or deserted.

Spector is finally found, after several days of not eating and complaining about his multiple personalities. Taken back to his mansion (or rather, Steven Grant's, his millionaire identity) he laments that Spector, Grant, Lockley, and Moon Knight were "a four-faced fake, like the four phases of the moon, and the phoney moon god, phoney Khonshu...a fake all along..."

Marlene then admits he's right. About Khonshu being a fake:

Revitalized, Spector costumes up again, and wraps up Bushman in about four pages.

In the end, Marc suspects Marlene may have tricked him: was the original statue destroyed, and she had a replica made afterwards? Or was this still the original statue? Marlene shrugs it off: if he really wanted to know, he could have it carbon-dated. Marc admits he doesn't really want to know.

Now, I'm a pretty staunch defender of the Spider-marriage, but try to imagine how this would've played out if Spidey lost his powers and his faith: I really can't picture Mary Jane going out of her way to get Peter back in action. In fact, I rather see her giving Pete the want ads and getting him settled into a nice day job somewhere instead. (To be fair, I do recall once or twice MJ looking for a lost Spidey, like during Kraven's Last Hunt.) But Marlene knows Moon Knight is not only doing good, it's what Spector needs to do, and she supports him on it.

Of course, since this is comics, Marlene ended up in her underwear a lot more often than Marc did, but that's another post. Read more!

Like Gary Larson, you can file this under, 'it was late and I was tired.'

Cretacious Sam
Originally uploaded by googum

Damn near got a little vest on him, too.

Anyway, I seem to be settling into a four day a week blogging schedule. I haven't had as much time as I would like to actually sit down and read comics, possibly because I keep playing with toys.

I'm hoping to get a new toy-comic posted every Wednesday until I burn out. I have three done, which gives me a little lead time. The other posts will be getting back into the back issue and quarter bins...as soon as I clear out some space.

This is based on the classic Nightcrawler #4 from Dave Cockrum, one of my favorite comics ever. The original is here, and I had wanted to do this for a while. Finding that hat took me a damn while, though.
Read more!

Speedy's Intervention

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The Speedy action figure is from the Teen Titans line from Bandai, was it? And Aqualad, Red X, and Speedy all got figures in that scale before Raven and Starfire...hell, did Raven and Starfire ever get 5-inch figures?




This one is inspired by one of Lorendiac's Lists over at CBR's Comics Should Be Good: Who Knows Batman is Bruce Wayne? In the DCU, sometimes it feels like just. About. Everybody.

There's a fair number on that list that learn the secret, then are promptly killed, usually in the same issue or storyline. Then there's several villains that learn it, then get mindwiped or placed in a position where they can't or won't use it. (R'as al Ghul is probably the main one there: I didn't read his recent crossover, but I'm pretty sure there's more damaging things he could do then just sending a bunch of ninjas over to Bruce Wayne's house.)

Then there's the heroes, wives, hangers-on, etc. There's probably some that he would just as soon not know--I don't think he would lose any sleep if Green Arrow, Hawkman, or Hal Jordan suddenly forgot. But then, I think there's probably a few--a very small number, I'd imagine--that he's actually OK with knowing. Maybe it's because he's taking an interest in their career or training; but maybe, just maybe, Batman needs a couple of kids to know Bruce Wayne is Batman and think he's cool. That's a side of Batman that Dick or Tim would never see: some dads are incredibly strict with their kids, yet polite and friendly and easy-going with their kids' friends. And why shouldn't they be? The dad doesn't have the same expectations for them.

Hmm, a lot of thought into some jokes with some toys. How about this: Speedy was, without question, the worst 'actor' I've worked with so far. Not a ton of range on his arms. The bed is two cheapo dollhouse beds shoved together the wrong way, and I wasted a ton of time looking for the lamp accessory from a Peter Parker Spider-Man movie figure. Thought it would pull the bedroom together a bit more, but oh well. Read more!

So, 'Speedy=Junkie' is still the key takeaway from this one.

I swear this just happened: I misdialed and got the Illinois Dyslexia Association, or some such. Now I'm worried.



Anyway, even though I love this cover something fierce, I don't have even a reprint version of this issue, although I have several of the ones before and after it. I'm not positive I've ever read it, for that matter. (Thus, cover yanked from GCD.) I have a vague feeling that I've read part of it, but that could have just been excerpts from a blog or something.

But by this point...I'm not sure I should read Green Lantern/Green Arrow #85. Let me explain in a roundabout manner: ever see the movie the Omega Man? It's generally reviled as not a very good adaptation of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend and Charlton Heston doesn't seem to mix well with the faux-blaxploitation feel of the movie, either. The thing is, it was one of those movies that I could never see: every time it was on, I'd miss half or more of it, or something would happen during it.

Finally in college, I rented the damn thing, unplugged the phone, waited for my roommate to go to work, and watched it. And was crushingly disappointed to realize I had only missed about five minutes total of the movie: I had convinced myself there was an extra reel of Heston machine-gunning down hooded zombies. Hell, I'd watch that if it was filmed today.

The Wife and I did something similiar with the movie Audition, which we heard great things about, it made that list, blah blah blah. It took us well over a year to get it, and it was...pretty scary, I guess. But maybe not as scary as what was in our heads. Lesson learned: sometimes, it's better to leave a legend be, and let your imagination carry the day.

Of course, I say all this, but if I found a copy or reprint of GL/GA #85 I'd so buy it. Maybe it would finally give me an appreciation for Speedy, since I'm not a big Teen Titans fan, and thus don't much care for him. (I did like the animated versions in both Teen Titans and Justice League Unlimited, though.) It's not a fair impression, but I can't shake the picture of Speedy as the Eddie Haskell of the DC Universe.

Why do I bring this up? And yes, I do have a Speedy action figure, but maybe not the one you would think...

Man, love that Neal Adam's cover. And the original issue is just about exactly as old as I am. Weird. Read more!

I probably should've set up a tag for it a while ago, but I have a lot of last issues, for a lot of books. Books cancelled before their time, books cancelled before another reboot, books cancelled because they never had a chance. Marc Spector: Moon Knight #60 feels like it was cancelled because the artist had better things to do..."The Final Phase" Written by Terry Kavanagh, art by Stephen Platt.

I never read a lot of the Marc Spector: Moon Knight, partly because it was just another book in the 90's glut, and like Nick Fury this book was nowhere near as good as past versions. Still, I had wanted to read this issue for a while, since Moon Knight dies and stays dead for a few years from here, and because I remembered Wizard back in the day, when it was acceptable to read it, hyping up artist Stephen Platt as the next big thing. And I can see why: some of his shots are very dynamic, McFarlane-esque, except without Todd's charm, design sense, or readability. I think, probably like some other bloggers, that I'm a little uncomfortable criticizing art; in that it's not like I could do any better. True, but...

This book is a mess. Granted, I haven't read all the previous issues, and have no idea who the Hellbent or Cadre or whoever are (and I don't think they ever appeared again) or what's the deal with Spectorcorp (and it's subsidiary, Phalkoncorp) and I don't care.

The only supporting cast Moon Knight really needs (besides his alternate identities like Jake Lockley), are Frenchie and Marlene; who are both there but both almost unrecognizable. Frenchie's never referred to as such, his proper name Jean-Paul is used instead, and he's apparently developed super-powers as part of yet another hidden enclave of super-powered loons. For good measure, he spends the issue in Professor X's floating wheelchair. And yet, there were fans that pitched a bloody fit when he was revealed to be gay, even though there wasn't a lot to support that in the early issues. Yeah, like the 'Bloodline Agenda' was telegraphed from issue one.

Marlene is there, just drawn really, really badly.

I should mention that I've seen better art since from Platt, but at the time I believe he was hustling his way through this to go do Prophet or something for Image.

After Moon Knight's death this issue, Doug Moench would bring him back a few years later. I'm not sure, but I think Moench passed his death off as a dream. I'd have to re-read it, nice Tommy Edwards art on it as well. But, if a comic is bad enough, the fans will accept any explanation to get back to good stories...

Tim O'Neil had a pretty good write-up a while back on the Essential Moon Knight, and that reminds me: he's got a book out, and it's worth checking out to see if it's for you. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, but the preview is compelling.

I'm dogging it today: the Oldest and I have been playing the classic Marvel Super Heroes PS1 game. Love it. Borrowed it from my brother-in-law, and I'm gonna have a hard time giving it back... Read more!

Thirteen things you probably won't see in Batman comics anymore, ever.

Recently, a friend gave me a box of comics he hadn't been able to unload at a garage sale, since he knew I'd give 'em a good home. And of course I will, since there's no way I could give up a copy of Batman #315, "Danger on the Wing!" Seriously. If I had five copies and you had none, I'd still have to really, really think about it. It's a problem. (Written by Len Wein, art by Irv Novick and Frank McLaughlin.)

Anyway, this box had some recent Winick issues, a couple All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder, and I think most of the Joker: Last Laugh limited from a few years back, yet I kept coming back to Batman #315. I think it's because there's so much in this comic that we just don't see from Batman anymore. It's a 1979 issue, but it might as well be 1949 for as much relevance it has. Let's count off some things that are no longer welcome in Batman comics:

1. From the splash page, the overwrought narration makes a little simile that Batman is like a protective parent to Gotham; then flips it: Batman is a child of the violence of Gotham. Yeah, currently I don't think anything about Batman is allowed to be childlike, or compared to a child; for fear that adult readers will suddenly realize it's kind of dumb for a grown man to dress up like a bat to avenge his parents' deaths. (One of the Batman/Punisher crossovers had the Joker pointing out that Batman was obviously traumatized as a kid, since he was trying to deal with crime like a kid; while the Punisher was as an adult, and solved problems with guns. It made Batman seem like a wounded little man-child, which he probably is; while making the Punisher seem hardcore and not at all psychotic. God, I probably paid five bucks for both parts of that crossover. I'm sure the thought of those comics will keep me warm in my old age.)

2. Huh. The splash page looked like just a dramatic image of Batman looming over the city, symbolically. In a tiny panel on page 2, we realize Batman's looming over a bottled model of Gotham City. Little models and/or giant replicas of things aren't as welcome anymore, although it's one of those things that would be unbelievably weak if say, Winick tried it, but Grant Morrison could make it sing.

3. Batman faces a generic thug with "nunchaku." What's the accepted spelling on those now? Nunchuks? They were probably big five years before this issue hit the stands, now only popular with children destined for chipped teeth. Bats gets steamed since he's been threatened with them twice in one month...by that logic, he should be homicidally enraged by guns, or even squirting flowers.

4. On the roof, a thug somehow managed to fold a set of blueprints into a kite, then send it on it's way to Kite-Man before being captured by Batman. (Admittedly, it appears he brought the tail and remote control frame in for it.) Origami-Man surrenders without a fight, presumably unwilling to risk harming his expert hands. But do you see that anymore? Or does Batman have to punch-out, gas, drug, club, chase down, and/or possibly tase every single thug now? I miss seeing the occasional chicken thug, who would throw up his hands like he just didn't care at the first sight of Batman, electing instead to keep his teeth.

5. Subplot pages! Lucius Fox is worried about his relationship with his son and his son's bad crowd, when he realizes he's being followed again. So he does what anyone would do: Puts his stalker in a headlock, that's what! Hell, yeah. Lucius does get a judo flip for his trouble, but he's pretty game for a middle-aged executive type. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure Lucius has got more love from the movie and the new cartoon than he has in the last umpteen years in the comics. Also, I just realized Robbie Robertson over in Amazing Spider-Man had almost the exact same subplot about his son.

6. The subplot pages mention an airline's payroll coming into Gotham, so of course on the next page it's due to be robbed. Comics aren't getting any more subtle, but in this age of decompression, there's usually at least a couple more pages between introduction of the Macguffin and the theft attempt. Kite-Man uses a series of fireworks kites as a distraction so his crew can walk in the front door. So, if you're going to commit any kind of crime in Gotham, I would suggest leaving a kite or a riddle or a 22-cent stamp or something at the scene. While Batman hunts down the usual suspects, you should have plenty of time to flee town.

7. Bruce has a lunch date with Selina Kyle, the reformed pre-Crisis non-prostitute Catwoman. She's figured out Bruce had a background check run on her, pretty innovative for 1979, although I'm not sure why since he would've known anything the cops knew about her. Selina throws a drink in his face and splits. It's really more a sign of the times than anything, but the book seemed to be laboring under the misconception that Selina, trying to go straight, would be having trouble getting a job, a boyfriend, etc. It doesn't help that both she and Bruce are drawn with some of the worst civilian clothes ever.

8. I like this late-model Batmobile, a slight update of the classic TV show style. Nowadays, Batman has to drive some kind of tank/SUV thing. I miss the sportier models that didn't take up three lanes on the highway.

9. The airline's apparently paying off it's employees in small untraceable bills, as opposed to, I don't know, checks or something. Reminds me of a Blue Devil issue where the Trickster tries to rob a bank in midair, only to be shown later the money being moved separately by armored car.

10. Kite-man gases the payroll guards, with one of them exclaiming "Nerve gas!" Which only knocks the guards out, as opposed to paralysis or vomiting and death. This is why he never got a return engagement: a triple-digit body count is practically mandatory for Batman's rouges' gallery. Oh, well, that and the kites, I guess.

11. Batman goes after Kite-man with a bat-shaped glider, as opposed to the Bat-plane, Bat-copter, that whirly-bat thing he used to unfold out of the Batmobile...ah, the whirly-bat. It's like Iron Man's roller skates: when you see them, you have a pretty good idea when that comic came out. They're also so dated and cheesy and fun, that it'll never come back again.

12. Knowing Kite-man is a better hang-glider than he is, Batman takes precautions. Now, while Batman's planning has reached megalomaniac levels in the last several years, it is currently unacceptable for Batman to admit not being the be-all end-all best at everything he does, has done, or will do. Even kite flying.
In a modern comic, Batman would've foiled Kite-man's scheme with a Wayne Industries hyperlight kevlar-weave superconductive...throw in at least three more science words there, glider, beating him at his own game and then pummelling him before poor Kitey has a chance to even start crying. Sort of like Richie Rich, Batman solves his problems by throwing money at them while making you feel like dirt.

13. The next issue box...do Batman comics even have those anymore? Do any comics?...hypes up next month's return of Robin. Fair enough. And the "incredible menace of Crazy Quilt!" Well, good luck with that.

Different times, different times. I understand Kite-Man was killed and possibly eaten in one of the big event books or One Year Later or somewhere, which is as unnecessary as killing off the Ten-Eyed Man or the Bug-Eyed Bandit. No emotional involvement, not enough name recognition to mean anything to the readers, except as a trivia question. I like the idea of Kite-Man as a point man for really specialized criminals, and that anyone in Gotham that becomes the best at something is going to try and use it for crime. Best croquet player? Get a costume! Win a lot of eBay auctions? Mask up!

Also, I'm positive it's terrible, but there's a note in this issue about Kite-Man fighting Hawkman. Now, that would've been well before his current "Conan-with-wings" turn, but it would still take some guts to fight Hawkman--a guy with an anti-gravity belt, really--when all you've got is a hang-glider. Oh, and a bunch of crappy kite gimmicks. Never mind. Read more!

Fantastic Fill-In

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Old comics start here!

This whole sequence is based on a throwaway comment by Chris Sims (of Invincible Super-Blog fame) on the upcoming Mark Millar/Bryan Hitch Fantastic Four, to the effect of "for Fantastic Four to be Marvel’s flagship title, it really oughtta be on the stands more than three times a year." While I agree, I'm probably even less hopeful for the best than he is, especially since I dropped eight bucks on the last two issues of the Unfunnies, at a rate of about $2.16 per minute of reading them.

Anyway, I took the whole thing as Ben and Johnny are gonna have a lot of free time on their hands...






Still, all sarcasm aside, here's hoping it's good. And there is something to be said for not having the same rotation of villains all the time. We'll see. Read more!

It's a little bit funny: I first saw the ads for the Steel Claw in Quality/Fleetway Judge Dredd reprints, around 1986 or so. While I was interested, I never saw the book, until a visit to a comic shop in Vegas when I got married, in 2003. And if I had given it any thought at all, I would've surmised those stories were reprints from 2000 AD, when in fact they were even older. Wikipedia had the breakdown of the Claw's publishing history, which was far more extensive than I would have thought. I was also surprised at the notion of the Steel Claw's international appeal; since I had only heard of it once, I had no idea. I also didn't know he appeared in the Alan Moore plotted Albion. Huh.

There is a good hook to it, as it were: Lab assistant Lewis Randell (Louis Crandell in the originals) has an artificial hand, the titular Steel Claw, as the result of a lab accident. This alone would be about four issues in modern comics, but it thankfully it's done by the first page here. Caught in another accident, Randell gains the power of invisibility, with two catches: he has to 'charge' the invisibility with an electrical shock, which doesn't affect him adversely; and the Claw itself remains visible. Although he doesn't seem all that stable before the accident either, Randell has what would be later charitably be called a psychotic break, and decides to use his newfound power for world domination. Pretty ambitious for a guy that's just mostly invisible.

Most of Randell's plans involve blackmail, such as him invisibly sabotaging stuff, then sending demands. Either because of the nature of his powers--Randell has to physically be there to cause the damage, then leave himself time to bail out--or because the future direction of the strip was already known, most of the trouble he causes doesn't do a lot of harm: usually, a quick-witted person at the scene puts the brakes on before anyone gets hurt. It builds up to the nuclear blackmail of New York City, and the army in place to try and stop the Claw from escaping before it blows.

Since he's the villain, Randell shouldn't be a heroic figure, especially since he's a bit of a loon for this sequence. But you can see why the Steel Claw became so popular: it's a straightforward adventure strip, immediate and exciting. The Claw's powers give out at the worst times, and it's a chess match between him and his old boss with a literal bomb ticking in the background.

After a brief coda with the mob trying to recruit the Claw, Randell is cured of his criminal insanity. He tries to return to a normal life, only to be framed by a mad scientist who had turned himself into a Mr. Hyde-style apeman. And painted his hand silver. Look, at the time, it probably wasn't much of a leap in logic to think maybe the guy that used to turn invisible might've mutated or something; and the authorities would doubtless have said guy that also threatened to blow up New York high on their list of suspects for anything.

By the fourth reprint issue, Randell is a secret agent, though investigator might be a better term--even invisible, "former nuclear blackmailer" is going to give him a higher Q rating than James Bond or Nick Fury put together. He's a superhero without a costume, though I understand he'd eventually end up with one; and the Claw itself can now be operated by remote control. Somehow. "Remote control" could probably have been replaced with "psychic link" without damaging any credibility there.

The Steel Claw's overseas popularity reminds me of another personal favorite, the Go Nagai giant robot cartoon Grandizer, which was Grendizer in the original, and known in various countries as Goldorak and Goldrake. It's barely a footnote here, yet it was quite successful elsewhere in the world. And both seem ripe for an update: both series were entertaining, remembered fondly, yet without the baggage of years of continuity and minutiae-obsessed fans. While it might be a little effects-heavy, I could absolutely picture a successful Steel Claw TV show. You could get a season or two alone out of his villainous days, and I like and identify a bit with the framing sequences' portrayal of Randell as an older gentleman a bit embarrassed by the excesses of his youth.

Of course, like Steve Austin, Ashley Williams, and Luke Skywalker, the Steel Claw is another fictional amputee with a prosthesis that seemed way better than the original hand. Even with all the medical advances since, it still doesn't work like that. Disappointing, that. Reprinted in the Steel Claw #1, script by H. Ken Bulmer, art by Jesus Blasco. Read more!

Seriously, I hadn't been sure Mr. Miracle had ever got to 25 issues before.

I mentioned this one the other day, so let's take a quick run at it: Mister Miracle #25, "Doom unto Others...!" Written by Steve Gerber, art by Mike Golden, inks by Russ Heath. Pretty good lineup there: I always think of Englehart and Rogers as being the team of note after Kirby, so I wasn't expecting this. And, some of this issue actually reflects a little on the character of Scott Free even today.

The issue opens immediately after Scott Free has made a dramatic escape at Hoover Dam, but instead of his usual showman's bow, he gives a little speech about how forces in the universe will try to bind them, but "Escape is possible!"

Watching from Apokolips, Darkseid notes that Miracle is too unpredictable and dangerous now that he's "forsworn his allegiance to New Genesis." Did anyone else ever wonder, why did Scott have any allegiance to New Genesis? Sure, it's the land of his birth, and the ostensible good guys; but they're also the ones that traded him to Apokolips in a pact. I don't feel that he owes them the time of day.

Darkseid calls in the hit on Miracle, and Granny Goodness...man, I have never been able to work past that name. Granny sends a trio of fliers out, which Miracle takes out in a suitably dramatic encore. Although it's noted a couple of times already that Scott is working up his presentation as a messiah for the people, he points out in his interior monologue that it's "strictly secular." Best guess is it's not a faith-based initiative, but almost a 'live up to your potential' thing. I personally can't imagine anything more discouraging than getting a Tony Robbins speech from Criss Angel: "I broke free from this straitjacket, so can you!" Um, I don't have laser jets in my shoes, so no, I can't. Sorry to be so negative, but there it is.

As Miracle explains to his PR guy and the reader how he escaped--which I always thought was kind of boring, since it's usually blah blah Mother Box blah blah concealed laser blah reverse phase blah blah blah--the scene shifts to a family apparently seen last issue. A young woman, Alianna, displays almost supernatural physical discipline and control, to the dismay of her father. Her mother, however, is encouraging like a coach. An East German women's gymnastics coach, but that's still sort of encouraging.

Injured ten years ago in a car wreck, and still in agony to this day, Alianna developed (over-developed, if she's supposed to be a fifteen year old as noted in the dialog) incredible inner strength. The mom encourages it, seeing her daughter as what she herself could have become if she had received the chance and not married young. The dad points out his daughter is detached and emotionless, but his argument is trumped by Granny Goodness offering the mom "advanced tutelage" for Alianna. Yeah, even though she's trained Alianna for selfish reasons, the mom had a couple of good points, and probably isn't any more harsh a trainer than Batman, but siding with Granny pokes a big hole in her argument.

Granny sics Alianna on Mr. Miracle, who at first thinks she's as strong as his wife Barda. But, he soon realizes Alianna's real strength is an instinct for pressing weakness, "like a living trap!" She also proves strong enough to take a punch in the face from Scott, and beats him. Granny appears and scolds Alianna for not killing Scott, but Alianna calmly explains that wasn't her deal, and she prefers to compete against herself.

Granny begins to strangle Alianna, explaining that she could never be one of Darkseid's warriors, since pain is too useful in motivating them: Alianna is in control of hers, she's of no further use. Scott, playing possum, gives Granny an elbow to the gut, making it two women he's slugged this issue. Fleeing slowly via boom tube, Granny says Alianna's parents are doomed since she failed, and that if Scott's going to be a messiah, there's going to be an anti-Christ coming for him eventually.

Alianna was an interesting character, or could've been anyway, but I'm not even sure she appeared in the next issue, or how many more issues Mr. Miracle ran. Scott's run for messiah was never really clarified in this issue either: I figure he was probably trying to rally Earth against Darkseid, but it was probably dropped when this series ended. I'm more used to Scott as escape artist showman/work-a-day superhero, as he was in Justice League, than either this angle or the security/locksmith position he seems to have been shoved into since Identity Crisis or so.

By the way, Big Barda barely appears in this issue, and Golden doesn't draw her as 'big' as she probably should be; but between her design and Alianna you can see elements that would show up again in Micronauts.

Man alive, it feels like that's the first actual comics post I've done in a while. I haven't read Death of the New Gods yet, although I've read most of Kirby's Mister Miracle and New Gods, and have pulled a lot of the later attempts for both out of the quarter boxes. That's not to say there aren't some good ones in there, but as far as the whole Fourth World thing goes, I could get by with just Scott, Barda, Orion, Darkseid, and maybe Kanto. What? Kanto's cool.

Anyway, I think Justice League Unlimited was on the right track in blending those characters in with the larger DC universe. Otherwise, they're out by themselves and don't have the pull for it--remember Genesis? Not if you're lucky, you don't.

Tomorrow: a non-Marvel, non-DC, non-toy post! Weird, huh? Read more!

Striking while the One More Day outrage is still fresh...

Page 1
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The song at the beginning, for those of you under 30 or not big Flintstones fans, is "Open Up Your Heart and Let the Sun Shine In." I'm not 100% sure it was specifically written to be sung by Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm, but I'm more a fan of Frente's cover of it on Saturday Morning's Greatest Hits. Because I'm sappy.




Credit where credit's due first: Daredevil panel from Daredevil #266, "A Beer with the Devil" Written by Ann Nocenti, pencilled and co-plotted by John Romita Jr., inks by Al Williamson.

Surfer and "Nova" panels from Silver Surfer #99, "Temptation: Love" (It's "Lust" on the cover.) Written by Ron Marz, pencils by Jim Hall, inks by Bob Almovd.

Nightcrawler panels from Nightcrawler #12, "Happy Birthday, Kurt!" Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, pencils by Darick Robertson, inks by Rodney Ramos. If anyone else has this issue, please leave a comment and prove I'm not the only one who bought it...

So, One More Day: Does it occur to anyone that a deal with the devil might just be an occupational hazard for someone like Spidey? I mean, he's met Norse gods like Thor, Greek gods like Hercules, space gods like Galactus or the Beyonder; and assorted devils, demons, and mythological creatures. All of whom seem to have a lot more influence on his world than any sort of capital-G God; and Spider-Man probably doesn't think of Mephisto as "the devil," but just as another powerful being in a universe full of them. So, is dealing with Mephisto any different than working with Thor or Hercules? Man, there's a can of worms I'm not looking forward to being opened: I have this feeling someone is going to get it in their heads that Spidey's deal is the result of secular humanism and no prayer in school and pitch a fit...

I don't think the changes in "One More Day" were either necessary or irreversible, but what's more troubling is how terribly done it was. Mephisto? Really? Even though there had been a recent story setting up Loki as owing Spidey a favor? It would've been absolutely in character for Loki to save Aunt May by dicking over Peter and Mary Jane's marriage; and all without the stigma of the devil. God, I just can't get over how dumb that is.

I'm not a fan of Mephisto as a character either, but I did just remember a long run of Thor where he had Thor's soul in a bag in hell. About as dramatic as it sounds, yeah. That was during Tom DeFalco's run, and set up the Jake Olsen replacement Thor, which admittedly wasn't as terrible as I thought at the time. So, there's a precedent to using Mephisto as the deus ex machina to set up the stories a writer or editor wants to tell.

So, One More Day sucked, but then again I haven't bought an issue of the regular Marvel Universe Spider-Man for about three years, barring any I've dug out of the quarter bins, which admittedly might be a few. I don't know if "Brand New Day" is going to explode out of the gate, but I think eventually it will be good enough to wash the taste of this mess away. Maybe.

A big thanks to Everyday is Like Wednesday, where there's an excellent "Guided Tour of One More Day," that'll tell you anything else you need to know about it. Such a great site, it ended up in my sidebar twice for some reason...

Mephisto was my first toy purchase for 2008. Yeah, that bodes well for the rest of the year. And I bought it from a store I don't particularly like to support: it was on sale, but I still feel like I sold my soul there. How appropriate. Read more!

Sinister Setback

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Even though this is based on comics from around 1986, and predates Spidey's marriage to Mary Jane, it too may have been wiped out or altered or whatever by One More Day. Super. Well, more on that later.

Tomorrow is my youngest son's birthday, so we'll see if I get anything posted or not. Coming up later: the first toys of 2008!...both of which have been out for who knows how long, but ok. And that Mr. Miracle issue, and other actual, factual comic posts. And more homemade toy-comic nonsense. Read more!

2007 Year in Toys, that's an easy post...

For the start of the year, I like to look back at last year's total of toy purchases. Here's the the 2006 list for comparison purposes. As usual, the numbers are a little fuzzy: some prices include tax, some don't. Some of the toys I've bought for my sons are included or noted, but I took a lot of them out. Random toys like capsule or gashopons are also included, and this year, I bought more capsule robots than I did McFarlane Toys, which I thought was odd since I usually get at least one in there somewhere.

1-2 First toy of 2007: Luke Cage, ML, $5, Walmart
1-12 Transformers Attacktix, $2, Walmart (Also Scion Skids Alternator for the Oldest's birthday, $7)
1-16 Brainiac, DCSH, $5.43, Walmart.
2-13 Marvel Gashopon, 2 Mystique, $2, got a full set!
2-15 Caretaker, Ghost Rider movie, $9.99; (Nightcrawler Figure Factory for Oldest, $3.50) K-Mart
2-17 King Kong Gashopon, sucky guy, $1
2-21 JLU Supergirl (and Steel for Oldest!) $2.69 each, Shopco
3-10 Sebastian 'the King' Haff, aka Bruce Campbell Elvis from Bubba Ho-Tep, $10.98, Spencers
3-23 Hot Wheels Batmobile, $.99, Fred Mayers
3-26 2 more Batmobiles, $.99 each, Walmart
3-27 WWF Ring, $5, Walmart
3-30 ML Loki, $5.50, Figure Factory Nightcrawler and Blade $1.60 each, total 8.70, K-Mart
4-7 From the Oldest: Mega Man figures (Dollar Tree?)
4-13 HML Yellowjacket and Quicksilver, $21.61, (and Cap/Hawkeye Superhero Squad for youngest, $5.88) Walmart
4-21 Grindhouse Cherry, $14.95, Spencers
4-27 Venom sponge toy, $1, Dollar Tree
5-1 Star Wars Coin Album w/Darth Vader, $4, Walmart
5-23 Minimates Riot Attack Spider-Man/Spider-Woman, $1.24, Target
5-24 First Appearance DC Direct Warlord, $15.99, Comic Book Shop
6-15 Hellboy Animated w/DVD, $17.99, Best Buy
6-15 Transformer, (Beast Wars Lion) for Oldest, $.75, Yard sale
6-21 Robot Heroes Optimus and Ravage for Youngest, $4, Walmart
6-30 Finding Nemo Gil, Toy Story Woody, Disney Mini-Blister gashopon, $2, Azteca restaurant with Wife and Youngest
7-15 Duplicate capsule toys, $1.50, at Pirates 3 with family
7-17 HML Thor, $9.99, Target (Plus 'Ganesh' for the Wife!)
7-18 Nightcrawler lead figure, $12, The Comic Book Shop
7-20 2 Kong Gashopon--the guy again! $2
7-25 Marvel Toys Legendary Heroes Madman, $9.96 Walmart, part of anniversary present! To me, duh.
7-31 Figure Factory Mr. Fantastic, $.70, K-Mart
8-1 Happy Birthday! The Wife got me MTLH Judge Dredd and Witchblade, $19.96 Walmart. 2 Marvel gashopon, $2
8-14? Marvel Select Cloak and Dagger, $4.75, Hastings. Yard Sale toys for youngest, $1
8-30 MTLH SuperPatriot and Savage Dragon, $19.96, two different Walmarts
9-2 Tiny Devil Ducks, $1.08, Boo Radleys
9-14 MTLH Ripclaw, $5.40, Walmart. A-Team Hannibal Smith, $.10, yard sale
9-16 Spongebob Capsule, $.50, Wonderland (go-karting)
9-18 3 capsule Robots, Battletech-style, $1.50
9-21 Fisher Price Toys for Youngest: silo, school, awesome. $1, yard sale
10-1 Disneyland! 2 minipacks, $10 (X-Wing, Mickey as Luke, R2; Star Tours, Darth Maul, Falcon!) and Donald Duck as Han Solo, $8
10-4 through 11-02 12 capsule robots, $6
10-9 Thor and Beast Attacktik, $1.74, Shopco
10-10 S-Mart Ash, $15.99, Hot Topic
10-17 Stargate Vala Mal Doren, $11.24, Hastings
10-18 Transformers High Score 100, $6.83, Target
10-20 DC Direct Blackhawk, $11.24, Hastings
10-20 HML 'Diamond' White Queen, ML Longshot, $9.47, Toys R Us
10-25 HML Marvel Girl (Rachel), $9.96, Walmart
10-31 MTLH Conan and Wrarrl, $19.40, Walmart (misplaced in the little kids aisle, next to the Marvel/DC kids toys. The Body Bags set is still there...)
11-15 DC Direct Booster Gold, $15.99, Comic Book Shop
11-21 DC Direct First Appearances Blue Beetle, $6.99, Suncoast
12-1 HML She-Hulk, $9.99 Fred Mayers
12-3 Superhero Squad Nightcrawler/Juggernaut, $4.74, Walmart
12-14 HML Black Knight, $11.95, Comic Book Shop
12-25 Merry Christmas! The Wife got me the old school "Where No Man Has Gone Before" Captain Kirk with chair!
12-26 DCD Kingdom Come Jade, $3.74, Hastings
12-28 DCSH Lex Luthor, $5.00, Fred Mayers
12-30 Mezco Hellboy's Roger, $8; Stargate Col. Mitchell, $7.50, Hastings
12-31 HFF Invisible Woman $3, HML Cable & Marvel Girl $5, Wal-Mart (plus presents for my sons that I won't mention in case they're reading. They're great!)
Year end total: $426.09

A depressing realization: out of the most expensive toys I bought this year, three have broken parts: S-Mart Ash (the light on the cart), Grindhouse Cherry (the tip of the machine gun leg), and Sebastian Haff (his walker, a total loss). Ash and Cherry were the result of falls (multiple falls, in the case of Cherry) and the Youngest got ahold of the walker.

The total's down a bit this year, probably as a result of less Marvel Legend-style product on the shelves: in 2006, Toy Biz was finishing with the license and put a ton of stuff out. I didn't buy a lot of Transformers either: my oldest has a pretty big set, but we didn't see as many of the movie ones as all that. Same with DC Super Heroes: I would probably have bought a blue-outfit Supergirl, Two-Face, and Catwoman, if only I saw them on the shelves.

I thought I was going to have a hard time finding any, but I bought that Hot Wheels Batmobile for myself, the kids, and my nephews; like seven times.

Next, I should try and figure out which toys I bought for single-panel jokes... Read more!

1-2 First toy of 2008: Marvel Select Mephisto! $12.99, Suncoast. Also, Mole Man, Hasbro Fantastic Four, $3, Wal-Mart.

1-11 Demon, Orion, DC Universe Classics. $9.99 each, Target. 2 of 5 Collect and connect "Element Man" (Metamorpho).

1-30 Catchup: First Appearance Iron Man, $6.25 with postage, eBay. HFF Namor, $5, Wal-Mart. (The Oldest got Dr. Doom!)

1-31 Batman, Red Tornado, Penquin, DCUC, $29.97 Target. Completed "Element Man."

2-1, 2-2: Spencer's Clearance: Pirates of the Caribbean Captain Jack, DC Direct Batman Beyond, Planet Terror Cherry and Dakota; $5 each, $20 total.

2-15 DC Direct JSA Hourman, $3.75, Hastings.

3-2 POTC Captain Barbosa, $3.75, Hastings.

3-7 Hasbro Marvel Legends Hydra Agent, $9.99, Wal-Mart.

3-16 Superman: Through the Ages boxset, $12.50, Hastings. (That's about $3.13 a piece for four different Supermen!)

3-22 Iron Man, movie MkIII, $9.99 Toys R Us.

3-25 2 Superhero Squad Spider-Man's, (for the Youngest and myself), and Super-Soaker candy, $6.49, Target.

3-28 Iron Monger (first edition), $9.99, Fred Meyers.

5-3 DCUC Firestorm, $13.99, the Comic Book Shop, 1 of 5 C&C Gorilla Grodd.

5-6 Movie Masters Batman, $11.47, Wal-Mart.

5-8 DC Direct Superhero Squad (Earth-2) Batman, $14.99, Suncoast.

5-16 V for Vendetta, NECA, $7, Hastings.

5-31 Zoidberg, Futurama, $6.99, Hot Topic.

6-1 DCUC Aquaman, $9.99, Toys R Us. 2 of 5 Grodd.

6-3 Legendary Heroes Panda and Clownface, $5, Wal-Mart.

6-15 Happy Father's Day! The family got me Black Manta (the Comic Book Shop, $13.99)...he killed Aquaman's kid. Huh.

6-17 Speed Racer Big Sounds Mach V, $7, Wal-Mart.

7-1 DC Direct Jonah Hex, the Comic Book Shop, $15.99.

7-17 Target Exclusive HML Hulk, $6.48. Diamond/Art Asylum Star Trek II Admiral Kirk, $9.66, Suncoast.

7-29 Vacation backlog: Doc Samson, HML Hulk/Fin Fang Foom wave, $14.99; Batman sticker pack PVC, 2.99; Target, MT.

7-30 Storm Hawks Dark Ace cycle, $3.74, Target.

8-7 Legendary Heroes Stryker, $10.99, Rite Aid.

8-14 DCUC Green Lantern, $10.99, Target. 1 of 5 C&C Solomon Grundy.

8-15 Superhero Squad Iron Man set, $5; LH Judge Death, $3, Wal-Mart.

8-22 Superhero Squad Deadpool/"Captain" Punisher, $6.83, Wal-Mart.

9-6 DC Direct Animal Man and Wonder Girl, $9.88 total, FYE. Iron Man Captain America armor, $5, Wal-Mart.

9-8 HML Banshee, Hercules, $1 each, Wal-Mart.

9-19 Hellboy 2 Mezco Mr. Wink, $16.99, Hastings. Traded in a pile of junk for a credit there, but he's a lot of toy for the dollar. Sadly, I mailed in for the replacement head, but moved shortly thereafter...

9-20 Grindhouse Rapist #1 Quentin Tarentino, $.94; DC Direct 52 Batwoman, $6.44; FYE.

10-3 Stargate Major Carter, $3.75, Hastings. (If I still have the "gun-banner" up, you can see her in the bottom right corner!)

10-7 DCUC Deathstroke, $10.99, Target. I totally blame Poe and Pete for that one.

10-30 HML Union Jack, Target, $9.99. Yeah, $9.99: I think Target may have recanted and dropped the Red Hulk prices; the Fin Fang Foom wave was "on sale" at like $14.39, if I recall.

11-01 Walmart Exclusive HML Kang, $10.37.

11-14 Wal-Mart HML Crossbones, $10.44.

11-16 Marvel Select Thor, $19.99, Hastings. I've been trading in a ton of old books and whatnot there, and had a credit. I haven't even really read the new Thor comic--I'm more a fan of the Simonson era, but I just had a feeling it was now or never for that one. (On a recent visit to the same store, I saw MS Hulk and Iron Man, but no more Thor.)

11-18 Revoltech Fraulein Pocco, $24.99, Hastings. Again, traded stuff for credit, since there's no way I could justify cash for that one.

11-19 DCUC Wonder Woman, $13.99, the Comic Book Shop. Worth it just to be done looking. Not sure if I'll keep going for Despero, I still haven't finished Grodd.

12-1 Wal-Mart HML Heroes Reborn Iron Man, $10.44.

12-10 Mattel Movie Masters Bat-Pod, Target, $14.99.
12-16 DC Direct 52 Isis, $4.94, First Appearances Atom, $3.44; Marvel Select Zombie Colonel America, $4.94. With tax, $14.46 at a local FYE that's closing. I used to work there when it was a Sam Goody, so it was fun to pillage for toys again, and I saw an old friend while I was there. Isis I probably could've held out on--whatever's left will probably go 75% off after Christmas--but her package was torn open and I don't think she would've made it. And that new Atom is the definition of mediocre, but for that price he's good for crowd scenes. Read more!

Presented without comment. (Mostly.)

From a Panini Thundercats sticker, circa 1986, that I found, loose and unstuck, in a quarterbox copy of Mister Miracle #25. I like finding little things like cards, notes, little improvised bookmarks in my comics. Proof that someone else read this particular issue once.

Anyway, later on we'll take more of a look at the comic itself, especially since I wasn't sure if I had known Mr. Miracle had ever gotten past 25 issues of a series, but also because it had two well-known creators, and I hadn't known either of them had worked on it. But, that'll keep until later, I'm afraid: the Wife's rented a few movies (including Balls of Fury and the new Halloween, which I'm quite looking forward to.) and we've got sushi and a bottle of Moet from our wedding that we're finally going to drink.

Of course, I'm told champagne doesn't age the same way wine does, so our very expensive champagne could now be a bottle of duck piss. Well, I'll let you know. Have a happy and safe New Years, and coming soon: my 2007 toy list! A new homemade comic! More inane rambling! See you then. Read more!

Deadpool vs. Black Knight
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Panel from Deadpool #2, "Operation: That Wacky Doctor's Game!" Written by Joe Kelly, pencils by Ed McGuinness, inks by Nathan Massengill. Like Wade points out, Taskmaster would be glaringly different the next couple times he shows up: first in Priest's run, as part of a try-out for the Frightful Four, then as more of a rival/partner under Gail Simone at the end of the book and in Agent X.


In the last panel, Deadpool's riding the Black Knight's flying horse thing, that he used a few times in Avengers, apparently when his regular winged horse was either loaned out to Valkyrie or in the shop. Hawkeye and Taskmaster both got those with their figures, and I had the damnedest time trying to get the Knight on one. Hell, even Deadpool was a tough fit there. Weird. Read more!