| WHAT IF...WEDNESDAY WITH MATT MURDOCK |
[Apr. 4th, 2012|02:42 pm] |
Not even gonna lie to you people, I've never been a fan of Daredevil, regardless of whether he was in comics or movies. But this story here has stuck in my memory since I first bought this comic off of a spinner rack when it was first released. Does that make it the best story ever? Maybe not, but for some reason I've never forgotten this story in the 30 years since it was published. Y'know, having read several thousands of comics over the years, even I can't explain why certain stories stick in my brain and others are forgotten ten minutes after I'm done reading them.
A mind is a terrible thing to waste, kids.
Anyhoo, What If Matt Murdock was a spy instead of a superhero??
by Mike Barr, Frank Miller, and Klaus Janson
from WHAT IF #28, August 1981
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| THE MILD ONE |
[Apr. 2nd, 2012|07:49 pm] |
Now here's a weird one. A hippie comic that actually lampoons hippies. I wonder who the target audience was on this one? Self-deprecating hippies? Regular people that just happen to buy underground hippie comix? Aliens from another planet?
I don't even know. But I do know that the majority of the "underground comix movement" was much more inexplicable than this short story.
Maybe y'all can figger it out.
ENJOY.
by WARNER (?)
from THE O.K. COMIC CO. #11, March 1973
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| Sunday Funnies: DICK TRACY |
[Apr. 1st, 2012|10:17 pm] |
So, do y'all think you can match wits with a professional detective?
Let's see how you do.
from DICK TRACY #24, December 1949
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| The Johnny Quick Shave |
[Mar. 30th, 2012|01:02 am] |
Now here's a guy we haven't checked in with for quite awhile; Johnny Quick.
If this is your first time around, I guess I should explain to you that Johnny Quick was a kind of mash-up of several other characters. Like Captain Marvel, he had to recite a magic incantation to transform [3X2 (9Y7) 4A]. Like Superman, his secret identity was that of a newspaper reporter. Like The Flash, he could move at super speeds and not be caught on camera. And like any typical Fletcher Hanks or Otto Binder character, his stories will break your mind into insanity if you try to make any sense out of them.
But don't let any of that scare you off. I never even heard of this guy until about a year ago, and he's grown to be one of my favorite characters of all time. Alien invaders? aw, Superman can handle it, mad scientists? aw, Batman can catch that one, a rigged barber shop contest? THIS LOOKS LIKE A JOB FOR JOHNNY QUICK!!!!!.
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| SERIOUS BUSINESS! |
[Mar. 19th, 2012|01:14 pm] |
Okay, folks.
We gots the problems now.
Just about every damn comic story I've posted in the past four years is either deleted or on it's way there. This is beyond my control at this point. We may be coming to the end of the comic-blogging era.
Here's a list of the failed image hosts I've been using in the past:
picville.net no longer exists
pict.com no longer exists
imagefra.me randomly deletes pictures without warning for? low traffic? because they're jerks?
pixshock.net somebody complained and I got banned (we all know it was YOU Fantagraphics, you ain't foolin' nobody)
imageurlhost.com another one that randomly deletes stuff without telling me
kewlpic.com no longer exists
desiupload.com no longer exists
imageshack.us somewhat reliable but they also do not email me when they delete stuff
photobucket.com resizes every page to near squinty-eyed unreadability
flickr.com resizes stuff also
I think there may be one or two that I've tried that I don't even remember. But ya'll get the idea of whats going on.
So, here's the deal: Does anybody know of a reliable image host?
I could use imagebam or imagevenue, but that will mean everything will be posted as thumbnails. I don't mind thumbnails so much, but I've had people tell me that they just don't like to 'click thru' to read the stories. Really it's up to ya'll.
I know there are other options. I could post only public domain stuff, or be more strict about "fair use" (only post 10% or less of each story), or only post free comics (promos, educational, giveaways, etc.). There's also the option of just posting comic art to look at (original art or pinups, whatever).
I'm at my wit's end and I'm really considering switching to movie and music reviews over at my blogspot account.
Long story short: I NEED A RELIABLE IMAGE HOST or I'm done with these headaches.
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| Sunday Funnies: SUPERMAN |
[Mar. 18th, 2012|05:10 pm] |
Originally intended by his creators to be a newspaper action and adventure strip, it was only fitting that they'd eventually succeed. Ironically, they invented a whole new genre of comic book characters that continue to this day, all as an unintended side effect of wanting to be in the newspapers like Lee Falk's Phantom.
Quite strange and utterly coincidental, ain't it?
Several things to take note of here; Superman couldn't actually fly at first (only 'leap tall buildings in a single bound'), and he was not against letting people die occassionally. As you'll see in this early outing (which is sequence #4 of the Sunday series if you're a trivia hound).
by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster
from SUPERMAN: SUNDAY CLASSICS 1939 to 1943 (ISBN: 1-4027-3786-6) 1999
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| St. Patrick's Day |
[Mar. 17th, 2012|12:10 pm] |
Another year, another green beer.
I warned y'all last year about drinking too many of 'em, yet some of ya still didn't listen. C'mon folks, let's try a little harder this time around.
Anyway, another trip to Ireland and a visit to our little friends, this time with (of all people) Katy Keene.
☘HAPPY HOLIDAYS☘
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| Five Far Out Fantasies |
[Mar. 16th, 2012|10:00 am] |
Gothic Blimp Works, a tabloid companion to NYC's East Village Other newspaper was one of the first of the "underground wave" of comix. For a lot of people it was their first experience with counterculture cartooning.
If you've never read to many of them, or even if you have, the best thing about underground comix is the fact that you can never expect just what kind of surreal or experimental type of stories you'll get. It's more of a surprise when you find a more traditionally constructed sequence.
Here's just five samples of the kind of things that they were groovin' on way back when.
by Lynch, Deitch, Lovenstein, Kaluta, and Wilson
from GOTHIC BLIMP WORKS #2, 1969
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| WHAT IF...WEDNESDAY WITH THE WATCHING WATCHERS |
[Mar. 14th, 2012|12:16 pm] |
Going way, way back to the original run of Lee & Kirby's Fantastic Four, this story seems like it came about a few decades late. But it's still interesting.
Not only is it the very first What If? tale done by Stan The Man himself, it also has a twist ending similar to the old horror and sci-fi shorts that Lee did for the old Atlas Comics line.
Good stuff. EXCELSIOR! (whatever that means)
by Stan Lee and Dale Eaglesham
from WHAT IF? #200, February 2011
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| JOHNNY PERIL: Death Has Five Guesses |
[Mar. 13th, 2012|05:11 pm] |
Johnny Peril, mystery man and thrill-seeker. Never heard of him? Well allow me to introduce you to one of the lost golden age adventurers.
This appearance is a reprint of a much older story, and I think that DC at the time was trying to revive the character since he had as many appearances in the 70s as he did in his original run (though they were mostly reprints). With DC trying to update and upgrade their line of comics, we may yet see him again.
Read on.
by Robert Kanigher and Frank Giacoia
from SECRETS OF SINISTER HOUSE #17, April 1974
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