Saturday, July 09, 2011

Same Story, Different Cover: Fighting foreign ports / In his tiny shorts


L: Marvel Boy #1 (December 1950), cover art by Russ Heath
R: Marvel Super Action #4 (November 1977), reprinting Marvel Boy #1, cover art by Dave Cockrum and Joe Sinnott

(Click picture to Underoosize)


365 Days with the Warriors Three, Day 190


Panel from Guardians of the Galaxy v.1 #42 (November 1993), script by Michael Gallagher, pencils by Dale Eaglesham, inks by Steve Montano, colors by Evelyn Stein, letters by Ken Lopez



Friday, July 08, 2011

The Zen of Batman: Vegetables


From Batman: "Hi Diddle Riddle" (January 12, 1966), script by Lorenzo Semple, Jr.



365 Days with the Warriors Three, Day 189


Panel from Last Planet Standing #2 (July 2006), co-plot and script by Tom DeFalco, co-plot and pencils by Pat Olliffe, inks by Scott Koblish, colors by Rob Ro, letters by Dave Sharpe



Let's Learn Stuff About Tony Stark!, Day 5: Has he lost his mind? Can he see or is he blind?

After this past week, you now know enough about Tony Stark to assume his identity. Or...do you?




Pages from Tales of Suspense #55 (July 1964), script by Stan Lee, pencils and inks by Don Heck, letters by Sam Rosen


Well! That was fun! In fact, so much fun that I think we oughta extend "Let's Learn Stuff About Tony Stark!" into a full second week. What do you think, Iron Man?


Panel from Iron Man: The Iron Age v.1 #2 (September 1998), plot and script by Kurt Busiek and Richard Howell, pencils by Patrick Zircher, inks by Bob McLeod, colors by Glynis Oliver, letters by Emerson Miranda

Well! No need to get huffy about it.

Thursday, July 07, 2011

Let's Learn Stuff About Tony Stark! Extra!: Says toro toro taxi / See ya tomorrow my son

It's the feature that's too good to restrict to just the Mid-Day Matinee, Let's Learn Stuff About Tony Stark! (Also, I had more than five installments for this thing.)

Hey, who's the most famous roller-skater in the Marvel Universe?


Panel from Dazzler #7 (September 1981), plot by Tom DeFalco, script by Danny Fingeroth, pencils by Frank Springer, inks by Armando Gil and Frank McLaughlin, colors by Don Warfield, letters by Janice Chiang


Well, yes. We all know that. Well, okay, then, who is the second most-famous roller-skater in the yadda yadda yadda?

If you have read the title of this post I think you can guess.


Panels from Tales of Suspense #45 (September 1963), plot by Stan Lee, script by Robert Bernstein, pencils and inks by Don Heck, letters by Sam Rosen


Yes, it's The Free-Wheelin' Tony Stark, rollin' rollin' rollin' on transistor-powered jet skate wheels. Since this was 1963, we laugh at this primitive interpretation of electronic technology, now that we're all zooming around on our resistor-powered jet skates. Yet another way in which Stan Lee was wrong about the future! (Also, that whole thing with Galactus never showing up.)

Stark's roller-skating technology was light-years ahead of its time, however. Before he stopped making weapons for the military and turned his roller-skating blueprints over to the carhops at A&W Drive-Ins, he shared the tech with this Army General! Tony Stark: he's got a brand-new pair of roller-skates, and you've got the brand-new key!


Panels from Tales of Suspense #45 (September 1963), plot by Stan Lee, script by Robert Bernstein, pencils and inks by Don Heck, letters by Sam Rosen


This general was busted down to corporal after the US Army purchased 30,000 pairs of skates and quickly came to realize there were no superhighways in Vietnam. Tony Stark...a genius...like a fox! (Hey, that does make sense!)

But as Dazzler showed us above, you can roller skate in different ways other than just upright on your feet. Tony Stark invented that move, you know...with a little beanie propeller and roller skates on his back! For fighting The Evil Pharoah! To protect Cleopatra! And remember, he can fly at this point. And yet, he still does this:


Panels from Tales of Suspense #44 (August 1963), plot by Stan Lee, script by Robert Bernstein, pencils and inks by Don Heck, letters by Sam Rosen


Well...that certainly happened. In fact, it was such a draw that we got to see it on the splash page first!



So, Tony Stark! Without his amazing technological innovations we would never have had roller-derby, the movies ATL or Xanadu, or this, the most amazing scene of skating ever seen in history:

















Tony Stark! He's Steve Martin's best friend. Because he's the only guy who in comparison makes Steve feel less compulsive.


365 Days with the Warriors Three, Day 188


Page from Thor: Blood Oath #2 (December 2005), script by Michael Avon Oeming, pencils and inks by Scott Kolins, colors by Wil Quintana, letters by Dave Lanphear



Let's Learn Stuff About Tony Stark!, Day 4: He gets dressed the same way you or I do...

...one transistorized wafer-thin interchangeable arm-leg adaptor at a time.




Pages from Tales of Suspense #48 (December 1963),
script by Stan Lee, pencils by Steve Ditko, inks by Dick Ayers, letters by Sam Rosen



This makes a dandy little trivia puzzler. "Who first drew Iron Man's iconic red-and-gold armor?" "Steve Ditko!" I bet some people don't know that!


Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Bet you are








365 Days with the Warriors Three, Day 187


Panel from Thor #197 (March 1972), script by Gerry Conway, pencils by John Buscema, inks by Vince Colletta, letters by Artie Simek



Let's Learn Stuff About Tony Stark!, Day 3: Years go by I'm lookin' through a girly magazine / And there's my Iron Man on the pages in between

Tony Stark! He not only is a playboy...


Cover of Iron Man: Viva Las Vegas #1 (July 2008), cover art by Adi Granov


....but he's also in Playboy! Well, the Marvel Universe version of it (Playmates). And as an interview subject, not as a model. (Sorry, girls!)


Pages from Iron Man Annual #15 (1994), script by Len Kaminski and Scott Benson, art by Kevin Hopgood
(Click each image to Hefsize)


So, in conclusion: Tony Stark does like the fabulous babes...



But he reads Playmates for the articles.

And for that centerfold of Pepper Potts.



Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Let's Stare Straight at the Camera!







All panels from Ghost Stories #9 (Dell, January-March 1965)


365 Days with the Warriors Three, Day 186


Panel from Thor #366 (April 1986), script, pencils, and inks by Walt Simonson, colors by Christie Scheele; letters by John Workman, Jr.



Let's Learn Stuff About Tony Stark!, Day 2: Iron Pitchman

Not only does Iron Man shill for Marvel products...


Marvel house ad from Tales of Suspense #66 (June 1965)

...but so does his boss, Tony Stark!


Marvel house ad from Tales of Suspense #70 (October 1965)