Swampy Vesus Baldy?

Time now for another crackpot theory, this time from the DC Universe. I've been long hoping that Swamp Thing would return to the DCU after a long, long sojurn in the adults-only Vertigo imprint, if only because I feel Vertigo done everything that can be done with the character in the adult horror "mold", and DC could stand to return him to his "roots" for awhile. Rumors have been swirling that exactly that will soon be happening, with everything from a new ST title set firmly in the DCU to an appearance in Ethan Van Sciver's alleged Plastic Man series (which itself seems unlikely to happen, Swamp Thing or no) as the vehicle for that return.

Well, I don't know about any of that, but my money is on the big green guy running into Lex Luthor before he meets anyone else. a Luthor/Swamp Thing  pairing was one of many possibilities pitched by J. Michael Straczynski for Brave and the Bold back before he began writing the book. I don't know if he still has dibs, but I couldn't help but notice a quote in this interview with Paul Cornell which hints at Cornell's plans for Lex during his run of Lex solo stories in Action Comics:

"To name just a few of the villains we’ve got lined up… in the forbidding terrain of Antarctica, Lex will face off against Deathstroke. He’ll match brains and brawn with Vandal Savage, leading to a crossover with SECRET SIX. He’ll find himself the target of Larfleeze, the Orange Lantern, himself still lusting for power. And he’ll match his own savagery against that of Gorilla Grodd. That battle leads to an encounter with a really unexpected character. And we’ve held back a few of the most interesting and surprising names he’ll be going up against."

Nothing definite there, but given that Swampy has a score to settle with Lex, who knows? I personally would rather see that sort of "soft reintroduction" than a full-blown series with the JLA showing up in the first issue, the Titans in the second, and a parade of guests thereafter. Either way, I predict Swamp Action in Action Comics, or Swamp Bravery in Brave and the Bold.

 

Good News, Everyone! Futurama Returns Tonight!

The greatest animated TV show of all time is back on TONIGHT. This almost got past me, but FUTURAMA returns to Comedy Central after seven long, long years, and even though this is short notice, if I can help one person experience the glory of Futurama, it will be worth it! There's lots more official information here, meatbags. Miss it at your peril.

Classic Justice Guild of America Covers from Days Never-Gone-By!

Fans of the Justice League animated series may remember the Justice Guild of America, that show's analogue for the Justice Society of America. The group of golden age crime fighters hailed from a parallel universe to the Justice League's, though Green Lantern John Stewart only knew them from comic books he had read as a child.

Well, regular AWtC reader Cabin Campbell speculated what some of those comics might have looked like, and the results were 100% golden-agey goodness! I'm a sucker for photoshopped old comic covers, and Cabin has done some nice work here:

Cabin also contorts other classic covers at his online gallery.
Check it out!

Spider-Man: Gorilla Suit Stunt Double!

Who says Peter Parker needs a photography job? As Spider-man, he has experience in the lucrative and fast-paced field of Gorilla Suit stunt-work. "The only hard thing about this job...is wearing a hot gorilla suit!" You said it Spidey! Hmmm...This gives me some ideas about my OWN future. I think a handsome, striking gorilla suit might be just what I need to make that extra special impression during my next job interview!

For the mystified, here's some information on The Electric Company. Believe it or not, this was pretty much Spidey's biggest media tie-in at the time!




"The Stand-In!"
Script:Steven Grant
Art: Winslow Mortimer
Story scanned from Spidey Super Stories #54, Marvel Comics (September 1981).

As Far as I Know, This was the Only Time Spider-Man Ever Fought the Porcupine.

 Easy Reader says: "This blog post is Easy to Read!"

I like the Porcupine. He is one of my favorite "lame" Marvel villains! But he never fought Spider-Man. That's too bad, because I also like Spidey! Recently, I got a new old comic book. It was easy to read! It also had Spider Man fighting Porcupine! Here is how Porcupine got started:

Spidey Super Stories #54 was very exciting! It had a story called "Medusa On The Run!".  In the story, Spidey is trying to stop Medusa from stealing drugs. Then they team up to stop the Porcupine from stealing money! That's because money is more important than anything.


Now read! It's easy!!

You might enjoy this story more...

If you imagine she's robbing a liquor store.

But where is the Porcupine, you moan and whine....

Don't be a prick! He'll get here quick!

And so, Medusa got her change, Black Bolt got his whiskey, and Porcupine got hauled off to prison again. Like I said in the title, I don't think Spider-Man has ever met Porcupine in actual Marvel Universe Continuity. And no, I don't think Spidey Super Stories are considered Marvel Universe "canon".  I assume they take place on Earth-Electric Company, a happier place. I picked up Spidey Super Stories #54 in a pile of quarter pile books recently and was happy to see an appearance by good ol' Alex Gentry. Also, Spidey wore a gorilla suit in one of the other stories. When you add in the "easy to read" part, I was the clear winner in that transaction. Now... who wants to see the gorilla suit story?


"Medusa on the Run!"
Script:Steven Grant
Art: Winslow Mortimer
Story scanned from Spidey Super Stories #54, Marvel Comics (September 1981).

Review: The Bulletproof Coffin

Have you ever had a dream where you're exploring an unfamiliar house and your subconscious wanderings bring you into a secret room full of rare and never-before-seen miracle dream comics? I sure have. Now with The Bulletproof Coffin (Image; $3.99; 6 issues), we have a noir murder mystery set in the world of one of those wonderfully weird dreams.

In The Bulletproof Coffin, Steve Newman, assigned to clean out a dead man's house, stumbles onto a treasure trove of toys and comics, including a stack of mysterious David Hine and Shaky Kane Golden Nugget comic books. It seems Hine and Kane produced several years of bizarre, unforgettable comic books for Golden Nugget Publications from 1956 until the firm was sold out in 1962, and the two creators were split forever. Newman is thrilled at the discovery of dozens of previously unpublished issues of Coffin Fly, Red Wraith, Ramona, Queen of the Stone Age, and the Unforgiving Eye from after the supposed cancellation, and takes them home, only to discover a mystery behind the murder of the old hermit who owned the house, and indeed behind the very existence of the comics themselves.

Of course, the real David Hine and Shaky Kane did no such books in the 1950's and 60's, presumably had not even been born yet, but that doesn't stop them from weaving metafictional comics by metafictional silver age versions of themselves into The Bulletproof Coffin. Both came up in the British comics scene of the 1980's, and while the real David Hine is a relative newcomer to American comics, he has made a name for himself as a writer here in the last decade. The "real" Shaky Kane's work was all-too-scarce in America, seen only in Deadline USA, and a few issues of Doom Patrol in the mid-90's. It's a real pleasure to see him back to drawing comics, and drawing them really well, with this series. Fans of oddball Brit comics will recall he had a frenetic, Kirby-on-acid style, but he currently has developed a very appealing Geoff Darrow influence as well.

Each issue also promises to have a Golden Nugget comic-within-a-comic included, as with the first issue's "the Unforgiving Eye", which reads like and EC Comic on hallucinogens. This is great stuff, and frankly, right up my alley. Welcome back, Shaky!

Playing Catch-Up

I've shamefully fallen behind on my blogging duties. Here are a few items I've wanted to comment on, in breif:

Red-Faced: Okay, so my Red Hulk Theory was dead wrong. On the other hand, I did presage Glenn Talbot returning. It didn't help that they dragged the story on two years past that original post. I actually had a real sick feeling it was General Ross when Red Hulk and Banner agreed that Ross had to die, then Red Hulk "killed" Ross in the Redeemer armor later. That screamed "LMD fakeout" to me. Lots of questions remain to be answered, not the least of which is, where does Thaddeus' gigantic walrus mustache disapear to when he Rulks out?

Arrow-Pology: I sure hope that my recent article about Green Arrow didn't encourage anyone into buying the Justice League: Rise and Fall Special or any of the rising/falling/dead cat junkie-beating follow-up hijinx. I've been reading them in the store, and my, is they crappy. I guess the whole point with Green Arrow was to get him back to his unmarried, urban hunter status, while at the same time, setting him up in a magical forest of mystery. His killing of Prometheus was swept under the rug so quickly, I can't image what the point was in the first place. And I guess the point with Rise Of Arsenal was to put the Arse back in Arsenal.

Swamped: I kind of hope this rumor is true. I mean, I have wanted to see the Swamp Thing return to the DC Universe, but the quality of the DCU has been iffy lately,and if they bring the whole stable of Vertigo-ized DC characters back at once, someone's liable to stick Shade, the Changing Man into that Titans: Villains for Hire piece of shit. A real "be careful what you wish for" case, to be sure.

Serious: Speaking of fecal particulars, I am so glad Deathstroke and his band of bad ass Titans killed temporary Atom Ryan Choi, in their crappy debut "special", or I wouldn't have known they "meant business".  Yes, this sure to be cancelled-within-a-year group of assassins needed a major kill to cement their rep, and now that they've bagged an Atom, the rest of the DC Universe is gonna...ZZZZZZZZzzzz

... Wha? Huh? Sorry, I dozed off. Anyway, good thing Ryan Choi won't be around to serve as a useful character in the future, or be re-used by another writer. Not like he had any utility or potential, now that the white guy is back, right?

Heroic: So far, I am digging the Heroic Age. I still can't wrap my head around the idea of Spidey and Wolverine as Avengers, but I am old, and here we are. Still too many Avengers books, though, and damn them for putting the Thing and Stuart Immonen on the one that would otherwise be most disposable!