It’s Love, Part 11

Posted on February 14, 2025 by Dazzling Erin

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Today is the day that we celebrate love and romance and everything that goes with it!

Love isn’t always easy and some people have a hard time around Valentine’s Day. If you’re single, do not despair. The path to true love is never an easy one to travel but the destination makes the trip worth it. Even in the 1950s and the 1960s and the 1970s, Valentine’s Day wasn’t an easy day for everyone. Love can hurt. Love can bring tears to your eyes.

As difficult and as frustrating as it can be to find true love, we will never stop searching because finding it makes it all worth it.

So. if you’re alone or if you’re a part of a couple, if you’re single or married, in love or simply enjoying life, happy February 14th! May it be a good day, no matter what it means to you.

By Gene Colan

Great Moments In Comic Book History #39: LBJ Stands Up For The Hulk

Posted on January 19, 2025 by Jedadiah Leland

Say what you will about Lyndon B. Johnson, he was one of the few presidents to understand that the Hulk was not the menace that the media made him out to be. In 1967, he even issued full amnesty to the Hulk in recognition for the number of times that Hulk had saved the planet. Gil Kane captured the moment in Tales To Astonish #88.

Guilty of only being feared and misunderstood! That was something that LBJ could probably relate to in 1967. Unfortunately, after a fight with the masked criminal known as the Boomerang, Hulk was once again viewed as being a menace and General Ross threw the amnesty order away. I guess that’s what they mean when they talk about the Deep State.

LBJ wasn’t popular with young readers and he didn’t make many appearances in the world of comics. It’s a pleasant surprise that, one of the few times that he did appear, it was to do the right thing and offer some temporary hope to the Incredible Hulk.

Previous Great Moments In Comic Book History:

Great Moments In Comic Book History #38: The Cover of Green Lantern/Green Arrow #85

Posted on January 8, 2025 by Jedadiah Leland

“You always have all the answers, Green Arrow … well, what’s your answer to that!?”

Green Lantern and Green Arrow were always mismatched as friends. Green Lantern was an upstanding citizen of the universe while Green Arrow was the former millionaire who now fighting for the working man. In Green Lantern/Green Arrow #85 (August, 1971), they discovered that the Green Arrow’s arrows were being used by junkies to commit crimes so that they could pay for their habit. They were buying the arrows from Speedy, who was the Green Arrow’s own sidekick! Speedy had gotten hooked on heroin.

Along with a three-issue arc of The Amazing Spider-Man in which Harry Osborne developed a pill addiction, Green Lantern/Green Arrow #85 was one of the first comic books to deal with drug addiction and it featured one of its own heroes getting hooked on a very real drug. Both artist Neal Adams and writer Denny O’Neil wanted to deal with the issue realistically. Neal Adams’s cover, featuring not just paraphernalia but Speedy in the act of shooting up, was considered to be very risky in 1971. Today, it’s the moment that DC finally made the move into exploring more mature storylines.

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Celebrate Patriotism With These American Heroes!

Posted on July 1, 2024 by Dazzling Erin

Do you need some help getting the mood for the 4th of July? Just check out these patriotic heroes!

It’s Love, Part 10

Posted on February 14, 2024 by Dazzling Erin

Happy Valentine’s Day and Happy Ash Wednesday!

Today is the day that we celebrate love and sacrifice!

Love isn’t always easy and some people have a hard time around Valentine’s Day. If you’re single, do not despair. You’re not the first person to find yourself in this situation and you won’t be the last. Though you may feel like you, you are not alone. The path to true love is never an easy one to travel but the destination makes the trip worth it. Even in the 1950s and the 1960s and the 1970s, Valentine’s Day wasn’t an easy day for everyone. Love can hurt.

Screenshot

As difficult and as frustrating as it can be to find true love, we will never stop searching because finding it makes it all worth it.

So. if you’re alone or if you’re a part of a couple, if you’re single or married, in love or simply enjoying life, happy February 14th! May it be a good day, no matter what it means to you.

Great Moments In Comic Book History #35: Tomb of Dracula #49

Posted on October 7, 2023 by Jedadiah Leland

Marvel’s Tomb of Dracula #49 (October, 1976) finds Dracula in a foul mood. Not only does he have the pesky vampire hunters still chasing him but also the leader of his cult, Anton Lupeski, is obviously plotting against him. Dracula just wants to spend some time with his wife but instead, he finds himself suddenly transported to the mansion of Angie Turner.

Angie is a recluse who has the ability to bring fictional characters into existence. She spends her time with the Frankenstein’s Monster, D’Artagnan, Tom Sawyer, and Injun Joe. Her favorite fictional character, though, is the title character from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The real Dracula is stunned and angered to discover that he’s been summoned by a woman who thinks that he’s the same as what calls the “inferior” who is featured in Stoker’s novel. Angie watches as Dracula not only kills all of her companions but also kills Robin Hood and Zorro when she summons them. Angie realizes that Dracula is not the tragic figure that she imagined but instead a vicious monster.

Dracula, who truly was a monster in Tomb of Dracula, taunts Angie and prepares to attack her, just to suddenly find himself back in his lair. Dracula may have claimed to have been real but Angie was not only able to wish him out of her mind but, as the final panels show, she was also able to bring back to life all of her other companions. The story ends by revealing that Angie is a mental patient who has been in a padded room ever since losing her family.

If this issue just featured Dracula dismissing Stoker’s novel, it would be an important part of Marvel’s vampire mythology. What makes the issues a classic is the suggestion that even the “real” Dracula is just a figment of Angie’s imagination. Since Tomb of Dracula regularly featured guest appearances by other Marvel character, one could argue that this one issue suggests that the entire Marvel Universe might just be an elaborate fantasy in the mind of a woman mourning the loss of her husband and children. Either way, this issue is a strong portrait of the power and comfort of imagination. Angie stands in for every comic book reader over the years.

Tomb of Dracula #49 (October, 1976)

“And With The Word Shall Come Death”

Writer — Marv Wolfman
Penciler — Gene Colan
Inker — Tom Palmer
Colorist — Michele Wolfman
Letterer — John Costanza
Editor — Marv Wolfman

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Great Moments In Comic Book History #34: Tawky Tawny Makes His First Appearance

Posted on September 30, 2023 by Jedadiah Leland

76 years ago, in Fawcett’s Captain Marvel Adventures #79, Tawky Tawny made his first appearance.

Who was Tawky Tawny? He was a humanoid Bengal tiger from India who spoke perfect English and who simply wanted to come to the United States so that he could learn about American culture. Though Tawky Tawny is friendly and intelligent, everyone panics when they see him because he’s a humanoid tiger who talks. It falls to Captain Marvel (in the days before D.C. bought the character and changed his name became Shazam) to track down the Tawky Tawny and discover what is going on with him.

Luckily, Captain Marvel discovers that Tawky Tawny means well and just wants to get to know people. Captain Marvel gets him a job as a tour guide at a local museum.

Created by writer Otto Binder and artist C.C. Beck, Tawky Tawny soon became one of Captain Marvel’s most important supporting characters. He even got his own origin story when it was revealed that Tawky Tawny was a normal tiger until he was framed for murder. A local shaman gave Tawny a serum that allowed him to stand upright and verbally defend himself. For the rest of Captain Marvel’s run, Tawky Tawny was the hero’s best friend. While Captain Marvel was the beloved hero, Tawky Tawny was the outsider who never lost his positive outlook and his intellectual curiosity.

Fawcett subsequently sold Captain Marvel and all of his supporting characters to DC Comics. Unfortunately, DC has consistently proven themselves to be inept when it comes to bringing Tawky Tawny into their continuity. Still, Tawky Tawny endures as a symbol of hope and optimism.

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Go Where No Man Has Gone Before With The Covers of Gold Key’s Star Trek!

Posted on September 8, 2023 by Dazzling Erin

Today is the 57th anniversary of the premiere of Star Trek on NBC. When the show was first airing on television, Gold Key Comics won the rights to publish a Star Trek comic book. The comic book lasted even after the show was canceled, running from 1968 to 1979. The comics adapted a few episodes from the show but, for the most part, it was a separate series with its own storylines. In 1979, when Star Trek was revived as a film, the producers declined to renew their contract to Gold Key and instead entered into a partnership with Marvel.

Here’s a sampling of the covers of Gold Key’s Star Trek.

Issue #1

Issue #6

Issue #17

Issue #20

Issue #28

Issue #37

Issue #45

Issue #57

Issue #58

Issue #60

Great Moments In Comic Book History #33: Iron Man #182

Posted on May 7, 2023 by Jedadiah Leland

Tony Stark, the first Iron Man, was an alcoholic.

Those who only know the character from the MCU might be surprised to discover just how self-destructive of an addict Tony Stark was. Though elements of the classic “Demon in a Bottle” storyline were used in Iron Man 2, Tony’s alcoholism was only referenced in one scene and it was largely played for laughs. In the movies, Tony was irresponsible but in the comics, he was so self-destructive that he often could not be trusted with the suit that he created.

Tony’s alcoholism was first addressed in 1979, in a nine-issue story arc that is best-remembered for the issue where Tony finally decides to stop drinking. Unlike a lot of Marvel’s story arcs, Tony’s alcoholism was not forgotten after the conclusion of the initial story. Instead, it was a problem that flared up frequently over the next few years. Whenever Tony ran into any sort of personal or business trouble, he would be tempted to pick up the bottle again and often, he would give in. One reason why other people started to wear the Iron Man armor was because Tony was often too drunk to do so himself.

Finally, 5 years after Tony first realized that he had a drinking problem, this happened:

In the morning, Tony Stark will be sober or dead. This cover, which was done by Luke McDonnell and Steve Mitchell, is one of the best to come out of Iron Man‘s initial run. Along with the imagery of one man sitting alone in the snow, the cover reminds us that Iron Man is just a human being and, like all human beings, Tony Stark is going to have to make an important decision. Will he do the hard work to improve himself or will he give up.

Caught out in the middle of blizzard and helping to deliver the baby of a fellow alcoholic, Tony makes his decision. Though the freezing temperatures kill his friend Gretl, Tony manages to survive and he finally does the one thing that he still needed to do to kick his addiction. He asked his friends for help. From this issue on, it was not unusual to see Tony Stark at AA. Tony still struggled but, in Iron Man #182, he finally made the decision to live.

Previous Great Moments In Comic Book History:

Great Moments In Comic Book History #32: The Hulk Makes His Debut

Posted on March 19, 2023 by Jedadiah Leland

Somehow, it slipped my mind that this month is the 61st anniversary of the debut of one of the characters who would come to define Marvel Comics, The Incredible Hulk. Though it was dated May of 1962, the first issue of The Incredible Hulk actually came out in March. Here’s the cover, featuring artwork from Jack Kirby and Paul Reinman.

It’s obvious from the cover that The Incredible Hulk was still a work in progress when he made his debut. First off, he’s grey instead of green. Secondly, while Bruce Banner was always portrayed as being a scientist who kept a tight grip on his emotions, I don’t think he ever looked as nerdy as he did on this cover. Third, the Hulk himself looks more like an oversized version of Frankenstein’s Monster than the Hulk that readers would eventually come to know and love. Though it is not mentioned on the cover, Banner initially transformed into the Hulk whenever the sun went down, like a werewolf. The Hulk coming out whenever Banner got mad was a later invention.

Because Marvel could never decide whether they wanted the Hulk to be a hero or a monster, the first run of The Incredible Hulk came to an end after just six issues but Marvel kept the character around and eventually gave him a regular feature in Tales to Astonish. He was even one of the founding members of The Avengers, though that didn’t last for long. Marvel eventually figured out that Hulk worked best as a loner and he was embraced by a counterculture who disliked the military almost as much he did. The character proved to be so popular in Tales of Astonish that he eventually took over the entire comic and the name was changed (again) to The Incredible Hulk. Hulk’s been a Marvel mainstay ever since, appearing on both television and in the movies.

And it all started 41 years ago, this month.