Separated at Birth: He ain't heavy; he's my Batman

L: Batman: A Death in the Family trade paperback (1989), art by Jim Aparo
R: Robin #175 (August 2008), art by Freddie E. Williams II and Guy Major

(Click picture to 1-900-size)

365 Days with Hank McCoy, Day 177

Splash page from Avengers #141 (November 1975), script by Steve Englehart, pencils by George Perez, inks by Vince Colletta, colors by Janice Cohen, letters by Tom Orzechowski

Saturday Morning Cartoon: "Nowhere Man"

"Nowhere Man" from Yellow Submarine (1968), directed by George Dunning




The Beatles "Nowhere Man" (1966), directed by Jack Stokes

I Pity the Fool Who Don't Know It's Clobberin' Time

Hey, kids, it's the great long-lost A-Team/Fantastic Four team-up!


Splash page from The A-Team #2 (April 1984), script by Jim Salicrup, pencils by Jim Mooney, inks by Joe Giella, colors by Stan Goldberg, letters by L. P. Gregory

You may well note a lack of stretching, fire, and invisibility in this page, not to mention a complete absence of the sheer awesomeness that is Ben Grimm. That's because...look closer...the team-up is actually really just H. M. "Howling Mad" Murdock reading an issue of the Fantastic Four comic book that he obviously borrowed from his brother Matt:



Hey, you can actually tell exactly which issue Murdock's reading: FF #264!


Fantastic Four #264 (April 1984), art by John Byrne

There's something not quite right about that comic book Murdock's holding, though...hmmm...oh, I know! On the real comic book, there's an ad for the video game "Frogger" on the back, not for "Cash Prizes." (Which woulda made a great name for a 1980s private detective played by Lee Horsley, right?)



Hmmm, let's see...there, I fixed it!



I think that covers everything for tonight, don't you think? Oh wait...just one more thing:

365 Days with Hank McCoy, Day 176

Panels from [Uncanny] X-Men #9 (January 1965), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Chic Stone, letters by Sam Rosen

You say you've seen seven wonders and your bird is green

Pop quiz, Bully-Boosters! Cast your baby blues on two panels below from The Incredible Hulk #127. The story is scripted by Rascally Roy Thomas, but (here's your quiz question)...who should get a co-writing credit for this scene?


Panels from Incredible Hulk #127 (May 1970), script by Roy Thomas, pencils and inks by Herb Trimpe, letters by Sam Rosen

Need time to think about it? Of course? You've got exactly thirty seconds...the precise time it takes to play the Final Jeopardy theme! Click on the "play" button and put your thinking cap on, Bull-ke-teers!



Time's up, contestants...let's see what you wagered! And more important, let's see the clue you oughta have noticed:



Give up? Awwww, I bet you're gonna facepalm yourself when you read the answer. Suppose I paraphrase the speech bubble above as...

He blew his mind out in a car
He didn't notice that the lights had changed
A crowd of people stood and stared
They'd seen his face before
Nobody was really sure
If he was from the House of Lords

That's right...that's from The Beatles' "A Day in the Life," written by Lennon/McCartney, but that part was by the one and only John Lennon. Who shoulda got a writing credit alongside Roy Thomas, don't you think?



So be aware: meaner and greener Hulks have been sighted within the vicinity of this blog. There's only one way to go out. How's that, you ask? Singing!

365 Days with Hank McCoy, Day 175

Panel from [The New] Defenders #149 (November 1985), script by Peter Gillis, pencils by Don Perlin, inks by Art Nichols and Dell Barras, colors by Michele Wrightson, letters by Janice Chiang

Image Comics

What's this? (in my best William Dozier voice) Denizens of the Larval Universe (aka Earth-8311) running through Marvel-Earth (aka our old familiar Earth-616)? In the words of Dick Martin (of Earth-1967)...You bet your sweet bippy!

365 Days with Hank McCoy, Day 174

from Daredevil #155 (Marvel, November 1978), script by Roger McKenzie, pencils by Frank Robbins, inks by Frank Springer, colors by Bob Sharen, letters by Denise Wohl

“This was my finest shower!”

You and I are used to seeing Winston Churchill like this:



But I'm guessing...in your wildest dreams...you've never seen Churchill like this:





Panels from All-Star Squadron #10 (June 1982), script by Roy Thomas, pencils by Adrian Gonzales, inks by Jerry Ordway, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by Ben Oda

Yes, it's Winston Churchill wearing nothing but a towel and a cigar. You've seen it...you can't unsee it!

When you've finished shuddering, let me remind you that there's a bright side to everything. What the Sam Scratch could be the silver lining to this, you wonder? Well, that it wasn't



So, in the words of one of his greatest wartime posters:

---

Bonus: Churchill raps!:

365 Days with Hank McCoy, Day 173

Panels from Avengers #210 (August 1981), script by Bill Mantlo, pencils by Gene Colan, inks by Dan Green, colors by Ben Sean, letters by Jean Simek

Monday Night Murals: Downtown the young ones are growing

Ah, crossovers. What better time for the kids across the street to come over and play games with us? Better play nice, kids, or we'll take our ball and go home!

Covers of Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways#1-4 (September-December 2006),
art by Jim Cheung, John Dell, and Justin Ponsor
Click image to Stature-size


Despite Wolverine continually knocking on their door asking if he can guest-star, I'm generally a fan of keeping the Runaways as far removed from the Marvel Universe as possible , but I always enjoy their team-ups with those other adolescent adventurers, the Kid Junior Pint-Size Young Avengers, especially if we get a decent both-teams mural across all four issues. (Except hey, where's Old Lace?)

Because gluing my covers together above leaves a few seam gaps and mismatches, here's a better, single image of the whole shebang and kaboodle:

Click image to crossover-size

Hey, why is Hawkeye about to shoot Nico?

365 Days with Hank McCoy, Day 172

Panels from Avengers #139 (September 1975), script by Steve Englehart, pencils by George Tuska, inks by Vince Colletta, colors by Phil Rachelson, letters by Irving Watanabe

Ten of a Kind: He's got the whole world in his hands

(More Ten of a Kind here.)

365 Days with Hank McCoy, Day 171: Father's Day

from X-Men Unlimited (2004 series) #10 (Marvel, October 2005), script by Joe Meno, pencils and inks by Homs, colors by Gotham, letters by Dave Sharpe

Sunday Morning Silents: Frankenstein

Frankenstein (1910), starring Charles Stanton Ogle as the Monster and directed by J. Searle Dawley