"Only You"

TGIF Motherfuckaaaaaaaaaas!!!!!!


Holy shit it's Friday!

Noooooooo!

It's also my 500th post, so break out the party hats, beers and joints, 'cause it's time to celebrate. It's alright.

Now, onto today's bonus skit of the week, staring the West Coast Avengers, or as Dan loves to call them, "The Westies".

The End

Have a damn fine weekend if you can guys, and thanks for humoring a guy and his toys:)

 Peace and chicken grease:)

Back-Issue Spotlight: Avengers West Coast#50

TGIT!!!!!!!

Almost there to post 500. I know, I know, you're supposed to do something nice and special, but with this other work I've been doing, not really feeling it. Might just be a bonus skit this week or something else, idk.

But today's post is another edition of Back-Issue Spotlight. Today I'm spotlighting Avengers West Coast#50, which features the original golden age Human Torch joining the team.

Let's get to it shall we?

































Avengers West Coast#50 "Return Of The Hero" (Nov '89) by John Byrne and Mike Machlan.

The story starts off not with the Human Torch, but with his dead partner Toro's wife Ann.

She thinks her husband might not be dead after all, and that maybe her husband's partner is involved as well.

Apparently way back some years ago, when the FF met up with original Torch, he went nuts and then was "killed". Well Toro saw his an ad for his partner's funeral and went to go check it out himself. He was then drugged and abducted by the Mad Thinker. The Thinker then brainwashed Toro into thinking he was the Human Torch, causing him to battle the Namor.

Toro later dies trying to get revenge on the Mad Thinker.
Trying to find her husbands's whereabouts leads her to the AWC's door for help.

So off to the town of Pleasentville go the Avengers(where the Torch's funeral was supposedly held)
The Vision goes straight down into the Torch's casket, where he indeed finds the Torch resting.
The Avengers can't open the casket without the proper legal documents, but that doesn't stop an already pissed and stressed out Scarlet Witch from using her hex powers to open said casket.

And with that, The original Human Torch lives again!

Wonder Man chases after him, persuading him to come down and talk with the other Avengers.

It's here that we get an iconic(or was supposed to be iconic for the time) official meeting of the Vision and the Torch.











 Hank Pym gives a quick, reader's digest version of things to get him up to date. The Wasp then flies in, giving the Torch new and improved threads, and welcoming him to the Avengers. Torch says yes, and all's right with the world.....until Iron Man shows up.

Here's a bonus for you guys: An unused cover sketch for this very issue


Thoughts:
So at this point in time, the WCA/AWC, just had to deal with the government kidnapping and dissecting the Vision, leading to him becoming that sickly pale color of yellow for a number of years. This explains why Wanda freaks out when the Toro's wife shows up and thinks the Vision can help her out.

Also, Iron Man showing up was of interest because he got booted out of the team during the Armor Wars in his own book. He then fakes Iron Man's death, making people believe someone else was inside the armor. That whole sub-plot would later be resolved, but man was that next issue awkward for a bit.

Also, and I've got to point this out, the belief that the Vision was made from the body of the original Human Torch had been canon for years, ever since Roy Thomas started the idea, and Steve Englehart expanded upon it. Only very recently was that proven to not be the case, instead all part of a calculated deception by Immortus, master of time.

Writers Kurt Busiek and Roger Stern would later re-confirm that in the Avengers Forever max-series, stating that it was all Immortus' idea just to do that to fuck with the Avengers. Silly really, but that's some bad guys for you.

I remember picking this up due to the cover. I had no idea about the back-story of the original Torch's back then, so this was a pretty good place to learn some history.

I was actually influenced to pick this particular issue because of this blog right here:
http://bronzeagebabies.blogspot.com/2014/02/super-blog-team-up-was-vision-really.html

It talks more in depth about the whole Human Torch/Vision connection throughout the years up to 1999.
Not a bad little read if you want to know more about that particular back story.

Sorry for the poor quality phone scans. Couldn't find anymore scanned in interior pages, so I had to improvise.

That's it for this edition of Back-Issue Spotlight. Hoped you learned some things, and are tempted to track this one down if you don't already have it.

Tomorrow is post 500!!!!!!!!

Battle-Blog: The Riddler Vs. The Question Part 2

Happy Hump Day!

Well it's late. But I have a good reason.
Me and some local guys have created out own comic imprint, GRINDHORSE Comics, and I can't be happier. It's some work, seeing as how I'm the official letterer/colorist/ad-guy.

It's what I've been doing when not doing my own thing here @ The House.
More on that stuff later.....

Now here's the conclusion of this week's Battle-Blog between the Riddler and The Question:

The End

Obviously we all knew who'd win this one, but how cool to show right?

Here's how'd it look if Riddler won..... 

Battle-Blog: The Riddler VS. The Question

What's up people?
Miss me? Yeah I know you did.

So what a crazy ass week last week it was for me. Last power for a day from 5pm-5pm, when a winter storm swept through the area. It truly sucks to freeze your ass off all day, and you have no fucking clue when the power will come back on. I remember sitting and watching bright flashes of light that night that reminded of what people living in England back in WW2 felt like when the Germans bombed them. Power line after power line, and and blown up transformer after transforming filled the night sky with its glow. Each bright burst signifying a longer and longer wait until precious electricity was returned to the house.

But thankfully it came on. I was lucky, 'cause there's still a good number of people living in my town w/o power. Poor bastards.

So I guess I picked a good week to take off then I see....
And how was your weekend?


Here's a quick pick or two of some swag I got two weeks ago:

Not bad huh?

And here's the new Superior Spider-Man figure.

He's not bad, and does come with an extra set of hands. He's just on the small side for me. Not to mention, dookie brown for his eyes? Really?

Anyhoo,

Here's the first part of this week's skit sketch involving The Question and the Riddler. It just seemed like an actual fight you'd expect to break out between those two. And you know what they're fighting over? Who has the right to rock the question mark symbol. Yeah. Hey, wars have been started over less.....

To be continued.......

Sorry for the delay. Fucking computer is slowing down. plus it's taking literally hours just to upload these pics for some weird reason. Fucking blogger:(

What The Fuck Were They Thinking?: Paste Pot Pete

TGIF!!!!!!


So for today's edition of WTFWTT, I picked this guy:

yep, The Trapster, a.k.a. Paste Pot Pete.

Yeah, don't ask me what the hell Stan and Co. were thinking when they came up with this guy's name. Maybe the middle name's a clue;)

I mean seriously, look at this guy.

 He looks like a demented art school dropout/teacher.
He'd be a perfect villain for Spider-Man if that show the Electric Company was still on.

First appearing in Strange Tales#104( Jan '64), Ol' Petey's origins, according to marvel.wikia.com is this:

"Peter Petruski was working as a research chemist in New York City when he invented an extremely adhesive "multi-polymer" liquid. Creating a paste-gun and calling himself Paste-Pot Pete, he decided to use his invention to commit crimes. Each time he was defeated by the Human Torch-- from his initial attempt at stealing a top-secret army missile"

Yep, that was and is his big ticket to fame: Developing really strong glue paste. Uh Petey Pete....they already have that. It's called Gorilla Glue. Sticks to anything. No, really, it does.

Yeah, it's called a Mort-uary! HA!

Seriously, look at this guy. He looks like he should be fighting Gingivitis and tooth decay, not superheroes.

After getting his ass handed to him by the Human Torch and The Thing on two separate occasions, Pete changed his name to the Trapster in the hopes of probably not being laughed at too much and because he specialized in making traps. Didn't work apparently, nor has various stints with the evil opposite of the FF, The Frightful Four.


Even then all he got for his troubles were a knuckle sandwich from the Thing and an all-paid, expense free(well taxpayers pay for his stay) trip to the big house.


Personally, I think the guy should quit the villain racket and go legit. Either patent and sell his paste formula, or work for a corporation or firm that could use his trap-building expertise. Much like he did during Jeph Loeb/Carlos Pacheo's FF run, when he worked the Gideon Corporation.

Either that or work for the feds. God knows they'd love to have a freak like that on the payroll.

Jesus! Something else for Karl to get a hard-on for;)

Ok, so I got a new phone, and that;s all set, but I'm still feeling like I should take a week off or something. 

I don't know what it is, other than creative burnout, laziness, and the fact that maintaining this blog at this moment, feels like a chore. It shouldn't. Something you love to do should never feel like a chore or obligation.

So, with that in mind, I'm taking a week's siesta. When I come back, the race to Post#500 goes into full swing since it's really only a week's worth of material away.

Don't worry, I'll be back. So don't cry for me Argentina. The truth is I've never really liked you much as a country despite knowing next to jack squat about you. LOL!

Have a damn good weekend kids. And for the love of Paste Pot Pete, if you get drunk, don't walk home from the bar. You'll only lose your phone, hobble around like a decrepit old man, and then wonder why the universe is shitting on you.

Be safe, and always wear a rubber(unless you're super awesome at the pull-out method. Then go for it;)

Back-Issue Spotlight: Doctor Strange( Vol.1)#56

What's up people?

Yesterday sucked fucking ass for me.

Basically I got drunk late Tuesday night-early Wednesday morning, and decided to walk home from the bar, ducking out on my friends. Yeah don't ask me why. I walked a total of over 10 miles, as I got halfway home before realizing my phone was missing. I walked all the back to the bar, only to be told no phone was turned in. So I walked all the way home, only stopping to sit down for a quick couple of minutes since my fucking legs were killing me. They still are btw.

So I sit down at a local tech college bench. Cop rolls into the parking lot. I'm thinking, "Well, I guess I'm going to jail tonight."

I didn't. She let me go thankfully, and off I went to stumble home sometime around 3 in the morning.
Even with my legs killing me, and only a few hours of sleep, I biked it back up to the bar to look for my phone.

No such luck. Wound up doing that 2 more times. Still no phone.
So today, I'm having to buy a new phone and new minutes. Thankfully the previous minutes get transferred, and I can keep my same cell#.

So, how was your day yesterday?


Okay, so Back-Issue Spotlight time, with a visit from the good doctor himself, Dr. Strange.

Dr. Strange#56(Vol.1) (Dec '84) "A Mystic Reborn" by Roger Stern and Paul Smith.

Basically the story is way to give the reader a refresher course on the origin of Dr. Strange, while probably schooling new fans/readers. And Stern does a damn fine job of reviewing Dr.Strange's origin without going on and on. Short and simple, as it should be.

Well the good doctor is doing all this since he's giving a rare televised interview to reporter and potential love interest, Morgana Blessing. I don't know whatever happened to her after this series got cancelled. Maybe she's dead, idk. But during this time period she was Dr. Strange's romantic interest. Why reporters honestly?

I figure that's got to be rough to date or be married to one. They seem like they always want to know details, play 20 questions, that sort of thing. Fuck that you noisy bitches!

Anyhoo, accompanying Ms.Blessing is a film crew for a video production company. Yes video. While it was 1982. What'd you expect?

But all is not as it seems with said film crew, and it's not long at all after Strange goes over his origin story, that he calls out said film crew. Said film crew turn out to be old foes in disguise. Like mid-late-60's foes.

Standing revealed, the shit is on immediately as all three attack Dr.Strange. Apparently despite their skill-set, they seem to still be pretty much bush league compared to Strange, as he admits to toying with them.


Seeing that they're not getting anywhere fast, all three split up and run throughout Strange's mansion.
They quickly find out that the house is like the inside of a TARDIS, as each room or stairway just leads you along like a never-ending maze, full of twists and turns.

 Finally Dr. Strange tracks them down via his astral form and fights them off.

While distracted, the sorceress Adria tracks what she thinks is a way to get of Strange once and for all. Little does she know what it'll really do to her, and despite Strange's warnings, Adria sets the mystic orb off.

The orb goes off and sucks all three wannabe-magic thugs into the dreaded PURPLE DIMENSION!!!!
Is that where Grimace from Mickey D's is really from? No? Who cares, scary, purple bastard!

Strange reflects on what just happened, and assures the obviously distraught Ms. Blessing what it wasn't here fault bringing the film in, since she didn't know they were killers in disguise.

Well she didn't.

The story in this one is fairly quick, and shows off the origins of Dr. Strange and how he came to own and live in the infamous Sanctum Sanctorum mansion in the Greenwich Village.

What stands out to me more than anything, is the sweet, sweet Paul Smith artwork.
My god that man's criminally underrated, I and many others have noticed and remarked on not only the brilliance that is Paul Smith, but also how he homages Steve Ditko, but without the wonky Ditko art Shlomo's not a big fan off.


Smith, and maybe a select few others like Jim Starlin, John Byrne and the late Marshall Rogers have all in their careers homaged Ditko, but in their own unique style.

Go get this run of Dr. Strange, if nothing else for the sweet Paul Smith art. That shit was greatness back then.

Tomorrow, yes tomorrow, is my weekly WTFWTT? post.
See you then kids.