The Dork Review

Rob's Room: Cool Artist: Ulises Farinas

2012-02-02T10:18:00.000-08:00

Straight outta Blooklyn, Ulises Farinas reminds me of Geof Darrow. Would you like to know more?

http://ulisesfarinas.com/

...and one timelapse image for The Dork!

Big Bang Theory Inspired

2012-02-02T08:36:00.001-08:00

Dork Note: I had this custom bumper sticker made up at Zazzle!

Sonic Dorkiness

2012-02-02T08:15:00.001-08:00

Rob's Room: Superman 3

2012-02-01T18:12:00.000-08:00

Paul Scheer (comedian) & Damon Lindelof (writer, Lost & Star Trek) discuss the genius that is "Superman 3" and ask "How did this get made?"... Enjoy!

Listen to the hilarious discussion at the following link:

http://www.earwolf.com/episode/superman-iii-live/

Superman 3 deleted scene:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFFAUxonWRk

February in the DC-verse

2012-02-01T08:09:00.000-08:00

Copycat Cover: Captain America Annual #8

2012-02-01T06:13:00.000-08:00

Commission: Paul Smith

2012-01-31T19:43:00.000-08:00

Rob's Room: Frank Quietly's Star Wars

2012-01-31T16:07:00.000-08:00

Uh oh... The Dork gave me the keys to the Batmobile! Look out!

Decapitated Sand People, limbless Rodians, and scalped droids?! Yes, please!

More of this would be swell, preferably in film form written and directed by Joss Whedon! A dork can dream...

Frank Quitely Interview where we discover this child of the 70's did not see Star Wars until he was 30

Monday Who's Who: Blockbuster

2012-01-30T21:09:00.000-08:00

Alpha, Beta, Gamma Flight

2012-01-30T16:02:00.001-08:00

Dork Note: These panels reveal this whole back story of the "Alpha-verse" which has never been really explored. It would be cool if John Byrne did a Alpha Flight Year One series.

Gamma Flight:
The original Gamma Flight served as the first tier in the three tier process of becoming a member of Alpha Flight as instituted by Department H. Gamma Flight was mostly raw recruits. After a training period, theoretically they would be upgraded to Beta Flight and eventually to Alpha Flight, the premiere official superhero team of Canada. The members were Diamond Lil, Smart Alec, Wild Child, and Madison Jeffries.

Former Gamma Flight members (Diamond Lil, Smart Alec, Wild Child) along with Beta Flight members (Box and Flashback) were convinced by Jerry Jaxon and Delphine Courtney to join Omega Flight in his bid to destroy James Hudson.

Cool Artist: Patxi Pelaez

2012-01-30T10:26:00.000-08:00

2012-01-29T23:05:00.000-08:00

2012-01-29T13:10:00.000-08:00

Wanted TPB: Valor in D.O.A & Sudden Death Overtime

2012-01-28T19:55:00.000-08:00

Writer: Mark Waid

Artist: Jeffrey Moore and Colleen Doran

Publisher: DC Comics (1993-1994)
Includes: Valor#12-21

Clipped from a forum: Waid 's "D.O.A." storyline had a lot of time travel, divergent realities, and so on. It was a good read, but it was a little overcomplicated and all the continuity wrangling was ultimately kind of pointless given what was coming.

Cool Cover: Amazing Heroes #4

2012-01-27T23:15:00.000-08:00

2012-01-27T23:04:00.000-08:00

A Moment Between...Darkseid and baby Validus

2012-01-26T16:08:00.000-08:00

“Falcon Girl” by James Hance

2012-01-26T05:34:00.001-08:00

Dork Note: Meesa want this as a poster!

Timelapse: Nassar and Austin 's Black Canary

2012-01-26T05:32:00.000-08:00

Dork Note: Sorry don't know the artist or issue.

Copycat Cover: The Swap

2012-01-25T06:09:00.000-08:00

2012-01-24T23:04:00.000-08:00

Monday Who's Who: Black Spider

2012-01-23T21:08:00.000-08:00

2012-01-22T13:09:00.000-08:00

DC Super-Stars Society

2012-01-21T23:04:00.000-08:00

The Membership kit details:

a 17x22 poster by Jose Luis Garcia Lopez
a cloth patch
a DC Super-Stars Society decal and an insignia transfer to iron on a shirt
a membership certificate "suitable for framing"
a membership card with the chapter's secret code on back
discount coupons to save on Dollar Comics, Amazing World of DC Comics, Direct Currents, and the regular line
the DC Super-Stars Society Bulletin "with contest announcements, instructions for establishing your own local chapter of the DC Super-Stars Society, and more!"
an exclusive set of DC Super-Star Society envelopes "to identify you as a member and give your letter to the editor special handling!"

Clipped from lsh.0catch.com by Wizard Imp:

In late 1977, DC proposed a fan club called the DC Super-Stars Society with a dozen chapters, devoted to a number of its popular characters and teams: alphabetically, they were for Batman, Black Lightning, DC's Battle Stars, Flash, Green Arrow & Black Canary, Green Lantern, JLA, JSA, the Legion, Shazam!, Superman, and Wonder Woman. (For the record, DC was publishing 37 titles at the time, and they could have had chapters for the Secret Society of Super-Villains, Aquaman, Mr. Miracle/New Gods, mystery/horror, Jonah Hex, Warlord, or Kamandi, according to a subscription form).
But 1978 was also infamous at DC for the aftermath of the Explosion, popularly known as the DC Implosion, in which a large number of titles and projects were cancelled by Warner execs. The DC Super-Stars Society was one of the casualties. As far as I know, only the Superman club ever put something out.
The first ad appeared in the December 1977. It was all timed to coincide with the DC Explosion, in the summer of 1978. You'd send your SASE and in return you'd get a 4-page pamphlet: an intro, a trivia quiz, a pitch for the other chapters, and the subscription form for that chapter. The Legion pamphlet arrived in the mail in July 1978 (just before my 12th birthday), and I eagerly sent in my $4 for my Special Charter Membership Kit, which would have taken 8-10 weeks for delivery. Unfortunately, it never came. I did get my money back, though.

Dork Note: I can relate to that last bit about eagerly waiting for a membership; which failed to arrive. The same thing happened to me with the Captain Cosmic Fan Club.

2012-01-21T23:03:00.000-08:00

Coming Soon TPBs

2012-01-21T21:24:00.000-08:00

Copycat Cover: Batman #112

2012-01-21T06:09:00.000-08:00

Cool Cover: Amazing Heroes #193

2012-01-20T23:14:00.000-08:00

Cool Artist: Sam Wolfe Connelly

2012-01-20T12:07:00.000-08:00

My Favorite Threadless Designs

2012-01-20T08:26:00.000-08:00

Dork Note: I wish they would make some of these into posters.

Cool Cover: Comics Interview #12

2012-01-19T23:12:00.000-08:00

2012-01-19T23:02:00.000-08:00

2012-01-19T22:59:00.000-08:00

Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock

2012-01-19T20:43:00.001-08:00

Clipped from Wikipedia:

Rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock is a five-gesture expansion of the classic selection method game rock-paper-scissors. It operates on the same basic principle, but includes two additional weapons: the lizard (formed by the hand as a sock-puppet-like mouth) and Spock (formed by the Star Trek Vulcan salute). This reduces the chances of a round ending in a tie compared to the more traditional game.

The game was originally invented by Sam Kass and Karen Bryla. It was mentioned in an article of The Times in 2005,and popularized in 2008 by "The Lizard-Spock Expansion", the 8th episode, Season 2 of the sitcom The Big Bang Theory.

Scissors cut paper
Paper covers rock
Rock crushes lizard
Lizard poisons Spock
Spock smashes scissors
Scissors decapitate lizard
Lizard eats paper
Paper disproves Spock
Spock vaporizes rock
Rock crushes scissors

A Moment Between...Light Lass and Timber Wolf

2012-01-19T16:03:00.000-08:00

Supergirl DVD Booklet

2012-01-19T10:21:00.000-08:00

Dork Note: It is so weird they included puzzle and maze games in the DVD booklet.

Beta & Gamma Flight Civilian Introductions

2012-01-19T08:35:00.000-08:00

Phil Noto's Bates

2012-01-19T08:30:00.001-08:00

Dork Note: This made me laugh, because we've been watching Downton Abbey; which is REALLY good show!

2012-01-18T23:01:00.000-08:00

2012-01-18T09:31:00.000-08:00

2012-01-17T13:19:00.000-08:00

Adam Umak's Villain Jam Pieces

2012-01-17T13:03:00.000-08:00

Dork Note: I love these...just wish they were scans and not pics.

Queen Bee (Dillon), Poison Ivy (Moore), Black Manta (Fradon), Copperhead (Lilly), Monarch (McDaniel), Black Adam (Olliffe), Effigy (Banks), Captain Boomerang (Saviuk), Captain Cold (Cooke), Libra (Jones), Dr. Sivana (Fraga), Bizarro (Powell), Abra Kadabra (Hembeck)

Per Degaton (Hardman), Atomic Skull (Beaty), Despero (McKenna), King Tut (Garcia-Lopez), Mordru (Powell), The Joker (Quinones), Mister Mind (Smith)

Gizmo (Baltazar), Gentleman Ghost and Shadow Thief (Truman), Kobra (Atkins), Monsieur Mallah (Wheatley), Ambush Bug (Giffen)

Klarion the Witch Boy (Eliopoulos), Eclipso (Wilson III), Ultra-Humanite (Timony), Mechanikat (Cohn), Kanto (Haspiel), Enemy Ace (Kindt)

Nekron (Moore), Chief Lincoln Red Crow (Latour), The Ventriloquist and Scarface (Adlard), The Penguin (Langridge)

Mr. Zsasz (Purcell), Dr. Destiny (Hempel), Johnny Sorrow (Williams II), Blackbriar Thorn (Petz), Calendar Man (Nebres/Purcell), Lobo (Ellis)

Solomon Grundy (Castillo), Brainiac (Serra/Purcell), Silver Banshee (Small), Dr. Alchemy (Rousseau/Purcell)

Harley Quinn (DiBari), Catman (Chiang), Ra's and Talia al Ghul (Rubinstein), Scarecrow (Sale), Mirror Master (Garney), The Wizard (McLeod), Atrocitus (Davis/Purcell), Persuader (Gonzales), Dex-Starr (Cook), Weather Wizard (McKone)

Mr. Mxyzptlk (Giarrusso), Two-Face (Aragones), Chronos (Norton), Clayface (Chen), Desaad (Simonson), Psimon (Aureliani), Ocean Master (Hammer), The Shade (Ha), Deimos (Grell/Purcell), Mr. Freeze (Golden), Kestrel (Liefeld)

Killer Frost (Igle), Mad Hatter (Calafiore), Bat-Mite (Dorkin), Sawbones (Beck), Reverse-Flash (Van Sciver), Lex Luthor (Braithwaite), Man-Bat (Gunnell), The Riddler (Faber), Cain and Gregory the Gargoyle (Petersen)

Cool Artist: Keron Grant

2012-01-17T10:42:00.000-08:00

DAMN! Hootie brings the hurt!

2012-01-16T20:04:00.001-08:00

from Smash Comics #1

Map of Smallville

2012-01-16T20:01:00.000-08:00

Golden Age Vigilante (Post-Crisis)

2012-01-16T10:17:00.001-08:00

Dork Note: I always thought the Golden Age Vigilante was kind of cool. A modern day (1940's) Lone Ranger of sorts. I love the above image and think a story revolving (no pun intended) around him, as he is above, would be great.

DC would NEVER do a series about an old, fat, retired, gun carrying Vigilante who runs a bar, but if they did and did it right I'd buy it.

It's sad for a DC hero; which at one time had his own movie serial, to never have a proper comic treatment. The best tribute I've seen for this character was his appearances in the animated show Justice League Unlimited.

Monday Who's Who: The Huntress (Earth 2)

2012-01-16T10:11:00.000-08:00

Wanted TPB: Tales of the Green Lantern - Dave Gibbons Volume 1

2012-01-16T09:57:00.000-08:00

Writer:Len Wein
Artist: Dave Gibbons
Publisher: DC Comics (1984)
Includes: Green Lantern #172-176 and #178-181

Dork Note: I would do this Dave Gibbons collection in two volumes. The first volume would end with Hal Jordan quitting the Green Lantern Corps.

Clipped from comiccon.com written by Lawson:

This was a cool period, 1983 and 1984, right before CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, when the DC Universe still made sense to us kids who had been reading DC comics and who understood and even liked the idea of parallel Earths.

During the Wein/Gibbons run, Hal Jordan returned to Earth after a year-long exile in space ordered by the Guardians (those manipulative little blue-skinned bastards!). Hal moves in with his girlfriend Carol Ferris (hey, it's the 1980s, heroes can shack up now), although we're also introduced to a new supporting cast, as we typically are when a new writer takes over a title.

Basically, Green Lantern's life revolves around his employer, Ferris Aircraft, and making it profitable again. Which seems a little dubious ethically -- dedicating this awesome power to boosting one corporation ("Hello, Superman? This is General Motors. Um, listen ...") -- but Wein tries to make it a good vs. evil scenario. He has a corrupt congressman scheming to destroy Ferris Aircraft by ... well, by hiring a different C-list super-villain every month to attack the place (the Javelin, the Demolition Team, etc.). Because if a company is known to be defended by the powerful Green Lantern, a founding member of the Justice League of America, obviously the best strategy for attack is hiring a super-villain, not, y'know, quietly screwing with its stock price.

OK, Wein's stories are obviously a little thin, but they're fun, nonetheless. What's more fun is admiring Gibbons' art (he sometimes did pencils, inks and lettering; in a few issues, Dick Giordano inked) on a traditional superhero book, just a couple of years before he and Alan Moore produced WATCHMEN. You can really see Gibbons' style take form.

By the end of the Wein/Gibbons run, Hal Jordan retires and passes the power ring to John Stewart for a (short-lived, it will turn out, thanks to CRISIS) solo run as Earth's Green Lantern.

Wanted TPB: Tales of the Green Lantern - Dave Gibbons Volume 2

2012-01-16T09:27:00.000-08:00

Writer:Len Wein and Various
Artist: Dave Gibbons
Publisher: DC Comics (1983-1984)
Includes: Green Lantern #182-183, #185-186, and Green Lantern (Backup Stories) #161, 162, 164, 165,166, 167, 171, and 188

Dork Note: This is would be the second/final volume in the Dave Gibbons' Green Lantern run. I would include the completion of his run with Len Wein then wrap it up with all the backup Green Lantern Tales.

Please Give Your Support

2012-01-13T14:11:00.000-08:00

A Brief History

On Christmas day 2011 while Joey and Ginger Adams were visiting family in Pinetop, Az, Ian and Henry, the family’s two 16-month old twin boys had to be airlifted to Phoenix Children’s Hospital with advanced pneumonia. Days of anxiety and prayer followed as both babies were given oxygen, and Ian was put into intensive care…

Making this crisis more disturbing, prior to the birth of the twins, Joey and Ginger Adams had already been devastated by the loss of their 16-month old daughter, Gwen, on November 14th 2009 under startlingly similar circumstances.

Because of this history extreme caution was taken to make sure that what happened to Gwen would not happen to Ian and Henry.

Today there is a pending diagnosis of HLH for Ian and possibly his twin brother Henry. This would also explain why Gwen had died so suddenly in 2009. Because HLH is a genetic disease, it also means that the Adams’s oldest son, Caid (6 years old), could possible have the same disease.

If the diagnosis is correct, the only cure is a successful bone marrow transplant.

Henry is out of the hospital, but Ian remains on a ventilator. Ian was under heavy sedation and is slowly being weened off. Because of the possibility of HLH Ian is also on a high dose steroid treatment and periodic low doses of chemotherapy.

Dork Note: Please help this family by giving a donation.

Cool Artist: Waldemar Lene

2012-01-13T10:34:00.000-08:00

2012-01-13T07:13:00.000-08:00

Dazzler by Bill Sienkiewicz

2012-01-13T05:40:00.001-08:00

All-Star Squadron just before Crisis

2012-01-13T05:35:00.001-08:00

from All-Star Squadron #59

2012-01-12T22:58:00.000-08:00

Cool Artist: Zachary Baldus

2012-01-12T18:16:00.000-08:00

Rob asks, "Am I too old for these...?‏"

2012-01-12T14:07:00.000-08:00

Sheet Set 1 & Sheet Set 2

Dork Note: Nah, Rob you're never to old to be a kid!:)

2012-01-12T07:58:00.000-08:00

Clipped from CBR and written by Paul Newell:

What the heck do some of the terms that Legion fans use mean?

Some common terms used about the Legion:

THE ADVENTURE LEGION- Term used to describe the Silver Age Legion appearing in Adventure Comics.

ADULT LEGION- The Legion, in their early days, occasionally fought an adult Legion of Super-Villains, supposedly from their own future. This future was revealed briefly in Action Comics #289 when Superman visited the Adult Legion. But when the term is used it generally refers to Jim Shooter’s 2 part story in Adventure Comics #354 and #355. This story foreshadowed much of the Legions future, who would marry, who would die, etc. Many of this foreshadowing was used over the years until LOSH (V3) #300. Shadow Lass, or Shadow Woman as she became in that issue, was fated to die defending the Science Asteroid. Instead, she survived when the Khunds attacked the Asteroid. Any anomaly was explained away by alternate realities of the Legion, which Ferro Lads brother, Douglas viewed throughout the issue, eventually escaping to one.

THE DISCO LEGION- Name given by many fans to the Legion period appearing during the 70's. The term is a humorous reference to the skimpy redesigned outfits given to the Legion members by Dave Cockrum and Mike Grell.

PRE-CRISIS/POST-CRISIS- The Crisis divide happened between issues #18 and #19 of Legion of Super-Heroes (V3), though it would take a few issues to eradicate Supergirl from history. This would be the only major effect.

POCKET UNIVERSE- The Superman Revamp by John Byrne revealed that Clark Kent was never Superboy, the keystone of Legion Lore. So it was revealed in the Cosmic Boy mini-series, which tied into the Legends mini somewhat, that history had been changed. Cosmic Boy finds that it has something to do with the Time Trapper and warns the Legion in Legion of Super-Heroes(V3) #36. In issues #37 and #38, it’s revealed that during the Crisis, The Trapper “trapped” a pocket of time from the Pre-Crisis Universe. One containing an Earth with Superboy living in Smallville. Whenever The Legion had traveled back in time before Cosmic Boys sojourn, they were in fact entering this “Pocket Universe” rather than the actual 20th Century. The whole thing was a trap that would collapse this “Universe” and killing the Legion. Superboy, who died as a result, saved the Legion, however. This way, Superboy was shown to have always been a member of the Legion, as well as the Pocket Universe counterparts of Lana Lang, Pete Ross and Jimmy Olsen.

5 YEAR GAP/THE GAP/V4- When Keith Giffen took over as writer of the Legion after Paul Levitz had “retired”. He decided he wanted to take the Legion in a new direction and leave Levitz’s Legion as is. So V3 was cancelled and a new volume of Legion of Super-Heroes started at #1. The first page was one panel saying “FIVE YEARS LATER”. And the story continued showing that the Legion had disbanded in that time. Generally the stories in the time between #1 and Zero Hour and the events that happened off panel between the two series, are referred to by the above expressions.

MORDRUVERSE/GLORITHVERSE - When V4 of the Legion started, a edict came from the Superman office that all ties to the Superman mythos should be ended. To accommodate this, A story was written in issues #4 and #5 where Mon-El, Lar Gand, fights the Time Trapper and wipes him from existence as well as the Pocket Universe. It’s revealed that the Trapper was a counterpoint to the rise of Mordru, one of the Legions greatest foes. Because the Trapper and his Superboy, the inspiration of the Legion, ceased to exist, The Legion never came to be and Mordru ruled all. This alternate reality is the "Mordruverse". With the help of some “Legion members”, Glorith, a minor flunky of the Trapper from an early story, replaced the Trapper in the timestream. The Universe was restored, but now the inspiration of the Legion was Lar Gand, renamed Valor. Later, Mike Carlin, then editor of the Superman titles, realised that this now invalidated the new Supergirl’s origin and the Pocket Universes existence was hastily replaced in LOSH V4 #14 & Adventures of Superman #478. Though now Superboy had only met and became a member of the Legion a few weeks before the Pocket Universe Saga. The Timeline was still changed with Glorith being the Time Trapper throughout the Legions history. This reality is the "Glorithverse".

TMK- Abbreviation used for the initial V4 creative team. Tom & Mary Bierbaum, Keith Giffen.

SW6 LEGION- In issue #21 of V4 some mysterious new characters appeared. They would eventually be revealed in Issue #24 as youthful counterparts of the now Adult Legion. At first thought to be Dominator clones of the Legion, taken from their “Adventure Comic” days, they eventually split off into their own title, “Legionnaires”. When first discovered, the Dominators, who had been mind-wiping groups of super humans to build an army, had categorized them as Batch SW6.

END OF AN ERA- Six issue tie in to Zero Hour tying up the loose ends of the “original” Legion and wiping them from existence in preparation for the Reboot.

The story appeared in Legion of Super-Heroes (V4) #60-#61, Valor #22-#23 and Legionnaires #17-#18.

REBOOT/PRE-BOOT/POST-BOOT- With Legion of Super-Heroes (V4) #0 and Legionnaires #0 the timeline rebooted from the start with these issues showing the formation of the Legion. The stories before are referred to as the PRE-BOOT Legion, those from the zero issues onwards as the POST-BOOT Legion.

ARCHIE LEGION- Name some fans give to the Post-Boot Legion, due to the more "cartoony" artwork that was used at the time.

DnA LEGION- Abbreviation standing for Dan and Andy, when talking about the writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning run.

THREEBOOT- Term describing the second Legion reboot as created by Waid/Kitson.

RETROBOOT LEGION- Term describing the new version of the Pre-Crisis Legion written by Geoff Johns and Paul Levitz.

2012-01-12T07:45:00.000-08:00

Dork Note: This car Ad from France made me smile.

Wanted TPB: Seth Fisher's DC Bits and Pieces

2012-01-12T07:39:00.000-08:00

Writer:Various
Artist: Seth Fisher
Publisher: DC Comics (2001-2005)
Includes: Green Lantern: Willworld, The Flash: Time Flies, Doom Patrol #13-14, and Batman: Legends Of The Dark Knight #192-196

Dork Note: Green Lantern, Flash, and Batman are all collected into their separate TPBs, but it would be nice to have all his DC work collected in to one book. Check out his site.

Cool Artist: Mark Beachum

2012-01-12T07:27:00.000-08:00

Wanted TPB: Time Trapper Volume 3

2012-01-11T08:20:00.000-08:00

Writer: Various

Artist: Various

Publisher: DC Comics (1993-1994)
Includes: Legionnaires #17, Valor #22, Legion of Super-Heroes #60, Legionaires #18, Valor #23, and Legion of Super-Heroes #61

In the aftermath of The Time Trapper - Volume 1...
The aftermath continued in...The Time Trapper - Volume 2

Dork Note: Here is Volume 3 as requested by Gary Anchet! This would be a great book end for this collection of TPBs.

Copycat Cover: The Amazing Spider-Man #151

2012-01-11T06:07:00.000-08:00

2012-01-10T22:57:00.000-08:00

Back Cover: Marvel Age #63

2012-01-10T19:50:00.000-08:00

Wanted TPB: DC Challenge

2012-01-09T19:29:00.000-08:00

Writer: Various

Artist: Various

Publisher: DC Comics (1985-1986)
Includes: DC Challenge #1-12

Clipped from Wikipedia: DC Challenge was a 12-issue comic book series produced by DC Comics from November 1985 to October 1986, as a round robin experiment in narrative. The book's tagline was "Can You Solve It Before We Do?"; reputedly, it was conceived during a rooftop party at a comic book convention.

The premise of DC Challenge was that each chapter would be written by a different author and illustrated by a different artist; no consultation between authors was permitted. As well, each chapter would end in a seemingly impossible cliffhanger (from which that chapter's author had to have planned a viable escape), and the name of the next chapter would be provided. Authors were free to use any character or concept from DC's (then) 50 years of publication, with the exception of those whose appearances they were currently writing.

Clipped Review from Bad-Dreams Comic Books: DC CHALLENGE was high in concept but low on execution, but it’s saving grace is that most of the writers really had fun doing this (based on the letter pages). So…it was a labor of love. It really was a challenge for the writers and artists; it was a grand geek contest. It should have been an in-house experiment only, because trying to follow this maxi-series was virtually impossible. Theoretically, you could read DC CHALLENGE #12 only because it explains all of the dangling plots.

Dork Note: I'd still like to have this experiment grace my shelves. If for no other purpose, but to have all those writers and artists collected within the pages of a single TPB.

Map of the Marvel Bullpen

2012-01-09T18:31:00.000-08:00

2012-01-09T18:30:00.000-08:00

Cool Artist: Ned Bajalica

2012-01-09T10:32:00.000-08:00

Monday Who's Who: Sinestro

2012-01-09T10:10:00.000-08:00

2012-01-08T22:56:00.000-08:00

Pre & Post Crisis Photo from All-Star Squadron #60

2012-01-08T10:54:00.000-08:00

Dork Note: Kind of a cool way to reflect the Crisis EFX!

Secrets of the Legion Bumper Sticker

2012-01-07T20:03:00.000-08:00

Released in October, 1980

Clipped from Miscellaneous Legion Items: According to Michael Grabois,

"Back when [the Secrets of the Legion of Super-Heroes] miniseries first came out in mid-October 1980, the Direct Market was just starting out (and in fact there wouldn’t be any ‘direct sales only’ books for another year or two) and I guess they weren’t sure how to promote it. So naturally they printed up some bumper stickers. I remember a stack of these at my local Heroes World store in Woodbridge Center, NJ, but sadly I only took one. (Shortly thereafter they had a red one for Arak [Son of Thunder] #1 and a bright yellow one for All-Star Squadron #1.) There’s nothing new on the sticker except some text, but this is one of the hardest Legion-related pieces to find. In the 20 years since this came out, I have seen only one other sticker."

Boba Fett Headphones from Coloud

2012-01-07T01:28:00.000-08:00

Boba Fett Headphones from Coloud

Adam Strange's The Magic Maker of Rann

2012-01-06T23:46:00.000-08:00

from Strange Adventures #226

Flash's Rogue Gallery

2012-01-06T23:08:00.001-08:00

2012-01-06T22:54:00.001-08:00

Back Cover: DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #7

2012-01-06T05:49:00.000-08:00

Cool Toy I Want: Tauntaun with Open Belly

2012-01-05T20:41:00.000-08:00

Changing the Face of Raven by Marv & George

2012-01-05T20:33:00.000-08:00

"When we received a letter from someone saying "Hey, you know, I've noticed that the face has been changing, you're making her look almost demonic, was that deliberate?" It wasn't, then, but it became that way from that point on! (Laughter.) That's when we decided to use that scene inside TITANS #1, based on that one letter. lt started as something I was doing because I was adapting my style. Then I suddenly decided to use a story element. The face was changed, but it wasn't because George Pérez style was changing, it was because it was a deliberate change. So it was an accidental deliberate change."

Boris Karloff, a girl, and a comic book rack!

2012-01-05T19:25:00.000-08:00

Dork Note: It's funny the way he is holding her, very Frankenstein's Monsterish!

Wanted TPB: Classic Star-lord

2012-01-04T21:27:00.000-08:00

Writer: Various

Artist: Various

Publisher: Marvel Comics (1975-1981)

Includes: Marvel Preview #4,11,15, and 18, Marvel Super Special #10, Marvel Spotlight #6 and #7, and Marvel Premier #61. Dork Note: I would also include the additional pages by Michael Golden which were created when Marvel reprinted John Byrne's Marvel Preview #11 as Star-Lord Special Edition #1.

Fun Facts Clipped from Wikipedia: Creator Steve Englehart had plans for the character that went unrealized, however, later reflecting on his website:

I conceived something very large. My hero would go from being an unpleasant, introverted jerk to the most cosmic being in the universe, and I would tie it into my then-new interest in astrology. After his earthbound beginning, his mind would be opened step by step, with a fast-action story on Mercury, a love story on Venus, a war story on Mars, and so on out to the edge of the solar system, and then beyond. But — after his earthbound beginning, where I established him as an unpleasant, introverted jerk, I left Marvel, so no one ever saw what he was to become.

Fun Facts Clipped from Wikipedia: Star-Lord reappeared in Marvel Preview, with writer Chris Claremont revamping the character and using science fiction adventure stories like the Heinlein juveniles for inspiration.Heinlein's lawyers threatened legal action over the cover, which featured a blurb that described the content as "a novel-length science fiction spectacular in the tradition of Robert A. Heinlein," leading to the issue being pulled and reprinted.

Copycat Cover: The Amazing Spider-Man #102

2012-01-04T06:05:00.000-08:00

Invasion of the Bat-Men - Italy in the '70s.

2012-01-03T18:11:00.000-08:00

Cool Cover: Amazing Heroes #14

2012-01-03T17:21:00.000-08:00

He-Calvin and Battle-Hobbes by Christopher Tupa

2012-01-03T16:45:00.000-08:00

Batsuit History

2012-01-03T14:02:00.000-08:00

Dork Note: Thanks Dan

Monday Who's Who: The Crimson Avenger

2012-01-02T10:09:00.000-08:00

The Mystery of the Human Thunderbolt Part 3

2012-01-02T07:16:00.000-08:00

Dork Note: Sweet sweet poetry

Boba Fett LIVES!

2012-01-01T12:19:00.000-08:00

Dork Note: My friend sent me a pic of his son dressed up as Bob Fett!

January in the DC-verse

2012-01-01T08:08:00.000-08:00

Commission: Alan Davis

2011-12-31T19:45:00.000-08:00

Batcave, why I love thee! by the Dork

2011-12-31T17:47:00.000-08:00

UPDATED: 12/31/11 - HAPPY NEW YEAR!

One of my friends once asked me, "What's the craziest thing you'd do if you won the lottery?" I told him without hesitation...I'd build a BATCAVE! Ever since I got my first toy Batcave I have wanted the real thing! I know it's completely dorky, but what can I say...it just strikes me as the coolest thing ever. So to that end I have posted pictures of the Batcaves that have existed through the ages, including the toy I had as a kid.

The Batcave Toy from 1970's
History of the Batcave (clipped from Wikipedia): The Batcave first became part of the Batman mythos in the 1943 15-chapter movie serial Batman starring Lewis Wilson. In this version, as later in the comics, it was just a small cave with a desk and filing cabinets.
In 1943, the writers of the first Batman movie serial gave the Caped Crusader a complete underground crime lab and introduced it in the first chapter entitled "The Bat's Cave". Bob Kane, who was on the movie set, mentioned this to Bill Finger who was going to be the initial scripter on the BATMAN Daily Newspaper strip. Finger included with his script, a clipping from Popular Mechanics that featured a detailed cross section of underground hangars. Kane used this clipping as a guide adding the crime lab, stalactites, stalagmites and bats.
Thus, the Dark Knight's creators introduced the definitive Batcave in the Batman "dailies" on October 29, 1943 and in January 1944, the Batcave made its comic book debut in Detective Comics #83.

The Batcave of the 1940's Fun Fact about the Batcave (clipped from Wikipedia): The Batcave through a secret door in Wayne Manor itself, which is almost always depicted as in the main study, often behind a grandfather clock which unlocks the secret door when the hands are set to the time that Bruce Wayne's parents were murdered, 10:47.

The Batcave of the 1950's Fun Fact about the Batcave (clipped from Wikipedia): An unusual vehicle found in the Batcave is the subway rocket, debuted in Detective Comics #667, during the time when Jean Paul Valley was substituting for Bruce Wayne as Batman. It allowed Batman to quickly enter Gotham and could electronically clear a path via Gotham Rail.

The Batcave Dick Sprang Style. Fun Fact about the Batcave (clipped from Wikipedia): The Batcave stores various memorabilia items, such as a defunct full-size mechanical Tyrannosaurus Rex. The T. Rex comes from an adventure on "Dinosaur Island" (Batman #35, 1946). A giant penny was originally a trophy from Batman's encounter with a penny-obsessed villain named the Penny Plunderer (World's Finest Comics #30, 1947).

The Batcave of the 1960's Fun Fact about the Batcave (clipped from Wikipedia):There is a glass case display of Jason Todd's Robin costume as a memorial to him, with the epitaph "A Good Soldier", which remains even after Todd's resurrection. Barbara Gordon's Batgirl costume also remains on display after her retirement.

The Batcave of the 1960's TV series. Fun Fact about the Batcave (clipped from Wikipedia):Batcave in the 1960's TV series is accessed through Wayne Manor, via the two "batpoles" (one marked Bruce and the other marked Dick), which are hidden behind a bookcase that can be opened by pressing a button hidden inside a bust of Shakespeare. When Bruce and Dick slide down these batpoles, they are instantly outfitted in their costumes.

The Batcave Toy from 1970's
The Batcave of the 1970's Fun Fact about the Batcave (clipped from Wikipedia): The Batcave in Batman Beyond includes a display case with the many permutations of costumes of Robin, Batgirl, Nightwing, and Batman himself. Other items which have been shown to be in the Cave include the Freeze Gun of Mr. Freeze, Harley Quinn's costume, the puppet Scarface, and a 'shrine' to Bruce Wayne's childhood TV hero, the Gray Ghost.

The Batcave of the 1980's Fun Fact about the Batcave (clipped from Wikipedia):In the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Beware the Gray Ghost", the Batcave is revealed to be an exact replica of the lair used by the Gray Ghost, a fiction-within-fiction character and idol to Bruce Wayne.

The Batcave of Tim Burton's Batman 1989

The Batcave of the 1990's

The Batcave of the late 90's Fun Fact about the Batcave (clipped from Wikipedia): The Batcave seen in Batman Returns is accessed via a tube/elevator like passage from Wayne Manor, the entrance to which is hidden in an iron maiden and is activated by throwing a small switch hidden on a small replica of Wayne Manor in the bottom of a fish tank.

Satellite Batcaves Fun Fact about the Batcave (clipped from Wikipedia): Batman establishes satellite Batcaves (most of which were not caves in the literal sense that the original one was) throughout the city on areas either owned by him, his company, or unknown or abandoned by the city in the event that he needs a place to hide and/or resupply, which were pivotal during the No Man's Land storyline. One such Batcave was given to Batgirl, below a house owned by Bruce Wayne himself, during a point where her identity was compromised after she saved a man from rogue government agents, meaning that she could not walk around without a mask. Central Batcave: Located fifty feet below the bottom of Robinson Park Reservoir. It is accessible through a secret entrance at the foot of one of the Twelve Caesars statues at the north of the park. This safehouse was put out of commission by Poison Ivy, her "Feraks", and Clayface. Batcave South: A boiler room of a derelict shipping yard on the docks across from Paris Island. This safehouse is accessible through a number of false manholes planted throughout Old Gotham streets. Batcave South-Central: Located in the Old Gotham prototype subway station, a four-block stretch of track sealed in 1896 and forgotten. Northwest Batcave: This safehouse is located in the subbasement of Arkham Asylum. Batman secretly stocked it with emergency rations, all-terrain vehicles, and battery-powered communication equipment. Batcave East: An abandoned oil refinery owned by Wayne Enterprises. It fell out of use during a gasoline crisis when the company moved all its holdings offshore decades ago.

The Batcave of the 2000s. Fun Fact about the Batcave (clipped from Wikipedia): Discovered and used long before by Wayne's ancestors as a storehouse as well as a means of transporting escaped slaves during the Civil War era, Wayne himself rediscovered them when he fell through a dilapidated well on his estate.

The Batcave of from The Dark Knight movie 2008
The Batcave of 2010 Bat Bunker: Under the penthouse of the Wayne Foundation building, there is a secret bunker. When Dick Grayson became Batman this became his "Batcave", stating that he wishes to embody the role of Batman in a way that is specific to him as well as getting closer to the action in the city. This is similar to the bunker seen in the 2008 film The Dark Knight. The bunker is as well-equipped as the original Batcave, including the Subway Rocket vehicle stationed beneath the bunker.

The Batcave of 2011
1: Transporter to Justice League Headquarters 2: Passageway for navigating throughout western end of Batcave 3: Tiered underground waterfall streams across the estate from Kane Sound, on Gotham City’s North side 4: Alternate stairway, leading to Wayne Manor’s west gate 5: Underground waterfall that emanates all the way from Gotham River 6: Entranceway from southwest end of Wayne Manor 7: LCD Security Screens, secured from above, constantly monitor vault containing hazardous materials/technology 8: Stairway leading to Wayne Manor’s main entranceway (concealed on the left hand side) 9: Underpass leading directly to multiple levels 10: Vault containing extremely hazardous materials/technology, including a kryptonite ring that is lethal to Superman 11: Vertical HVAC’s (Heating, ventilation and air conditioning) 12: Hydroelectric power generator 13: Servo-conveyor belt, to facilitate transportation of bulk materials 14: Dam controls the flow of incoming water, and feeds power into the hydroelectric generator 15: Inside piping connecting to the hydroelectric dam and water filtration systems 16: Outlet enables the bat-Submarine to enter and exit beneath the waterfall 17: Stairway leading directly to forensic laboratory 18: Passageway leading to library and additional workshops 19: Forensic laboratory and equipment 20: Additional stairways to library area 21: Gymnasium, weight room and training facilities 22: Alfred operates the keypad controls that manage the servo-conveyor and winch 23: Retractable, steel-cable winch, for transporting bulk materials and machinery 24: Mooring for the Bat-Submarine 25: Modular floating dock 26: Central station that powers the Bat-computer mainframe, high-definition flatscreen, hologram projectors, retractable glass maps, and cray XT5 “Plug-in” modules 27: Additional vehicle storage/repair hangar 28: Exploration rover, for surveying uncharted areas within the Batcave or other geological-related missions 29: Robo-mechanics aid in vehicle repairs, diagnostics and maintenance 30: Batboat passageway mooring 31: Batboat, with a maximum surface speed of 170mph (30 knots in submerged mode) 32: Batcave dehumidification system/emergency walkway 33: Cables from the hydrogen and solar generators, distributing power to all areas of the Batcave 34: Solar-powered lighting fixture 35: Display case containing Barbara Gordon’s Batgirl Costume 36: Display case containing the costume of Jason Todd, the second Robin 37: Cabinets containing additional Bat-costumes and utility-belt supplies 38: Walkway to island computer platform 39: Batman stands amid the island platform’s computer mainframe and high-definition flatscreen monitor 40: Outer control deck for the Batplane 41: Elevator shaft to/from island computer platform, continuing all the way down to sub-level 6 42: Underpass from vehicle storage/repair hangar to Batmobiles 43: 2000 Batmobile 44: Current Batmobile model 45: Early-1990s Batmobile 46: Workstation connected to the Bat-computer mainframe 47: Robo-mechanic, for assisting in auto repairs 48: Automated sentry, for remote-control security functions 49: Classic “Hot Rod” Batmobile 50: Late-1990s Batmobile 51: Hydraulic turntable, for lowering the Batmobile down to the Batcave’s southern, northern and eastern ramp exits 52: 2004-05 Batmobile model 53: Underground waterfall continues streaming downward, ultimately existing through other outlets that lead out of the Batcave 54: Southern ramp exit (Headings: Mooney Bridge, Goodwin International Airpot) 55: Vertical airdock, reinforced from the Batcave ceiling, houses the Batplane for storage and repairs 56: Servo-hydraulic pistons raise and lower the Batplane as needed 57: Stealth-engaged Batplane 58: VTOL-ready Batplane 59: Bat-copter hangar area 60: Spiral hangar to lower levels, for access to Bat-copter and Batwing 61: Walkway and stairs to/from spiral hangar area 62 & 63: Independently operating solar generators, fuelled by the rotating solar panels on Wayne Manor’s rooftops, power much of the Batcave’s high-tech hardware and equipment 64: “War Room”, showcasing a collection of warrior armor from different periods in history 65: Northern ramp exit (Headings: Kane Memorial Bridge, Robbinsville, City Hall District) 66: “Futura”-styled Batmobile model 67: Early sports-coupe Batmobile 68: Eastern ramp exit (Headings: Crime Alley, Arkham Asylum, Gotham City Police Dept. HQ) 69: Eastern ramp underpass and stairways 70: 2002-03 Batmobile

The Batcave Jim Lee Style
The Legion of Super-Heroes discover the long lost Batcave
The Batcave Alter-Verse: DC/Marvel Crossover
Arkham City & other video game Batcaves

Wanted TPB: Composite Superman (Pre-Crisis)

2011-12-31T17:35:00.000-08:00

Writer: Various

Artist: Various

Publisher: DC Comics (1964-1985)
Includes: World's Finest Comics #142, 168, 283, and 284, Superman #214, and Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #5

Dork Note: DC should reprint these stories in their DC Presents 100 Page Spectacular format. This dude got an action figure but no TPB, COME ON!

Dave Stevens' Black Angel Cover from 1996

2011-12-31T12:43:00.000-08:00

Bruce Timm's Tribute

Dork Note: This cover made me laugh, because he exaggerated the areolas so much so you can't see anything else.

Marvel's UK X-Men Pocket Books from Panini

2011-12-31T12:26:00.000-08:00

Dork Note: Click on the images to find the Amazon UK link. Check out Amazon UK for other Marvel series found in Pocket Book format.

Dork Note: The above TPB of the Knights of Pendragon was never printed in the US, but you can order it from Amazon UK.

Super Powers Mini-Comic Album

2011-12-31T11:16:00.000-08:00

Dork Note: I still think DC should release these mini-comics as a TPB OR as a multi-paged album with pull out mini-comics inside.

Commission: John Byrne

2011-12-30T22:11:00.000-08:00

The Marvel Comics Guide To Collecting Comics

2011-12-30T17:18:00.000-08:00

Dork Note: The Marvel Comics Guide To Collecting Comics was published in November 1982 as a 16-page bonus insert in Amazing Spider-Man #234. Cover by Walt Simonson. Contains various articles, definitions and tips for collecting comics.

Dork Help: If anyone has the internal 16 pages scanned can you please send them my way.

George Perez's Robot Man

2011-12-30T10:51:00.000-08:00

from DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #19