09.09.09

Nine! Nine! Nine! Nine! Let's sing the song of Nine! How many is Nine!?




Nine #9's from 9 decades!!!


BRINGING UP FATHER Series No. 9 [1925]


ALL-AMERICAN COMICS 9 [Dec 1939]


BATMAN 9 [Feb-Mar 1942]


SUPERBOY 9 [Jul-Aug 1950]


JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 9 [Feb 1962]


BATMAN FAMILY 9 [Feb 1977]


THE NEW TEEN TITANS 9 [Jul 1981]


THE POWER OF SHAZAM 9 [Nov 1995]


WONDER WOMAN 9 [Jul 2007]

On the Web:

9 Movie Trailer [09.09.09]

Nine Movie Trailer [11.25.09]

Warner Bros Animation New Mural!

Warner Brothers Animation revealed a new mural for the front of their building on April 7th. Head over to Toon Zone to check out the festivities!!


Guess what my computer desktop looks like right now!!! ;-)

I Dream of Stephanie

I never remember my dreams. No matter how hard I try, they just go away. Sometimes to the point I wonder if I even do dream. But I had one last night that was so weird, I literally forced myself to remember it.

Last night I dreamt of Stephanie Brown.

Well, kinda sorta. I was reading an issue of Previews (yes, apparently I not only eat, breathe and live comics, I dream them, too) and there was a solicitation that was really bizarre. I just wish I could remember which comic it was for. But, anyway, it read:

Batman was no Punisher. But with his bequest to Stephanie...he may have created one! Finally, an ID that's not a secret anymore!

Don't ask me to explain any of it. I don't know. That was my subconscious speaking, lol. Hell, "bequest" is barely in my vocabulary. Dork that I am, I even looked it up to make sure it was somewhat in context so I wouldn't look like a complete fool.

Anyway, just thought I'd share.

:P

P.S. No, the picture really has nothing to do with the dream. But how could I do a post that was image-less!? It's just not me!

Flashback Friday: Brave and the Bold 100. Feb/Mar 1972

Okay, I really hadn't planned on making this week's Flashback another Black Canary post, but Sea of Green's comment regarding Hard Traveling Heroes reminded me of this "gem."

---

THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #100 (Feb/Mar 1972)
"The Warrior in a Wheel-Chair"
story: Bob Haney
art: Jim Aparo

On page one of this story, Batman gets shot and incapacitated. The problem, besides the obvious, is that he's just become aware of a huge heroin deal about to go down in Gotham City and he can't leave his wheelchair to stop it!! What to do!? So he pulls together Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Black Canary and Robin to track down the details and prevent the event, while he coordinates it all from the wheelchair. (Hmmm, that's an interesting concept!)

This story came out right at the tail-end of Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams classic GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW run. So -- Bob Haney picks up on the strong-heroine vibe that O'Neil gave Black Canary and gives her classy dialogue like:She mocks Ollie, as if she isn't involved, aware or even cares about Speedy's drug problem. It's not helpful that the art in that panel makes her look pretty vacant.

But it gets better.

When it comes time for Black Canary's part of the plan...they can't raise her on the wrist-radio!! Batman sends Robin out. Robin refers to her as a "flippy female." In the Bob Haney universe, Robin's not far off the mark...And just in case you missed it:Yes, Black Canary is so out of touch with reality, that not only do her priorities jeopardize the mission because "the rain ruined my hair..."

But -- she's such a complete freakin' idiot, that she forgot she wears a wig!!

It's hard to believe that Bob Haney had read none of Denny O'Neil's stories, but how else can you explain him writing Black Canary as such a dip?

Batman RIP ... again

WORLD'S FINEST COMICS #184
(May 1969)
cover by Curt Swan & Mike Esposito

BATMAN #291
(September 1977)
cover by Jim Aparo

BATMAN #292
(October 1977)
cover by Jim Aparo

BATMAN #299
(May 1978)
cover by Jim Aparo

ADVENTURE COMICS #462
(April 1979)
cover by Jim Aparo

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Have some cosplay!

I'm getting most of my Halloweening out on my Golden Age Heroes blog. So I was trying to think of something to do here. I decided that wearing costumes is a Halloweeny thing. So here are a bunch of pics I found on Flickr of people dressed as comic book characters. It fits the Halloween theme and the comic book theme. Success!! LOL

Have a great Halloween!!

Starfire, Nightwing & Donna Troy Originally uploaded by MargieC1022	Robin, Black Lightning & Superboy Originally uploaded by prometheus445
?, Deathstroke, Kid Flash, Starfire & Speedy Originally uploaded by israphael
Batgirl, Raven & Robin Originally uploaded by the3rdrobin
Superman & Namor Originally uploaded by hawkeyevsgirl	Captain America Originally uploaded by walkerspace
Superman meets "Superboy" Originally uploaded by manofsteel25
Justice League Originally uploaded by profundis
Wolverine Originally uploaded by Steam Pirate	Wonder Woman & Flash Originally uploaded by Steam Pirate
DC Folks Originally uploaded by IcyBrian
Donna Troy & Dark Mary Marvel Originally uploaded by MegaRed
Kyle Raynor, Hal Jordan & Wonder Woman Originally uploaded by Mafu	Some of the 300 Originally uploaded by Hueyatl
Robin, Superboy, Raven & Supergirl Originally uploaded by walkerspace
Robin & Superboy Originally uploaded by walkerspace
Superman Originally uploaded by Fonzie's cousin	Power Girl Originally uploaded by heath_bar
Green Lantern Corps Originally uploaded by walkerspace
Roy Harper & Green Arrow Originally uploaded by walkerspace
Superboy Originally uploaded by alecscudder69	Captain Marvel Jr & Captain Marvel Originally uploaded by daisylind

Observations:

• There are actually people in the world who can pull off the super-hero look!
• There are some who should not even make the attempt.
• Gerard Christopher has aged well.
• There ought to be more super-heroes who dress like the guys from 300! ;-)

Well, Almost Never...

From BATMAN #15 (Feb/Mar 1943):

And... the cover to BATMAN #15:

Maybe it's just me...

DC Comics Slurpee Checklist!

Oh my gosh! Remember these? (Well, all you old timers [lol], obviously the youngsters won't) I was cleaning up some crap on my computer and came upon this pic. I don't know how long I've had it or where I found it, but I had totally forgotten about it. It's so awesome. I drank so many Slurpees that year. (Okay, I drank a lot of Slurpees all the time, 7-11 was like my second home. Where else was I gonna get my comics!!?)But these cups were awesome! I wish I still had mine. Hm, I might still at my dad's house. But I'm sure they're in crap condition. I just checked on eBay, and they go for like $10 a pop. And I'll bet you wouldn't find one in excellent condition. I want those damn cups!!

Especially "Ms. Shazam" and "Shazam Jr." Heh.

Mattel's DC Universe Classics: Titans Together

Mattel is bringing on the Titans with their DC Universe Classics line.

Wave 3 (which should be out about now) features Deathstroke, Nightwing and Robin. Including variant Deathstrokes, with and without his mask.

Wave 4 (due in the fall) includes Cyborg. KB Toys will have an exclusive variant with Sonic Arm Cyborg.
Wave 7 (yeah, there's a bit of break there) is fairly Flash-centric, but that begets us a Wally West Kid-Flash!!
There's also a Starfire figure coming, but this one's a little trickier. It only comes in a two-pack with Adam Strange...and it's only available from mattycollector.com.
There is a little bit of "boo" associated with these, though. They've all already been released by DC Direct in one fashion or another. How many DC Direct and Mattel versions of Nightwing and Robin have there been?
DC Direct did Starfire and Kid Flash in 2000 followed by Cyborg in 2001 as part of The New Teen Titans series.
Deathstroke has had two recent figures from DC Direct: One in Contemporary Teen Titans series 1 in 2004, and then The New Teen Titans Series 2 this year.
And while it would be cool to get updated looks for the characters... All the Deathstokes are basically the same. These looks for Nightwing and Robin (even in his more recent costume) have been well-covered by both DC Direct and Mattel. And they're giving us a retro-look Cyborg. Which he wore not only on his DC Direct figure...but also on his Super Powers figure back in the 80s!
Only Starfire is in an outfit that has yet to be released on an action figure.
Oh well.

Go figure...

Keep up to date on all the DCUC awesomeness at DCUC.info (which is where I stole all the pics from, could ya tell?)

Final Crisis #3: Giving Me An Art Attack

I love J.G. Jones. I really do. I think he can be an amazing artist. But occasionally everyone does something that works on my nerves. And FINAL CRISIS #3 had a couple of those moments.

Like, when he's drawing Wonder Woman, I wish he could just decide and settle upon whether he's drawing Lynda Carter or Jennifer Connelly.
My other big gripe is the big hero group shot. One word: perspective. Or is it: proportion? Hmm, I'm not sure...
But anyway, the line-up alone should make you go "WOW!" but it doesn't. Maybe because they all look like they're only 3-feet tall. And:

• Why is Jay Garrick crying?
• Why does Shazam look like he's about to cry?
• When was the last time Huntress wore that costume?
• Why do all the women have the same blank expression on their faces?
• Why does Starfire look unlike any other version of Starfire we've ever seen?
• Who is standing behind Alan?

I do love J.G. Jones, but am way less than impressed with this spread.
Maybe next time...