Ol’ Pointy Ears Is Back


B&W photo of Adam West and Leonard Nimoy at a drum kit

That’s Leonard Nimoy hitting the skins next to Adam West.

I came across this photo from the late 1960s, photographer and location unknown
to me, via one blog link that led to another. You know how it goes. I hit a wall once a Tumblr post led to a Facebook page that I can’t access ’cause I’m not on Facebook.

Hungry Like Marv Wolfman


My old buddy Stefan Blitz, proprietor of Forces of Geek, mused on Twitter several weeks ago that if he opened a restaurant themed around people who created comics the menu would include Joe Quesadilla, Howard Chicken, and Darwyn Cookies.

Which means nothing if you aren’t in the loop and don’t appreciate the puns, but I got
a smile out of it — and the idea to brainstorm my...

Top Eighteen Dishes, Drinks, and Desserts
Served at the Comics-Creators Cafe


18. Karen Burgers

17. Gary Franks

16. Tuna Isabella

15. Veal Adams

14. Clams Robins

13. P. Craig Mussels

12. Marie Severin-Layer Dip

11. Nachos Whedon

Neil Armstrong 1930-2012


We’ve lost Neil Armstrong to the stars at the age of 81.

Close-up of Neil Armstrong, smiling, in lunar module wearing suit with helmet off
Neil Armstrong in the Eagle module after the moonwalk.
Photo: Buzz Aldrin for NASA.


An obituary up on the NASA website includes excerpts from and links to statements from the Armstrong family, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, and President Barack Obama. The page also has embedded video of Armstrong and links to information on the historic moon landing of July 20th, 1969.

Game Faces


I’m a few weeks late in bidding aloha to the Flyin’ Hawaiian, Shane Victorino.

Shane Victorino of the Phillies finishing a swing of the bat
Photo: Jeff Robertson for The Associated Press © 2012.

He was traded by the Phillies on July 31st to the LA Dodgers — who drafted him
back in 1999, although his Major League debut came with San Diego. The Padres got him as a Rule 5 selection, just as the Phils did in 2005. In the past seven years the goofy, hardscrabble Victorino was sent to two All-Star Games, rode in one World
Series parade, and got lodged in the hearts of thousands if not millions of fans.

Dragon Tale


I didn’t read any reviews of Rachel Hartman’s delightful fantasy novel, Seraphina, before settling in to enjoy. The little I knew already felt like more than I should. A secret carried by the title character is revealed to the reader fairly early on and, I think, to be suspected well before that; still, even if a good story is often less about the What than about the How and the Why and the consequences of the What, it’s best to let the story unfold on its own terms.

Dragon soaring amidst clouds above city towers

Avoiding chatter about Seraphina was hard because Hartman’s novel is clearly what they call in the book trade a triumphant debut.

Five-Panel Draw


I was quite taken by the following sequence from The Uncanny X-Men #166,
dated Feb. 1983.


A tier of five panels, each longer in height than width. First: Close-up of Wolverine's unmasked face giving a serious look -- one eye, nose, and mouth visible, totally filling panel with no background -- with a thought balloon reading 'They're my friends!', followed by a 'gutter' of standard width. Second, a bit shorter than the previous: Close-up of Cyclops' face, masked with visor, orange background -- one eye, nose, and most of mouth visible -- with a word balloon at top reading 'Well, Mister. What'll it be?', straddling the interior of the panel and the blank space above, followed by a slimmer gutter. Third, shorter still: Wolverine's gloved hand, twitching with motion lines, against yellow background, with quoted thought above it reading 'An' because they *are* my friends, I owe 'em life...', followed by a very narrow gutter. Fourth, even shorter: Wolverine's hand now clenched in fists, claws popping with a 'Snikt!' from panel into negative space below, against red background, with thought continued above the panel reading '... or a quick, clean *death*.' Fifth, the shortest, immediately following the previous with no gutter, abutting it or even appearing to have been overlapped by it: Kitty's alarmed face -- one wide eye, part of nose and mouth, filling the panel, with a jagged dialogue balloon extended from just within top of panel to negative space above it reading 'No!!'
Excerpt from The Uncanny X-Men #166 © 1982 and characters TM/® Marvel Comics.
Script: Chris Claremont. Pencils: Paul Smith. Inks: Bob Wiacek. Colors: Glynis
Wein/Oliver. Letters: Tom Orzechowski. Editing: Louise Jones/Simonson.


The set of five panels is at the bottom of Pg. 12 of the issue’s story, “Live Free or Die!”, drawn by Paul Smith in his second issue as penciler of the series.

If you’re unfamiliar with the issue and would like some context, you can head over to my friend Teebore’s post on it — the reason I was rereading the issue in the first place. What I have to say about the panels below is taken from comments I made there, but I thought I’d repost the passage here even though I’m on a bit of a vacation. It seems fitting to be publishing this analysis online from the same library where I did my first historical and critical reading about comics as a kid 35 years ago.

Midsummer’s Meaning


With new posts being sparse here lately and several months having passed since my
last volley of word-verification definitions, I declare it time for another.

The backlog is growing short, as I wrote earlier this year, thanks to Blogger’s switch
in formats yielding less choice material. I’ll probably close the door on this series after
a few more installments, based on current reserves and the sluggish pace at which new entires are added to my stockpile, whereas for quite some time after I began the well was replenished at a strong, steady pace. You are hereby referred to my stand-alone page collecting past entries, where this phenomenon is explained, if it’s unfamiliar to you.

agamsee — [uh gam see] phr. Edward G. Robinson pointing out some dame’s leg.

clonyma — [kloh nee mah] n. Your mother’s genetically engineered duplicate.

counduct — [kown dukt] n. How Dracula behaves.

daymews — [day myooz] pl.n. My cat’s morning wake-up sounds.

eReesen. A peanut-butter cup you can eat in Second Life. (Is that still a thing?)