Len Wein 1948-2017


There’s no way for me to do this subject justice but, despite the lateness, it doesn’t
feel right to let it pass without mention here.


Batman swinging over cityscape in the rain / Caption: 'It was a dark and stormy night.'
Panel from “Once Upon a Time...” in Detective Comics #500 © 1981 DC Comics. [enlarge]

Len Wein, who died at 69 on Sept. 10th, provided me and an untold number of
other readers with countless moments of wonder. On top of that, Len was very much
a mensch. I saw him indulge fans at conventions with anecdotes many creators would surely have long since tired of telling, and he graciously spoke to me at length for a Comicology article celebrating the 25th anniversary of the “new” X-Men at a time — shortly before the release of the 2000 film — when dozens of journalists were likely ringing him up.

Although I didn’t see him often or know him well, I’m finding it hard to refrain from calling him Len. (He pronounced his last name, by the way, with a long “e”: “ween” rather than “wane” or “wine”.)

Drawing a Blank


Mock vintage comic-book cover based on Jonny Quest with his facial features gone under title 'Who Is... Jonny Question?'

I realized the other day when this came to mind that I’d never shared it here.

Unsuitable


A photo of The Flash as he’ll appear in Zack Snyder’s upcoming Justice League has been released. Right away I, well, flashed on the classic cover you can see next to it below.

Ezra Miller as Flash in highly segmented, shiny but very scuffed-up suit next to cover depicting Flash being turned into a jointed wooden puppet by magician Abra Kadabra

I quite like how the CW TV incarnation turned out, especially with a white background having replaced the red on his chest insignia, despite the first promo shots featuring him in an extremely awkward position. We have a much clearer head-on look here than we did there, however. My big question, as Snyder and his associates were probably not meaning to homage this delightfully ridiculous old tale, is why and how Barry forged that grungy armor out of candied apples.



Cover of The Flash #133 © 1962 DC Comics. Pencils: Carmine Infantino. Inks:
Murphy Anderson. Letters: Ira Schnapp. Colors, Script: Unknown. [enlarge]


Related: Suit Up Kind of Blue Stars and Gripes

In the Stir


can of Campbell's Bean with Bacon soup inside the vertical colored bars of a test pattern familiar to television viewers of a certain age

With higher priorities commanding my attention, even as older posts slowly get refurbished amidst ongoing technical problems, new content here will continue to be sparse at best for some time — meaning the soup can is long overdue for display. Not the greatest way to mark the blog’s anniversary, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles... or at least the way to cooking Campbell’s. Please check in every now and then.