Comic Coverage

Friday Night Fights: GRUNDY SMASH!

What's shaping up to be a fun weekly event here in the comics blogosphere is the Friday Night Fights, graciously hosted by our pal Bahlactus and contributed to by just about everyone with a comics blog! As the name suggests, Friday Night Fights highlights some of the great moments in comic book combat. We can pretend superhero comic books are about higher, loftier things...but at their core, it's all about laying the smackdown! Truly something to celebrate.

My first foray into the Friday Night Fights is taken from Superman #301 (1976), which features a nearly full-issue slugfest between the Man of Steel and the savage Solomon Grundy!
Dimly recalling how some superheroes had doubles from alternate Earths, everyone's favorite swamp zombie wonders if there might be another Solomon Grundy out there to pal around with. In his bizarre supernatural fashion, Grundy decides to simply "walk" between dimensions from Earth-2 (his pre-Crisis address) to the Metropolis of Earth-1, bringing most of Slaughter Swamp along with him!

Predictably, his visit gets the attention of Superman, sparking one of the best knock-down-drag-outs I've ever seen in a comic book.

On the left, I've gathered a few random panels from the battle (click on 'em for a much larger view), but you owe it to yourself to track this baby down and read the whole thing. Illustrated by the amazing Jose Garcia Lopez, the dynamic action and cinematic layouts still blow away most of what passes for comic book art today, and with sound effects like "THOMM!", "SPRANK!", and the classic "BARROOOM!" ("bar room?"), it's a book you'll be glad to add to your collection.

BONUS: If Solomon Grundy throwing Superman around like a ragdoll isn't enough mayhem for you, be sure to check out That's Gotta Hurt!, my look at comic book covers from the Pain Hall of Fame!

Friday Night Fights: It's Clobberin' Time!

After a brief interlude, the mighty Bahlactus has sounded the battle cry for another round of Friday Night Fights....and when Bahlactus calls, the teeming hordes of the Comics Blogoverse rise to the challenge!

My spine-crushing contribution is taken from Fantastic Four #77 (1968), the final chapter of The Second Coming of Galactus!

Sent by Galactus to find the reclusive Silver Surfer, Reed, Johnny and Ben journey into a bizarre sub-atomic Microverse, where they encounter the emotion-manipulating threat of Psycho-Man.

This ridiculously entertaining tale was published during the high tide of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's classic run, featuring their insane concepts, rollicking dialogue, non-stop action and brilliant artwork (made even better by the sublime inking of Joltin' Joe Sinnott). These panels give you just a little taste of that magic, so spend some time looking them over (click on the panels for a Galactus-sized Mega-View).

Now, without further ado, let's join The Thing as he introduces Psycho-Man to his left and right fists, otherwise known as
"The Brothers Grimm!"  

Be sure to grab a helmet and safety goggles to protect you from the sheer seismic insanity of that final panel. You can feel the impact all the way from here, nearly forty years later! Take it away, Benjamin!  

Friday Night Fights: EGO TRIP!

It's no secret I'm a big fan of Marvel's THOR, a character most of the self-proclaimed sophisticates view as hopelessly passe'.

Naturally, I haven't lost a wink of sleep over that.

In fact, the cornball amalgamation of Norse legend, swashbuckling adventure, Shakespearean dialect, chivalrous morality, and hi-tech Mardi Gras headgear is precisely why I enjoy the Thunder God's tales.

One of the pillars of Thor comics is the "Epic Quest" storyline, in which Goldilocks and his pals have to journey somewhere, find something, or defeat someone (or sometimes all three), invariably with the fate of the entire cosmos in the balance.

One such quest took place in Thor #226-#228 (1974) in a tale written by Gerry Conway (which character didn't he write in the 70's?), pencilled by Rich Buckler (in full Kirby-pastiche mode) and inked by Joe Sinnott (Kirby's greatest inker). Sent by the quest-happy Galactus, Thor, Hercules and Big-G's herald Firelord are sent to find EGO, an insane sentient planet roaming the universe destroying other planets (essentially stealing the food of Galactus). 

Their mission once they found Ego? Shut 'im down!

After the trio spent most of issue #227 fighting their way onto the surface of Mr. Planet McGrumpy Face, then smashing through armies of demonic "anti-bodies", Thor finally muscles his way into the core, hurls the mighty Mjolnir, and blows up Ego's giant brain!*

(click on the panels for brain-exploding bigness) 

Be sure to check out Mighty Bahlactus for more Friday Night Fighting!

*  Again with the "BARROOM" sound effect?  Man, the 70's were all about the subliminal pro-alcohol messaging, weren't they?

Friday Night Fights: A Few Ants Short of a Picnic

Despite taking a breather last week, the battle call of Bahlactus beckons for another Friday Night Fight...and I must answer!

With the height of summer (and picnic season) upon us, what better way to celebrate than with an insane Ant-Man and billions of ants attacking the Avengers? Avengers #161 (1977) finds the team's resident headcase Hank Pym having yet another nervous breakdown/identity crisis, this time reverting to his original Ant-Man identity. Pym's mind also reverted back to a previous time frame, believing that the Avengers team has only recently come into being and that the people he sees in Avengers Mansion are either villains or impostors.

In a dynamic sequence illustrated by a young buck named George Perez, the addled Ant-Man launches a full-scale attack upon his perplexed teammates, culminating in a spectacular "growth-spurt knockout" of the Black Panther and the Beast (click on the panels for Pym Particle-like expansion).

SPECIAL BONUS BUTT-KICKING:

Of course, no Crazy Hank Pym story is complete without an appearance by his malevolent android "son" Ultron, who shows up seconds after Pym is subdued by the Avengers. Witness Ultron as he unleashes a KA-BLAAMM-flavored smackdown...

"Live From New York, It's Friday Night Fights!"

When a modest late-night sketch comedy show named NBC Saturday Night made its debut on October 11th, 1975, nobody had the slightest idea it would become one of the longest-lived programs in television history.

Retitled Saturday Night Live in 1976, the irreverent series quickly became a pop cultural phenomenon by appealing to the uniquely twisted sense of humor of young adults. By 1978, many of its cast members (and their characters) had become household names, inspiring fellow New York institution Marvel Comics to create one of the strangest comic books ever published.

Marvel Team-Up #74 (1978) paired Marvel figureheads Spider-Man and Stan (The Man) Lee with NBC's Not Ready For Prime Time Players*, who together battled the menace of The Silver Samurai and his gang.  As Spidey and the SNL cast cleaned up the goons, the Silver Samurai pitted his sword against....who else?  John Belushi as the Samurai!

As you can see from the panels (click to enlarge), Belushi held his own against the Silver Samurai until Spider-Man took over.  A few panels later, the Silver Samurai used the magic ring to disappear from Studio 8H, escaping to fight Spider-Man another day.

With that, Stan and the crime-fighting SNL crew
gathered for the traditional end-of-the-show curtain call...

From left to right (click for a front row view):  John Belushi, producer Lorne Michaels, Laraine Newman, Stan Lee, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris (in a Thor costume), and Bill Murray.

* When the '78-'79 season of SNL began just a few months later, the cast
members were no longer referred to as the "Not Ready For Prime Time Players".

Craving more Friday fisticuffs?  Bahlactus is your fix!

Friday Night Fights: How Do You Solve a Problem Like the Rhino?

Though the average supervillain will stick to fighting the same superhero for their entire evil career, there have been rare occasions when a supervillain will jump ship and move to another superhero's rogues gallery.

One of the most high profile transfers was The Rhino. Originally a foe of Spider-Man, the Pachyderm Powerhouse left Spidey's rogues gallery for a shot at the Major Leagues, namely by taking on THE HULK himself!

Making his Hulk-foe debut in The Incredible Hulk #104 (1968), the Rhino received an upgraded costume and a strength-enhancing blast of Gamma Rays from the same guys who originally made him a Spider-Man supervillain. Sent to snatch Bruce Banner from military custody, the Rhino predictably triggered Banner's transformation into the Hulk, who then let loose with his customary smashing and alienated soliloquies.

In the resulting chaos, the Rhino attempted to slip away...which prompted the fight-hungry Hulk to bait him with "Why do you run from Hulk? Are you AFRAID?"

With that, the battle begins (click on the panels above for a ringside seat).

Illustrated by Marie Severin (one of my absolute favorite Hulk artists), enjoy this lesson in abject humiliation, face-to-pavement interaction, and ill-advised career moves.

Why do I celebrate such brutal violence? Ask Bahlactus!

Friday Night Fights: Demi-God Demolition!

At the bidding of his royal highness Bahlactus, I shall tell you the tale of the demi-god Hercules and his epic supper club battle with fedora-wearing thugs from Thor #125 (1965). Let me grab my mandolin and sing for you:

"The Ballad of Hercules and the Street Lamp Enema!"

...and, most likely, the "lower regions" of the hapless driver as well! OUCH!

Friday Night Fights: Uncle Sam's Righteous Vandalism!

During my ongoing survey of the legendary JLA & JSA team-ups, I've come across some pretty spectacular fight scenes.

With all of that multiple-earth mayhem to chose from, the scene that just seemed right for the All-American Labor Day Weekend featured the personification of America itself:  Uncle Sam!

Taken from Justice League of America #108 (1973), the JLA & JSA are helping Uncle Sam and his Freedom Fighters liberate Earth-X from Nazi rule.  Breaking into smaller squads, the heroes track down and destroy Nazi mind-control machines hidden in various locations across the planet. In this chapter, Uncle Sam, Black Condor, Sandman and the Elongated Man arrive at a twisted version of Mount Rushmore, which includes a bust of the hated Adolph Hitler!

After making short work of the Nazi guards, Elongated Man deduces that the mind-control machinery is actually located within the Hitler bust itself...which was magic to Uncle Sam's ears (and fists).

After a quick assist from E.M., it's Uncle Sam with the windup... AND THE PITCH!...completely obliterating the granite visage of Herr Schickelgruber and the hidden mind-control device.

GOD BLESS AMERICA...AND BAHLACTUS!

Friday Night Fights: Happy (Belated) Birthday, Jack!

Once again I let the (August 28^th) birthday of the late, great Jack Kirby slip by without a mention...his 90^th birthday, no less!  What kind of a fan am I? (hangs head in shame)

Under the omniscient gaze of mighty Bahlactus, let me rectify that mistake by serving up one of the King's frenetic fight scenes, where concrete walls and metal machinery crumbled like paper mache! Where acrobatics and body contortions no human could possibly duplicate were commonplace! WHERE FISTS AS BIG AS CANNED HAMS PUMMELED FOES WITH SEISMIC FORCE!

From Captain America #106 (1968), Comic Coverage proudly presents:

One of the hundred zillion things I love about 1960's Marvel Comics was their willingness to portray real-world Communist political figures as clowns, creeps, or outright villains.  It didn't happen all the time, mind you, but when it did, it was a beautiful thing.

While clueless left-wing radicals in the United States were wearing t-shirts and hoisting banners of Red China's Chairman Mao Zedong, Jack Kirby made him the mastermind behind Operation Replica ("Take that, Hippies!")!  Creating a nearly-identical Life Model Decoy of Steve Rogers, Mao and his minions sent the robotic agent to America to destroy and replace the real Steve (Captain America) Rogers!  We now join the Cap vs. Evil Robotic Steve battle already in progress (click on the panels to enlarge)...

"Can I get an AMEN?"

____________________________________

Disclaimer:  Any resemblance between movie producer (and Commie dupe) Cyril Lucas and Republican presidential candidate (and former actor) Fred Thompson is purely coincidental.

Friday Night Fights: Supes vs. Spidey...The Movie!

After giving us a two week break to mend our wounds while perfecting deadly new moves, mighty Bahlactus begins another cycle of Friday Night Fights...a weekly fever of mass mayhem that grips the violence-prone comic book blogosphere. So, lace up those boxing gloves, break out the smelling salts, and let's hit Friday Night Fights: Sucka-Punch!

Before the reign of never-ending Super Secret Crisis Wars, so-called "Event Comics" were few and far between in the dawning years of my comic book addiction (early to mid-70's).  However, one of the first genuine (and most fondly remembered) Event Comics of that period was the Superman vs. Spider-Man treasury edition (1976).

As the first real crossover between rival publishers Marvel and DC Comics (they co-published a Wizard of Oz treasury edition a year earlier), my fellow ten year-olds and I comprehended enough of the proprietary hurdles involved to really appreciate how special the team-up was...yet at the same time being young enough to truly revel in its primal "Who'd Win In a Fight?" premise.

Needless to say, Superman vs. Spider-Man left me and my pals utterly gobsmacked...and it remains a highlight of my collection all these years later. So much so, I wanted to feature some choice panels for Round One of Sucka-Punch, but due to its unwieldy size and high-grade condition, I didn't feel like mashing it into my scanner.

However, through the miracle of YouTube, I can post the next best thing...an epic video re-creation of Superman vs. Spider-Man! In Spanish, no less!

Don't let Webhead's luchador-like mask or the Man of Steel's five o'clock
shadow fool you...these guys were BORN to play Spider-Man and Superman!

Now, watch as these two gifted actors, the magic of
amateur video, and a pulse-pounding musical score
faithfully bring to life one of comicdom's most epic events!

(except for the part where Superman is hung from a chimney like a Christmas stocking.)