Story and art by Everett Peck. He’s been up–he’s been down–he’s fallen asleep with the TV on! New, hot from this previous engagement in Dark Horse Presents, the tough duck private dick, stars in his first feature length special. The story wouldn’t be complete without Cornfed, Fluffy, and Uranus hanging around waiting for the next dose of abuse from their feathered “friend.”
The “Dark Phoenix Saga” in 1980 led to a change in the line-up of the team, with the death of Phoenix (Jean Grey), and Cyclops leaving the team to mourn for her. Comics writers and historians Roy Thomas and Peter Sanderson observed that “‘The Dark Phoenix Saga’ is to Claremont and Byrne what ‘the Galactus Trilogy‘ is to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. It is a landmark in Marvel history, showcasing its creators’ work at the height of their abilities.” The storyline also saw the introduction of recurring antagonists the Hellfire Club, and its Inner Circle consisting of Sebastian Shaw, Emma Frost, Harry Leland, Donald Pierce, along with Mastermind, previously a member of Magneto’s Brotherhood. The new teenage mutant Kitty Pryde was introduced in #129 (Jan. 1980) and joined the X-Men in #139. The Dazzler, a disco-singing, roller-skating mutant, was introduced in #130 (Feb. 1980), but did not join the team, instead headlining her own solo title.
A new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, led by Mystique, was introduced in the “Days of Future Past” storyline (#141-#142, Jan–Feb 1981) in which a time-travelling Kitty Pryde tried to avert a dystopian future caused by the Brotherhood assassinating Presidential candidate Senator Robert Kelly. Byrne plotted the story wanting to depict the Sentinels as a genuine threat to the existence of the mutant race. He then left the series after #143, being replaced by a returning Cockrum, who in turn was succeeded by Paul Smith and John Romita Jr.
“What were we doing out here…? What was the meaning of this trip? Did I actually have a big red convertible out there on the street? Was I just roaming around these Mint Hotel escalators in a drug frenzy of some kind, or had I really come out here to Las Vegas to work on a story?” — Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Aquaman, published by DC Comics was created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger. The character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC’s anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo title. During the late 1950s and 1960s superhero-revival period known as the Silver Age, he was a founding member of the Justice League of America. In the 1990s Modern Age, Aquaman’s character became more serious than in most previous interpretations, with storylines depicting the weight of his role as king of Atlantis.
Later accounts reconciled both facets of the character, casting Aquaman as serious and brooding, saddled with an ill reputation, and struggling to find a true role and purpose beyond his public side as a deposed king and a fallen hero.
Marvels is a four-issue limited series comic book written by Kurt Busiek, painted by Alex Ross and edited by Marcus McLaurin, and published by Marvel Comics in 1994. It was collected into a limited edition hardcover signed by both Busiek and Ross (shown below).
Set from 1939 to 1974, the series examines the Marvel Universe, the collective setting of most of Marvel’s superhero series, from the perspective of an Everyman character: news photographer Phil Sheldon. The street-level series portrayed ordinary life in a world full of costumed supermen, with each issue featuring events well known to readers of Marvel comics as well as a variety of minute details and retelling the most famous events in the Marvel universe.
Little-known and under-appreciated composer Damon Eddington wants to hatch an Alien egg so he can nurture the Alien in captivity and capture its sounds of hatred and pain for the ultimate concert — sounds of rage made from “a mouthful of spears.”
The comic was originally going to be canon, but James Tynion IV, who took over the writing duties on Batman (Volume 3) from Tom King, said that Batman/Catwoman was moving away from the “bounds of continuity” per his understanding and it would have no effect on the main Batman title.
King later stated it was a standalone series and was his version of how Batman and Catwoman’s ending should be. He also hoped it would lead to “breaking the mold” in DC about Batman’s status quo. The series follows the duo’s romance through multiple eras, unlike the current Prime Earth continuity.
In January 2022, it was announced that writer Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr. would be working on a relaunched The Amazing Spider-Man, bringing the number of volumes for the title to its sixth, with the series beginning in April 2022. The relaunch encompasses both a legacy numbering of #900 as well as the 60th anniversary for the character. It included the crossover event, Dark Web, with Chasm having teamed up with Madelyne Pryor to bring limbo to Earth.
Black Hole written and drawn by Charles Burns was published as a 12-issue comic book limited series between 1995 and 2005. The first four issues were released by Kitchen Sink Press, before the publisher went out of business. Fantagraphics republished the first four issues and the remaining eight.
Set in the suburbs of Seattle during the 1970s, the story follows a group of teenagers who contract a mysterious sexually transmitted disease referred to as “the Bug, which causes them to develop bizarre unique physical mutations and subsequently become social outcasts, many of them running away from home to live in the nearby woodland.
The 1993 “Knightfall” story arc introduced a new villain, Bane, who critically injures Batman. Jean-Paul Valley, known as Azrael, is called upon to wear the Batsuit during Bruce Wayne’s convalescence. Writers Doug Moench,Chuck Dixon, and Alan Grant worked on the Batman titles during “Knightfall”, and would also contribute to other Batman crossovers throughout the 1990s. 1998’s “Cataclysm” storyline served as the precursor to 1999’s “No Man’s Land“, a year-long storyline that ran through all the Batman-related titles dealing with the effects of an earthquake-ravaged Gotham City. At the conclusion of “No Man’s Land”, O’Neil stepped down as editor and was replaced by Bob Schreck.
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