Trick-or-Treating with Halloween Girl

OK, I think I've got everything ready; decorations are up, spooking sound effects are playing on the hi-fi and I've got a big ol' bowl of candy. All we have to do now is wait for the ...

Hey, look everybody — it's Eve, our very own Halloween Girl! Stop being wet blankets, guys, and say hello!

... um. Geez. Maybe you two should lay off the Pixie Stix. Anyway, you're our first trick-or-treater, Eve! Are you having fun?

Oh, that's too bad. That Doc Horror, he's got a million of 'em, huh? Oh, sure ... go ahead and dump those out anywhere ... I guess ...

Well, no one likes to hear their name mangled. Right, guys?

Er ...

HOT TAMALES!!

Wow. Eve, you're really ...






... sweet? Uh, why don't you go ahead and take two candies, OK?

Happy Halloween from Great Caesar's Post!

Panels from The Nocturnals #1

Friday Night Fights: Ding-dong!

Hey, Atomic Robo! I think I heard someone knocking — would you mind getting the ...

Panel from Atomic Robo #1

Thanks, buddy! I keep telling those nazis we don't want any of their damn candy.


And that's why you never hear Bahlactus coming!

Following a link? Read more of the Post here.

WTF Wednesday: Be wary, friends!

When the rebooted Immortal Iron Fist recently began a storyline that combined my favorite kung-fu hero with a celestial martial arts tournament, I thought things had gotten as good as it could get. Then Iron Fist's first opponent was introduced, and it was a sumo-like fighter going by the name Fat Cobra.

Fat Cobra! Obviously writers Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction — along with David Aja and his moody, fluid artwork — were determined to bring the title to levels of awesome I wouldn't have thought possible.

And then it got even better.

"Bullshit!" you cry. "Surely you exaggerate!" To which I say, "Nuh-uh!" and maybe poke you in the eye for good measure. How can I be so sure?

Because the recent Immortal Iron First Annual included a story with art by personal favorite Dan Brereton to bring us THIS:


If that doesn't make you want to shout, "Oh, YES!" then you should just lie down now, because you're obviously dead inside and I feel sorry for you.

Barko agrees!

OW!!! OwOwOw!!

I'm sorry about the even-lighter-than-usual posting lately (er ... assuming anyone actually noticed), but a burst of too-vigorous and astonishingly ninja-like activity was enough to completely wrench my back and put me off my feet for the past few days.

OK, I bent down and then straightened up — that was all it took to twist it. Shut up.

Aaaaaanyway, it was actually pretty painful. I imagine it could be illustrated like so:

I did manage to get in to work today, so look for regular posting this week. And remember kids — limber up before reaching for that sandwich and/or copy of Witchblade Takeru!

Panel from Sugarshock #2, Dark Horse Presents online

Cheaper than a doctor bill!

Wow, no Pull List this week, and then no WTF Wednesday? What's going on here at the Post, anyway?!?

Eh, slackin', mostly.

But to make up for it, I give you this pair of ads from 1983 promoting Power Man and Iron Fist, which are obviously awesome! Both ads manage to be funny and sum up the characters really well, not to mention they're rockin' classic Bill Sienkiewicz art. You have to give credit to whatever unnamed shlub in the Marvel marketing department came up with the idea of running the ads in separate, consecutive issues — it was a cute and clever way to reward regular readers with an old-fashioned "a-ha!" moment.


Continuity in house-ads — exactly the crazy-great kind of thing that made me love comics in the first place.

Friday Night Fights: Iron Man loves cheap shots

Hey, Iron Man! What position do you play on the company softball team?

Panels from Invincible Iron Man #166

Apparently, Iron Man also pegged that mechanical duck The Melter carries under his shirt. Who the hell is The Melter, you ask? You got me — outside of this humiliating appearance I had never heard of him before, but that doesn't keep it from being one of my favorite issues of Iron Man. And it's not just because of The Melter, either.

Extra! Extra!

Still fresh from walloping the scourge of ice cream and tape cassettes everywhere, our Man of Heavy Metal is ready to face his toughest opponent yet! That's right, it's ...

Tony Stark vs The Bottle!

Well, this should be quick ...


That's why you should always bet on Bahlactus!

And as always, you can check out more of the Post here.

WTF Wednesday: Is Aunt May wearing a one-piece?

Click for the majesty!

Ah, a classic! And nope, your eyes do not deceive you — that is indeed young Franklin Richards with Aunt May, who has just been granted the Power Cosmic by Galactus to become his latest herald, Golden Oldie!

Man, am I the only one who kinda misses the old Marvel Team-Up and Assistant Editors' Month?

The Pull List: 10-10-07

After some fairly heavy weeks, it looks as if things have slowed down with only four, count 'em FOUR, titles on the pull list. Granted, it's all good stuff but after weeks of having to trim the list down to something realistic (I'm on a budget, people!) it's a little weird — like going from a buffet to bistro dining. These sandwiches are so small!

Yikes. Before I get any more esoteric — to the list!

Atomic Robo #1 (of 6): When I first went through the solicits for the week, this one went into the "maybe" column. But then I read a little more about it and realized it's about a smart-alecky robot fighting Nazis! Plus, it has nice, clean art that's both cartoony and perfectly suited to the tone of the writing. Then I saw the preview and read this little exchange between Robo (I don't know if that's actually his name), some Nazi soldiers, and a gang of even more Nazis who are trying to dog-pile Robo into submission:

Nazi: Move and we shoot!

Robo: I'm comfortable with that.

(Nazis clinging to Robo commence to freaking out)

If I wasn't already almost guaranteed to pick up this book, that kind of dialogue pushed me right over. Plus, as I mentioned earlier, I like the style of art being used - it reminds me of Robert Kirkman's stuff in Invincible, as well as some of Evan Dorkin's work. In other words, it looks like fun stuff and I'm looking forward to reading it.


The rest ...

Booster Gold #3

BPRD: Killing Ground #3

Green Lantern #24


Maybe ...

Simon Dark #1: I don't know - I'm just not convinced. It looks pretty, but I can't see the story being maintained over time. Maybe if it was under the Vertigo imprint I'd have more faith, but for now the "creepy, neighborhood boogey-man who's also a superhero" vibe isn't clicking. And it's set in Gotham, which means there's going to be the inevitable Batman cameo; I'll come right out and put my money on issue five.

Deadlander #1: I really, really want to have more enthusiasm for this one, but I'm also really, really tired of undead/zombie titles. Still, I'm torn between my ambivalence for zombie books and my love for westerns, even if the concept for the hero reminds me of both Preacher's Saint of Killers and Gunwitch from Nocturnals. And the art looks great, so this one will come down right to the minute I take it off the rack. Take a look at the preview and let me know what you think.


Recommended ...

Gyo Vol. 1 (2nd ed.): I don't know what happened to the Japanese (OK, I have an idea), but they've got to have the most imaginative and seriously screwed-up collective subconscious ever. How else do you explain something like Gyo, a horror tale that centers around ... hell, I don't even know where to begin. Let's just say it starts with bloated fish sporting mechanical legs skittering out of the ocean, carrying with them a bacteria that begins to spread very quickly. And then it gets worse. Sooo much worse. Just thinking about what goes on in Gyo gives me the creeps and honestly makes me slightly queasy, so of course it's one of my favorites. Want to get into the Halloween mood and then not sleep until Christmas? Read Gyo.


(No, it won't ...)

Friday Night Fights: Nothing to fear!

I've mentioned before how much I'm enjoying the relaunched, online-only version of Dark Horse Presents (in a previous bout, now that I think about it), but it's worth repeating. As a matter of fact, I think I will.

Man, I'm really enjoying the relaunched Dark Horse Presents.

For me, it's not going to replace floppy-copies but I enjoy reading these comics online just as much as if I had 'em in my grubby paws. A big part of that is because Dark Horse keeps offering a nice variety of really, really good stories (though that new reader interface isn't as elegant as what ComicMix has set up).

Whew! This is wordy for a Friday Night Fight! Let's quit jawin' and get to maulin', courtesy of the excellent Fear Agent. In this installment, Heath Huston has recovered his previously dead son, only to lose him again to the soldiers of his backstabbing benefactor. He breaks out of the castle in hot pursuit, but it turns out be one of those frying pan/fire situations.


Uh oh ... I've got a bad feeling about this. Maybe it'll be OK ...


Damn! Faced with a horde of bloodthirsty mercenaries, the last Fear Agent comes to the only reasonable solution.

Panels from Fear Agent: Nothing to Fear #1

Ah, violence - is there no riddle you can't unravel?


Bahlactus already has the answer!

Following a link? Check out more of the Post here.

WTF Wednesday: This might sting

Click for high-intensity

I don't think you hear it enough, but Doctor Mid-Nite?

Total bad-ass.