Previously, in COMICS 101: When last we met, we had begun our discussion of DC Comics’ own King of the Seven Seas, Aquaman. After a somewhat low-key start as a response to Timely’s Sub-Mariner, the character got a new lease on life after moving to a backup spot in ADVENTURE COMICS, where Arthur’s backstory was […]
Sometimes, success is all about being in the right place in the right time. Take for example, the characters most people consider DC Comics’s “Big Five,” thanks mostly to decades of TV animation reinforcement. You got your Superman. Biggest gun in the arsenal, of course he makes the cut. Batman and Robin. Probably the most […]
It was in July 1985 that writer Mark Gruenwald took the reins on CAPTAIN AMERICA, beginning a mammoth 106-issue run that would last over 10 years, a remarkable achievement in itself. It’s become popular to dismiss Gruenwald’s version of the character as long-winded and speechifying, but a closer look at the comics reveals that not […]
We’ve had some fun here at Comics 101 in the past with Lois Lane’s propensity to marry, particularly in the 1960s, when it seemed like Lois was walking down the aisle every other month. In fact, we’ve had so much fun with it that we decided to specialize this year at Comic-Con, seeing how many […]
Every year, the Christmas tree would be different. One year, it would be the classic red and silver glass spheres. The next, scores of wooden ornaments, lovingly accumulated over decades. The next, dozens and dozens of crystal bells, painstakingly hand-stitched together for months in advance of the big debut. And every year, it would be […]
With all kinds of news about returning Spidey villains in the upcoming new Spider-Man film, it seems like the perfect time to dust off this entry from a few years back about one of my favorite rogues: The Vulture! It’s been a while since we’ve had a really good Spider-Man movie (if you don’t count […]
Editor’s Note: To commemorate the return of David Letterman to television on the new season of his Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, we’re going to look back at Dave’s one and only comics appearance: Emotions are running a little high at COMICS 101 HQ these days, as we count down the days […]
This week’s topic comes to us by way of a missive from reader Chris W.: Hey! Love the column! What (and where) the heck are Gotham City and Metropolis supposed to be? Are they just “DC names” for actual real-world cities like New York and Chicago, or are they completely independent entities? And if they […]
For Those Who Came In Late: Last week, we introduced you to Spidey’s supreme homewrecker, Marvel’s answer to Old Scratch himself, Mephisto. We took a look at Mephisto’s first appearance in the pages of THE SILVER SURFER, and a supremely creepy Mephisto tale from John Byrne in the pages of FANTASTIC FOUR. However, the Mephisto […]
Let’s take a look back at the scariest guy in comics, with the debut appearance of Marvel’s answer to Old Scratch himself, Mephisto. Back in 1968, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Stan Lee had finally given a solo series to his favorite creation: the Silver Surfer. Stan was looking to create the ultimate villain for his noblest of […]
You know, some superheroes have it better than others when it comes to origins. Spider-Man was bitten by a radioactive spider; irritating, but hardly traumatic. Superman’s rocketship ride to Earth from Krypton? Maybe crippling emotionally, but hey, he was young – he adjusted. When it come to origins, nobody had it worse than the Spectre, […]
In my humble opinion, one of the best treatments of Hank Pym was in Kurt Busiek’s and George Perez’s late-‘90s run on AVENGERS, which correctly characterized Hank Pym (calling himself Goliath again by this time) as a deeply troubled man uncertain about his role as a superhero and the propriety of his recent reconciliation with […]
We continue our journey into the COMICS 101 Vault with part III of our Ant-Man coverage… By the late 1970s, and early 80s, Hank Pym as Yellowjacket had settled into a standard supporting role in AVENGERS and other Marvel books like DEFENDERS and MARVEL TEAM-UP. As time went on, Pym began to fall into periods […]
