The OTHER Dr. Strange

Adam Strange is an archaeologist, who I assume is a very good one so he may have finished his PhD and is a doctor of archaeology (like that other guy who calls himself Indiana). Has anyone referred to him as Dr. Strange in the comics?

Eel Versus Spider

Time to showcase some Philippine comics characters! Palos (Eel) is a thief with a heart of gold, robbing from the bad guys to give to the needy. Gagamba (Spider) is a masked crimefighter in the vein of pulp characters like, well, The Spider. Both debuted in separate stories in the weekly anthology Tagalog Klasiks, co-created by brothers Virgilio and Nestor Redondo. Both were also very popular at the time (the '60s) and spawned numerous sequels and movies. Later on, both of them headlined their own titles (Palos Komiks and Gagamba Komiks), a rarity in the Philippines, where most titles are anthologies.

Marvel Team-Up: A Spider and a Hawk

I've always loved team-up books when I was a kid. To my young mind, it was a bargain. Two heroes for the price of one comic book! I always felt like I got my money's worth... Marvel Team-Up, The Brave and the Bold, DC Comics Presents, Marvel Two-In-One... Even Marvel Double Feature, which wasn't a team-up book but featured two heroes nonetheless.

Black Bolt's Amazing Adventure

It looks like Marvel's not giving up on highlighting the Inhumans any time soon. If rumors are to be believed, they're being positioned to replace the X-Men as a major franchise because Fox won't let Marvel take back the X-Men movie rights. But are readers biting?

Justice League with Booster and Beetle

Among all the superheroes on the Justice League roster during the Giffen & DeMatteis run, these guys emerged as my favorites. Their individual short-lived titles were okay, but it was in the Justice League that they started to grow on the fans. Ted Kord was a generic millionaire superhero in his own title, and Booster Gold sometimes got pretty annoying in his. But Giffen & DeMatteis (with Maguire, Templeton, Hughes, McKone, etc.) gave them personality and character.

Aquaman and Mera (not) Sitting in a Tree...

For as long as I've been reading comics, these two have been a couple. There have been ups and downs (especially the time when their son was killed), but they've always ended up together sooner or later. Hopefully they'll get re-married again soon.

Man (and Woman) of Action

DC Comics' late '60s Captain Action had great art by Wally Wood and Gil Kane. It may not come, but I would snatch up a trade paperback reprinting of those issues in an instant. And although the original Captain Action was before my time, I had the pleasure of working on these two characters for Moonstone Books and Captain Action Enterprises. I hope I can work on them again in the future.

DC Comics Presents: Dick, Clark

To the best of  my knowledge, Nightwing didn't appear on DC Comics Presents. Dick Grayson did, however, team up with Superman back when he was still Robin. Also, I just realized that this cover features two guys who went by the code name Nightwing at one time or another.

Etrigan the Little Devil

When I was in grade school, I used to buy black and white reprints of Harvey Comics. My favorite was Hot Stuff, the Little Devil. He appealed to me more than Casper, since I found Casper to be a bit depressing (a ghost who just wanted to have friends but more often than not scared those he wanted to befriend). So I guess the answer to the question on the cover above is "Turned him into Hot Stuff."

Beware the Claws of the Cat, Moon Knight!

The character Patsy Walker must have the most interesting journey in comics. First starring in an Archie-type teen comedy book, then becoming a supporting character in the main Marvel universe. After a while she became a superhero as Hellcat, and even got married to the Son of Satan himself! (I know, the cover above is a bit of a cheat since Patsy herself didn't star in The Cat comic book. That was Greer Nelson, who later on became Tigra.)

The Rage of Thor!

Tried a different inking style with this one. I wanted to give it a Bill Sienkiewicz vibe, but I think I went overboard with the scratchiness. Also, I forgot to draw the two white "dots" on his trunks.

Iron Man vs. Iron Man

I don't know why a lot of people don't like the Silver Centurion armor. For me, it looked great and the additional abilities (like the Stealth Mode) were awesome. Plus, I think the silver and red color scheme went together better than the gold and red. It was also the first time that Tony Stark would change his armor on a more frequent basis. The armor that preceded this was Iron Man's standard look for over a decade, except for the time that it grew a nose.

The Shadow Knows The Domino Lady

The Domino Lady is one of  the characters I've worked on for Moonstone Books. Seeing as how she's a public domain character, it's not far-fetched that she could've appeared in DC's Shadow comic book series. Dynamite is doing well with The Shadow nowadays, and with Matt Wagner at the helm that shouldn't be surprising.

Wonder Woman Triumphant!

The one thing I was questioning about Wonder Woman was... If she's invulnerable, then why does she have to deflect bullets with her bracelets? Well, Kerry Callen has the answer, found here.

Batman and Deathstroke: Stand-Off!

Deathstroke was introduced as Deathstroke, the Terminator in the first page of New Teen Titans no. 2, but after that he was always just referred to as the Terminator. I wonder why, later on, DC decided to refer to him as Deathstroke once again? Was it to avoid confusion with the Terminator movie series?

Zatanna vs. Doctor Fate!

Variant covers! How did that happen? You can read all about it at the Flashback Universe's Lost 100 Pagers, where this piece originally ran. (Does this count as an inter-blog crossover, too?)

Rom is Back!

Rom comes back to comics this year courtesy of IDW. I did pick up the FCBD issue last month, and it was okay. I'm still on the fence if I'm going to pick up the regular series. I liked the Marvel series by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema when I was a kid, and it's a testament to both creators' talents that Rom still has a large fan base decades after the original comic ended. If you're so inclined, information on how to help Bill Mantlo with his medical bills can be found on billmantlo.com.