Odds & Ends

Blog-buddy Michael Grabois has an interesting post on the changes that have occurred to the story in Adventure #247 as it has been reprinted over the years. One background character was changed to look like Colossal Boy in Superman Annual #6, and in subsequent reprints he's Brainiac 5. Yet another example of why you can't trust reprints.

John Glenn Taylor covers the dysfunctional Kents. I'm always amused by these "Superman is a dick" types of collections, although it's also interesting to wonder why the original comics had those particular panels. I think the rug-eating one was caused by Red K, and I know the last panel was Ma and Pa Kent's only way to discipline Clark. The one where the Kents are dressed as Jor-El and Lara is from Superboy #100 and the nominal reason is that the Kents have gone insane, although you never know, that could be a trick to fool the aliens.

I don't usually link to webcomics, but I did get a kick out of the story The Collector at this site. It starts out as a takeoff on the movie Comic Book Villains, but with an ExCellent twist at the end.

I Believe In Batmite has a review of the Batman as Superman story from Batman #113, a Dick Sprang story. That story features some of Sprang's amazing robots, which I forgot to include in my Sprang tribute:



There are a number of Sprang stories with these robots or ones very much like them:



They strike me as a perfect combination of sci-fi, menace and wackiness all at the same time.

Bill Jourdain covers some of the early romance comics, including the very first graphic novel (from the 1950s), It Rhymes with Lust.

Mark Engblom rates the top headquarters for comics heroes and villains. One that I would definitely argue for inclusion is Luthor's Lair, a lead-lined abandoned museum in Metropolis that features this Hall of Heroes:



How can you not love that?