All I Want For Christmas Are These Comic-Based Goodies...

Brief reading note I wanted to mention, before I wrote today's blog proper.  I have NO clue what it is about the late 70's/early 80's DC titles, but as of these past two days, I've read one issue of "The Flash" and one issue of "Wonder Woman" that BOTH featured battles against dinosaurs, and hyper-evolved dinosaurs.  Maybe Bronze Age comics influenced Michael Crichton for a trip to a certain "Jurassic Park"?  Theories, theories...

Yesterday, I discussed favorite Christmas comic issues of mine.  But while sharing the Christmas Spirit through the printed page is a noble cause, there will STILL be a "little kid" side of me, around this time of year, wanting to ask the Comic Book-Based Santa to reply to a few measly "wish list" items of mine.  And for today's blog, I wanted to share with you some of those items that either:

• Do not exist in a 100% legal format, as far as I know.
• DO exist in a legal format... but NOWHERE near the states.
• Just have not been given ANY justice, whatsoever.

So, hope you enjoy my trip down my wish list...  But sorry, Santa; no sitting on your lap.  I do have SOME measure of dignity to uphold.

1. Complete DVD Set of the 1960's "Marvel Super-Heroes" Cartoon Series: If you've ever done a Youtube search for ANY of the featured series under the Grantray-Lawrence Animation studios helmed series KNOWS it is not an animation dynamo.  Comic panels are BARELY animated, hardly bear any continuity... watch ANY episode of the "Mighty Thor" feature, so you can see Odin wear at least SIX SEPARATE OUTFITS in a single episode... and sometimes you get some of the cheesiest voice acting this side of American dubbings of Japanese video game dialogue.  That being said, this series STILL holds a soft spot in my heart, for being one of the first efforts to bring the Marvel Comics Universe to a televised medium.  And since the stories are based SPOT-ON from the source material, you get stories that are interestingly interpreted dramatizations of the budding Marvel Universe.  And as far as I've seen, this series is ONLY available via... er... "less than honorable" means.  So c'mon Marvel... I KNOW you've had better animated efforts through the years, but you need to pay some tribute to your founding steps!

2. The ULTIMATE 1980's "Spider-Man/Woman" Animated Series Collection: Are you able to find "Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends" in its entirety on Netflix Instant?  Sure!  ... But there is a noticeable gap in finding Stateside access to the precursor to that very series, a series with the simple label of "Spider-Man".  Some fond memories of that particular series that I STILL carry are an episode featuring Spidey's battle with Doctor Doom, as Victor seeks to gain control of the United Nations, along with a clash with Dr. Curt Connors... AKA the Lizard!  Pushing together both series into a nice simple DVD set would be a dream come true for a person who found his initial Marvel Comics LOVE by these shows' exposures.  But why not make a tidy Oreo Cookie with this set, by also including the one-season only collection of the "Spider-Woman" animated series, of which I have ZILCH memories of!  Now, remember my mention of the "Stateside access" to these series?  Well, those lucky English citizens DID see proper DVD releases of ALL THREE of these shows?  Why doth thou forsake us, Mighty House of Ideas?  Need FURTHER proof?

3. A Heaping Helping of BOTH "Incredible Hulk" Series on DVD: Yep... Denied yet ANOTHER revisit of a classic set of Marvel Animated series.  I was CONVINCED at least the 90's "Incredible Hulk" series would see a re-release with the theatrical release of the most recent "Hulk" feature film.  (Heck, when "Iron Man 2" was released around the same rough time, the 90's "Iron Man" series was collected into a DVD set!)  But much like a repeat "Hulk" sequel, the prospects of the 1980's Hulk cartoon AND the 1990's Hulk cartoon are about as likely as Marvel NOT putting out another event after their current comics event ends.  Which is a shame, because I remember the 80's series having AMAZING animation quality for a single season, along with one of the BEST animated theme songs of all time.  And the 90's series was about 2 seasons worth of a distillation of the best of the Peter David era of the comic title.  And even better... it ALSO featured a set of episodes with Doctor Doom, who ALSO was the inadvertent creator of She-Hulk for that show!  Hail Latveria!

4. A Marvel 75th Anniversary Music Compilation: Sigh... Marvel, you DO realize DC STILL has you beat on this front, because for their 75th publishing anniversary, they put out a VERY fun music compilation of the various iterations of their popular characters' themes in cartoons, television shows, and movies.  (Man, jamming out to that "Wonder Woman" television theme NEVER gets old, nor does the excitement chills of hearing that John Williams "Superman" theme.)  Marvel has close to 50 years worth of cartoon, movie, and television show themes that people KNOW and LOVE!  (I'm sure you're all familiar with the 1960's "Spider-Man" cartoon theme, and more than a few could probably hum the 1960's "Iron Man" show theme.)  Why not tap that RICH history of their characters' exposure to media, and collect them as either a hard CD release, or maybe even just a digital download?  Some, I do understand, are probably points of legal contention.  (Good luck seeing hide OR hair of that Danny Elfman "Spider-Man" theme on the collection, thank you VERY MUCH, Sony...)  But think of how much this collection could tap into people that just LOVE catchy theme songs for their favorite Marvel characters throughout the years.  Marvel, I will even send you a BLANK CHECK to make this happen. 

But as we're about to see, DC is not totally free of guilt with lacking in materials that just BEG to see release!  So, why don't we look at two particularly notable deficits in their trade paperback program...

5. An ACTUAL Series of Reprints for "Fury of Firestorm": The reprinting of the first six "Firestorm" issues, along with "The Flash" backups in ONE TRADE does not count as a comprehensive exposure to the history of Ronnie Raymond and Professor Martin Stein.  And due to the fact that Firestorm is starting live-action life in CW's "The Flash" series, you would THINK the company would want to give their nuclear-powered paladin some proper time in the sun by FINALLY giving reprint trades to the long-running series that started in the 80's.  It's only right, y'know!

6. Reprinting at LEAST the first "DC Who's Who" Mini-Series: Obviously, the Internet makes any comic book reference book outdated, by nature.  But where would those Wikipedia entries be without the influence of that original 26 issue guide to the DC Universe that took place during, and AFTER, the initial "Crisis on Infinite Earths"?  A lot of these characters' backgrounds are NOWHERE near where they are reported to be for the course of this series, but there's still something quaint about seeing the character write-ups at the time, along with various artistic interpretations of certain characters.  Plus, I think this series represents a HUGE chunk of DC at their nadir, with emphasis on the growing popularity of the "New Teen Titans"... and by proxy, AWESOME artwork by George Perez for those particular entries.  How hard can it be to give this series just ONE SINGLE omnibus/trade, and see how it goes, before delivering on the remainder of the future year entries?

And just because I KNOW it exists, but still find it VERY hard to get my hands on in a reasonably-priced manner...

7. A Carded Original Superman figure from the Kenner "Super Powers Collection": ... A guy can dream, can't he?

And before I forget, while it's early, it is still NO LESS sincere, when I wish everyone that's helped support this blog, or even just read it, the best the Christmas Holiday can offer.  May you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Half The Days Of Christmas, All The Great Reads Of 12 Full Days

Before I start blogging, proper... as usual... we start with a few notes.  I should refer to this section as being a spiritual successor to "Stan's Soapbox", except it is NOWHERE near as potentially spiritually enriching.  Or at the very least, nowhere near as shilling in nature.  This is more like a shuffling off of topics in my general life and/or fandom with comics before the ACTUAL subject matter.  So, lemme clear my throat...

• My new job started, this week.  The new place I work for, contract-based work that it is, is VERY comfortable.  I still have much to learn about the job, along with my actual tasks, but for the work I do at the moment, it IS a case of learning to "crawl" before I "run". 
• Life couldn't resist throwing me a curveball, regardless of this new station in life, by smacking my immune system in the face with a case of the flu for the first half of this week, involving one day where I had to miss work to spend time recovering.  As my lady Alanis would say, "Isn't it ironic, don't you think?".
• Christmas shopping is NEARLY done for me, at least.  My bank account is whimpering more than a current comics fan finding out about ANOTHER major comics event dawning on the horizon, but at least I won't have to commit much more finances to the "spirit of Christmas".  I admit to not being as much of a "Grinch" for the season, but there's a splinter of my cynicism that wonders if that same "spirit" is more akin to a "vampire" of Christmas.
• Finally, I refer all readers to this blog to my 100th post for the still ongoing anniversary quiz contest.  I've not seen any entries trickle into my email account JUST YET, but you readers still have until Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January to send in your answers and entries!  Please don't feel like you have to "last minute" your chances like this was an eBay action to become a winner!

This is probably where I begin to sound like a stereotypical aging "geek", but the subject for today's blog seems to be a lost art, or tradition, in comic companies.  Why tell individual issue fun holiday stories, when they'd only break the flow of their next MEGA-SUPER-EPOCH MAKING event?  But should your comic-buying spirit be "Merry and Bright", then with a little bit of bargain-buying savvy, you can ensure you can find more than your fair-share of books that will leave your Christmas Spirit feeling like it's fully in the white!  I couldn't even BEGIN to cover all of the Christmas-based comic books in existence, because some I just don't have access to, some I've not read in a VERY long time, and some... I have to wonder if it's REALLY necessary to give my thoughts on them.  (C'mon, Rob Liefeld... Even YOU have to be given a break around the Holidays.  Unless someone sends me a copy of the "Troll Christmas Special" for a review, that's not exactly a priority project.)  But since we're under a week for the arrival of Christmas, then I'll offer to you readers six of my favorite Christmas-themed comic stories to explore.  Sure, after today, there's only 5 days left until the holiday that could be considered a "mutant" based on its "X-Mas" branding, but who says you can't read TWO of the issues I mention on that magical day of the 25th of December?  We'll kick things off with the Merry Christmas Marvel Marching Society!

Marvel Team-Up #1: I'm trying to remember if "Spectacular Spider-Man" was launched as a regular series before this debut issue of the Spidey team-up title saw release on the spinner racks of America, but for 150 issues, and a handful of annuals, Peter Parker... with occasional diversions for other character guest spots... would weave his web of friendship with other Marvel heroes for mostly one-off adventures.  I'm honestly a SUCKER for rotating team-up books from both companies.  (I'm still holding off of the blog topic for a future date, but you'll see at least THREE of the primary books of this trend showing up as examples in this particular blog entry.)  And for his inaugural story, we are treated to long-time Spider-Man ally/friendly rival, the Human Torch, teaming up with the wall-crawler to battle the recently escaped from prison Sandman.  All this leads up to a Christmas Eve showdown, where not only do we get some fun brawls in the Mighty Marvel Manner, but we find out just WHY Flint Marko shuffled his sandy soles outta prison for this festive night.  And if this ending doesn't give you the Holiday squishies in your soul, then you're more hardened than ANY hard-sand structure the Sandman can build!

Marvel Two-In-One #8: Not to be outdone by that Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, that "Idol o' Millions", the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Benjamin J. Grimm proved SO popular, he gained his OWN regular team-up book, as well!  And while the debut issue was reserved for a story with the boggy Man-Thing... no jokes about being "Giant-Sized" here, PLEASE!... the eight issue of the series featured not only a team-up with the Spirit of Vengeance, Ghost Rider, BUT it was a Christmas issue!  We start off with the skeletal biker form of Johnny Blaze running into what appears to be the scene of the first Biblical Christmas, complete with nearly road-pancaking those three Wise Men!  Cut to the Fantastic Four Plaza, where Reed Richards spots a new star in the sky, pointing at the selfsame village where Ghost Rider finds himself.  Not one to ruin a family gathering, the Thing volunteers to go investigate.  This particular location is the location of the Native American tribe Wyatt Wingfoot originated from, and upon our heroes crossing paths, they decide to investigate this unusual "Nativity" scene, dressed as Wise Men of their own!  The whole situation unveils itself to be a means for a long-forgotten FF villain, the Miracle Man, to gain more mystical power by means of reenacting the birth of Jesus!  ... Obviously, spoilers have no place for this issue, but if this sounds like a good comic to down some eggnog with, you'll honestly have a lot of fun with the Ghost Rider and the Thing in period-appropriate desert garb, beating up on a massive MORT of a villain!

Incredible Hulk #378: I think people forget that while Peter David created some great psychological and interpersonal dramatic situations with his long-tenured run on the Incredible Hulk, he ALSO was able to crank out some honestly hilarious Comedy spotlight issues, on occasion!  Cue this particular issue, where Bruce Banner is in his lean-and-mean Grey Hulk phase, running into a VERY unusual Mall Santa.  It turns out that, in his plans to go incognito... and maybe earn a few extra bucks... that long-running mental-dynamo of the Marvel universe, the Rhino, disguises himself as a charity Santa.  However, things go awry for our villain, as he is recruited to fill in for a missing Santa for a children's mall display.  Sure enough, exposure to enough bratty kids starts to wear on the Rhino's nerves, and after TOSSING a kid for a 40-yard pass, night-time falls, and Bruce begins his transformation, which leads to a mall thrashing the likes humanity has not seen since Chuck Norris battled terrorists in "Invasion U.S.A."!  All of this story is ACTUALLY part of a tale longtime Hulk buddy, Rick Jones, is telling to a gathering of hospitalized children.  So, you have a little bit of genuinely sweet nature sandwiched in to a story that features a METRIC ton of physical and witty Comedy to lift even the most hardened Scrooge's spirit for the season!

 Batman #219: Admittedly, this story is NOT the main feature of this particular issue.  That honor belongs to a tale called "Death Casts the Deciding Vote", involving a rescue attempt the Batman has to make for a threatened Congressman.  (He was probably being threatened into making some ACTUAL progress with the political system...)  But while that particular story... entertaining as it was... has fallen into a measure of obscurity, this eight-page tale written by Mike Friedrich, with the LEGENDARY artwork of Neal Adams, has endured well past this issue's initial publication!  The premise of the story is very simple, but by no means lesser for its simplicity.  It involves Batman going on patrol in Gotham City on Christmas Eve.  The Batman... that dread creature of the night... is ever-vigilant for signs of the worst that humanity can offer in this dark city, even on a Holiday night.  But as his patrols show, even crime APPARENTLY takes a break on Christmas Eve, with potential scenes of robbery and violence dissipating before they can spill over into action.  The Batman even has time to carol with officers of the Gotham City Police Department, and... heaven forbid... SMILE!  It's 8 pages of excellent artwork, and a message that even the worst places and situations can sometimes be moved to better places with the right spirit of the season!  Essential reading, bar-none!

Justice League of America #110: I've written, before, about my love for 100-page comic issues.  Not only does this Justice League issue offer you ONE-HUNDRED PAGES of content, including two whole story reprints, but you also receive a BRAND-NEW Justice League Christmas story!  A mall Santa's murder leads Batman and Superman to assemble the League to get to the bottom of the mystery.  All this leads into the team confronting a semi-regular League villain, the Key, in a series of themed traps for the participating JLA members.  But what the Key does NOT count on is the surprise element of an unfamiliar Green Lantern participating in this adventure.  (This must've been the Ryan Reynolds Hal Jordan, because who ELSE would've knocked himself unconscious by slipping on a bar of soap, while in possession of the galaxy's GREATEST OFFENSIVE/DEFENSIVE weapon in EXISTENCE?!?)  So we get a guest appearance of John Stewart as Green Lantern in this issue!  This issue also features Red Tornado learning about the Christmas Spirit, along with getting stripped pants!  Merry AND bright tidings with those tights, and you as a reader are gifted with a gigantic comic for your reading pleasure!

DC Comics Presents #67: We end this particular blog entry with a story detailing a crossover between Krypton's last son, the Man of Steel... and the man behind the material end of the Season, that North Pole Saint Nicholas!  Superman and Santa Claus!  In one story!  Which also features mental manipulation of innocent children by the Toyman, a massive brawl among toys that serve Santa and that mirthful menace, and an exploration as to why the Fortress of Solitude is located in the North Pole, but why is it that Superman has NEVER seen Santa or his Factory ANYTIME during his relocation for some peace and quiet?  This issue is just one of those bizarre Christmas stories that just begs to be explored if you want some goofy... but well-intentioned... Bronze Age adventures!

Finding Strength In Weakness... No Matter How Ridiculous...

Ironic that I write a post about comic book character "Achilles heels" that I find charming... but STILL ridiculous... on a day where I, myself, am starting to feel a bit off.  OPTIMISTICALLY, it's just a case of my girlfriend's soup not agreeing with me.  (It was FAR from bad, but sometimes my belly finds arguments in odd places.)  But I begin to dread that maybe one of my former coworkers left me with a delightful "parting gift" of a stomach virus.  Sigh... Well, we'll see what we'll see, tonight and tomorrow!  The furthest I've gone for discomfort is some cases of reflux, and minor chills.  So, former workplace, you managed to gain a MEASURE of revenge for my transitioning!  Next time, Inspector Gadget, next time...

One needs look at Superman to find a PRIMARY source of comic book character weakness packaging.  Be it physical, in terms of exposure to Kryptonite, spiritual, in terms of magical influence, or even emotional, where he feels overly responsible for those he cares for and loves.  It was the Last Son of Krypton that proved that even the BEST of heroes can have chinks in their crime-fighting armor.  Now, I do admit that today's article is more heavily weighed towards DC discussion, because Marvel GENERALLY has the cross-character weakness of "human hubris" for their ENTIRE universe.  But I still did pry one Marvel example of character weakness that, while an established trait, still makes me roll my eyes a BIT in good-natured annoyed amusement.  Hey, sometimes the source of weakness in potential greatness can be kind of laughable, at times!

Green Arrow (Runaway Mouth)- I can't be sure if this particular trait carried over into the New-52 DC Universe, but one KEY weakness that Oliver Queen possessed during a majority of the Bronze Age was his instinct to put his foot in his mouth... OFTEN.  It's kind of weird that he would make odd transitions from Liberal political stances, to engaging in hardline Conservative views.  All the while, he STILL managed to make time to say things that would make Dinah "Black Canary" Lance stare DAGGERS at the Arrow slinger.  Let's just say... diplomatically... that Ollie did not truly have the "sensitive man's" instinct for romance and female relations.  If it wasn't for his personality quirks, it was his inability to keep his mouth SHUT that also contributed to his weakness.  I can't count how many times I've wondered how that stick-in-the-mud Hawkman hesitated in shoving Ollie out of a random Justice League Satellite headquarters airlock, due to something he uttered in a given issue.

Green Lantern (Yellow Weakness)- Each generation's Green Lantern had some TRULY unusual quirks.  Alan Scott, with his MYSTIC power ring, could be taken out by a weakness for anything wood-based.  But you know, at least a weapon of magical origins could FEASIBLY be tuned out by a natural element.  And the "necessary imperfection" that so plagued the Green Lantern rings is mostly a thing of the past, there's no denying that Hal Jordan and his fellow Green Lantern Corps members got the weakness short-end of the stick.  Anything... ANYTHING... that was yellow, was impervious to being damaged by ring constructs, and they could not be defended against.  Geoff Johns could say ALL he wants that it was due to a power-battery-based parasitic being called Parallax that was CONVIENENTLY yellow, but there's no denying that for 30+ years of Green Lantern history, you could technically assault a Green Lantern Corps member with a package of unwrapped Twinkees, and not be completely defenseless.  Criminals could paint bullets yellow, start developing lasers that would project yellow light, heck... a yellow CROWBAR would still be a fatal development!

Red Tornado (Crippling Self-Doubt)- We've seen how difficult it is for super-heroic androids to transition from questioning their "humanity", to melding fully with their team.  The Vision had those issues.  The original Human Torch had those issues.  But Red Tornado took such self-identity doubts to NEW extremes!  Sure, he audibly bemoaned the lot of life he had as an "unfeeling machine", while VERY OFTEN disproving that to be the case.  But his self-doubt also caused Reddy to risk his life... MANY TIMES... to prove by stupidity-based action that he was TRULY human... and often putting his teammates in the Bronze Age Justice League at risk.  He also made sure that he was injured and blown up as OFTEN as possible, just to prove how "human" and "noble" his true nature was.  Listen, Reddy... You sacrificed yourself in the "Seven Soldiers of Victory" storyline.  That helped cement your "humanity" in the eyes of your fellow heroes.  STOP.  WORRYING.  SO.  MUCH!

Wonder Woman (Bracelets of "Submission")- I know... It's a long-established lore piece for Diana Prince.  I know many writers have taken proper advantage of the effects of what happens when Wonder Woman loses her bracelets.  It's not simply her lacking the ability to play "Bullets and Bracelets".  Y'see, according to comic book Amazonian myth, those very bracelets help to keep Amazon women from going completely BER-SERK.  Reasonable, right?  Well... I still can't shake the feeling that, in the particular run of "Wonder Woman" I am currently reading, the bracelet stabilizing nature isn't so much part of the mythology, as it is almost a reaction of a woman going MENTAL over losing a prize possession.  But then again, as I may eventually write about, ole' Diana Prince had MANY rough years prior to her being reformed after the first "Crisis", and it wasn't just because of her doofy Rogues' Gallery.  Just make sure not to make her remove her earrings, or her bracelets, because buddy... Hell hath no fury equal to a woman scorned... or deprived of her décor!

May Parker (Seemingly WEEKLY Heart Attacks)- I've written, before, about how truly sinister I consider Aunt May's nature!  So wicked that not even DEATH wants her in that afterlife domain!  Still, that doesn't mean there's lack of forces that bring Aunt May to Death's door, at the very least.  I would imagine that you couldn't even count on both your fingers AND toes the number of times May has suffered from cardiac arrest.  It's like the very devious nature of her soul forces her heart to want to just SHUT DOWN.  And all of this medical trauma causes Peter Parker to overly stress, and put him in dire straights from any given super-hero battle.  Y'know, there MAY be something to Aunt May having known for YEARS that Peter was Spider-Man, and to show her loathing for her nephew's selfless actions in the cause of crime fighting, she figured out a way to SHUT HER OWN HEART DOWN to derail his crusading ways.  So it could be argued this infarction tendency is less of a weakness, but a potential STRENGTH.  Oh May... Your evilness knows no depths...

Batman (No REAL Weaknesses)- There is much vocalized hullabaloo about how Batman is the BEST SUPERHERO, because he has no "super powers", and therefore is more noble for fighting crime, and using his physical and mental prowess to put him on equal footing with individuals FAR out of his power league.  But... it's because of some writers' emphasis on this self-made SUPERIORITY that makes him weak, to my reading eyes.  I've mentioned, in the past, that Batman is smack-dab in the middle of my top 5 comic book heroes listing.  I appreciate his legacy, and enjoy his adventures, but there are times where I feel some creators make him TOO "superior" to his general human standards.  Whether it's inexplicably being able to plan ahead for any conflict, despite having NO previous experience with that given threat.  Or maybe it's because he still manages to face overwhelming physical odds, being bloodied and bruised, only to show up in the next story arc with a physical rebound that would make most Warner Bros. cartoon characters BLUSH with envy!  Sometimes, I think, Batman's primary weakness is his overemphasized strengths, which make him VERY difficult to identify with as the exemplar of the "human" Super-Hero.

100-Pages, 100 Posts, And 10 Dream Crossovers!

I know this song lyric is often quoted, but considering that today brings me to my 100th. post, I cannot help but reflect on the Grateful Dead lyric, "What a LOOOONG strange trip it's been".  Comparison and contrast from the start of this blog:

• First post, I started this blog as a way to cultivate my love for comic book culture, and as a coping mechanism for my struggles with finding employment.
• 100th. post, my love for comics has not lessened in the least, and certain television programming has helped ENABLE that love, and as of this past week, I received notice that come 12/15/2014, I'll be starting a new job that will offer more pay and benefits.

It was with some bittersweet feelings that this transition happened, because I WISH I had more time to notify my previous job's coworkers of the changeover, and it will be REALLY weird, later this coming week, when I stop over for my last official job paycheck.  But evolution is far from easy; just ask the Cro-Magnon, or the residents of the pre New-52 DC Universe!  But just because I've reached "100 Pages" in this blog, that by NO means is the end of the book!  I never intended this blog to be a finite project; as long as I love comics, and they provide me with escapism and entertainment, I'll be writing as furiously as ever!  But how to cap off such a milestone?  Well... We shall expand on the genesis of this blog project to begin with!

As some of you may remember, this blog was born NOT FAR OFF from my actual birthday of June 13th., and a self-treat to myself that day gave me the idea of how exciting comic book conversation can be, when I found at a comic shop near my girlfriend's home copies of the TWO "Superman and Spider-Man" tabloid crossovers.  For YEARS, these books were sort of "Holy Grail" items for me.  I did once own copies of these two stories in the "Marvel/DC Crossover Classics" trade, but let's be honest; NOTHING beats the original tabloid presentation.  And the concept of two competing companies crossing over marquee characters for one EPIC meeting never lost its appeal.  ... Despite the fact that both Marvel and DC will probably NEVER engage in such a collaboration, again.  Sigh... Well, we had a fruitful set of years in the mid-70's to early 80's, then another boom in the 90's.  But for every crossover opportunity, including the mini-series "DC Vs. Marvel", there remained MANY missing opportunities.  Stories that, if the companies remained in a collaborative spirit, they could still plumb.  And this 100th. post is dedicated to 10 of the "Dream Projects" I would have wanted to see happen, along with what ideas I had for these special events!

Before I get into the gritty details, I have to thank kindly the permission of Ross from Super-Team Family: The Lost Issues, for the use of sets of images for this post.  I would HIGHLY recommend you readers check out his website, if you aren't familiar with it, already.  Not only is he well-spoken in his posts, but for EVERY SINGLE DAY, he generates some of the most FUN imaginary crossover covers your mind could even fathom!  Seriously, you could lose HOURS exploring this site, and you will make your phone wallpaper very happy with Ross' artwork!  So again, special thanks to him for allowing me to use some of his created artwork for some of my crossover ideas.  Great minds think alike!  So, let us proceed, and in no particular order...

NEW TEEN TITANS AND NEW WARRIORS: If only their "hot" periods had intersected more closely, these two teamings of the Marvel and DC universes' younger champions of justice would have been a genuine blast!  Picture, if you will, Robin/Nightwing trading martial arts counters with Night Thrasher, Changling and Speedball making TERRIBLY sexist remarks about their mutual female team members, Namorita and Starfire... er... "wrestling", and if this was done during the period where Rage was a member of the Warriors, I'm sure he and Cyborg would have a stereotypical "street-smart" character showdown!  But who would be their mutual threat sharing?  Hmm... We COULD go for their two big "powerhouse" villains to start the conflict, like maybe Trigon and the Sphinx.  Unless you wanted to count their first two major villains... but let's be honest: two teams of the most powered "kids" of each universe would not break MUCH of a sweat when facing down Doctor Light and Terrax the Tamer.

AQUAMAN AND NAMOR, THE SUB-MARINER: Kings of the Seven Seas.  Monarchs of the depths.  Men who, at one time or another, BOTH sported long hair and beards... I think the Robinson clan owe Aquaman and Namor MAD PROPS for their general style.  We only got our "toes wet" with a brief meeting between the two characters in the aforementioned "DC Vs. Marvel" miniseries, but what I wouldn't have given for these Atlantean titans to cross paths for one SUPER-SIZED special!  Think of the fun that would ensue when Dorma and Mera would exchange notes about their aquatic squeezes, or when Namorita and Aqualad probably awkwardly flirted.  (I would mention any potential crossings with Aquaman's two noted "finny friends", Salty and Topo, but Namor really NEVER seemed to care to cultivate relationships with his aquatic subjects.)  And of course, we would REALLY see a prime exchange of aquatic prowess between Arthur Curry and Namor, that wouldn't just be limited to a handful of pages.  As for their mutual threats, can't do much worse than the constant thorns in their controlling sides, Ocean Master and Attuma teaming up to overthrow and dispose of their obstacles to absolute sinister rule of the Seven Seas!  In the words of the "Brave and the Bold" Aquaman, "OUTRAGEOUS!".

BLACK CANARY AND BLACK WIDOW: Now this is a tricky one to make happen... Not because of the notion of two of comicdom's most lethal ladies crossing paths, because who WOULDN'T want to see the Mistress of the Canary Cry square off against the carrier of the Widow's Sting bracelets?  But the one iffy point of this crossover is: who would be the villains?  I admit, my recollection of both characters' histories can be rather foggy on their individual basis, so hence coming up with ANY arch-enemies is rather difficult.  If I really HAD to stretch, I do remember Dinah Lance/Queen squaring off against Blockbuster more than a handful of times in "Birds of Prey", and you could always wrangle up one of Natasha Romanov's former Soviet allies, like the Crimson Dynamo, to serve as opposing "muscle".  But if you timed this crossover to just the RIGHT era, you could have Daredevil and Green Arrow show up to exchange notes about their relationships with the femme fatales!  (I imagine Matt Murdock would probably at LEAST want to sock Oliver Queen once for something silly he says.  Or maybe from a blind Green Arrow chili taste-test!)

BEN REILLY "SPIDER-MAN" AND DICK GRAYSON "BATMAN": Interesting that both concepts of "replacing" the "old-guard" were nearly a decade apart.  On Marvel's side, when the "Clone Saga" APPARENTLY wrapped up, Ben Reilly was supposed to step in for the full-time replacement of a retired Peter Parker.  And in the wake of "Final Crisis", when Bruce Wayne was Omega-Beamed REAL GOOD by Darkseid... and thought dead... Dick Grayson took up the mantle of the Batman, with Damien Wayne becoming a difficult Robin with this relationship.  If only these events occurred more closely together in timing, so that we could have seen how a crossover would have looked when we had a Spider-Man that was FAR more self-doubting, meeting a Batman that was a TIDGE more light-hearted than the Bruce Wayne incarnation.  As for their villains to face off against... as much as I LOATHE the Jackal, seeing Dick talk about how much the "Maximum Clonage" version resembled the Joker would be amusing, while Batman could offer that period's take on the Jason Todd "Red Hood" for his foe serving!

GREEN ARROW AND THE PUNISHER: Once upon a time, after Mike Grell's "Longbow Hunters" mini-series, Oliver Queen cultivated a hard-line edge on crime fighting.  Gone were the gimmick arrows, and the lack of a "killer instinct".  And I think that POTENTIALLY he could've seen eye-to-eye with Frank Castle's outlook on crime-fighting, which was let the lead fly, and let the Afterlife sort the scum out!  Of course, the MAJOR risk of a crossover between two characters that, at their particular creative periods, had LITTLE repeat villains, because it's hard to repeat criminals that have bullets... or arrows... in their brains.  But I think SOMETHING could have been worked out, like maybe Green Arrow's sometimes regular sparring partner, Merlyn, and Punisher's cyber-armed baddie, Bushmaster.  But ANOTHER appeal to this crossover is seeing how the more level-headed partners of Green Arrow and Punisher interacted with each other, talking about how difficult it would be to be associated with them; namely Black Canary and Microchip!

X-MEN AND JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL: I know... Some of you are probably saying, "What?  Are you NUTS?!?".  Hear me out: the X-Men are perennially regarded as the "misfits toys" of the Marvel Universe, and when the JLI period of the Justice League existed, they were certainly not what people usually regarded as their traditional "World's Greatest Heroes".  So it stands to reason that a team that was created mostly for interpersonal drama would make for a VERY interesting mix with a team that was created mostly for interpersonal humor!  I don't even think the villain choices would be all THAT important... though it WOULD be fun to see a team of X-Villain "losers" try and mash up with the "Injustice Gang".  Rather, seeing how a team that thrived on angst and alienation meshed with a team that argued and joked about each other would be the TRUE driving force of this crossover!  And c'mon... Just the thought of Guy Gardner and Wolverine butting heads would sell copies in ANY comic period!

WONDER WOMAN AND THOR: Sure, sure... This crossover already KIND of happened twice: "DC Vs. Marvel" and a bit in "JLA/Avengers".  But I would want a REAL crossover between the two mythological figureheads of both companies, the Amazonian princess and the God of thunder.  I would want to see how Diana Prince's Amazon might would stand to the test in a showdown with the Odinson's might and fierce pride!  And I would also REALLY like to see as the foes behind this showdown appear to be their mutual primary trickster thorns in their side, Circe and Loki.  And if you wanted to throw some "muscle" into the mix, you couldn't go much more wrong than giving focus to their primary physical threats, the Cheetah and Ulik.  But this is but ONE part of my Thor Crossover "trilogy", as we then lead on to...

THOR AND THE NEW GODS: For those of you old... or retro... enough to remember "Thor Annual #5", that special featured an epic battle between the Greek and Norse pantheons.  Now, take the basis of that special, and transition it over to the Norse Gods clashing with their potential "Fallout" successors... the Gods of New Genesis and Apokalips... and you have a crossover with more explosive firepower than a Boom Tube!  Thor clashing with Orion!  The Warriors Three good-naturedly meeting with the Forever People!  Lightray and Sif... or maybe even Baldur... being level-headed soothers of hot tempers!  Odin and Highfather trying to seek wisdom in the midst of the chaos most LIKELY instigated by either Loki... or for something different, the Enchantress, and Darkseid!  ... Awesome, I know, right?  Well, see where you stand with the final part of the "Thor"-logy...

SUPERMAN AND THOR: We saw the results of their clashing in "JLA/Avengers", but what about a simple TEAM UP with the two most recognizable powerhouses of their shared universes!  The space-science powers of Kal-El meshing with the mystical musculature of the Odinson!  But this time out, for such a crossover, we would have to fade away from the Loki connection, because even Trickster Gods need SOME vacation time!  So they could go the way of scientific threats for both characters by having the WELL-KNOWN Lex Luthor cross plans with the lesser-known Zarko the Future Man.  Or if you wanted a "Tag Team Slobber Knocker" of a crossover, why not have the mindless menaces of Doomsday and the Destroyer meld to try utterly DEMOLISHING our team of heroes?  DC and Marvel... If you made that happen, you may as well ask for my check RIGHT NOW for a copy.

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA AND THE INVADERS/SGT. FURY AND SGT. ROCK: We end this entry's list with the option of DC's and Marvel's World War II-era titans in a DREAM crossover!  I can't even begin to think about how much fun it would be to see unions of the Axis Powers of BOTH universes be unified against the JSA and the Invaders!  I imagine Per Degaton and Red Skull would have their sticky Nazi fingers in the middle of stirring the pot of first misunderstood conflict among the teams, then assembling allies in a BATTLE ROYALE conclusion!  As an added bonus, to make this maybe an EXTRA-SIZED crossover special, you could include the "grunt's point of view" story with Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos meeting with Sgt. Rock and Easy Company to sling hash... and lead... with the Axis foot soldiers!  Man... The only way this book could be more more Americana fun was if each copy came sealed with a fresh slice of apple pie!

Once more, I wish to thank Ross of Super-Team Family: The Lost Issues for the genesis of this blog entry, and the usage of images.  I cannot say it enough: CHECK THIS SITE OUT!  But if you thought this was the end of this entry...  Oh-ho... NO!  To make this a REAL fun special occasion, I offer up a contest!  Here's what you gotta do: to test your long-time readership of this blog, I have cultivated three questions to ask that relate to this blog's history.  All you have to do is send your answers to ocean1212w@gmail.com, and the first three entries to get ALL THREE questions answered correctly... by, let's say, Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January... will be eligible for prize packages!  I'll announce the winners for the weekend leading up to that particular Monday, and notify them via e-mail of their winning.  What stands for the winning are HUGE packages of various "Wizard Magazine" issues, mixed ridiculous comic lots I pulled from back issue bins, trade paperbacks, and other goodies!  So, if you feel ready to test your meddle, I leave this anniversary entry with a HEARTY thank-you to everyone that's read and supported this personal project of mine, and with the three contest questions!  Have at them, true believers, and keep on flying the Mighty Metal Mikey blogging flame!  'Nuff said!

1. What comics creator has shown up the most in all of my postings?
2. What was the first trade paperback I wrote an entry about?
3. What is the EXTREMELY random price I have mentioned paying for cheap back issues at my girlfriend's nearest LCS?  (A hint, it is FAR from being close to a number that manages to even out.)