Bye Bye Lois

No more nagging!! No more tricks to try to get me to marry her! I’m free!!!

This issue was followed by the mini-series Superman Parties Down.

Time Limit

Yeah, 24 hours. That should you give you just enough time to suffer, since I know you won’t try to stop the bomb or escape.

Since Smythe obviously had Spider-man at his power long enough to put on the explosive bracelet, why not just use a gun?

Clark loves Lois, Lois goes splat

Superman is so intent on what the kid is writing on the sidewalk that he is going to ram Lois headfirst into the ground!

That’s one way to stop a love triangle! 20 minutes later he was calling Lana Lang saying “I’m suddenly free for tonight. Want to see a movie?”

Target practice

I don’t care how many comic books, movies, cartoons, videogames, etc... the two of you have appeared in...when fighting crime, it’s NEVER a good idea to stand right in front of a bullseye!

Let's get funky!

Never heard of the Dingbats? No surprise there. It was part of the fun attempts by comic books in the 60's to show how “hip” they were. Need proof? Look at this closeup of the lower part of the cover....

Far-Out Killers? Good, because I’d hate to be taken out by a killer who just wasn’t ‘with it’!

Stop me before I waltz again!!!

“Just wait until I make them all sing karaoke!”

I think I’m still amazed that any spaceship has a ray to make animals dance at all! I just don’t know whether to file this under “Stupid Pet Tricks” or to find out if “Fido Dancing With The Stars” is a new reality show.

Auntie Malice?

Given that Malice is an alternate evil identity to his mother, the sexual overtones in this panel are wrong on SO many levels!

Oedipus Shmedipus...So long as he loves his mother!

Eliminated This Week

I think that this was the beginning of the reality show craze, with Reed being the annoying host. And frankly, I don’t think that Ben has the immunity idol crammed down in that thing’s throat!

Mr. Sensitive

I know that I’m not a 12th level intellect, but I DO know that the best way to tell your aunt and uncle about the death of their only child is NOT to carry the bound corpse into their house and start unwrapping!

As another site might say, Superman is a DICK!!!

The Revenge Of Lois Lane

This blast is for all of the dates you stood me up on to rescue a cat! And this one is for all of the kisses you gave that slut Lana Lang! And one more for each time you humiliated me in public “for my own good” to teach me a lesson! Take that, you Kryptonian bastard!!!!

Masters of Deception

Just wait until you are in your 60's! Those lies will just roll off of your tongue every chance you get! You could even be politicians!!!

Super Lois

If Lois can do everything that Superman can do, does that mean that we will be seeing her turning down Superman’s advances all over the place? Or is she going to chase after Lana Lang?

Mike Wieringo passes away

The comics industry lost a luminary this weekend - Mike Wieringo passed away Sunday of a sudden heart attack. Details are still sketchy as of this time, but according to close sources, the acclaimed artist had chest pains at some point during the day and called 911, but the responders did not make it in time.

Wieringo was 44 years old. He was a vegetarian, and "one of the healthiest ones of us in the bunch," as his longtime friend and collaborator Todd Dezago described him. Currently, there are no details about services or a funeral.

Wieringo worked every day, updating his blog and website with a constant stream of sketches at MikeWieringo.com. His last sketch was posted on Friday.


I had to keep the sketch pretty quick today if I was going to get it done and posted at all. I spent the morning with an electrical contractor here at the house. I’ve been having trouble with my heating and air conditioning unit switching its breaker off during the height of the heat of the day the past few afternoons (and for those of you in the southeast dealing with these 100-plus degree days, you know just how sweltering and oppressive this week has been). As it turns out, my entire wiring setup outside is horribly old and doesn’t meet code. It also contains quite a bit of aluminum wiring– which the contractor tells me is very dangerous and not in use anymore. So I got the great news that it’s going to cost me thousands of dollars to bring everything back up to code…. and not have the danger of causing a fire at any point as well. Ah, the joys of being a homeowner….!
I’ve had several folks inquire about my 2007 sketchbook and whether it would be for sale here on the site. Steven Gettis has set up a store link in the PERSONAL section of the column at the right for selling the sketchbook and prints I’ve produced. So anyone interested in the things offered there, I’ve got a PayPal account set up to handle the sales that way.

OK… have a great weekend, everyone.

This is Entry 412.

Mike

Wieringo was born June 24th, 1963 in Venice, Italy, and first caught the attention of comic book fans when he joined writer Mark Waid on DC's The Flash with issue #80 in 1993. Together, the two co-created the character Impulse, the future speedster brought back to the present. Wieringo (or, 'Ringo as he was better known by then) moved on to Robin at DC, and then moved to Marvel, where he settled in on Sensational Spider-Man with writer Todd DeZago.
The pairing with DeZago was something of fate, as the two co-created and launched their creator-owned property Tellos, which saw several projects and miniseries published over the years. Ringo moved back to DC for a run on Adventures of Superman, and then, in 2002, reunited with Waid for a run on Fantastic Four that was perhaps best known for fan outcry when Marvel announced that they were going to replace the team. Marvel quickly reversed their decision, and the two completed their run on the series.

Ringo then moved to Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man with writer Peter David, and most recently, completed a Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four miniseries written by Jeff Parker. His next project had not been announced, although, as readers of his blog knew, he was very excited at the prospect of doing more Tellos work, with an eye on being able to debut something at next month's Baltimore Comic-Con.

Mike was a regular face at East Coast conventions for years, and was known to both fans and pros as one of the friendliest, and most approachable guys in comics. Heck, he was, I think, the first "pro" I ever met, back when he had just started drawing Flash. I remember asking him for a sketch at a small convention in High Point, North Carolina, he said, "Sure - what of?" And I told him it had to be the Flash - but not with the mask on, with the mask pulled back, showing Wally West. Mike looked thoughtful for a few minutes, gave me a look, and got to drawing. A few minutes later, he gave me the sketch (still framed and in my office) and I thanked him. It wasn't until later that my wife pointed out that he'd drawn me in the mask, instead of Wally. That's the kind of cool guy Mike was. And with the North Carolina comics community being pretty tight-knit, Mike and I got to be pretty good friends after that. He was a great friend, and a friend of the site - all too happy to help out years back when Mike Doran and I needed headshots for the then-version of Newsarama. We looked a little dorky, but I think that was Mike making a little joke that included all of us.

He loved what he did.

Matt Brady

ps - I see we're getting some database errors from the traffic with this news. Heh - it was the news of Mark and Mike being kicked off of the Fantastic Four that melted down our server when it happened a few years back. Mike was the most humble guy you'd ever meet, but I think he's at least getting a smile out of that.

Arnim Zola, Pimp Daddy

Hmmm...Purple outfit, providing females for others...Arnim Zola, you are under arrest for procurement for prostution! (You just KNOW that there’s a pinkie ring under those purple gloves!)

Love Hurts

I know that this scene from the origin of Metamorpho is supposed to show Java’s anguish of unrequited love...but instead, it looks like a bad case of constipation!

Not mean & green!

I know that Brainiac 5 was never the most physically strong of the Legionnaires, but I think being beaten up by a pre-pubescent boy really sinks you to the lowest levels. At that point, even Matter-Eater Lad is taunting you! “Yeah, I just eat things, but you got trashed by a kindergardener!!”

Scientific war

Well, it’s not so much a scientific war as it is a plan to really cheese Superman off by driving up his electricity bill.

Good one, Luthor!

Safety First

Yes, saving his oil fields is very important...but apparently not as important as room service!

Position of Authority

Um...Sheriff? I don’t think that a geriatric super-hero who is recovering in a hospital REALLY wants to hear about the mayor being on his knees! Boy, small-town politics really have their dark secrets!

Making America Safe

That’s right! Captain America and the Falcon are going to take out Paris Hilton and her friends!

Forward Into The Past

In this pilot for Superboy in 1961, Krypton is described as “home of a race of fine and noble humans far advanced over those of our own world”. Which begs the question...Why are they using fire for lights rather than some other ‘advanced’ form of illumination?

Duplicate or dupe?

Okay, let’s add this all up. You have a guy who looks and sounds just like you, who also has the same super-powers. Add to this he has your fingerprints, which you yourself say is absolute proof that he is a duplicate of you. But then, you suspect that he isn’t a duplicate because he forgot that a cover on a box was loose? Super logic, Superman. And the fingerprint ‘clue’ was never explained either, so what’s the story here?

Aquatic Protector

Oops! I guess that whole “sea creatures controlled by Aquaman” only applies when Aquaman is actually somewhere in the area. My bad!

Things Not To Do

Take a good look at the Thing in this picture. Now, not only is the head in a position that doesn’t look like anyone (mutated or not) could survive, but what sort of pose is that for the rest of his body? Frankly, it looks more like someone took their action figure, turned the limbs as much as possible, and tossed it in the corner!

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride!

Lois, if he was really sorry about you being an old maid, he would have married you!