Counting Comics - 14

Here we go with another of my weekly counts of some of my comic books, I started off with

DC = 3803

Marvel = 59

Others = 53

Aquaman (2003 - 07)

5 - 57

This is Volume 6 with the King of Atlantis, Arthur Curry, most commonly known as Aquaman in his own title book. It re-establishes Aquaman as a prominent hero in the DC Universe, following his harrowing resurrection during the "Obsidian Age" storyline in the pages of JLA. With issue #40, the series changes its title to Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis and switches the focus to Aquaman's successor, Arthur Joseph Curry. The series continued under this format for another seventeen issues until its cancellation with issue #57. Prominent storylines include Aquaman: The Waterbearer and American Tidal, it crossed over during it's run with Infinite Crisis & Omac Project.

Martian Manhunter (2006 - 07)

1 - 8

Volume 3 of J'onn J'onzz in his own book was an 8 parter that followed on from the preview story in the Brave New World which itself showed characters in the wake of Infinite Crisis. I think the writer may have been a fan of British football as all the villains were named after Manchester United players!! Especially funny is Rio Ferdinand a beautiful young woman totally unlike their namesake. Rio used to play for my team West Ham United too and was an excellent defender. Written by A.J. Lieberman with art from Al Barrionuevo and Bit, the series portrayed a Manhunter more mistrustful of humanity and their actions towards each other. The miniseries focuses on J'onzz's search for other survivors of Mars

Red Hood: The Lost Days (2010 - 2011)

1 - 6

Jason Todd was infamously killed at the hands of The Joker in the Death in the Family storyline. He returned, resurrected after the pounding of Superboy Prime's fists on the barrier keeping him captive in the paradise dimension caused temporal ripples. Jason awoke in his coffin and had to tunnel his way out, he had amnesia and spent time in a coma and living rough on the streets. He was identified as the Ex-Robin and Talia Al Ghul took him in eventually dipping him in the Lazurus Pit to restore his memory. 

Red Robin (2009 - 2011)

1 - 26

Dick Grayson grew up and became Nightwing, Jason Todd got killed, resurrected, grew up and became Red Hood and Tim Drake grew up and became Red Robin... I kind of think he could have come up with a better name but hey ho, what he may lack in name imagination he makes up for in being a nice guy and a kick-arse crimefighter. I'm not sure what he is up to, was he used in New 52? Has he been Reborn along with the rest of DC? I sure hope so.

Robin + Impulse #1

Robin and Impulse meet up at a Virginia Ski-resort, Robin (Tim Drake) is tailing a former Soviet spy, Impulse (Bart Allen) is on a school trip. They team up with the mysterious Mystral to foil a scheme involving missiles in a hidden bunker belonging to White Heat a violent militia group.

Robin + Fang # 2

Trying to boost sales of the Scare Tactics book, DC allied the individual members of the team with various bigger players in the company's roster. The idea didn't lead to increased sales and the title folded a couple of months later. Scare Tactics was part of a short lived group of books called the Wierdoverse alongside Challengers of the Unknown, Nightforce and The Book of Fate.

Robin (1991)

1 - 5

Just prior to becoming Batman's partner Tim Drake is sent around the World to complete some final training with the greatest masters of martial arts to make him ready for the streets of Gotham. This story arc introduces the characters of Lynx and King Snake.

Robin II (1991)

1 - 4

The Joker's Wild!

With Batman away Tim is faced with a dangerous challenge as the deranged killer Joker escapes from Arkham Asylum. The last person to wear the red breast of Robin met their death at the clown prince of crime's hands and he is looking to bag a brace.

My covers to these books all seem to be variants I think, they aren't worth anymore though but I do think they look cool, the orignals had picture cards on them I think.

Robin III (1992 - 93)

1 - 6

Cry of the Huntress 

I got 2 sets of these books now as in a video coming soon you'll see that my mate gave me some of these books with different covers to what I have. I think mine are the Newsstand editions whilst the direct market had 'movable' cover enhancements. In the story Robin teams with Huntress during a gang war and takes in battles with KGBeast, Lynx and the Ghost Dragons gang and her boss King Snake who wants revenge after being bested by Tim in Vol #1.

Robin (1993 - 09)

0 - 183, 1 Million

Robin's 1st ongoing title and it didn't happen until the 3rd person to wear the Robin Suit came along! It ran for good length of time though, before Tim became Red Robin when Damien Wayne came along. In this run, he lost his father, his best friend Superboy, Kon-El and seemingly his girlfriend Spoiler, (Stephanie Brown), though thankfully that turned out to be a fake death.

Robin/Spoiler Special (2008)

A couple of stories in this book, 1st things get complicated as the 2 investigate a kidnapping, and in the 2nd story we have Spoiler, (Stephanie Brown) during her time in Africa working with Dr Thompkins taking on a witch hunter.

Robin Annual

3 - 7

So by my count that is another
DC = 301

Making the new total after this week's count of...

DC = 4104

Marvel = 59

Others = 53

Oh yes during my talking in the video I mention that Fredric Wertham the guy who wrote Seduction of the Innocent the book that led to the creation of the Comics Code Authourity had some sort of involvement with a serial killer! I thought it was Ed Gein but I double checked and it was Albert Fish the child killing cannibal that Wertham testified as being 'insane' at trial. 
One of Fish's nicknames was The Gray Man, which is pretty much the same as my YouTube channel name TheGreyMan.... co-incidence? I hope so!

Come back Friday to check out a more in-depth look at some of my 'Birthday Books' and join me again next Wednesday for another count of some of my comics.

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Geek Tee Friday - Villains & Vigilantes

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For this week's Geek Tee I have dug out a really old shirt that I printed up myself as I doubt there was ever any official merchandise of this, at least not as far as I know! This is from a really great RPG that gave me hours of fun and entertainment back in the day called Villains & Vigilantes or V & V for short. The video tells everything really about my history/love for the game but here's a bit of history.

Designed by Jack Herman & Jeff Dee, the 1st edition was released by Fantasy Games Unlimited in 1979 but I got it from the 2nd edition that was released in 1982. I think I was perhaps 17 when I got this game so about '86 I think. I was an avid reader of Marvel & DC comics and knew that both had RPGs out but I wanted to create my own characters not play as somebody else's. And just look at that cover!! How could I resist, that cover tells a story that just dragged me in.

The rules are a bit tricky initially but once you get a bit of practice in they are pretty simple really and character creation is again slow to begin with but once you get used to it I was rolling up characters in probably 10 minutes maximum. You do need a calculator though I will say that.

An updated version of the game has since been released, if you are interested in trying out the games, try either of these two links. 

www.drivethrurpg.com

Fantasy Games Unlimited

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The idea was to play as yourself so I created a NPC (Non-player character) of myself who was called Photon, he has light powers, strength and illusions and his origin was that the Alien Protector was engaged in an aerial battle with a super-villain (I forget which one?) and got fatally wounded, he crashed down on top of a bus shelter as I walked past and with his dying moments he reached down and grabbed my hand channeling his powers into me. (I realise now how derivative of Green Lantern's origin it is!) Later on in the campaign the persona of the Alien Protector started to try and take control of my psyche.

I had a ton of fun doing these games and will sign off with the names of some of the player characters I remember. My sister was The Elementalist, my little bro was Mindwing, my big bro was The Hermit (crab powers!), Raj was Transflame, Dave was The Crimson Knight, Martin was Sonic Speeder, Mosquito, The Crab (and a couple more I am sure but I forget!) and my cousin Amos was Beast Man, Protac, Titan (I think), and Gauntlet.

As an interesting snippet of information, Bill Willingham of Fables fame wrote a couple of early V&V campaign books, Death Duel with the Destroyers and The Island of Dr. Apocalypse.

Update: I just got a comment on my video by Jeff Dee the games co-creator. His YouTube channel shows game sessions of him playing the new version of V & V HERE

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Geek Tee Friday - Gotham City Villains

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I love this shirt!! It's so cool, featuring some of the worst villains that have ever plagued Gotham's finest hero over the decades. I got this shirt as part of the random 4 T's for £15 deal that I did the other day, check out the blog about that for more info.

So let's go into depth about the quintet of villainous vileness my new shirt is adorned with.

1st of course is that clown Prince of crime, The Joker, I actually went into more depth about him last week as I got a Joker solo shirt too, check out last week's blog for more info on him.

Then top-left is the only lady of this felonious fivesome, the lovely but deadly Poison Ivy. Pamela Lillian Isely loves plants more than people and they seem to love her too as she is able to get them to do her bidding! She has toxins in her blood giving her a kiss that is able to control the minds of men as well as kill them if she chooses. She commits crimes to fund her eco-terrorism and is somewhat fixated on Batman after he showed himself able to resist her toxic charms. 

In current continuity she gained her powers and perhaps her madness through the experimentations of Dr. Jason Woodrue who later became the Floronic Man. She is very good friends with Harley Quinn, perhaps the only human she likes and I am sure I read that they had moved on to being more than just friends but I am not up on current stories cos I don't have the funds anymore 😥

She appeared first in Batman #181 in June 1966!! (Happy 52nd birthday Pam, you're still looking good!) and was created by Robert Kanigher & Sheldon Moldoff.

In the 1997 movie Batman & Robin she was played by Uma Thurman and has been played by Maggie Geha and Peyton List in the tv show Gotham.

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He's not on the cover of Detective Comics #58 but here's a great cover with him

The middle villain of the piece is that waddling, trick umbrella obsessed ornithologist Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, otherwise known as The Penguin. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane he 1st showed his big-nosed face in Detective Comics #58 in December 1941. Inspired from the then advertising mascot of Kool cigarettes – a penguin with a top hat and cane. Finger thought the image of high-society gentlemen in tuxedos was reminiscent of emperor penguins. He is rare amongst Batman's rogue's gallery in the fact that he is completely sane, although he is no less dangerous or ruthless because of this. 

He's been played superbly in film and television over the years as well by Burgess Meredith in the classic 60's TV show, by Danny DeVito in Batman Returns and Robin Lord Taylor in Gotham.

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Detective Comics #66

To the right of Penguin is the tragic Harvey Dent AKA Two-Face, he was once Batman's closest confidante in his early days as a crimefighter. As a District Attorney he would help Batman target the villains and then ensure that he could put them away for a long time. Then one fateful day in court Sal Maroni threw acid into Harvey's face, leading to the terrible disfigurement and helping to trigger the latent split personality within Dent's psyche. Obsessed with duality, the number two and chance he utilises a double-headed coin to make his decisions for him. One side is normal the other scarred like himself, he tosses the coin and if it comes up scarred then you're in trouble.

The character was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane and first appeared in Detective Comics #66 (Aug. 1942). He's featured in two Batman films played by Tommy Lee Jones in 1995's Batman Forever and Aaron Eckhart in The Dark Knight (2008)

In animation he's been voiced by Star Wars star Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian) and Star Trek star William (Captain James T. Kirk) Shatner!! Also fun fact if the Batman 60's series had got a 3rd season none other than Clint Eastwood was tipped to play the role!!

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Finally on this most epic of shirts we have that enigma Edward Nigma himself, aka The Riddler! This mastermind of crime delights in the employment of riddles and puzzles to confound the forces of law and order. Since an early age Ed loved puzzles and this led him to commit flamboyant crimes, leaving clues to match wits with the police, he sees Batman as a foe worthy of his intellect. The fact he is often caught makes me think that he's not as smart as he likes to think he is.

He was created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang and 1st took to crime in Detective Comics #140 in October 1948. He was very much a c-list villain in the comics though and pretty much forgotten, not featuring again until 1965. It was his portrayal by Frank Gorshin and John Astin in the 60's Batman series that boosted him to the major popularity he has today. He was also played by Jim Carrey in Batman Forever and Cory Michael Smith in the TV series Gotham.

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Geek Tee Friday - Wanted! - The Joker

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My geek tee for today is of that arch villain, the clown prince of crime, The Joker! And rather a snazzy little shirt it is too, showing him in all his insane glory. It's one of the four I picked up recently in my blog HERE, check it out.

The Joker was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson and debuted in Batman #1 by DC Comics on 25th April 1940 which makes him 78 years and 1 month old today!! 

Although he has no super powers he has a mad cunning intellect and is a master at planning crazy schemes. He revels in chaos, mayhem and murder. For a time during the comics code regulations of the 50's he was more of a goofy prankster but more often than not now his japes are deadly. He is responsible for a lot of pain to the Bat-family, killing the 2nd Robin, Jason Todd, in  brutal fashion in Batman: A Death in the Family and also crippling Barbara Gordon, Bat Girl in the iconic story The Killing Joke.

He's been played by a number of actors over the years both on TV and films. Cesar Romero was The Joker of my youth, playing him for 3 seasons of the Batman TV show that ran from 1966 - 68 and the spin-off movie. Jack Nicholson starred as him in the Batman movie of 1989, a film I must admit I despised when I 1st saw it! Heath Ledger received many accolades for his crazed portrayal of him in The Dark Knight (2008). His was a tough act to follow indeed and many hated Jared Leto's Joker in Suicide Squad (2016). I thought the dislike for his Joker was unfair and actually rather enjoyed his manic take on the character.

Top: Cesar Romero & Jack Nicholson

Bottom: Heath Ledger & Jared Leto

In animation Joker has been voiced by a number of actors most notably Mark Hammil who is a Sci-fi hero after his portrayal of Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars series. It was interesting to see that a hero from another Sci-fi franchise, Brent Spiner, who played Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation also voiced him too! 

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Random Superhero T-shirt purchase!

So I saw this ad on Facebook for 4 random superhero t-shirts for £15 and thought, "Heck, why not?!"

Here's the video of me opening my goods 😀

That's my next 4 Geek Tee Friday posts sorted out now anyway :)

Here is the company I bought these from if you're looking for a deal

www.loudshop.com

Check out my other Geek Tee BLOGS