John Hunter

I saw the Mavericks only once, but Raul was wildly talented: he will be missed.

I have the Ditko Is Strange! book, which is likewise absurdly oversized and awesome at the same time.

Superboy starring the Legion of Super-Heroes #212, cover by Mike Grell.

The cool thing about the 30th century is that, in 2958, everyone dresses like it's 1958, while in 2975, everyone dresses like it's 1975.

Superboy meets Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy, and Lightning Boy/Lad, Adventure Comics #247

You will be visited by three spirits

YouTube video by The Salt Collective - Topic All the Rage

Anyone who's ever cared about the dB's, Let's Active, or R.E.M. ought to check out the amazing new album from the Salt Collective youtu.be/qby_KP0Ce30?...

Joy Division, Big Star, the Stooges (original lineup), the dB's (original lineup with Chris Stamey), Cream, Buffalo Springfield

The first issue of the latest Dr. Strange reboot does Asgard better, I'd say

I agree, I don't like the "box" covers from this era either

I liked this issue, but it was somewhat jarring to flash back to Asgard after the more grounded, street-level Thor stranded in Midgard of the first three issues.

Interesting as the one 25 cent oversized issue of the FF before Marvel pulled the plug on that format. Doom joining forces w/ the FF was a novel plot twist for the time. In my old age, I would say that John Buscema & Joe Sinnott were the best art team the book ever had, better than Kirby & Sinnott.

The Lee/Kirby FF run from 61-102 is doable if you're patient and settle for 5.0 or 6.0 copies. The Lee/Romita and Lee/Buscema issues up through 120 or so can be pricy in mint, but again aren't impossible to find if you're patient.

Signed by the King himself, that's definitely special

Very Steranko splash

To your point, I think we talked about this book in a previous #TopShelfFriday thread, but I finally got a copy of it, and I don't regret it: it exceeded every expectation I had. I particularly love seeing the original art from the one issue where Bernie Wrightson inked Neal Adams on GL/GA.

The Wrecker is wearing purple and green so you know he's the villain

I dunno, I wasn't at Coachella, but I think I read somewhere that Damon wasn't chuffed with how their set there went over. Outside of New York and L.A., Blur aren't a big draw in the US, but I did see them once here decades ago, and I'm glad I did.

I do, and I was in the top 0.2% of Beach Boys listeners worldwide, and that's all I have to say about that.

YouTube video by Blur Blur: The Universal (Live from Wembley Stadium)

The other big reunion sold more tickets and drew more attention, and fair play to Noel
and Liam, but this is still pretty special. We'll not see their like again. youtu.be/KHqIsP4EXdE?...

I'm sure the crowd of several thousand Brazilians will get behind the Pack

also Talkin' John Birch is still hilarious, and sadly topical, all these decades later

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, RSD 2025 release

Hot take: the first version of Freewheelin' with the four cut songs is better than what finally got released. Rocks and Gravel makes the electric turn of Highway 61 seem a lot less surprising, and Let Me Die in My Footsteps is Bob's best folkie protest song, hands down.

Yeah, but also the composition of the central figure of Sandman is pretty much the same on both covers, the only difference being that, in Hulk, Sandy only has one opponent to grab instead of four. I would bet money that Trimpe was directly referencing Kirby's cover for FF #61.

good catch

That Hulk cover seems to nod to this FF cover in particular

Inferior Five #10, DC Comics, Oct. 1968, cover by Win Mortimer and Tex Blaisdell

Low grade is better than no grade: this trashed flea market find is my #TopShelfFriday, from an era when not everything had to be a lawsuit, because how else can one explain DC so blatantly featuring Spidey and the FF in a DC title? To be fair, Marvel would take similar jabs at DC in Not Brand Echh.

Herb really channelling Jack on that cover

Sticky Fingers

Carly Simon, "You're So Vain," Elektra 1972

No one will ever come up with a better rhyme than yacht / apricot / gavotte

Yes, that's a good point. I don't know enough about Dickens's working process to know if he had a master outline for his serialized novels, or if he was just winging it & doing his best to stick the landing. Pretty clearly his novels are not as well-structured as those of say, Austen, but whose are?

I just started reading the DC Finest Crisis book, and I agree: I like the approach of compiling all of the crossover stories. I didn't know All-Star Squadron was still being published, or that Infinity, Inc. ever existed, so for me this is an interesting snapshot of where DC was at in 1985.