I'm Brian Fellow

Khan Academy: 2 digit times 2 digit

2-digit times a 2-digit number: Multiplying a 2-digit number times a 2-digit number

Khan Academy: 2 digit times 1 digit

2 digit times 1 digit example:

Khan Academy: 2 digit times 1 digit

2 digit times 1 digit example (no carrying):

X is for The X-Men

X-Men King Size Annual #4

If push comes to shove, my all time favorite character is Nightcrawler. There was something smooth and suave about him. I loved the look of the character. I loved the simplicity of his costume. I loved his power and the mystery that surrounded him.

There was a time when comic book companies would put out an "Annual" issue. It was usually bigger and better than what could fit into a monthly book. It was something to look forward to.

This annual was released in 1980. It came out shortly after the death of Jean Grey and just as Kitty Pryde had joined the team. It was written by regular X-Men writer Chris Claremont, with art by John Romita Jr and Bob McLeod.

In this story, Nightcrawler is celebrating his 21st birthday. A mysterious gift arrives. This gift is a trap and Nightcrawler is apparently killed. Shortly after, the rest of the X-Men and Doctor Strange are sent to the Underworld to free him.

I'm not doing the story justice. It is a loose take on Dante's "Inferno" and added a great deal to Nightcrawler's backstory. To my 13 or 14 year old mind, it "read" like something more than just a comic book. To this day, it remains one of my all time favorite single issues.

It even caused the young teenager "me" to attempt to READ some Dante....I scurried back to the comics pretty quickly!

W is for Courtney Whitmore

Courtney Whitmore aka Stargirl

There are characters I like who have had a hard time at the hands of some writers (Hawkeye and Vision) and others I like that I haven't really followed them for all that long, even though I went and bought their first appearances at some point (Stephanie Brown and Time Drake).

The character of Stargirl falls into her own category.  I wasn't really aware of her until 2005 or so and besides her main series, Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E., I never "followed" her per se.  She does appear in other comics I own, but she is not a character I seek out.

She eventually made it onto the Justice League cartoon and the show Smallville.

I am including Stargirl for one big reason.  I love how she was "created".

Straight from Wikipedia:

"The character is a creation of Geoff Johns, who based her personality on that of his sister, also named Courtney, who died in the explosion of TWA Flight 800 in 1996. Johns is an avid fan of Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew and Courtney's original outfit is similar to Zoo Crew member Yankee Poodle's; in the comics, this is explained by Courtney being a fan of Yankee Poodle."


You can't really beat that, can you?