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?

V is for The Vision

Vision is one of my all time favorite comic book characters.  When I started collecting comics, I actively sought out all of his appearances.  When I returned to comics in the last few years, I found out he has become virtually unrecognizable to me as a character.  But I still enjoy reading his older adventures....

U is for Uncanny X-Men #175

One of my favorite comic book covers ever...

So many covers these days have little to nothing to do with the story inside.

Unlike the Uncanny X-Men 175 cover.

When I bought this issue, I had only been "officially" collecting for two or three months. I had no idea of the back story of this issue, having only bought three issues of the series. But I've always been wowed by this cover.

I love the colors, the action, and the fact that it does tie-in to the story inside. Of all the elements, I think the "claw" and the "rubble" are the most striking to me. Just glancing at the cover, you can pretty much figure out each character's abilities. You know who the "bad guy" is.

This cover was created by Paul Smith, who is often over-looked when mentioning the artists who drew the X-Men. I understand why when names like Jack Kirby, Neal Adams, Dave Cockrum, John Byrne and Jim Lee are attached to such a storied franchise. Smith only penciled 10 issues of the X-Men (#165-175, except #171) and he only worked 21 total covers for ANY comic in my entire collection (17 on his own and 4 with someone else inking him).

Regardless, this is the cover that stands out for me when I think about my collection.

S is for Superman for All Seasons

This was a tough one.  I have more "S" comics than any other letter in my collection..  So many great characters start with the letter.

But if you want an "S" comic starring an "S" character, you could do worse than this one.  Mr. Rosacker is a recent comic convert and has expressed his...not so much disdain, but disinterest in the character of Superman.

This is the book I should have recommended to him.  It is not an origin story, per se, but a fleshing out and rounding of who the character is and who he can be.  Each "season" is narrated by a different supporting character from the Superman mythos, which only adds to the picture.  You are never in the head of Superman himself.

And each issue is beautifully painted and colored by Tim Sale and Bjarne Hansen.

Of all the collaborations between Loeb and Sale, this is one of the best.

R is for Rutland, VT

In addition to being my hometown, Rutland, Vermont is the site of a large Halloween Parade.  While the parade is still impressive today, it pales in comparison to the production "back in the day."

"Okay, Mr. Mock", you might say, "Get with the comic books...."

Well, what you might not know is that starting with Avengers #83 (Cover date December 1970, on the stands the month I was born in October 1970!), Rutland was the site of about 25 comic book appearances!

In the 1970s, organizer Tom Fagan began giving the parade a super-hero theme, and several comics creators would attend the parade and subsequent parties. This became something of a comics legend after it was written into comic books from a number of companies, notably Marvel and DC but also Whitman, Charlton, and Warp.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Fagan a few times and actually worked one parade with him.

You can read about him HERE.  You can read a synopsis of each of the following issues HERE.

Avengers 83

Batman 237

Thor 206

Amazing Adventures 16

Thor 207

Justice League of America 103

Avengers #119

Freedom Fighters #6


Justice League of America #145


DC Super Stars #18


Freedom Fighters #13


Ghosts #95


Defenders #100

Thunderbunny #5

The following REALLY isn't a "Rutland Issue"...I actually bought it by chance, but in the letters page is a letter that asked  "Does Rutland, Vermont annually become a nexus of realities similar to that existing in the swamp near Citrusville, Florida?" The Watcher's answer was "While the nexus in Citrusville is a natural aperture, the nexus near Rutland is an artificial one that fluctuates in size and accessibility. For reasons that I have not investigated, it has not been opened in recent years."

What If #22

P is for Henry Pym

Hank Pym

Who?  


Well,  Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym was the original Ant-Man.  He was created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby and made his debut inTales to Astonish #27 in January 1962.

He was a founding member of The Avengers (and one of only two not to make it into the movie).


He later became Giant-Man...

Then Goliath...

Then Yellowjacket...

And so on....but the REAL reason he is on this list...he was front and center on the cover of the FIRST comic I ever bought....Avengers # 228....

O is for The Outsiders

Last year, I entered a contest on "Here in Bongo Congo" wherein you have to come up with your perfect cast for a comic book-based movie. And of all the entires in the contest, I won!!!!!

At the time, I struggled far longer than I should have, but thought I would post all of me thoughts here so that I could share what I was thinking about.

I decided to cast a movie based on a comic book from the 1980s entitled "Adventures of The Outsiders". I was looking at this cover specifically for inspiration:

For those of you who may not know, the series started as "Batman and the Outsiders" in 1983, as a way for Batman to get a little edgier and move away from "cosmic" sort of adventures with Superman and the rest of the Justice League.

After awhile, Batman left the book and "The Outsiders" continued on their own. I liked the idea of using this group, as none of the characters wear full face masks, so it sort of matters who you cast.

Here are my choices:

Kenneth Branagh As Geo-Force

You might know him as Gilderoy Lockhart from Harry Potter

Vin Diesel As Metamorpho

Jamie Chung As Katana

Jessica Biel As Looker

Donald Glover As Black Lightning

and AnnaSophia Robb as Halo

So there you go....my choices for a rather obscure (to the general public) group of superheroes. I actually enjoyed putting this together. The hardest part was finding a decent image of Halo, one that captures her youth and naiveté.

N is for Nightcrawler

My all time favorite X-Men character.  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.

My favorite version is the John Byrne version from Uncanny X-Men 108 to 141 but I could not find a decent scan of him!  So I used this one by Alan Davis from Excalibur.  It was a series with great promise that seemed to fizzle quick.  And like so many characters from my youth, when I rediscovered comics in the last few years, Kurt Wagner was no longer someone I recognized.

M is for Mary Jane

This is the only issue of this series that I own. I may have read some of the earlier ones, but if I have read this issue, it does not stand out for me. It is the second part of a four issue story arc. It has a manga-influenced look to its art, which is something I do not care for. 

And I have a total of 16 copies of this comic book in my collection.

The reason is simple: my daughter.

Before my son was born, my little girl would do EVERYTHING for me. She wanted comic books and action figures and to watch baseball games and Star Wars with me.

She still does all of that, but from birth until some time after the above comic came out, comics were everything for her. So much so, she wanted to write a letter to the writer of this comic.

She composed a letter and with my help sent it off to Marvel. Her letter was printed in this issue. I tried to get a photo of her letter but couldn't swing it (no pun intended).

It is a rambling letter. It reads like she is trying to be "grown up" and "serious". It is so "her".

Anytime I visit a new comic shop in my travels, I will look in their back issues and pick up a copy of this book.

I sometimes get these grand notions that my collection might mean "something" some day....not for any huge value but recognized for complete runs or conditions or...something. When I think about it being looked over and discussed after I am gone, I would love for there to be some puzzlement over the scores and scores of copies of this issue I eventually amass.

L is for Lex Luthor

Guest Post by Logan and Haley Mock

Lex Luthor is a mad scientist and a wealthy business man.  He is considered to be Superman's arch-enemy.  Luthor, however, doesn't always see himself as evil.  He thinks that he is saving humanity from aliens (like Superman) and vigilante superheroes (like Batman).

K is for Kingdom Come

This is the ultimate "What If", mind-bending comic featuring "big" names.  The premise is simple:

Set twenty years into the "future", it deals with a growing conflict between traditional superheroes, such as Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Justice League, and a growing population of largely amoral and dangerously irresponsible new vigilantes. Between these two groups is Batman and his assembled team, who attempt to contain the escalating disaster, foil the machinations of Lex Luthor, and prevent a world-ending superhuman war.

--via Wikipedia 

The visuals on the book are stunning.  Alex Ross, who also co-wrote the story, painted the entire book using models to deliver a realistic, world-weary look to our heroes.

A retired Superman in the future.

J is for Justice League of America

Though they appeared before The Avengers, I discovered them after.  Different in my mind than other super-hero teams, in that this team is best when DC's biggest characters are on the roster.  And while I think the League is best when the "Big Three" of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman are on the team, some of the more off-beat lineups have their moments.

My favorite back issue finds these days are 1970-1980 era JLA comics....always a good read.

As Marvel has laid out a specific  movie plan that culminated with The Avengers movie, DC has never really seemed to get their act together (beyond the recent Batman movies which are...okay).  However, their animated efforts (television shows, direct to DVD animated features) are usually phenomenal.

I is for Iron Man #114

I recently bought this comic EXCLUSIVELY for the semi-bad grammar on the cover.  There is just something about how Iron Man seems to be okay with the fact that SOME of his colleagues are going to die that makes me chuckle....

H is for Hunger

I'm of the age where the starvation and famine in Africa was a "new" issue.  I had seen the Sally Struthers commercials and the Sam Kinison "Move to where the food is..." routine, but being a teen, there wasn't much I felt I could do.

Then, a whole bunch of British performers got together and recorded "Do They Know It's Christmas?" as Band-Aid.  (I still own the deluxe EP!)  The following year, USA for Africa released "We Are The World."

Around the same time both of the above comics came out.  Marvel's came first and DC's about a year later.  Neither story is particularly memorable, but for the first time I actually felt like I MIGHT be helping a little bit.

The biggest names inside and outside of the industry got together and put together these "jam" comics.

You can read about DC's project HERE and Marvel's HERE.

G is for Jean Grey

Jean Grey was one of the founding members of the X-Men.  She was also the first comic book character to be killed in a story I read.

When she joined the X-Men, as Marvel Girl, Jean had the powers of telepathy (she could read minds) and telekinesis (she could move things with her mind).  She originally wore the costume shown here.  It was similar to the outfits the other four members of the X-Men wore.

In their early adventures, Jean did not play a very big role but was still a valuable member of the team. 

As their adventures continued, the X-Men graduated and Jean designed a new costume for herself and her teammates.  Time went on, and Jean, along with most of the original X-Men, left the team to try to live normal lives.

After some time passed, Jean rejoined the X-Men.  On an emergency mission in outer space, the X-Men find that their space shuttle has been damaged.  There is no way to fly the ship back to Earth.  Jean volunteers to use her powers to guide the ship back, knowing that she will probably be killed during the journey.

Miraculously, Jean is not killed.  Instead, the radiation in space causes her powers to increase.  She is no longer the same woman.  Now, she is Phoenix.  She is very powerful.

However, a group of villains try to capture and brainwash Phoenix to use her immense powers for their own nefarious purposes.  During the battle to rescue her, Phoenix becomes evil. She now calls herself Dark Phoenix and is a danger to the entire universe.

The X-Men, lead by their leader, the powerful telepath named Professor Xavier, do everything they can to help contain Dark Phoenix.  After an incredible battle of the minds, Jean Grey gains control and once again becomes Marvel Girl.

While the story could have ended happily, a group of aliens, lead by Professor Xavier's true love, Princess Lilandra, decide Jean Grey might become Dark Phoenix again and she must die.

The X-Men rally to Jean's side.  They battle a large group of alien fighters.  But the odds are overwhelming.  During the battle, the X-Men start to fall!  This causes Jean to become Dark Phoenix.

Part of Jean's goodness remains inside of her.  She tries to fight the power of Dark Phoenix.  Only Jean's true love, Scott Summers, the mutant Cyclops, remains standing with her.  Jean realizes there is only one way out.

In order to stop the fighting....in order to save the universe from the danger of Dark Phoenix...in order to protect the people she loves, Jean sacrifices her own life.

I had never known a superhero could turn evil...I never knew a superhero could die.  It was kind of a big deal for me.