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