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HOWARD THE DUCK #3, Marvel, 1977

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CAPTAIN ATOM #89, Charlton, 1967
O.M.A.C. #4, DC, 1975

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THE MAN CALLED NOVA #23, Marvel, 1979
RICHARD DRAGON, KUNG FU FIGHTER #12, DC, 1976
CLAW THE UNCONQUERED #12, DC, 1978

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SUPER HEROES #3, Dell, 1967
ARAK, SON OF THUNDER #38, DC, 1984

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ARCHIE'S TV LAUGH-OUT #55, Archie, 1978

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ROCKY LANE WESTERN #29, Fawcett, Undated
BLACK FURY #12, Charlton, 1958

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THE CHAMPIONS #11, Marvel, 1976
KICKERS, INC. #2, Marvel, 1986

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MARVEL PREMIERE #46, Marvel, 1979
TARZAN #10, Marvel, 1978

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RED SONJA #8, Marvel, Unlisted
RED WOLF #6,  Marvel, 1972

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KARATE KID #7, DC, 1977
RIN TIN TIN #11, Dell, 1956

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BUTCH CASSIDY #2, Skywald, Date Unknown
JONAH HEX #69, DC, 1983
POWER MAN #35, Marvel, 1976
BILLY THE KID #88, Charlton, 1971

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INDIAN CHIEF #11, Dell, 1953
STRANGE TALES (Featuring Brother Voodoo), Marvel, 1973

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MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE ANNUAL #4, Marvel, 1973
FLY MAN #38, Mighty, 1966

THANKS TO:  My wife and kids, as always, for their support; my brother Eric, who always wants me to do more comics; Trent and Tom, who looked on with stunned surprise when I tried to explain this project; but this one is especially for Joe's kid, Son of Squid, who got excited when he saw BAD EGGS.

Black History Month Covered!

I submitted this to Rejected by Covered, where people more talented than me riff on classic comic book covers.  Here is my Black History Month Avengers line-up, with Captain America, Giant Man, Wasp, Iron Man, Submariner and Thor replaced by Battlestar, Black Goliath, Captain Marvel, War Machine, Storm and Brother Voodoo.

I Was Feeling Kinda Seasick; But The Crowd Called Out For More

Well, it's February, 1st, it is 60 degrees in the midwest, Indiana is going to start teaching Creationism, and Don Cornelius died. 

There is apparently also going to be a prequel to the milestone comics series Watchmen, but I will withhold judgment on whether this is the Fourth Horseman in what is obviously the long-awaited End of Days.

I have been afraid to talk about this unusual winter.  I guess I knew that all that Aqua Net my mother's beauty salon sprayed in the 70s and 80s would one day take its toll, but we have had two very hard winters in a row.  Last year we had terrible ice and snow, including a frostquake, which is an actual thing, and not a D&D spell, or a Superman villain. I also fell off the roof chipping ice out of the gutters on the second story and still pause in wonderment that I landed unbroken.

After last winter I vowed I would never complain about heat again, so we were tested with a boiling hot summer.  Now this unusual weather makes people superstitious, thinking that our winter will somehow get tacked on to the end; I think it is just shaving days off of what we would have had.


But what I really think is that the Earth will spin on and doesn't care about our little part in it, a February kind of thought.

In other news, I am once more going to try to read 50 books in the calendar year, but will try to change it up a bit this go-round.  This year I am going to offer up my favorite book of the month and invite loyal readers to follow along.  If you have been reading this humble blog for a while, I guarantee you will like it.  For January:  The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin.

Until later, you can catch me at johnoakdalton@hotmail.com.

Loved by Rejected!

I returned to Rejected by Covered in 2012 with my first contemporary cover, done when I was struck with "inspiration," so to speak, by the loan of this run by my old comic book pal Doug.  Check out the site for actual talented people.

Only Close in Horseshoes

An official Super Bowl scarf that my wife finished knitting tonight.  I was supposed to be wearing this while watching the Colts on television, right down the road in Lucas Oil Stadium, in a few weeks.  A nice scarf with a bitter aftertaste.

Star Comics, 1976-2012

Above is the cover of Star Comics, circa 1976, where my god-like Superman-type figure, White Miracle, apparently gets pissed off, grabs a flying surfboard,  and goes rogue.  Lined up to stop him are Starman, Rockman, Stretcho, and Shadowman, who have only a coincidental similarity to the Golden Age Starman, The Thing, Elongated Man, and a Mego Spider-Man wearing a Mego Batman's costume.  They are aided by the White Miracle of the 74th Century, an apparent nod to my fascination with the Legion of Super-Heroes and the color orange.  The real question is, has my art style really evolved, more than 35 years later?

Bookworms 2011

Hard to believe I have read over 200 books in the last four years.  Last year I listed my top 10, and with 50 new novels to choose from, only changed one; nonetheless, here is the updated list of what I have loved since starting this project in 2008:


Stars In My Pocket Like Grains of Sand by Samuel R. Delany

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The Boy Detective Fails by Joe Meno

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami 

Lunar Park by Brett Easton Ellis


Embassytown by China Mieville

The Keep by Jennifer Egan

The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo

The Murderer Vine by Shepard Rifkin

Happy reading!

Fave Reads of 2011

I met my challenge of reading 50 books again this year, and for those interested wanted to take a second to list my top ten favorite reads of 2011.

Embassytown by China Mieville

The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo


Hypothermia by Arnaldur Indridason


Robbie's Wife by Russell Hill

The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer

The Painter of Battles by Arturo Perez-Reverte

Nobody's Angel by Jack Clark


Up in the Air by Walter Kirn

Nineteen Seventy-Four by David Peace
 
Bossypants by Tina Fey


And five honorable mentions:

Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan

Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell

The Lake by Banana Yoshimoto

Zombie Spaceship Wasteland by Patton Oswalt


Our Kind of Traitor by John LeCarre


This list is fairly heavy on crime, mystery, and thriller, and I admit to feeling a bit of ennui when making this out.  I'm getting an itching in my mind to read a little better, or at least smarter, for a while.  We shall see how it goes, but based on what I bought with my Amazon gift cards, I am going to try.

I have also now mastered this challenge for, unbelievably, four years in a row.  Here are my lists of favorite reads from 2010, 2009,  and the first go-round in 2008.  To maybe spice it up in 2012, I will be taking suggestions from readers.  Let me know what you think is good and I will try to mix a few new ideas.

Cracking IQ 84 by Haruki Murakami tonight!

Turn Left at Icewind Dale

My son and my brother in our traditional holiday gaming day.  Legend of Drizzt board game and Lord of the Rings soundtrack on Pandora.  Another day in nerd's paradise.

Thy Colors True of Red and White Shall E'er Exalted Be

Three generations of Ball State University grads, with seven college degrees and 36 years of service to the university between my dad, my wife, me, and my daughter.

Guitar Santa

Christmas 1987 we were newly married and broke like the Ten Commandments; that first year we bought all of our ornaments from a drugstore that was going out of business and I think we spent about 50 cents each on them. Still my favorite ornament from that time though the kids are sick of hearing this story.