swamp thing

“Weeds,” get it?

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At long last, it’s here. Decades after Rick Veitch’s 1980s run on Swamp Thing was cut short by editorial disagreements, we’ve finally seen the intended ending, completed and in full.

I’m going to try to remain SPOILER free discussing this, though I may dance around specific bits. It may be best if you read your comic first.

…

Finished? Good.

I’ve noted before that, when this whole hoohar came to pass in the late ’80s and Veitch departed the book, he offered up brief synopses of the final four issues that were printed in the Comic Buyer’s Guide trade paper. I had owned a copy of this at one time, but discarded it long ago for reasons I can’t comprehend now (given the piles of ‘zines and mags I still have) but I did read that article at the time. As such, I have vague memories of how things were supposed to have played out, at least in the final issue.

Specifically, that Veitch had a specific name in mind for Swamp Thing and Abby’s child, but did not reveal it in that article. Also, that Swamp Thing’s encounter with Jesus would have given him an advantage in his final conflict with Arcane.

As such, it was…very weird to see things finally play out on a printed page, panel by panel, witnessing for myself what was meant by those brief descriptions I read so long ago. As I’m trying to remain spoiler-free here, I won’t detail specifically what I am possibly misremembering about that conflict with Arcane and how it plays out, which I may be conflating with Arcane’s treatment in the latter part of the Mark Millar run.

Also, as to the child…I’m so used to the character of Tefe being the Official Kid of Swampy and Abby, that it’s strange to get an entirely different character here. And Veitch did not disappoint with the name, giving us the perfect, and perfectly ambiguous, sobriquet.

Given how deep into the DC Universe weeds Veitch got with his stories, especially in this final run of issues, it’s not surprising that it all plays into the resolution of the series. It does leave me with more questions, that I’ll be bringing up in a later post about this mini-series that isn’t coming out the day of the last issue’s release. In particular, if this was the original intended ending of the story back in 1989, how exactly was any new creative team supposed to follow up on that? I mean, yes, on one hand Veitch was a polite host and left the toys intact for the next folks to play with. But on the other hand, the memory (at least for the reader, if not the characters in-universe) would always float over the new works.

But that’s all a moot point, I suppose, since DC Continuity went in one direction, and as a Black Label book, this Swamp Thing 1989 series is essentially one of Marvel’s What If stories, but with 100% less “and the Fantastic Four never came to be” within. To be fair, I’m not completely certain what Swamp Thing’s current backstory is in the DC Universe…revisions in the New 52 relaunch were confusing, to say the least, and I’m not sure if the “Rebirth” initiative forced everything back into place. Look, if we need a Swamp Thing: Year One story to straighten things out, I volunteer. Well, “volunteer” in a way that I get a paycheck.

In an odd way, the Veitch conclusion to the story could, if you squint here and apply some paint there, still allow for how things did play out in the Swamp Thing title after Veitch left. I suppose I coould try to explain how that would work, but I need to save something for my Swamp Thing: Year Eleven series, sure to come after the success of the first ten.

But overall…I’m glad this all saw the light of day, and that I was still around to read it. Veitch is a master Swamper, it goes without saying, and the art from the late Michael Zulli, Vince Locke, and Tom Mandrake was all beautiful and ideal for the project. Todd Klein’s spot-on mimicry of John Constanza’s lettering was vastly appreciated, as was the expert and appropriately-applied coloring of Trish Mulvihill. The backmatter from Veitch, Klein, and that real barnburner from Steve Bissette gave us wonderful insight into what this series was and what went into making it happen (and almost not happen). And of course, I can’t forget close personal friend Rich Handley, and his delightful text pieces inside each front cover, giving us the proper context for what we’re reading.

Seems like only yesterday we were wondering about these weird unknown comics showing up in a listing for an upcoming Swamp Thing trade paperback. Still wondering about New Titans #0‘s inclusion, though. Any answers for me there, Rich?

Twenty-year-old me is happy to finally read this.

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Just a quick note to remind you that Swamp Thing 1989 #3 (aka #90) is out this week, and the mini-series speeds along to its long-delayed conclusion.

Things are very clearly building to a head, and given the number of plotlines all converging, it does leave one wondering how they’ll be able to squeeze the conclusion into the final issue of this series. I mean, I know (well, sorta remember) how it ends, given, as I’ve mentioned before, writer Rick Veitch published his synopses for his final four then-unpublished issues in the Comic Buyer’s Guide shortly after he left the book back in ’89. I’m looking forward to seeing a particular scene in illustrated form that had been related back then.

The period ads and the (mostly) period editorial material still successfully adds context to the time in which these stories were intended to be released. The “Bill & Ted” ad on the back cover is certainly a welcome call-back. More importably is the “comics this week” item on the inside front cover, reminding you just where in the DC Universe this series sit. In particular, a plot point hinges on events in Sandman, and if you were to look at that comics release list, you’d see just exactly where Sandman was at this point.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the “Meanwhile” column by pal Rich Handley, which, despite some folks believing otherwise, is all brand new! And if you’re new to Swamp Thing funnybooks, it’s essential reading giving you background on just what’s goin’ on. And the back matter features letterer Todd Klein and what he had to do to duplicate original letter John Costanza’s work, which is something I really wondered about so it was a welcome expainer.

All in all, this third issue of Swamp Thing 1989 succeeds in making one feel like he’s thirty-something years younger. Alas, the cover price is very much of today, but we can’t have everything!

In which I speak of Swamp Thing a lot.

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Hard to believe, but here we are, with issue #2 of the long-delayed ending to Rick Veitch’s 1980s run of Swamp Thing. It was the previous issue what got all the attention of course, with Special Guest Star Jesus, and the inciting incident as to why the whole thing got canned in the first place.

But there’s still a story to be told beyond that big event, and it’s continued in fine style with new artwork by Tom Mandrake, colored by Trish Mulvihill, and lettered by Todd Klein in original letterer John Constanza’s style. And yes, pal Rich Handley still knocks it out of the park with his 1980s-style editorial page inside the front cover! (Rich has pointed out at least one online commentator was sufficiently convinced his column was in fact from the 1980s and not newly written for this comic. That’s how good a job he’s doing!)

Again, our mossy hero bumps into more DC Universe characters, this time more time travelers, as one of them attempts to rescue Swamp Thing from his uncontrolled journey into the past. Plus, we check in with Abby and her pregnancy in the present day, as further groundwork is laid for the eventual conclusion of this story.

Which has me wondering…way back when, as things went down and Veitch quit the book, he relayed his plans for the final four issues to Comics Buyer’s Guide, which I mostly remember (since I don’t have that copy of the paper anymore, shockingly). Without going into spoilers, I do know that what Veitch had worked out is contrary to what passes for DC’s continuity now in regards to the Swampiverse. I mean, things have been rebooted and retooled enough at DC in recent years that one could easily just say “well, Veitch’s Swamp Thing conclusion is now canon,” though one could point to the Black Label imprint on the cover there and just declare all this “not official.”

One particular point (and this is a slight spoiler, but c’mon, Abby’s pregnant, there’s gonna be a baby) is that Veitch had something specific planned for the child (name and presumably powers) that he kept to himself once DC put the kibosh on his story. In official DC continuity, Abby had a daughter that was named Tefé, who bridged the plant and animal worlds with her own elemental powers and had her own adventures (and even her own series). She is still around as of the recent Swamp Thing series with the new Levi Kamei version of the character.

So I suspect Tefé will remain the default child of Swampy, with whatever Veitch has cookin’ with this “1989” series remaining an alternate version. Ah well. Once it’s all said and done, maybe I can do a side by side comparison of Veitch’s intended ending to this storyline with the one by Doug Wheeler, Tom Yeates, and Pat Broderick that DC published in its stead.

• • •

Speaking of Swamp Thing, and when aren’t I, DC also released this week a facsimile edition of Saga of the Swamp Thing #21, the issue in which Swampy learns his true origin, and (spoiler) does away with the previously mostly off-panel menace of General Sunderland. (He does pop up once or twice in earlier issues, but not nearly as craggly and menacing as he does in this comic, drawn by Steve Bissette and John Totleben).

Anyway, if you rememnber this post from, oh, only eight years ago, I griped a bit about how the digital version of this issue left out the “color hold” imagery, where it looked like this:


Instead of like this, how it appeared in the original comic:


Well, I’m pleased to report that the color-hold drawings are back in this new facsimile, appearing as such:


…even if the texture looks a little odd, since the new color printing is flat, not “dotted” like the original and interacting with the linework in the color held bits.

That gives me hope for future reproductions. I’d been told that the person currently in charge of the Swamp Thing restorations for coming reprints is trying to do right by the work, and this is a good start!

• • •

Continuing to speak of Swamp Thing, old pal Ben (whom you’ve seen pop up in the comments here on occasion) informed me that he was on Facebook at just the right time, which is how he was able to purchase this illustrated sketch cover direct from Roarin’ Rick Veitch his own self:


Pretty cool. Anyway, if that disappears out of Ben’s house one night, I assure you I have an alibi for the evening.

• • •

And speaking of Swamp Thing just one more time, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention this variant cover by Bruno Redondo for Justice League Unlimited #19, also out this week:


Nicely done. Bruno can add himself to the list of Redondos who draw a good Swamp Thing. Now Swamp Thing himself isn’t featured in this issue’s story (unless he’s in the background somewhere that I missed), but it’s enough to know that he’s a card-carrying member of the Justice League now. Just as Wein and Wrightson intended.

Swampy, take the wheel.

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Hey hey hey, they’re finally here:


After very nearly 40 years, the cancelled-for-various-reasons segment in Rick Veitch’s Swamp Thing in which our favorite swamp monster runs into Jesus. Illustrated by the late Michael Zulli, with finishes by Vince Locke, and featuring a nice long afterword by Steve Bissette giving the surprisingly warts-and-all telling of what happened with this comic way back when.

The book is designed to look like how it would have in 1989, including subscription forms and period house ads (Truman’s Hawkworld, anyone?). Inside the front cover is a “Johnny DC’ text piece, written in the voice of those old promotional pages, that gives the story context of this current issue for anyone new to the book. And it’s written by close, personal friend Rich Handley, the one person in this fallen world that I’ll admit has more Swamp Thing knowledge than I do.

But the comic itself…yes, it’s great. I know a lot of folks who’d been waiting for this book since 1989 went back and reread the issues leading up to this story, but I’ve reread those enough that I’ve practically got them memorized, so I’m good, but if you’re coming in fresh, don’t sweat it. Like I said, Rich’s “Johnny DC” column tees you up just fine, and the story itself does enough to give you the idea what’s goin’ on.

I don’t think the rest of the mini-series will be too difficult for new readers, either. A long time ago, the Comic Buyer’s Guide ran plot outlines for Veitch’s then-cancelled final issues for his run. As I recall, the events in those issues should be easy enough to follow on their own, given what you’re told in this first issue.

But how’s the comic? It’s great. It’s nice to read the full, completed thing after I may or may not have seen photocopies of the art many years ago, I admit nothing. But it’s as weird and magical and knowingly irreverent as Veitch usually is, while remaining respectful to Jesus Himself. We get the Vertigo-style twist of an old DC character, we get yet another origin for a certain demonic fella, and all this madness is mixed up and presented in an almost weirdly dreamlike progression. It’s a wonderful return to this era of Swamp Thing…I’m not going to say “it was worth the wait,” because should never have had to wait this long, but I’m glad it’s here.

• • •

So long to the nigh-legendary comics writer Gerry Conway, who passed away this week. While best known for his Spider-Man work, as well as being the co-creator of the Punisher and Firestorm, he of course has also written certain swamp creatures at both companies. He was the co-creator of Man-Thing at Marvel, and at DC, he wrote the inaugural issue of Swamp Thing’s short-term New Look, issue #23 (1976):


I talked about this issue way back in 2004, and it’s an interesting example of serving two masters: attempting to retain the character’s horror roots (so to speak) while transitioning toward a more superheroic tone, a balance I thought Conway pulled off. He would of course return to Swamp Thing in short order, during his stint on Challengers of the Unknown where he would actually reverse the changes made to the character at the end of his own series.

I know it’s weird I focus on this over all of his other work, both in comics and in television — I remember seeing his name on an episode of Law and Order and thinking “wait, the same Gerry Conway?” — but I always appreciated the fact that he wrote competing swamp monsters in comics. In fact, I once got the opportunity to ask him who’d win in a fight, Swamp Thing or Man-Thing, and you can hear his answer at 1:11:36 in this 2016 episode of War Rocket Ajax. I was happy that I got a chance to make him laugh.

Another loss I learned about just as I sat down to write this post was comics writer Len Strazewski, who was primarily active in the ’80s and ’90s. I remember him most for two things: writing this swell and far-too-short Justice Society series, drawn by the also-departed-too-soon Mike Parobeck:


…and for also popping briefly into the former place of employment and saying “hello.” He was a nice man, who spotted our backstock of Ultraverse titles (an endeavor he also worked for, having co-created Prime) and commiserating with us that we would probably never sell all those. Well, I wish I could tell him we did sell them all, eventually…for a nickel apiece in a bulk sale, which isn’t much but it still counts as a sale!

It’s sad to see two more pieces of my comics fandom pass from this world, but we can always remember them through their work. So long, Gerry and Len.

The “reprinted at last” is me being funny.

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Okay, due to popular demand, given the number of emails, DMs, and “@s” on Bluesky I’ve received, I should mention this forthcoming Swamp Thing Dark Genesis” Omnibus set, shipping in…egads, November? Well, that’ll give everyone time to save their pennies for it, since it retails for a mighty $150.

Oh, what does it include, you may ask. I may answer, by telling you that it includes

  • House of Secrets #92, reprinted at last
  • all 24 issues of the original 1970s Swamp Thing run
  • the first 15 issues of the early 1980s Saga of the Swamp Thing
  • the annual for that series — that’s the adaptation of the first movie, son, with an early Mark Texeira art job!
  • the two Brave and the Bold team-ups with Batman (#122 and #176)
  • DC Comics Presents #8 with Superman
  • Challengers of the Unknown #81-#87 (Swampy himself doesn’t pop up ’til #82, but #81 kicks off the story, and includes an old adversary of his)
  • House of Secrets #140, with the beginning of the aborted “Patchwork Man” serial, featuring the character from early in the Swamp Thing run
  • Phantom Stranger #14, another swamp monster (or…is it?) story by Swampy’s co-creator Len Wein, which came out around the same time as House of Secrets #92 — not actually Swamp Thing, but does have a cool Neal Adams cover

And that’s not all, friends! Included is the restored unpublished issue #25 from the original series, most of the pages of which were unearthed a while back. It’ll be nice to see this issue properly finished (and with the missing page replaced with new art). Finally, the Swamp Thing vs. Hawkman battle we’ve been waiting for! (I mean, aside from the one we got later during Alan Moore’s run.)

We’re also getting a translated version of the Patchwork Man story that would have been in House of Secrets #141, but for some reason was bumped, and only appeared in a foreign edition. Boy, it’s going to be nice to have all this stuff in one place.

I do notice they don’t include Super Friends #28, which technically is a Swamp Thing cameo, but really it’s just a guy in a Swamp Thing costume magically turned into the muck-encrusted mockery, so I guess it doesn’t count.

Oh, and there’s “extensive essays and never-before-seen scripts, art, and more!” so all right already, stop twisting my arm.

This is going to be one of the “new-style” omnibuses, like we saw with the Mike Grell’s Warlord volume we saw recently. Printed on what DC is calling “period-appropriate paper,” so it won’t be the slick fancy stuff. It’ll likely be the nice, white paper from the Warlord book, which means these new omnibuses will be shockingly light, since this paper isn’t nearly as heavy. We’re supposed to be getting the “original coloring,” too, which will likely look better, or more “authentic,” on this paper than the glossy stuff.

We’ll know for sure in about eight months once we have these in our hands. But it’s my understanding that the folks in charge of this, and the future Alan Moore Swamp Thing omnibuses are taking great care in producing these, and I’m hoping these will look as nice as realistically possible. I’ve also had some…assurances that some of the printing problems with previous reprints of the Moore run (like the missing caption, or the missing art) will be addressed.

Am I getting it? Yes, of course I am, at the very least I need what has got to be reprint #25 of House of Secrets #92.

I’m wondering if the forthcoming facsimile edition of Saga of the Swamp Thing #21 (an issue with problems in the reprinting, as linked above), will function as a preview of what the omnibuses will look like? Or is it just a rushed out reprint to take adavtage of the current facsimile trend?

I mean, any Mike, doesn’t have to be me.

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I apologize for missing my usual Monday update, and even not managing to get one available a day late for Tuesday. Most of you know my primary blogging time is late at night, after the day’s duties are done, and before go into my beauty sleep that still isn’t working. Unfortunately, the last few days I’ve been just too tired to Generate The Content™ that you’ve come to depend on here, the Internet’s Only Comic Book Website.

So now that I’m back, first let me tell you that I’m sorry that I keep identifying the artist of this proposed original cover for Swamp Thing #88:


…as the late Michael Zulli, but it is in fact by Rick Veitch, which I promise I knew, once, but somehow Zulli’s name got into my head, and there you go. Thanks to BobH for giving me a virtual punch in the arm to straighten me out.

And more Swamp Thing news out of the New York Comic Con from last weekend…DC Comics is teaming up with Boom! Studios for a comic pairing up our favorite muck-encrusted mockery of a man with the still-ongoing suspense/horror series Something Is Killing the Children, in a comic that could only be titled


Well, sure, why not. Also, Something Is Killing the Children has been going on for, like, 50 issues now, shouldn’t they have figured out what that “something” is by now? Sorry, haven’t read the series, no idea what’s going on in there.

But sure, I’ll read this new series, due out next year sometime, and who knows, maybe I’ll find myself hooked on the original SIKTC story. Yes, that’s how it’s abbreviated, that’s not a misspelling of the sound effect you get when Wolverine pops his claws.

What the Swamp Thing Is Killing the Children title reminds me of is that “If you see Swamp Thing, say Swamp Thing” faux poster that seemed like it was all over the internet a couple or four years back, and now all I can find is this Pinterest link.

Oh, and there’s also this fun announcement video for the Swamp Thing Is Killing… comic that you can see on the Instagrams.

• • •

Oh, hey, I’m still helping out the Longbox Heroes podcast boys with their monthly Previewing the Past show, in which they scour the 30 year old Previews (and other distributor) catalogs and deliver informative and funny commentary. I’m not on the podcast, but I write out my own notes and observations that they read out on the show.

Anyway, a new episode of Previewing the Past just came out, but its behind the Patreon paywall…pay $5 a month and get it right away, or pay just $1 and get it two weeks later. They’ve got plenty of podcasts to listen to, some free, some Patreon only, all worth listening to. Let ’em know Mike sent you.

If anything, the Zulli cover they’re using is even more upsetting.

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Okay, gang, the announcement has finally been…um, announced, so I can tell you all that the original conclusion for Rick Veitch’s Swamp Thing run, originally slated for release in 1989, is now going to be unleashed upon the world early next year!

It will continue the original numbering (issues #88 through #91), and will feature the original trade dress (i.e. the classic Swamp Thing logo).

However, unless there’s, like, a 1 in 25 ratio, or 1 in 100 ratio, variant that they’re hiding, it appears they may not be using Michael Zulli’s Veitch’s original cover for #88, the issue in which Swamp Thing encounters Jesus:


Based on the promotional material shown at the New York Comic Con on Thursday (which is why these pics are a bit askew, as I trimmed the covers from the whole slides), the main cover will be this also-symbolic Veitch image of Swamp Thing holding a lamb:


And the variant (or one of the variants, we know how this goes) by Zulli features a close-up of Swamp Thing’s face, chest and shoulders, adorned with a crown of thorns, the crucified bits all tastefully off-panel:


I am disappointed that the “cross” cover doesn’t appear to be the primary one, if it’s a cover at all, but I guess DC is trying to play it at least a little safe given, you know, [waves hands about at everything].

At any rate, I was reading Swamp Thing at the time and was aware of all this going down, and how disappointed I was that DC put Veitch in a position where he felt he had to leave the title. You know, folks wondered, when Alan Moore left the book, who could possibly replace him? And, amazingly, by getting Veitch, they stuck the landing. He was absolutely the right person. And even though it’s taken quite a while, it’s nice that he finally gets to put the proper end onto his story.

What if GIganta wins, and all this results in a bunch of Giganta-fronted stuff?

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Continuing your Swamp Thing updates this week, is our mossy pal’s appearance in DC K.O., DC Comics answer to “what if you could read a console fighting game?” I know they’ve tried that before, what with Injustice and various Mortal Kombat books, but this sounds closer to the core idea that those other titles.

DC describes the comic as a “bracket tournament [that] pits heroes against one another in escalating battles—each round unlocking new power, new consequences, and new revelations,” so, sure, what the heck.

There will be 32 characters battling it out here, and if you go to that previous link you’ll see the character select screen for this story, but I’ve excerpted a bit here:


And yeah, there’s Swampy. Now, there’s zero chance that Swamp Thing is coming out on top here, but the Easy, Obvious Answers (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman) seem like they’d be too obvious. Thus, I’m putting my Giant Batcave Penny down on either Lex Luthor (for the “edgy, surprising” result) or Supergirl (for the “let’s get yet another trade paperback ready to tie into a forthcoming movie” result).

Anyway, just having a book where a bunch of your characters are just whaling on each other for a short-run series is perfectly fine. It’s all part of the War Against Darkseid or Apokolips or whatever. Much as I’d like to see Swamp Thing be at the forefront of that, and even with former Swamp Thing writer Scott Snyder doing this series, I don’t expect that to happen. Maybe if we were closer to that supposed Swamp Thing movie James Gunn said is coming. Ah well.

• • •

By the by, this month marks my 37th year in comics retail. Some folks would say that’s a long time. Almost…too long.

Was Swamp Thing a Teen Titan and I just didn’t know?

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So anyway, this trade paperback is apparently coming out early next year:

If you’re having trouble reading the text, here’s what it says:

“The Roots of Horror Twist Through Time

“A journey through DC’s dark corners–past, present, and future–with Swamp Thing as your haunted guide.

“As Rick Veitch deepens his visionary take on the character, Swamp Thing becomes untethered from the present and spirals across time. From Revolutionary battlefields to Arthurian legends, each stop is a meditation on violence, identity, and the monstrous. Meanwhile, Abby and John Constantine face disturbing revelations of their own in the here and now.

“A thematically rich chapter in DC’s horror canon.
Collects The New Titans #0, Swamp Thing #80-87, Swamp Thing Annual #5, Neil Gaiman’s Midnight Days Deluxe Edition #1, and Swamp Thing/Vertigo Special #1-4.”

And here’s the important bit…well, “bits,” as I have questions about New Titans #0, but there’s that “Swamp Thing/Vertigo Special #1-4” listed at the end there. Far as I know, that’s not a thing that exists…at least, not yet.

I was first clued into this by reader Tom, who linked me to this Reddit post. That post makes the good point that Rick Veitch left the book with only four issues to go…and there’s that Vertigo Special listed in the book’s contents, running four issues….

And there’s the fact that Veitch himself has been plugging the book on his Facebook page, so I expect big news a’comin’.

For those of you late to the party, the reason Veitch left Swamp Thing in the first place was that he had a time travel story he was working on, and a particular chapter had been approved and nearly completed before being canned, which torqued off Mr. Veitch somethin’ fierce.

And here’s the cover to that story, which, if those Vertigo Specials are released separately and not just part of the trade paperback, had better be the cover to that #1:


DO IT, YOU COWARDS.

I’ve written a bit about this in the past, most recently in this post here.

And because I’m That Guy, I’m wondering how “in continuity” the original ending to Veitch’s run will be. With all the reboots and such going on, DC could just straight out say “yeah, this is Swamp Thing’s history now” which would wreak a little havoc on the Swamp Thing timeline. For instance, if I remember the plot summaries of these final four Veitch issues that ran in Comics Buyers’ Guide after he left the book, Big Changes would happen to his arch-nemesis, and Swamp and Abby’s daughter (her birth being part of those last four comics) would have been entirely different as well.

“What, DC mess with continuity?” Yeah, I know, it’s hard to believe.

Plus, one final question…what did New Titans #0 have to do with Swamp Thing? I don’t have a copy around to check myself.

What sound does the Swamp Thing Signal Watch make?

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So I received a nice surprise in the mail on Tuesday…a postcard from Steve Lieber advertising the forthcoming hardcover collection of the Jimmy Olsen series he with with Matt Fraction:


If that cover seems familiar, here’s why.

On the back of the postcard is info about the book, plus a special handdrawn message from Mr. Lieber his own self:


A closer look:


Very nice. Made my day getting this card. And, if y’all haven’t read that Jimmy Olsen series yet, this is as good a way as any to check it out. It’s a great run, very funny and imaginative, and one of my favorites.

• • •

In other surprises-shipped-to-the-store news, I received last Friday an envelope from Marvel marked “DO NOT OPEN UNTIL 6/16” so I went ahead and opened it up immediately because c’mon guys, I don’t have time for this “do not open until Christmas” nonsense. (And it’s “616 Day” for reasons discussed in the links I put in this post the other day.)

Anyway, inside was a note from Marvel saying they’re trying to get 6/16 to be “Marvel Day” or whatever, and they’re kicking it off with some new, branded variant covers for recent Marvels, like this one for X-Men #15:


So anyway, I put those out for sale on Monday, but not put out for sale was this item, a set of Fantastic Four pins:


Pretty cool, thinks me. And as someone who likes pins, I’m just gonna hang onto these, thank you very much.

I think future 616 Days may be better served by some kind of freebie comic instead of just “collectibles” to be marked up. (And if they’re going to ship pins like these with comics in the future, they might want to do a better job making sure the clasps on the back don’t get crushed into the covers of those special variants when the envelope containing everything is at the bottom of a box with piles of books on top of it.)

• • •

Okay, we kinda lost the thread a tiny bit with the Final ’90s Countdown, in which the intention was to only cover titles that began in 1990 or later.

However, this have resulted in a lot of hair-splitting and questionable decision-making and whathaveyou and sometimes something slips through the cracks, like 1989’s The Mask.

So, there will be some sidebars to the Final ’90s Countdown with some “Honorary ’90s Comics” — titles like Eightball and From Hell, all technically beginning in the very late ’80s but are very associated with the ’90s. Look, I’m flying by the seat of my pants here, but these comics should be discussed, even if they were disqualified from the initial vote.

It’s a little bit of a mess, but at least we get to talk about a bunch of good comics!