Screen Legend : Toshiro Mifune

Here's a quick piece depicting screen legend and longtime acting muse to the distinguished Akira Kurosawa, Toshiro Mifune.  The star of two of my favorite movies ever, "Yojimbo" & "High & Low", the great also famously turned down the role of Obi Wan Kenobi in "Star Wars", a character developed as an homage to his portrayal of General Makabe Rokurōta in Kurosawa's  "The Hidden Fortress"...
  
Spinner-Rack #1 available On Etsy, Zanadu Comics, Arcane Comics, & at the Fantagraphics Store & Gallery

Mike & Klunk : Ode to "Michaelangelo Christmas Special" (1990)

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to All!!

The Turtles inhabit two of my favorite Christmas stories of all-time in any media, the first being the succession of Leonardo Micro-Series #1 & Mirage TMNT #10 & #11 which is easily the peak of the Eastman & Laird era and the loose basis for pretty much the whole second half of the 1990 movie.  I was introduced to this story as a kid via First Publishing's wonderful TMNT collections and still read and flip through it constantly.

If you have no nostalgia or emotional connection to the boys in green and are puzzled as to why this property continues to endure after over 30 years I highly recommend reading these original comics as I think they show just what a solid foundation of story and character Eastman & Laird's TMNT possessed and what separates them from other properties that we'll be inundated with in movies and merchandising until we're all dead (still never gonna watch those new Platinum Dunes movies though, NEVER!!).

The second Christmas tale and the basis for this piece is a much more lighthearted affair, also written and drawn by the turtles' original creators.  It centers on Michaelangelo saving a kitten from the cold, foiling the robbery of a toy store on Christmas Eve, and getting those toys to kids in need.  Introduced here,  Klunk the Cat stuck around.  He even showed up in the story I referenced earlier and passed away in the early 2000s Mirage Comics series to Mikey's great sadness.  I had no idea that he not only made his way into the 2003 animated series, but also made a cameo in the 1987 series and continues to be in the Nickelodeon series of today.

So here's a little piece for Christmas with Mikey & Klunk out in the snow.  Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!!  Be good to each other out there, in this new year we're gonna need that kindness...
  
Spinner-Rack #1 available On Etsy, Zanadu Comics, Arcane Comics, & at the Fantagraphics Store & Gallery

The first time I came across Klunk, in TMNT: Book IV (First Publishing), attacking Raph as he tries to sneak a peek at his gift from Mike.  I'm not sure the folks at First knew he was going to be orange and I gotta think his appearance in the 1987 animated series cemented this for the long haul.

Nova (Richard Rider)

I just read the first issue of Ramon Perez's new "Nova" series and seeing Richard Rider back for the first time since the end of the Abnett/Lanning Guardians of the Galaxy run (the movie run) was a resurrection I didn't know I'd be so intrigued by.  Casting Richard into the mentor role for young Nova (Sam Alexander) has a lot of story potential, I just hope the book is allowed to have its voice through whatever event cycle is running when the new Guardians of the Galaxy movie hits.   

The new "Nova" #1 may also be the finest placement of Ramon Perez's talents on a Marvel book since his "John Carter" mini-series and I love that he kept Richard's "Annihilation" era armor design alive (Perez reference below).

Spinner-Rack #1 available On Etsy, Zanadu Comics, Arcane Comics, & at the Fantagraphics Store & Gallery

 

Baron Zemo

I'm still on this Marvel Villains kick, so here's Baron Zemo.  "Avengers: Under Siege (1987)" is a classic in its own right and the peak of the Roger Stern & John Buscema run, but still informs the dynamic of how Cap and Helmut are written to this day.  I still wish they would have had him sport the purple mask in "Captain America: Civil War"...

Spinner-Rack #1 available On Etsy, Zanadu Comics, Arcane Comics, & at the Fantagraphics Store & Gallery

 

  

Kang The Conqueror

Kang The Conqueror, that complicated time-traveling troublemaker and Avengers' Rogues staple, last put to great use in Rick Remender's "Uncanny Avengers" run and who is apparently back in Waid & Del Mundo's new "Avengers" book.  I've been a fan of the character since way back, but I have to concede that's at least in part because he was the only bad guy other than Doom who I had in the 1980s Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars action figure line (Pictured Below).

Spinner-Rack #1 available On Etsy, Zanadu Comics, Arcane Comics, & at the Fantagraphics Store & Gallery

 

Green Goblin

I just watched the original "Spider-Man" (2002) for the first time since at least 2005 and not only does it hold up, it's gotten better with age!  Whatever hangups I had about The Goblin's lack of a plan and the messy final act were overshadowed by brilliant performances from actors I've only grown to love more over the years, a script and pacing that moves without sacrificing character development, and its solid themes of friendship and forgiveness being set in place for the rest of the Raimi series.  I had forgotten how genuinely funny, kind-hearted, and electrifying it was.   But hey, this was my equivalent of other folks my age's "Star Wars : Episode I" experience and I just happened to get lucky that the movie I'd waited my entire childhood and teenage years to become a reality actually lived up to my expectations and still does...