Happy April Fools with the clowns of comics!

Bring on the clowns!

Of coarse everyone knows the clown prince of crime, but there are many other clown themed heroes and villains throughout comics history.

Gilbert Hernandez' "Space Case"

Gilbert Hernandez's 

Heartbreak Soup 

is one rich stew that you will not soon forget!

In a world filled with superhero comics Gilbert Hernandez' Heartbreak Soup is special. It has the audacity to depict simple people dealing with everyday issues, issues that we all feel at some point and can relate to; issues about peoples insecurities, past traumas, world injustices and even feelings of being very small and insignificant as in the case with this Heartbreak Soup, Space Case, which comes from Ten Years of Love and Rockets, Sep. 1992.

Matt Kindt's Black Widow

Independent comics creator Matt Kindt who has lately had a big hit with his Mind MGMT did a cool piece for Marvel MAX' Strange Tales, a Black Widow story.

Happy 74th birthday Captain America!

Joe Simon and Jack Kirby's Captain America is one of the first political comics ever created. Captain America Comics #1 (cover dated March 1941) pissed off a lot of people by having Cap punch out Hitler. The pro Nazi American's (yes, we did have them before the war) were incensed and even sent Timely Comics death threats.

Captain America has always been a special character ever since his first appearance in Captain America #1, March, 1941. 74 years ago. He speaks to the American spirit in all of us. He stands for the freedom and equality of all people no matter the race, gender, religion or sexual orientation. Whenever someone is trying to oppress another, he will be there to defend their rights to freedom.

Kent Williams' expressionistic Batman Black and White

Kent Williams is not a common name in comics but he is no stranger to art. In Batman Black and White he brings a vibrant, new aesthetic to comics with his scratchy, edgy line work. It's raw and it's dynamite. 

Happy 93rd Birthday Shigeru Mizuki, creater of GeGeGe no Kitaro!

Shigeru Mizuki, March 8, 1922 (age 92) is a fascinating mangaka (maker of manga or comics) who is most well-known for his yōkai, which is a sub genera of manga that is about Japanese spirits and ghost from folk traditions.

Happy 98th Birthday Will Eisner!

Happy birthday
Will Eisner 
(March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005)

Will Eisner is the great old man of comics. He started out at the birth of comics, in the late 30's as a young, enthusiastic comic creator hopeful. Eisner grew up in Brooklyn with a painter father who had difficulty bringing in enough money to feed his family. This instilled in young Eisner a valuation for art and the impetus to work hard. In the late 30's he would start a "packaging" shop with Jerry Iger where they would make the contents of a whole comic and sell it to a publisher.

the Avengers origin by Walt Simonson!

Have you ever wondered how the Avengers first got together? Well here is the story as told by the ever energetic Walt Simonson. His art is so lively that it virtually explodes off of the page. It's a constant joy and here in this little gem from Avengers #300, Feb 1989, he retells the classic Lee/Kirby tale from Avengers #1, Sep 1963. It's a long forgotten little piece that is well worth remembering.