Saturday 6 January 2018

Cerebus in Matt's life: Part the Second

Hi, Everybody!

We now continue the examination of how mild mannered Interim Editor Matt Dow came to accept Cerebus the Aardvark into his life...

When last we left Matt, his was getting his Spider-Man on! (Thwwipp thwwipp!)

Around 1988, an actual comic book store opened in the next town over from where Matt was living. At first just a bunch of tables with longboxes outside a storefront at the mall, Powerhouse Comics soon became the place Matt wanted to go anytime he had money.

Cut to May 1993, Clinton was President, Mulroney was Prime Minister, and Matt was thirteen years old. And buying as much Spider-Man as he could get his hands on (which is how I got Dan Slott's first Spider-Man story,). That same month, Matt's friend Kevin (remember Kevin? Here's some columns by Kevin...) told him that Spider-Man's hand showed up in Spawn #10. 
First person to correctly name all those hands wins. What? I have NO idea...

How could that be? Surely Marvel was gonna sue Todd's ass off for this
BLATANT misuse of  Spider-Man's right hand? Matt had to own what was sure to be a rare and collectible piece of comic's history.


Reading the story, Matt encountered that little grey guy again.
In the 90s, you could still smoke in comics...
Who was that guy? 

What was his deal?

And why did he hang out at Peter's Place?

Unfortunately, those questions would have to wait a few more years...


Next time: The Comic Book Man cometh...

28 comments:

Travis Pelkie said...

IIRC, there was a contest in Wizard to name alla them hands. I forget what the prize was for that one.

Tony Dunlop said...

The only one I can't get off the top of my head is the yellow glove near the back. No Kewpie doll for me, alas...

Oh wait, looking again I'm also clueless about the blue glove with the white rectangle right above Captain Marvel.

By the way, this is the only issue of Spawn (and the only non-"A Distant Soil" Image comic) I ever bought.

Mouse Skull Entertainment said...

Tony,

The blue/black hand with the white rectangle above Captain Marvel is Venom.

I used to have a guess about the yellow hand, but I can't remember what it is.

Matt

Tony again said...

Never heard of Venom; too damn old.

Mouse Skull Entertainment said...

Tony,

Venom is a Spider-Man villian.

His secret origin is that he's Spider-Man's pants.

Matt

Tony one more time said...

TMI! TMI!!!

I'm going to give it a shot; there are a couple I'm not 100% sure about. Going from left to right, down each column of cell-rectangles:

Hercules; The Flash, Colossus, The Hulk; Superman and Spider-Man, Venom (h/t to Interim Editor), Captain Marvel (the real one, dammit);The Thing, Bat - uh, The Batman; The Beast, Wolverine; Thor, Doctor Doom, Wonder Woman; The Joker, Green Lantern; Captain America, (yellow glove).

OK, somebody score me.

Tony again said...

Oops. Missed ol' Doc Ock above Thor.

Tony...OK I'll shut up now said...

OK, that's not Hercules. I was determined to go from memory, but DuckDuckGo shows Herc didn't have brass knuckles. (Sure didn't need 'em.) OK, I don't know who that first guy is.

I'm spending waaaaay too much time on this.

Mouse Skull Entertainment said...

Tony,

That's the Juggernaut.

Matt

Jeff said...

Did anyone else notice that Cap's red-gloved fingers are cut off?

Travis Pelkie said...

I think it's because it's where the page borders are (this is a two page spread), Jeff.

I never noticed that Colossus and Doctor Doom have the same hands.

And I thought the one at the bottom by Wonder Woman was Punisher, and the one under Doc Ock was Wonder Man.

Yellow glove...hmm...

Travis Pelkie said...

Also, you way old, Tony, because they're celebrating Venom's 30th anniversary in the latest Previews....

Mouse Skull Entertainment said...

Okay guys,

From left to right starting at the bottom: Hulk, Captain Marvel (Billy Batson version), Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (see de itty bitty ring? Although it's on the wrong hand for the Hal Jordan GL), the yellow hand (the bit of the arm past the bars looks like it's on fire, so possibly the Human Torch?),

Next row: Colossus, Venom, Wolverine.

Next row: Juggernaut, Superman, Spider-Man, Beast, Dr. Doom (? I always questioned that, because his hand looks too thick.), Captain America.

Next row: Flash, Thing, Thor (I guess Wonder Man is a possibility, but I find it unlikely. The text says, "gods of thunder." right above this hand.), Joker.

Top: Doctor Octopus (although the claw only has two pincers, instead of the correct three.)

Any body got better guesses, Let me know.

https://comicvine.gamespot.com/spawn-10-crossing-over/4000-37209/ lists: Barry Allen, Batman, Billy Batson, Black Widow(?), Captain America, Eddie Brock(?), Hal Jordan, Hulk, Joker, Juggernaut, Spider-Man, Superman, Thing, Venom, Wolverine, Wonder Man, Wonder Woman.

And, http://imagecomics.wikia.com/wiki/Spawn_Vol_1_10 has: Superman, Flash's arm, Captain Marvel's arm, Batman's arm, Wonder Woman's arm, Joker's arm, Green Lantern's arm, Juggernaut's arm, Hulk's arm, The Thing's arm, Spider-Man's arm, Venom's arm, Doctor Octupus's tentacle, Thor's arm, Wolverine's arm, Captain America's arm,

Matt Dow

Tony one more time said...

30th anniversary of Venom? That would be early 1988; no wonder I've never heard of him. I finally abandoned mainstream/superhero/MarvelDC comics about the time John Byrne took over the hero formerly known as the Man of Tomorrow - which was what, '86?

Tony again said...

BTW, is it possible the yellow glove belongs to Electro?

Jeff said...

Okay, this thing has stuck in my craw for days now. So:

1) I don't see the itty, bitty ring on the hand of what everyone assumes is the Green Lantern's arm, and, yes, wrong hand for the ring. Right color scheme, though. I thought it might be Quicksilver, but the only image I can find online is him in a blue and white costume. I could have sworn, though, that I've seen a grey and white costume on him.

2) I agree with most of the others, though I am not well-versed in DC Captain Marvels.

3) I lean to Yellow Glove being Electro. I have found online images of the Human Torch in blue, white, black, and red costumes, but never yellow. And, clearly that hand is gloved, not on fire.

4) Oooorr (this is a stretch, but bear with me), since Dave wrote in the word balloon, "Watchmen.", it could be that Yellow Glove is Captain Metropolis of the Watchmen, nee Crimebusters. None of the other arms could belong to a Watchman. And I think the other gtoups Dave names all are represented.

Has anyone thought to ask Todd? Or, Dave. Maybe I'll use up some of my "30% annoying" credit and call Dave about this.

Or, I could get a life.

Jeff said...

Okay, just looked it up. None of the original Champions team is represented in this spread either. The 2016 Champions are represented, but obviously that team came after Dave wrote this and Todd drew it. The other categories/teams are represented, though.

Okay, time for my real life. Off to watch "Victoria & Abdul". :)

Jeff said...

Aw, man! This thing won't let go of me. Just looked it up: None of the Crusaders (Marvel or DC versions) is represented in Todd's drawing. So, either Dave was using generic terms or Todd didn't draw all of what Dave's script called for.

Tony again said...

I'm thinking Travis is right that the arm we've been calling Green Lantern is actually The Punisher. The image pixellates rather badly when zoomed in, but the sleeve is clearly black, not green.

Also, it was largely because of the word "Champions" that I thought of Hercules for the leftmost hand; I was one of the apparently very few original Champions fans back in the day...

Mouse Skull Entertainment said...

Tony,

Green Lantern's sleeves ARE black...
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hR_yWHzyYXY/TfOdEpnlc_I/AAAAAAAAAuU/3fvBa7wUSJo/s1600/glhal1.jpg

Aaaannnnnnndddd...just dug out my personal copy of Spawn #10. It's Green Lantern. There's a ring with a little green symbol on it. (Unless Frank Castle obtained a "Gun-ring" somewhere...)

Jeez we've been spending WAY too much time on this.

Matt

Tony again said...

(hangs head in shame) I hereby turn in my Junior Power Ring. I am no longer worthy of your trust, O guardians of Oa.

OF COURSE GL's sleeves are black. Not only am I old, I'm senile.

And Matt, one can *never* spend too much time talking comics. Bite yer tongue.

Mouse Skull Entertainment said...

Tony,

We've spent too much time discussing whose hand is whose...

Matt

Travis Pelkie said...

This whole hand thing has become a job....

Tony...OK I'll shut up now said...

Travis, I myself consider that abuse.

Mouse Skull Entertainment said...

You guys have no idea how much trouble this hand thing has caused me...

NO IDEA!

Matt
(Just wait until Saturday,just WAIT!)

Travis Pelkie said...

Are you going to beat it into submission, sir?

Tony, who apparently can't shut up said...

Travis, I could try, but I'd probably choke...after all, I'm chicken.

Tony again said...

Know who DIDN'T choke? The Vikings!!!

SKOL!!!!!!!