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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 14h

I was first exposed to Howarth's art via his 1991 TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #41, "Turtle Dreams." If it's not my favorite TMNT comic ever, it's one of them. The next year, Mirage published his special THE HAUNTED PIZZA, which was also quite good. I've yet to read a comic of his I didn't like.

The painted wraparound cover for 1991's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #41, by Matt Howarth. It features the four Turtles lying asleep on the floor, their heads on pillows, and hints of some of their dreams.

The cover of the 1992 special Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Haunted Pizza, by Matt Howarth.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Like, you see it too, right…?

A green onion with a face that looks like Robert Smith of The Cure, a detail from the picture book Night of the Pumpkinheads.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

I love these little guys from the picture book NIGHT OF THE PUMPKINS by Michael J. Rosen and Hugh McMahon. They look like Robert Smith. If you could grow Robert Smith in your garden.

Vegetables with faces from the picture book Night of the Pumpkinheads.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

The part of Alex Ross' MARVEL DIMENSIONS graphic novel that gave my suspension of disbelief the greatest trouble was this scene, which suggests people still read newspapers:

Three panels from Alex Ross' Marvel Dimensions, in which "The Blot" Benjamin Grimm sits in a high-tech metal easy chair while reading a newspaper and talks over his shoulder to Reed Richards.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Which do you think is Alex Ross' horniest redesign of a female character for MARVEL DIMENSIONS, the all-fishnet Spider-Woman, seen engaging in an upside-down sapphic embrace with Mockingbird (left), or sexy nun Elektra, seen fighting Evil Daredevil (right)...?

An image from Alex Ross' Marvel Dimensions graphic novel, depicting Spider-Woman wearing a fishnet bodysuit, thigh highs and long gloves, hanging from the ceiling, while Mockingbird strokes her head.

An image from Alex Ross' Marvel Dimensions, part of a bigger battle scene. In the foreground a woman dressed as a sexy nun and wielding a pair of sai combats The Inquisitor, an evil version of Daredevil.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

While obviously a nice image, I don't think this is a very good cover, as it doesn't give any indication of what the book is: Alex Ross doing Marvel versions of JLA: SECRET ORIGINS and KINGDOM COME, during which he invents a Marvel Earth-3 and redesigns the majority of the Marvel character catalog.

The cover of Alex Ross' Marvel Dimensions graphic novel, featuring a bunch of Marvel's most popular and iconic characters posing together.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

It took some trial and error, though! Hence these weird-looking monster Shredders that appeared in the "Return to New York" story arc:

The cover of 1989's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #21, featuring a trio of weird, monstrous-looking Shredders of various shapes and sizes. Art by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

The Bulwark included a screenshot of the below post from the bad micro-blogging site in their "Morning Shots" newsletter today. Fun fact: This is how the Foot Clan brought The Shredder back to life after he was blown up while falling off a building at the end of TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #1.

A screenshot of a post quoting a paragraph about an experiment involving planarian worms.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

I missed this one. Did Iron Man ever end up killing Hercules and The Champions or die trying...?

The cover of 1977's Avengers #163, on which Iron Man declares "I'm going to kill Hercules and his fellow Champions--or die trying!" The cover was drawn by George Perez and Pablo Marcos.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

While I liked some of the PLUS books, I had skipped this. Deacdes later, a friend told me it is about Supergirl and Mary Marvel teaming up to fight a child molester at the mall, and I thought she was joking, or at least exaggerating. She was not. What an extremely strange comic this is.

The cover of 1997's Supergirl Plus #1, featuring Supergirl and Mary Marvel in flight, drawn by Gary Frank and Cam Smith.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I saw someone mentioned this comic on Bluesky today, which reminded me that I haven't publicly asked DC to collect Len Strazewski and Mike Parobeck's 10-issue, 1992 JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA series in a while. Please DC Comics, for the love of God, collect this series.

The cover of 1993's Justice Society of America #10, featuring art by Mike Parobeck depicting the team rushing towards the reader in various action poses.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

By the way, I ultimately went with the image of Tomax and Xamot in the earlier post because it shows off the flight pods better, but it was down to that image and the part where Cobra Commander shrieks "Retreat!" over the theme song while clinging to the top of one:

An image from the opening of G.I. Joe: The Movie, in which the screen splits into four panels, showing Cobra Commander clinging to the top of a flight pod piloted by a Cobra Viper from two different angles.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

While Larry Hama and his co-creators dutifully introduced every action figure, vehicle and playset from the original toy line into the comic, no matter how outlandish (Raptor, Crystal Ball, the Pogo Ballistic Battle Ball, etc.), 1985's Cobra Flight Pod (AKA the "Trubble Bubble") never appeared.

An image from the opening of G.I. Joe: The Movie, featuring Tomax and Xamot piloting Cobra flight pods, AKA "Trubble Bubbles."

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Meanwhile, DC got twice as much shelf space. As you can see, there's a lot of collections from the Absolute line, a lot of Batman, a surprising amount of SANDMAN (Have they not heard?) and some "Compact Comics" collections of the likes of WATCHMEN, V FOR VENDETTA and various superhero books.

A photograph of two bookshelves from a bookstore, full of DC comics.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Still thinking about Marvel vs. DC in terms of their current trades and graphic novel offerings. Tonight I stopped at the nearest bookstore. This is their one Marvel shelf. There's a lot from their Ultimate line, some STAR WARS, Spidey and Wolverine (Including Tsutomo Nihei's WOLVERINE: SNIKT!)...

An angled photograph of a bookshelf in a bookstore featuring Marvel trade paperback collections of comics (with the store's cardboard separators in the middle).

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Oh jeez, I just remembered THIS comes out this month too...and costs $125.

The cover of The Spectre by John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake Omnibus Volume 2.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

So if they published this to coincide with LANTERNS, do you think they will do one for that Jimmy Olsen/Gorilla Grodd show…? If so, what would it reprint? Three Jimmy Olsen comics and two Grodd ones…? Maybe the best Jimmy Olsen comics featuring gorillas…?

A picture of a Green Lantern magazine on a rack of other magazines. The cover features an image by Jim Lee, and the cover copy reads “Five Acclaimed Comic Book Stories By All-Star Writers And Artists!”

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

You know those magazine format collections of reprints dedicated to Batman, Superman, Supergirl and the Justice League…? Today I saw one featuring Hal Jordan and wondered who THAT was for…until I remembered that LANTERNS show exists…and comics people seem to like it okay, right…?

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

This Friday is payday, and I'm thinking about all of the comics I could be buying and ordering this weekend if I WEREN'T currently spending almost twice as much on gas every week as I was last year. I'll get you all eventually, I swear...!

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I know like four things about Iceland, and the fact that Bjork is from there is one of them. She shows up in the book rather quickly:

A passage from Nancy Marie Brown’s book Looking For The Hidden Folk.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Interesting point about belief in elves in relation to belief in God…and a great retort about cats in the Bible.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I just started reading this book yesterday morning, drawn in by the sub-title, which promises the intersection of an aspect of the occult/supernatural/religion with environmentalism. That's a real sweet spot of my interests (Besides, you know, comics). It's pretty great, so far...!

The cover of Nancy Brown's book Looking for The Hidden Folk: How Iceland's Elves Can Save the Earth.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I like this 1933 Children's Book Week poster because, by the logic it articulates, the fact that I have 45 shelves full of comics collections and graphic novels is NOT a bad thing. In fact, I should probably have a few more by this point!

1933 Children's Book Week poster, a black and white photograph of a young boy reading a book in front of a set of bookshelves. The coyp reads "Grow With Books...Add a shelf for every year"

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I saw this book at the library today, and I kind of love the tag line. It seems like it could almost but not quite be a tag line for a Lucas Lee movie.

The cover for the novel “Killer Move” by Michael Marshall, which bears the tag line “Your password is protected. Your life is not.”

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Okay, maybe I'm being a bit facetious with the WATCHMEN comparison. But I've been thinking about Marvel "graphic novels" vs. DC ones, and I have a hard time thinking of any that meet this criteria I lay out in the post (especially the "in print" part):

Two paragraphs snipped from my blog post, detailing six criteria for a certain kind of popular, evergreen graphic novel.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

This year's ARCHIE'S HALLOWEEN SPECTACULAR also features two different instances of characters looking at maps of the United States with Riverdale marked. It appears that the town is just west of Lake Michigan, so I'm guessing it's in Illinois...though Wisconsin or Iowa are also possibilities.

A panel from Archie's Halloween Spectacular, in which Medulla points to a map of the United States, upon which Riverdale is pinpointed. Art by Bill and Ben Glavan.

A panel from Archie's Halloween Spectacular, in which Dusty points to a man of the United States in order to alert Fly Girl that paranormal energy has been detected in Riverdale. Art by Bill and Ben Glavan.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Help! Reggie Mantle appears in three panels of the lead story in ARCHIE'S HALLOWEEN SPECTACULAR 2026, and I can't make sense of his costume. He's apparently dressed as a vampire, but, in two of the three panels, he's wearing what looks like a space helmet...? It's never commented on or referred to.

Reggie Mantle dressed as a vampire...and wearing what looks like a fishbowl-like space helmet. Art by Bill and Ben Glavan.

Reggie Mantle dressed as a vampire...with what might be a fishbowl-style space helmet...or, perhaps, he's posed in front of a full moon in this particular panel...? Art by Bill and Ben Glavan.

Reggie Mantle dressed as a vampire...now holding his helmet under his arm. Art by Bill and Ben Glavan.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I just re-read Ennis and McCrea's "Confederacy of Dunces" PUNISHER arc via a new trade paperback collection and one image of Daredevil looked...familiar. On the left, Daredevil in 2003's PUNISHER #34. On the right, Ben Affleck, who played Daredevil in the 2003 movie, in a rather famous 2016 photo.

Part of a panel from 2003's PUNISHER #34, depicting an exasperated looking Daredevil tilting his head towards the ceiling. Pencil art by John McCrea.

The famous 2016 paparazzi photo of Ben Affleck smoking a cigarette.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I knew that jellyfish could get pretty big, but I didn't realize that some of them were the size of large dinosaurs...! Check out the tiny little human figure next to the silhouette for scale below! This is from THE MAGNIFICENT BOOK OF OCEAN CREATURES (Weldon Owen Childen's Books; 2024).

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

How old are these comics...? Well, in one of them, Dick Grayson finds what he refers to as "a cellular phone."

A poorly dressed Dick Grayson discovers "a cellular phone" on the floor of his apartment after a fight with an assassin in panels from the 1995 Nightwing miniseries. Script by Denny O'Neil, art by Greg Land and Mike Sellers.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Rafael Grampa's BATMAN: GARGOYLE OF GOTHAM is one of the most beautifully drawn Batman comics I've ever read. It's full of new, original characters and cool, clever redesigns of iconic elements. Most satisfyingly, it tells an interesting Batman story full of stuff I had never seen anyone do before.

The cover of Batman: Gargoyle of Gotham: The Deluxe Edition by Rafael Grampa.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I like this Cyclops design from artist Tom Williams as an alternate look for the character. I think the big, circular red eye makes him look more like his namesake than the usual visors do.

An image by artist Tom Williams, featuring his take on Cyclops in the foreground and Wolverine in the background.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I just re-read Garth Ennis and John McCrea’s “Confederacy of Dunces” arc from THE PUNISHER via a new trade, and while making Marvel’s heroes look good is absolutely not the point of the story, McCrea sure draws the hell out of Daredevil, as in this panel below.

A panel from The Punisher, in which Wolverine and Daredevil face off. Art by John McCrea.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Apparently Lady Jaye has a type, and it is Wears A Beret.

Panel from G.I.Joe #101. Art by M.D. Bright and Randy Emberlin.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

If the words "Justice League America Annual", "1994" and "Elseworlds" don't do anything for you, I will also note that this particular annual contains an eight-page back-up drawn by Evan Dorkin, in which Starro organizes all of the villains whose names end in "O" into a team.

A panel from the back-up story in Justice League America Annual #8, featuring Starro and a bunch of villains as the giant alien starfish explains what binds them all together. Art by Evan Dorkin.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Seated to see MST3K: THE RIFFTRAX EXPERIMENTS. This will be the second time I have seen Mike and the Bots in a movie theater, and, I just realized, the last time I did so was an even 30 years ago.

A photograph of a movie ticket reading “MST3K”.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I completely forgot that Aunt May and Tony Stark dated in the early ‘90s.

The movie poster for Only You, starring Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

They say not to judge a book by its cover, but can I judge the book cover itself…? If so, I think this is an awesome book cover:

The cover of the novel “Social Animals” by Camille Perri, featuring a small dog frowning comically.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I'm all for a widower moving on and finding love again, but making out on your dead wife's grave seems a bit much, Alternate Future Superman.

The cover of 1991's Adventures of Superman Annual #3, in which Superman and Maxima make out atop Lois Lane-Kent's gravestone. Pencil art by Bryan Hitch.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

The other night at the library I was flipping through 2025's BONES AND BERSERKERS, part of NATHAN HALE'S HAZARDOUS TALES series, and the illustration on the end pages caught my eye. I think this may be the most appropriate map of the United States of America for our current moment in history.

The end pages from Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Bones and Berserkers, featuring four screaming characters standing before a map of the United States, in which each state is given eyes and a mouth, and all of them are screaming.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

A while back I asked where to start with X-Men comics, as my nephew wanted me to get him some from the library. If you’re interested, here’s what I ended up with. (I plan to post about the question on my blog later, as well as reviews of these books in that context; I never read the bottom two.)

A photograph of a stack of five trade paperback collections of various X-Men comics.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Also, from that same mini: What’s going on with these bat-ropes here…? Was this a trying-to-draw-like-McFarlane thing…?

An image of Batman and Nightwing swinging on big, thick ropes that twist and turn in unnatural shapes below their grips. Pencil art by Greg Land.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

My nephew said he liked Nightwing, so for his birthday I bought him a collection that included the 1995 miniseries by Denny O’Neil and Greg Land. I wonder if he will STILL like Nightwing after he sees the way Dick Grayson used to dress…

A photograph of a page from Nightwing Vol. 1: Bludhaven, in which a long-haired, hairy-forearmed Dick Grayson wears a polkadot shirt, jeans pulled up to his stomach and…moccasins…? Art by Greg Land.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

I didn’t really want to read DC KO…but because I thought it would be bad so much as I thought it sounded uninteresting. I read reviews of the issues as they came out, and Superman fighting Darkseid over who would influence the next DC reboot couldn’t appeal to me less. That said… (1/2)

A photograph of a library copy of the DC KO trade.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Forget Superman or Captain America. Sometimes I think the comic book character most emblematic of American values is actually Cobra Commander...for better or worse.

A panel from 1985's G.I. Joe, A Real American Hero #41 in which Zartan, a Crimson Guardsman and Cobra Commander gloat as the G.I. Joe team is forced to retreat. "What a great system!" the Commander says, "If you have enough money and you can hire the best lawyers, you can do anything you want!" Art by Rod Whigham and Keith Williams, dialogue by Larry Hama.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I know that Grocery Prices Are High isn’t exactly breaking news, but every once in a while I’ll see an item at the store that the price of which will actually shock me. Like a package of non-Girl Scout cookies selling for over seven bucks.

A photograph of a package of Lorna Doone shortbread cookies at the grocery store, the price tag reading $7.29.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I know grawlixes, black bars and actual swear words are now far more common in mainstream comics, but there’s something to be said for silly, fake profanity, like that which Doug Moench has Dum-Dum Dugan yell into Gabe Jones’ radio here:

A black-and-white panel from Marvel’s Essential Godzilla collection, in which Gabe Jones gets an order from Dum-Dum Dugan, telling him to “hang their chicken-scratching confirmation.” Art by Herb Trimpe, Frank Giacoia and George Tuzla.

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J. Caleb Mozzocco @jcaleb.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

What's the statute of limitations on complaining about a comic book cover? Because G.I. JOE SPECIAL MISSIONS #25 is 37 years old, but I just now read it and am annoyed by it. The cover promises a pterodactyl, but the pterodactyl inside the book is actually only a model...and is only in two panels. ☹️

The cover of G.I. Joe Special Missions #25, featuring a large green pterodactyl seemingly attacking an assault vehicle. Art by Andy Kubert.

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