Panels of Interest

This may come as a shock to some of you, but I read a lot of comics. Seriously, the sheer amount of panels I go through every week would probably be considered alarming by most of you, but hopefully you'll be kind enough to switch that adjective over to "impressive."

Regardless, a few of them just cry out to be shared with the rest of the world, so in the interest of amusing and possibly irritating, I present them now to you, my loyal fans: Panels of Interest.

Kicking things off, we have a selection from last night's subject, The Invincible Four of Kung Fu and Ninja #1. It didn't provoke as much debate as I had hoped, considering that it has one of the busiest covers I've ever seen, including a ninja with a baby arm and a mysterious declaration of "free gifts," but I'm willing to assume that you were all shocked into silence at its majesty. Rest assured, the interior is every bit as mind-shattering. Have a look at a mere fraction of its unstoppable power:


If I ever get so drunk that I black out for an entire weekend and wake up in a strange country with a tattoo covering my back, I really hope this is it. That's right up there with the Golden-Age Angel's "Try some fist!" as one of the best ridiculous threats in the history of comics. Then again, that guy's got a belt buckle with a turtle on it, and odds are you don't. So cram that in your cram-hole.

Our next panel comes from The Immortal Dr. Fate #2. Fate, as you may know, spends most of his time flying around doing battle with the Lords of Chaos while invoking the power of Ra and Set, striking at them with that most manly of supernatural power: Giant Pink Ankhs. Of course, sometimes, that's not enough:


What makes this one legitimately interesting is that a few pages before this, the story's introduction talks about how the beings worshipped as gods and demons on Earth throughout history were actually the supremely powerful Lords of Order and Chaos. That's not going to raise many eyebrows when you're tossing around Egyptian mythology, but this panel kicks that thought right up to the next level by making the tacit assertion that in the DC Universe, Jesus Christ was actually a Lord of Order--although apparently a pretty powerful one.

Maybe that was just how Pre-Crisis Jesus worked.

Moving on.

With the sole exception of Ragnell, I have never met a woman who agrees with me that the Black Racer is one of the coolest characters of all time. I'm not sure why, but the living embodiment of death being a black guy wearing a suit of plate mail and riding on flying skis just doesn't seem to strike a chord with the ladies. They tend to prefer that other one, which leads me to believe that they've never read New Gods #2:


In the interest of fairness, I feel I should point out that DnD Ben thinks the Black Racer is pretty stupid, but he also thinks Matter-Eater Lad is the greatest character of all time. So, grain of salt, I guess.

And finally, a selection from a backup story in What If... #41 that answers the question I can only wish I'd asked, "What if the Fantastic Four were led by Keith Richards instead of Reed Richards?"


While the idea of a super-team led by a leathery immortal does appeal to me, this one caught my eye for one reason and one reason only:

FIRST APPEARANCE OF CHARLIE WATTS IN MARVEL COMICS

Collectors, start your bidding.