INSECT QUEEN COMISSIONS!

I'm back from hiatus with a double shot of LANA LANG LOVE!





First up is this amazing piece from Joshua Crisalli, who's got a project called LEGION BEYOND that I think you should all check out. Josh has been going through the ranks of the mighty LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES and putting his own special twists on the characters with some really cool results. I really like that he choose to draw Lana here in a "transformed" mode. Go check out his other awesome LSH designs already!



Next up is this first in a series of SILVER AGE SHOWCASE portraits that I'm putting together with fellow ex-pat Texan, Rusty Shackles. I absolutely LOVE the look on Superboy's face. Priceless. For more insanity from the mind of Rusty, you're gonna want to head on over to TABLE TOP FETUS.


Now let's show these boys some love in the comments!


Until next time...
LONG LIVE LANA LANG!

ECCC 2009:NOW THE TRUTH CAN BE TOLD!

So ECCC was over a month ago, but I finally get around to blogging about it (I've been real busy, I swear).
This was the huge line to get at in at 10:45 in the morning on opening day!
Big Tiger and I ponder starving to death in this line...
I blame J.J. Abrams for this one.
I scored a signed & numbered THE MASK HC Slipcase Set of Arcudi & Mahnke's original run for $25.00! Yay!
Hey, it's Comic Book Awesome Guy #1: Vasilis Lolos! I took a picture of Becky Cloonan as well, but it disappeared! I blame ghosts! If only there was someone to call...
Hey alright - it's the Ghostbusters! We're saved!
Wonder Twin Powers Activate! The Batgirl in the back there is a guy named Ian, who was a regular at the LCS that I used to work at; he handmade all their costumes.
Shortly after this, Veronica & I met Barry Kitson at his table. Barry was very busy doing a commission of Spider-Man for a soldier, but he took time to chat with us and promised to do a sketch for us both if we came back early in the morning on Sunday. No problem!
The Next Morning, up bright and early (after dj'ing until 2 A.M.) and slightly hung-over. Luckily, we live a little less than ten blocks away from the convention center at which ECCC was being held. And, yes, that's a PHONOGRAM poster on the wall behind me.
Miss Hutchinson is seen here wearing the season's latest Tara McPherson design.
Arriving at the con, we met up with Barry and watched him draw for a few people that were also waiting for a sketch from the previous day. Barry was very sociable and nice to everyone (something some other creators could try at cons) and was genuinely happy to chat with the fans and draw them whatever they wanted. Veronica was up first; her request: Barry Allen. This pencil and ink drawing of Barry Allen by Barry Kitson far exceeds what any normal person would consider to get as just a "sketch" at a con. We both thought this was absolutely stunning!
Then Barry breaks out the watercolors and paints it too! Awesome!
The finished Barry Allen by Barry Kitson for Veronica!
So, what did I ask Barry for? Take a wild guess.
Lana Lang, Insect Queen by Barry Kitson!!!
Me, Barry & Roni at the end of show ECCC 2009 (they've already turned the lights off). Barry says "I wish we knew of a decent bar to go to, last night's choice was terrible". Then I say "I told you that I work at a bar, right?". To most comic creators I've met, that's like manna from Heaven.
Cut to the Whisky Bar, where Barry tells me about the time he met Tom Peyer.
I'm trying to keep this a family friendly site for now, but the look on my face says it all I think. Oh, Tom.
Barry Kitson lines up a shot, moments before sinking the eight ball and crushing that kid in green there mercilessly.
Eventually, we wondered across the street to play darts at The Nitelite (another Seattle Comic Book People Hangout) and some poor soul took this picture of Chad Olsen, me, Barry, Veronica and Miki Annamanthadoo. Chad & Miki are the mods over at barrykitsonart and they were also art contributors to the BEST of the LEGION OUTPOST book from TwoMorrows. Miki & Chad have been helping Barry sell his original art pages, of which I bought four (my first ever original art buy)! I bought two inked pages from FLASH & GREEN LANTERN: THE BRAVE & THE BOLD (by Mark Waid and some Peyer guy), a pencils-only page from JSA: STRANGE ADVENTURES (it's got Ted Knight and Alan Scott on it and they're fighting ROBOT NAZIS!), and a great page from the recent "Threeboot" Legion of Cosmic Boy telling the U.P. Council where to stick it. I'll make a short blog post of those pieces with pictures of the art and actual issue and page numbers with comparison shots from the comics as well soon.

Thanks again to Barry (for the amazing paintings), Chad & Miki (for the art buying tips), Vasilis (for drawing Veronica an awesome Batman) and a very special thanks to Becky Cloonan for drawing me a whole new page in my defective copy of DEMO that had twenty something blank pages in it. Word.

Long Live the Legion!

LANA LANG, INSECT QUEEN#1: THE INSECT QUEEN OF SMALLVILLE!

THE INSECT QUEEN OF SMALLVILLE

Panels from SUPERBOY #124/OCT 1965

Featuring Lana's first adventure as the INSECT QUEEN!

Every great hero needs an origin...

We're only two panels in and Lana's already hearing "voices". What's next?

I know if I grew up with Superboy, I would see this kind of thing once a week at least. Is it just me, or does this alien look like he could be Reep Daggle, Chameleon Boy?

WARNING TO OUR YOUNGER READERS : Never ever ever ever follow an alien back to his ship for any reason. Don't follow any flying, talking jewelry back to any alien ships either (I'm looking at you, Hal Jordan).

Lana Lang of Space Sector 2814 - Welcome to the Insect Lantern Corps!

Falling right to sleep after her exciting day, Lana awakens and hears a burglar downstairs; which she scares away with her giant, glowing butt. Why the burglar thinks this is a haunting I have no idea.

The next day, while playing badminton with Clark, Lana uses her new powers to heroically get the shuttlecock off the roof!

Later that day, Lana uses her powers again to, um, cheat on her homework? Apparently, Lana Lang knows about some species of insect that can communicate telepathically with its parents. We here at the Comic Book Confessional would really like to know the name of this insect species, but have this terrible feeling it doesn't exist (and it's not named in the issue).

This part's great. Even though Lana's mom thought-cast the homework to her, Lana still misspelled a word on her test.

The misspelled word?

"ECSTASY".



Finally, LL decides she should suit up...



Take flight...

And horn in on Superboy's turf.

Later, while fighting some gangsters in a warehouse, Lana gets buried under giant carpet rolls and turns into a moth larvae to eat herself free. Awesome.

Lana keeps up her coveted secret identity for a whole two panels after this.

Hearing that the Leaning Tower of Pizza (no, really) is about to fall due to high winds, Lana decides that the best course of action is to turn into a giant caterpillar!

And then she goes to rescue the pizza place, right?

Not exactly.


Seizing the moment to finally prove that Clark Kent is Superboy, Lana spins a giant cocoon around Clark. Clark must break free by using super-strength - thereby revealing his identity as Superboy. Good try, Lana but...

Or maybe you could help the people in trouble at the pizza place, Lana...

Give her time folks; she's new to this hero stuff.
Of course Clark speeds off and saves the pizza place before the cocoon can hit the ground.

When it does hit the ground, Clark emerges with beautiful butterfly wings!?!?

I have no idea where the wings came from...I really don't.

That's it for Lana's first adventure as the Insect Queen!

Next time on Lana Lang, Insect Queen we'll look at her "novel-length" adventure in Superboy #127; introducing Bee Boy!

Long Live Lana!

THE LOWDOWN ON LANA LANG!

THE LOWDOWN ON LANA

Text Page from SUPERBOY #127/MAR 1966

Since Lana Lang stars in this issue’s book-length novel, it’s only fitting that we devote a page to our heroine’s background.

Imagine being the daughter of a prominent explorer and archeologist - spending your vacations in strange, exotic spots all over the world! What could possibly make your life more exciting? What else but being the girl friend of Superboy? And all this certainly makes Lana Lang’s existence anything but dull!

Lana’s father is Professor Lewis Lang. Her mother‘s maiden name was Potter; her brother, and Lana’s uncle, is none other than Professor Phineas Potter, the famous eccentric inventor.

As a child, little Lana played with young Clark Kent, and sometimes witnessed his super-deeds when he was Superbaby; however, she was too young to realize he was doing seemingly impossible stunts.

Soon after she started school, Lana’s parents began traveling over the world, taking their daughter with them. Between trips, they returned for brief stays in Smallville, their home town; but it was not until Lana was in her teens that they came back for good.

It was soon after this that Lana first met Superboy. She immediately noticed his resemblance to her schoolmate, Clark Kent. (See Footnote No.1) Ever since, Lana has used every trick she could dream up to prove his identity. Being both inventive and impulsive, Lana has come up with some ingenious and, not infrequently, dangerous schemes. It has taken super-thinking on the Boy of Steel’s part to foil her.

Superboy did reveal his alter-ego to Lana’s great-grandmother, Laura Langdon, during a time-trip to 1876. (2) He little guessed that she would record this in a diary which her descendant, Lana, would one day find. The secret would have been out if Superboy’s Superdog, Krypto, hadn’t flown away with the page containing it before Lana could read it.

Lana became friends with young Lois Lane when the two met at Camp Hiawatha. (3) Neither guessed that, when they grew up, they would be rivals for the love of Superman. But a brief look at a time-scanner machine later showed Lana the future, when reporter Lois Lane would be known as Superman’s girl friend. The young red-head then concocted a scheme to arrange things so that Lois would not become a reporter. (4) However, her scheme backfired and Lois went on to study journalism at Raleigh College.


Lana’s efforts to attract Superboy have sometimes taken elaborate and bizarre forms. Once, with the connivance of Prof. Potter and a fake time machine, she impersonated Cleopatra. (6) However, the blue-clad boy spotted her imposture and took her into the past, where she met the genuine Cleopatra.

Lana once became a movie star when she was signed as the lead in a jungle picture. (5) Unfortunately, she soon developed a terribly swelled head. Superboy got himself cast opposite her and, to teach her a lesson, stole every scene from her. When the picture was released, it was the Boy of Steel who received top billing. But Lana got still better billing, where it really counted - on the cornerstone of the hospital wing which was built with her earnings from the movie.


Lana has met other super-heroes in her time. One of these was Star-Boy, of the Legion of Super-Heroes. (7) At this time, Star Boy had more powers than Superboy himself, due to contact with a strange comet. Later on, this wore off, leaving him with only his power of making things super-heavy. Discovering his secret identity of Thom Kallor, Lana threatened to reveal it unless he helped her in a scheme to make Superboy jealous. Star Boy gave in and took Lana to the 30th Century, where they faked a romance. Superboy was not fooled, though; and, with the help of a girl who was going with Star Boy at the time, he arranged for Lana to become the victim of the “Green-Eyed Monster.”


When Lana grew up, she moved to Metropolis, where she got a job as a TV newscaster with station WMET-TV. And, of course, she entered her friendly rivalry for Superman with Lois Lane.

As both teen-ager and adult, Lana has had super-powers. Once, on her birthday, Superboy got two packages mixed up and inadvertently gave Lana three capsules that could endow her with different super-powers. (8) Thanks to this goof, the Boy of Steel had his hands full for a while. Later on, he gave her flying power for a short time with a belt which transferred to her some of his ability to defy gravity. Another time, Prof. Lang brought back from Africa a remarkable belt which gave Lana super-powers when she wore it. (9) She became Gravity Girl; but she ended this career when she learned the belt made her invulnerable only to metals. As a grown-up, she once received super-powers via a blood transfusion from Superman, in order to guard her from an attempt on her life by Brainiac. (10) Before you tell us we made a boo-boo, let’s make one thing clear - Superman punctured his skin with one of his super-hard fingernails to give the transfusion.


But Lana’s greatest super-role is that which she enacts in this issue of SUPERBOY - the identity in which she’ll be back with more thrilling adventures in the future - the INSECT QUEEN!

1. “When Lana First Suspected Clark Kent.”
[SUPERBOY #87]
2. “The Three Ages of Superboy.”
[SUPERBOY #103]
3. “Lois Lane Meets Superboy.”
[ADVENTURE COMICS #261]
4. “The Girl Who Saw the Future Superboy.”
[SUPERBOY #90]
5. “Lana Lang, Hollywood Star.”
[ADVENTURE COMICS #312]
6. “Superboy’s Romance with Cleopatra.”
[ADVENTURE COMICS #291]
7. “Lana Lang and the Legion of Super-Heroes.”
[ADVENTURE COMICS #282]
8. Lana Lang’s Super-Birthday.”
[SUPERBOY #64]
9. “Gravity Girl of Smallville.”
[ADVENTURE COMICS #285]
10. “ Lana Lang, Superwoman.”
[LOIS LANE #17]


Here's a scan of the text piece as it originally appeared in SUPERBOY #127 :

This text article gives us a decent frame of reference regarding Miss Lang.

I kept all the spelling, punctuation and spacing of the original text (Spell Check was less than thrilled); the bracketed issue titles & numbers I placed into the footnotes myself.

Now that we're literally all on the same page, the Lana jokes will start coming fast and quick!

Tune in next time for "The Insect Queen of Smallville".

Long Live Lana!