A FRANCO FRIDAYS (DOUBLE) BIRTHDAY SALUTE! By FRANCO What do Luke Skywalker and Superman have in common? Quite a bit more than you might think! Aside from the obvious, they both share a birthday. Mark Hamill and Christopher Reeve were both born on this day, a year apart (Hamill in 1951, Reeve in 1952). Too much of a stretch you say? Well, how about the fact that I’ve met both of them? So they both share a birthday AND the fact that I’ve met both of them? Now we’re delving into Twilight Zone (or X-Files, depending on your age) territory, and your mind is blown! OK. You’re into all this stuff and you say to me, “Franco, I already knew all of that!” WOW! I’d say. You’re good! But how about that they starred together in John Carpenter’s 1995 remake of Village of the Damned? Yeah, not so up on your nerd facts now, are you? Seriously though, a big thrill for me when meeting each of them. The contributions from both of them to pop culture and my own imagination were immeasurable. One thing I did, but also did not, know about Mark Hamill in particular was his voice work. I know what you’re thinking, “Huh?” In the immortal words of Ricky Ricardo: ‘‘Lemme ‘splain.” If you’re a geek worth any measure of salt you know that Mark is the ultimate voice of the Joker, in Batman: The Animated Series, video games and so forth. And I knew he did other voices, but two that I had no idea about (more actually) were shows I would watch with my kid (like I needed an excuse of a kid to watch them): He was the voice of Hobgoblin from the 1990s Spider-Man cartoon series and Skips from Regular Show. So cool and awesome to find out. It inspired me to make some quick sketches. Happy birthday to Mark Hamill and the late Christopher Reeve! — Want more FRANCO’S FREE-FOR-ALL FRIDAYS? Come back next week! — MORE — THE RIME OF THE ORANGE MARINER: An Epic 85th Anniversary AQUAMAN Poem. Click here. — THE HAIR OF STAR TREK: Beam Us to the Space Salon! Click here. — Franco and his forehead have traveled the world and he writes and draws stuff. Franco is the creator, artist and writer of Patrick the Wolf Boy and Aw Yeah...
FRANCO’S FREE-FOR-ALL FRIDAYS… By FRANCO I’m not a poet and haven’t done this since high school but I’ll give it a try: ODE TO AQUAMAN Aquaman Aquaman King of the deep and the wet You as a superhero, no one would have taken that bet But you showed them all with your orange scaled suit, And your belt with an ‘A’ and green fins on your boot. When the Justice League flies high in the sky, I bet You look up and let out a sigh. When they head to outer space in the nothingness and the cold, Did you think, just like these others, you could hold? Avoiding Omega beams, against the god of Apokolips, When you’d rather stay behind in the bay of Metropolis You’d rather be with your real friends, that pod of dolphins that just migrated. In the midst of the melee, all you can think is ‘When am I gonna get rehydrated?’ So here’s to the monarch of seaweed and brine …as long as you don’t get caught on some fisherman’s line. I hope you last another eighty five years, Showing everyone the proper way to swim and splashing new frontiers! Happy Eighty-Fifth Anniversary. Also Batman has gadgets but he hates getting wet! — Aquaman first appeared in More Fun Comics #73, which came out Sept. 19, 1941. — Want more FRANCO’S FREE-FOR-ALL FRIDAYS? Come back next week! — MORE — THE HAIR OF STAR TREK: Beam Us to the Space Salon! Click here. — Face It: SPACE GHOST Is the Most Realistic Superhero of Them All. Click here. — Franco and his forehead have traveled the world and he writes and draws stuff. Franco is the creator, artist and writer of Patrick the Wolf Boy and Aw Yeah Comics! Franco has worked on books/comics, including Tiny Titans and Superman Family Adventures. Franco was also a high-school teacher and is one of the principal owners of Aw Yeah Comics retail stores. Dan made Franco add that he has won three Eisners. His new books, Action Cat & Adventure Bug: Let’s Do This!, with Art Baltazar, and Ninja Kaiju: Unleashed, with Scoot McMahon, both from Papercutz, are out...
An APPRECIATION for the actor, who has died at 65. By FRANCO…
FRANCO’S FREE-FOR-ALL FRIDAYS!
