As February draws to a close, so does this series of entirely random choices of things about comics that I happen to find entirely awesome. For the final selection, then, how could I resist one of the greatest comic staples of all?

The secret identity concept is one that’s sadly been somewhat abandoned in recent years, beaten back by thoughts of realism and fear of seeming ridiculous or the such, and it’s a shame. Yes, the idea that a pair of glasses or domino mask could make your dual identity impossible to uncover by anyone with a pair of eyes and the ability to recognize voices is ridiculous, but that is a large part of its charm, for me; the secret identity is a massive portion of the wish fulfillment aspect of superheroes (It’s the “if only they knew the real me” thought process made concrete), and also something that’s become oddly real in the internet age where it’s easy to make up a name and post commentary online behind a digital mask of anonymity. We all have secret identities now, to an extent; I just wish that today’s superhero comics played up that aspect of modern life some more to reflect it.

You know what’s awesome about comics? That a character’s entire appeal can be summed up in five panels like this:

There’s so much to love about All Star Superman, but this page may be my favorite of the entire series, for the kindness it shows in its main character. It’s not that he stops Regan from jumping, it’s the way that he does it, and the fact that he silently holds her afterwards. We need more kindness in comics, I think.

It possibly says a lot about me to reveal that the Marvel characters that appeal to me aren’t the angst-ridden characters so caught up in their own soap operas that they can forget about the supervillain on the loose, nor the mysterious antihero who solves every problem begrudgingly with one of several teams even though they pretend to be a loner. Instead, give me the characters that have a good attitude, friendly and the ability to play well with others. Like this guy, in fact:

Henry McCoy, the blushing, blue-eyed (and blue-furred) Beast is definitely one of my favorite Marvel characters; I actually discovered him as an Avenger, and so the discovery that he has also been an X-Man – and later, a Defender – came as a surprise: Characters that work well in multiple teams? Without bickering or thought balloons about how they don’t fit in? Characters that other characters seem to like? What was this insanity? (Ben Grimm, interestingly enough, has the same appeal for me.) I’ve always appreciated the upbeat, unapologetically smart, nature of Hank, and found him to be a constantly under-used character, and one that could easily carry his own series if given the chance. Maybe we’ll get to see one post-Avengers vs. X-Men, if we’re lucky.

One of the occasionally frustrating things about modern superhero comics is the idea that it’s all happening despite the readers; that, as events follow events and creative teams change willy and nilly, readers are merely powerless spectators that have no voice or say in what they’re purchasing week in and week out. But, once, there was a comic that tried to give the audience some say in what was on the page. Ladies and gentlemen, comicsdemocracy in action:

The era of Dial H for Hero when the superheroes were all reader-created was a weird experiment in improvisation, with whoever was creating the stories (Bob Rozakis and Carmine Infantino, I seem to remember, for much of the time, although I may be wrong) stuck with whatever ended up being the best of that month’s ideas, most of which tended towards the terrible. Each month, the choices would seem a little more underwhelming, a little more clearly demonstrating how difficult it was to create well-designed, well-named, super-characters, but somehow that was part of its charm. The 1980s revival of Dial H predated “crowdsourcing” as a term, “interactivity” as a trend, but it was the personification of both, the kind of “amateur becomes pro just for a second” idea that would later breed American Idol, The X-Factor and The Voice. Except with less crying, of course.

For most comic readers of a certain age, there’s a period where Chris Claremont’s X-Men was their favorite comic as a kid; the particular era of Claremont X-Men can vary – Is it the Romita Jr. stuff? The Jim Lee run? What about Paul Smith’s short tenure? – but one thing about Claremont’s X-Men remains consistent: The lettering.

As the page above shows – It’s from Marvel Age Annual #3, by Claremont, Marc Silvestri and Terry Austin, if you’re wondering – Tom Orzechowski managed to deal with all manner of wordy panels and overwriting with ease, making the most filled panels both easy to read and graceful in their design. There’s a rumor that Claremont used to pay Orzechowski extra from his own pocket to ensure that he stayed on Uncanny; I have no idea if it’s true, but if it is, it was certainly money well-spent. Orz’s lettering is my internal model for what good lettering should look like – attractive, clear and never, ever interfering with the artwork no matter how many damn words are going on in the panel.

As February rolls on, so does the monthlong celebration of things that just so happen to be awesome in this world of comic books. But, after celebrating the likes of Veronica Lodge, Doctor Doom and the transformation of a thunder god into a frog, perhaps it’s time to think of the nicer things in life…

I’m sure I’ve talked about my love of Brandon Graham’s King City before; it looks great, is funny and smart as hell and manages to recast a number of science fiction cliches and ideas into something new – In short, it’s one of the best comics of the last few years, hands down. But what I’m really thinking about today is the way Graham makes King City into a romance comic, in many ways, whether it’s characters being broken hearted and remembering their relationships before things went wrong, characters in relationships that survive despite outside pressures or sexy bad girls leading our heroes down the road to temptation, King City is full of relationship drama and excitement, all of it done just wonderfully well. It’s one of the sexiest comics of the last few years, too, but also one of the most wistful and melancholy in it’s own way, too. Really, you should check it out if you haven’t already.

He’s the World’s Greatest Detective, one of the World’s Greatest Super-Heroes and also just a straight-up Super Friend. But one of the things that makes Batman so awesome? The fact that he can stand up to such interpretation so well.

More than any other character, the basic Batman design thrives no matter who is drawing him (I’m tempted to say that only Spider-Man really compares, and even he can stand or fall depending on the artist’s ability to do webs well). Good job, Bob Kane or whoever designed the character originally.

If the fact that a new work week has you feeling a little grumpy, then perhaps you need to consider a new motivational role model… a man who lets little stand in the way of getting what he wants, and remains eager for new challenges no matter what setbacks he’s suffered in previous escapades. Ladies and Gentlemen, the man we should all look to for inspiration:

As much as I may want to explain just what makes Doctor Doom one of comics’ greatest characters – definitely one of the medium’s greatest villains, I think he’d prefer it if I just wrote Bah! Doom needs no explanation! instead. Which, in itself, may make my point.

It’s Friday, and it’s the thirteenth entry on the month-long celebration of the awesome in comics, so why not go for something a little spooky, not to mention ooky? Step inside that elevator, dear readers, and press the button marked “13″…

The Thirteenth Floor was a short horror strip that started in the British anthology Scream before jumping over to Eagle when Scream folded. Written by Judge Dredd, Batman and Lobo (amongst many, many other things) writers John Wagner and Alan Grant under the psuedonym “Ian Holland,” and beautifully drawn by Jose Ortiz, the strip featured various ne’er-do-wells being given their come-uppance by Max, the somewhat psychotic sentient computer custodian of a tower block who has somehow managed to turn his thirteenth floor into a holodeck of fear and misery. Funny, gruesome and shamelessly addictive, this is another of the hidden treasures of British comics that’s well worth searching out for those who like things like Creepy or Eerie.

The first page of any comic is an important one; whether you go for the slow build or the big moment, your first page has to be something that the reader will see and think “What? I have to see more!” for whatever reason. With that in mind, I humbly present my choice for the greatest first page in comics ever:

Yeah, I know; everyone loves Kirby, right…? But there is so much to love about the opening of OMAC #1, whether it’s the bizarro body horror of the image of Lila the Build-A-Friend, the creepiness of her dialogue (made all the more wonderful by the “Lila… LILA!” from an off-panel OMAC, although you don’t know who he is, just yet) or the melodramatic splendor of Kirby’s narration. It’s eye-catching, pleasingly ugly, and the kind of thing that dares you to read on. Comics awesome? It’s this.

This one doesn’t need an explanation, does it? I don’t think this one needs an explanation.

Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim series. If any comic of recent years earns a place in whatever official canon there may be of downright classic comics, it’s got to be this series, right? A deserved phenomenon, Scott Pilgrim was that rare comic that genuinely just kept getting better and better, with O’Malley’s skill and talent growing with each new release, and he started in a pretty good place (Anyone who liked SP and hasn’t read Lost At Sea, his first book with Oni, you’re really missing out). Just downright comic book awesome? Yeah, Scott Pilgrim definitely fits the bill.

Fittingly – if, honestly, entirely coincidentally – for Valentine’s Day, today’s piece of comics awesome isn’t an idea or a creator or a storyline, but a character – One of the three characters in what may be comics’ most long-lived love triangle, now that I come to think of it.

Veronica Lodge, ladies and gentlemen. The smart choice may be Betty Cooper, as evidenced by the above panel that shows that Veronica literally thinks in “Nasty Schemes”, but what is love if not something that refuses to be beaten down by “smart choices” at times? She’s rich, she’s occasionally heartless and she won’t let anyone stand in her way unless the status quo or plot demands it, and because of that, she’s absolutely spectacular; somewhere in the “Comics That Never Were But Should Be”verse, there’s a “Lois Lane Vs. Veronica Lodge” miniseries that I would love to read. One day, perhaps… one day…

In somewhat of a change of pace from previous installments, today’s option for comics awesome is, simply, one of the greatest autobiographical comics of all time.

Eddie Campbell’s Alec (These days available in Top Shelf’s omnibus Alec: The Years Have Pants) is one of the funniest, smartest and most honest comics that’s ever created, filled with a love of humanity and an off-kilter sensibility all of its own. As if that weren’t enough – and the prospect of thirty years of comics telling Campbell’s own life story for an even longer period doesn’t seem particularly exciting to you – then How To Be An Artist, one of the series collected within the omnibus has the added appeal of being one of the best histories of what happened to British (and, because of Alan Moore, American) comics in the 1980s that you could hope to find. Seriously, comics just don’t get any better than this.

For years, science fiction had struggled with the idea of whether or not robots – should they one day exist – would be able to have emotions like we humans do, and then in one fell swoop, Roy Thomas and John Buscema ended that conversation forever with today’s slice of awesomeness:

There’s a lot to love about the Vision in general, but this splash page may be his greatest moment. The art (which, admittedly, makes the Vision’s belt look more like a corset; he’s apparently one slim android)! The caption! You don’t even need the rest of the story; everything anyone needs to know is right here, on this one page, a perfect piece of pop art. Just genuinely amazing stuff.

If it’s Wednesday, then it’s time for another object of comic book awesome delight to be celebrated and, as the Stone Roses once so poignantly put it, adored. Get on your M-Vest, people!

Yes, today is all about Chris Bachalo’s hands. Okay, not really – although, really, doesn’t Bachalo draw great hands? Whether in his early career, where they were all thin and stretchy or his current look, where everyone had Ben Grimm blocky fingers, that man gives good hand – today’s star is Shade The Changing Man. From early days as another example of Steve Ditko’s completely underrated creations (Even ignoring Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, look at the Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, the Creeper, Hawk and Dove, Shade… the man could toss off compelling characters with seeming ease, back in the day) through Peter Milligan’s Vertigo revival, where weirdness met tragedy met self-conscious humor and the whole thing became an extremely enjoyable melodrama to his current revival as a member of the New 52′s Justice League Dark, Shade has never been a massively successful character but his stories have always offered up something different from the norm, something to appeal to fans of the off-kilter and curious. Long may he change.

Okay, so today’s dose of comics awesome may seem a little unusual, I have to admit, considering it’s not a character or a concept that I’m all about, but a visual. But it’s no less wonderful for all that…:

The title page of Darwyn Cooke’s The Man With The Getaway Face, ladies and gentleman; a spectacular piece of design – it’s like a comic version of a Saul Bass title sequence – that’s also a spectacular piece of comics as the black gets cut away (It’s bandages, we learn from the next page) to reveal the title. Look at where the color and the white lie in the first two panels; the logo placement is already there, with the credits revealing pieces of it already. But outside the sequential aspect of it, the page is just a beautifully composed piece of design, with the balance between black, white and color completely right and in just the right place to pull the eye down towards the title at the bottom. This is an amazing page, both evocative of the period of the story, and timeless in terms of how damn good it is. More comics should be so stylish when telling you what they’re called.

Another week begins, and with it another reminder of all things awesome in the wide world of comics. For example, the extra terrestrial editor of the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic:

2000AD‘s Tharg the Mighty, one of comics’ few fictional decision makers – Kindly keep your snarky rejoinders to yourself for now, thank you, frustrated comic professionals – and the reason multiple generations of British citizens know what “Splundig Vur Thigg,” “Scrotnig” and “Zarjaz!” all mean. As all who read 2000AD growing up already know, Tharg’s presence in the anthology – whether in his editorials at the start of each issue or his occasional starring roles in short strips on special occasions – are a large part of what made the comic such a special experience. For everyone else, imagine a hipper Stan Lee who’s also an alien that’s here on Earth to defend us from the threat of the Thrill-Suckers. Now I think you understand the awesome.

In February, many people’s thoughts turn to love as they celebrate Valentine’s Day. Here at Blog@, it’s a month-long celebration of the awesomeness present in comics, including #3:

The Flash of Two Worlds! Not only does it introduce the multiverse to comics, but look at the little hands on the caption boxes on the right of the page. How awesome is that?

Continuing a random but heartfelt series of images of awesome things from comics, with #2:

Walt Simonson turned Thor into a frog. And, perhaps even more awesome, it really worked.

In an attempt to combat negativity about comics – my own, at least; you guys are on your own if you don’t want to join in – I’ve decided that, every weekday throughout February, I’m going to post one thing I think is awesome about comic books, just to remind myself how many things I just adore about the medium and all it has been and can do. It’s that simple: Every week day, one image of awesome, with little to no explanation behind it. To start off, then, Week Day Awesome #1:

Jack Kirby’s sense of scale and design. I mean, just look at that double page spread from The Eternals #2; even without the captions and dialogue, you’d still know that something amazing and important was going on.