Jon Hartman's clay Thing bust!

The world is a place fraught with danger, full of tribulations and travails, but there are still some good things in it, as evidenced by this NEW THING BUST BY JON HARTMAN!

Is it my birthday? Yes, it is, but the reason I got this new addition to the Thing club is instead because...I wanted it a lot, and it's tough to say no to the Thing.

What you see here is a custom order from Pittsburgh's own Jon Hartman, who created this model of Ben Grimm, perhaps staring out into the Negative Zone as the hordes of Annihilus come barreling in toward the Baxter Building. I saw some of Jon's work on other models and knew that I had to get one for myself.

Jon used Sculpey Premo to create this work, a modeling clay that is shaped and then baked to maintain its form. It's attached to the wooden base, where it will sit for generations to observe, probably in a museum or something after I kick it. The model sits just about four inches high on top of the base. The shade of orange is just right and the individual rocks are smooshed just right into place. (That is a technical term.)

I debated asking for the mutated, "pineapple" version of the Thing when ordering this. I couldn't stray from the classic Thing, though. After getting this in the mail, I think I made the right choice, and I think that I will also eventually purchase another of Pineapple Thing. These are important decisions.

Spider-Man visits Pittsburgh in Amazing Spider-Man 292

A while ago, I wrote about a two-issue story in which the Avengers visited Pittsburgh, and of Thor's quick stopover in the Steel City. Both were fun, even if they mostly only featured generic references to the city. When I saw that 1987's Amazing Spider-Man #292 had Pittsburgh as its backdrop, I had to grab it and take some pictures. Let's see what awaits our hero!

Unlike the Avengers and Thor issues, this Spider-Man story is chock full of mostly accurate Pittsburgh references. and we start out with downtown Pittsburgh, the Allegheny River, and Three Rivers Stadium! The stadium would have had to be about ten times its size to look like this from downtown, but I'll allow it. And we also start off strong with references to both the Pirates and the Steelers, longtime tenants of the all-purpose stadium.

Spider-Man then somehow swings past the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning, which is miles away and is not surrounded by any buildings he could really swing from, but, well, okay. Spidey is following after Mary Jane Watson, to whom he has recently proposed, but apparently MJ needs time to think it over by talking with her sister, who lives in Pittsburgh. This is the first time I learned that MJ even had a sister! Who is this mysterious sibling who for some reason lives in Pittsburgh? Why didn't she live with their Aunt Anna in New York City? Questions abound.

This issue is basically just one Pittsburgh reference after another. I love 'em, of course, but I wonder why writer David Michelinie and artist Alex Saviuk decided to make this issue one big travelogue. Here we see stately Mellon Square...

...and now we're at Point State Park. Wait, this is basically where Spidey was on page one, across the river from Three Rivers Stadium. Why did he swing to Oakland just to turn around and go all the way back to...you know what? Never mind. I'll just enjoy this for what it is. It looks like Saviuk drew the fountain at Point State Park, but the water got colored green like a tree. I'll admit that I do not know if the fountain was running in '87. I guess there could have been a tree there back then.

What's this? The Gateway Clipper over MJ's shoulder? Why yes, it is!

Peter and Mary Jane discuss her sister's plight as they take a stroll through the park, where MJ mentions the nearby Duquesne University.

Meanwhile, there's some shady business going down at a nearby industrial park. This might actually be the industrial park off of the 31st Street Bridge, which has since been retrofitted into the 31st Street Studios television soundstage.

But the main story takes us back to Duquesne University. I think this is supposed to be the Old Main administrative building?

Both the Avengers story and this one pay special attention to the Liberty Bridge, which is right off of campus, as opposed to the Ft. Pitt Bridge, which I think is more visually appealing. It seems that the Spider-Slayer is also in the 'burgh, which is tough news for Peter. I guess using the Liberty Bridge makes sense when you want to bring in that ultimate Pittsburgh visual reference...

...the Duquesne Incline! I suppose it is pretty iconic. But I think that those not from Pittsburgh might be overthinking how much it's actually used anymore.

At the top of the Incline is, of course, scenic Mt. Washington, which is also name dropped in this issue. They made sure to name pretty much every location in this book.

"We didn't get the opportunity to see the Incline car well enough on the last page. Put it in again."

Wait, "the trolley"?! I take back everything good I've said so far.

So Mary Jane has a sister, and also two young nephews?! And one of them is, I guess, a die-hard Pirates fan, even wearing the '70s-style pillbox hat? Do we ever see these people again?

Our last scene for the book takes place at the Pittsburgh International Airport. Mysteries solved and villains defeated, Peter and MJ head back to New York.

But not before Mary Jane accepts Peter's marriage proposal! Wait, what? What I thought was a throwaway issue is actually one of some spider-historical importance! It's actually the issue that leads directly into Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21 - the wedding issue!

The back cover confirms it! I had no idea.

This whole issue was a pretty wild ride and I'm glad that I picked it up. It managed to squeeze in over a dozen Pittsburgh references in just over 20 pages. I'd love to find and share Pittsburgh in other comics, too, so if anyone has any suggestions, send 'em over!

Pittsburgh in Journey into Mystery #120: With My Hammer In Hand...!"

A few months ago, I wrote about the two-part Avengers "Peril in Pittsburgh!" storyline from the early 1980s. That story specifically references 1965's Journey into Mystery #120, Thor's debut title, so I picked that one up for the purpose of seeing how Pittsburgh was portrayed in the issue.

The Avengers storyline includes a character who ostensibly picked up a piece of Thor's broken hammer, which, in a convoluted way, let to the creation of a kind-of villain with a sliver of Mjolnir's power. Thor broke his hammer in an early '60s battle, which led him to reforge the weapon in the place he thought most suitable on earth - a mill in Pittsburgh.

Here's the cover. "Thor" was overshadowing the "Journey into Mystery" part of the title by quite a bit at this point. Oh, and there are a lot of jokes - or at least one obvious one - to be made about the caption. We were all thinking it.

This page-one title is a little better, but still...sheesh. Anyway, we're greeted by the all-star creative cast of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Vince Colletta and Artie Simek. This was from the time when Stan and Jack were handling pretty much every book at Marvel. Thor, wearing eye protection and sticking his hands directly into a blast furnace, re-forges his hammer as awestruck onlookers gawk and provide some exposition.

And on page two...he's done! You'll notice Kirby's photocopy in the background of the first panel, which he sometimes did. And the everyday joes cheer! But now it's time to test the hammer out by destroying some property.

Thor, no!! That's a support beam! You've doomed us all!!

During this display, one of the workers exclaims "The Mets would trade their whole first team for a guy who can do THAT!", and are you kidding me, Stan?! You make it a point to note that Thor has travelled to Pittsburgh, PA, and the guy talks about the Mets? This is one of the only times where it's prudent to namecheck the Pirates, and you go with the Mets. The battlin' Bucs, at this point, were only a few years removed from their 1960 World Series championship, and in 1965 they had a lineup that included Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Bill Mazeroski, Vern Law, Elroy Face and Bob Friend! They won 90 games that year! They were a pretty good team! Why is this guy talking about the Mets?!?

Well, anyway, I'm sure there's more to this story, so let's move on. On page three, Thor says goodbye to the workers at the mill...

...and then he flies away, and that's it. He's in Pittsburgh for two pages plus a few panels on the third. All of the connections made in Avengers #192-93 were made up after the fact, including the all important "I found a piece of Mjolnir and made it into a keychain" plot point. This was very disappointing to learn!

But, well, we're here, so let's check out what else happens in this issue! Thor arrives back in New York (sigh) where he finds that Jane Foster is missing. He tries to enlist some help from the Avengers in finding her, but the original members have mostly disbanded, being replaced by the likes of Hawkeye, the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver.

Oh, here's an ad for some of the other books that were on sale at the same time, including Fantastic Four #43: "Lo, There Shall Be an Ending!", which is a great book.

Later, Thor runs into...is that Zsa Zsa Gabor??

And soon, Thor comes face-to-face with Crusher Creel, the Absorbing Man!

There are some real gems here as far as ads are concerned. This one page has the classic X-Ray specs ad, plus one for the Strat-O-Matic!

This issue had a backup tale as well, which also, well, featured Thor and his fellow Asgardians.

The letters page, "The Hammer Strikes!", is a good one in this issue. It starts off with a writer kind of(?) complaining about Jack Kirby's art, but then claims that Thor is the most exciting title around. Thanks, Mike Gable of Ridgefield Park, NJ.

And at the very end of the issue, we have two more great old ads. The one on the right is fun, offering up an old army Jeep for $278, apparently? I'm sure there was some fine print there somewhere.

The second ad, which is maybe the Columbia Record Club for the 1960s, offers up 10 records with a total of 60 songs. This was 1965, so we're talking about the confluence of the British Invasion, Motown, Surf Rock and the last gasp of 1950s Pop. Look at that list! I see the Beatles, Monkees, Kinks, Temptations, Supremes, Dixie Cups...I hope that teens took up this offer and danced awkwardly, just like the illustration suggests.

Well. This was kind of an underwhelming issue to pick up, because I thought that it'd tie in more to the Avengers storyline or at least show Pittsburgh a bit more. And what it did show was pretty generic. But what can you do? At least I got to laugh at the title for a bit.

"Peril in Pittsburgh!"

It's a well-known comic book fact that most superheroes live either in New York City or in a fictional NYC placeholder like Metropolis or Gotham. But every once in a while, there are a few comics that break out of that mold and visit other real-life locations. Pittsburgh, I'd say, has been a bit underrepresented in comics in general, though there are exceptions. Firestorm is probably the most well known mainstream character to call the Steel City his home, and fellow Western PA creator DJ Coffman set his "Hero By Night" Platinum Comics series in Pittsburgh.

I recently picked up the two-part Avengers storyline that brought Iron Man and Wonder Man (and eventually the full Avengers lineup) to Pittsburgh, and I thought I'd give it a look here on the ol' blog. The storyline runs through Avengers 192 and 193. The A+ team of George Perez and Joe Sinnott drew the cover to issue 192, and it seems that Perez had read up on all of the latest Pittsburgh cliches for the non-superhero stuff: men in hardhats (with literal blue collars), smokestacks, industry. Checks all of the boxes.

If you look closely at the guy in the middle, I think his hardhat says "Weiner". Cool.

If you've ever seen a Monday Night Football Steelers broadcast, you've seen this shot. And you've heard them talk about the city's confluence of three rivers. So we're hitting the ground running, right from page one. This issue had a cover date of February, 1980, meaning it came out right a the end of the decade, and when this image still probably fit for Pittsburgh. Fun fact: they do still make steel in Pittsburgh forty years later, but it's actually not the only thing that happens, or has ever happened, in the city.

The plot of the story revolves around this: steelworker Joseph Conroy, who in Journey into Mystery #120 grabbed a sliver of Thor's broken hammer (gotta find that issue now, too), is thrown into a cauldron of molten steel. Simon Williams (Wonder Man) and Tony Stark (Iron Man) are in town, as Stark is considering purchasing the plant.

I have to believe that the second balloon was added at the last minute.

Conroy's co-workers give him a gruesome burial, and then get right back to work, and no one seems too bothered by the fact that someone just got incinerated right before their eyes. What can you do, I guess?

But then, as a result of holding onto the Mjolnir sliver, Conroy is transformed into the Pittsburgh Steeler! No, wait, I guess he chose another name. Okay.

There's a fight, which Iron Man politely narrates...

Oh! And there's a Mr. Fantastic ad for Hostess Fruit Pies! Wait, it's for Twinkies? No, I refuse to believe that Hostess made comics for any product other than their fruit pies. If I'm not mistaken, I'd say this ad has art from Sal Buscema.

I feel like Captain America is being overly dismissive of Pittsburgh here. Has he seen the air quality ratings for the last 50 years?

"Battleground: Pittsburgh!" is a great title. I like it.

Issue 192 was pretty light on any Pittsburgh-specific details. Yes, it takes place at a steel mill, and I guess a lot of folks (still) associate that with Pittsburgh, but this story really could have taken place anywhere. After reading this, my hopes weren't very high for the second chapter:

"Inferno Unleashed!" The other title was better. This issue has a cover by none other than Frank Miller and Bob McLeod! And is that supposed to be an incline car??

On the first page, one thing stood out to me: the plot credit for the Pittsburgh Comix Club. I've gotta believe that the writer or editorial team knew that they had to add a little more specific information in this issue, so they sought out a local fan club to help out.

The Pittsburgh Comix Club is an interesting group worth reading about; you can find more info on them here and here.

The issue opens up with a quick recap of the previous one. Joseph Conroy is now Joe, and the colorist seems to have gotten a note from editorial, as well.

The Avengers come to Pittsburgh, and its citizens make, okay, a pretty good joke.

Everyone decides on "Inferno" for the misunderstood villain's name, as he hunts down those responsible for his untimely demise. One guy narrates his own death, as he is rather unceremoniously crushed by a barge.

Oh, hey! And then the Pittsburgh references start to flow. The Pittsburgh Comix Club is coming through in the clutch, just like Bill Mazeroski in the 1960 World Series! Inferno is apparently near the Liberty Bridge, which is moving away from downtown, and is near Duquesne University, the Civic Arena (since torn down) and the Liberty Tunnels!

This would have been a good time to use "jagoff" instead of "jerk", but okay. You can't win 'em all.

Pretty soon, there's another reference, this time to the famous Duquesne Incline! To make it from the Liberty Bridge to this particular incline station in five minutes would be possible, I guess, if there were no traffic.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE A STEELERS REFERENCE

And here, on page 18, we can only assume that the artists found a Pittsburgh reference guide, because that is undeniably the Duquesne Incline station depicted.

Yep - it checks out.

Casual misogyny...check...

And wait...there's even a reference to Mt. Washington, at the top of the incline, and maybe even a shot of the fountain at Point State Park (even though this isn't the view you'd see from the observation trail)? Better yet, the story's real villain, the steel mill owner who, through a rather convoluted scheme, had Joe Conroy killed, lives on Mt. Washington, a wealthy part of the city.

The Avengers apprehend him by breaking through the world's largest window!

And then they let Inferno simply walk into the river, I guess never to return? The Avengers sure do like to have loose ends tied up, no matter how it has to happen!

Oh, and there's an ad for Star Trek: The Motion Picture on the back cover!

So, this wasn't a great story overall, but it's obvious that the Pittsburgh Comix Club had a big hand in adding a lot of references to the second half, and that, at least, was enjoyable. Both of the issues felt quite a lot like filler to me, and the story ends with a mystically-powered force of nature walking off unchecked toward a populated city, but I guess we'll have to take what we can get with these issues. It was still fun to see Pittsburgh so prominently featured in two Bronze Age issues of the Avengers.