Intermission — April 23 — Bigfoot Problems

Posted on April 23, 2026 by Brad Guigar

There are some Bigfoot problems that hit harder than others — and for certain legendary figures, male pattern baldness anxiety isn’t just about looks… it’s about legacy. Today’s comic imagines what happens when one very famous cryptid starts wondering if his myth might not survive a receding hairline.

What I’m Watching: Invincible, JJK, and the Great Animation Trade-Off

I’ve been watching Invincible with my sons, and I’ve got… thoughts.

First off: the story? Very, very good. Genuinely compelling stuff — even though the violence and gore is way past my personal comfort range. I'm not super comfortable with one character shooting another. The stuff that happens on a median-level episode of Invincible is a real challenge for me.

As someone who does NSFW comics, I'm constantly amazed at how perfectly acceptable Invincible is... yet an animated series based on Phil Foglio's XXXenophile would have people losing their ever-loving minds.

Further, it's a little disappointing to go from watching Jujutsu Kaisen (which we're also following at the moment) to watching Invincible.

JJK features jaw-dropping visuals and animation that constantly raises the bar episode after episode. It's phenomenal.

On the other side of the spectrum, Invincible clearly put all of its budget into getting celebrity voice talent. Some of them are very good.

I just wish a few of those Amazon dollars had been spent on the animation. Some of the scenes are pretty clearly PNGs that get enlarged to show an object moving through space, and it's a goddamned embarrassment.

But the story itself is very, very good.

Martin Nodell

Posted on December 11, 2006 by Brad Guigar

Martin Nodell, creator of Green Lantern, 1915-2006

Sad news to pass along. Martin Nodell, who helped create both the Green Lantern and the Pillsbury Doughboy, has passed away at age 91. If you’ve been to a comic convention, it’s likely you’ve seen him.

From the CBR obit: Born Nov. 15, 1915, in Philadelphia, Nodell got his start in comics as a freelance artist around 1938, but it was when he began working for editor Sheldon Mayer at All-American Comics that his career took off… Nodell asked Mayer what he needed to do to get regular assignments from the company, Mayer suggested he pitch a new character for their flag ship title, “All-American Comics.” That character was the Golden Age Green Lantern, Alan Scott. All-American Comics was later absorbed by DC Comics. Read the whole story.

The CBR peice is a condensed version of a longer, more detailed retrospective by Mark Evanier. An excerpt: [All-American Comics editor Sheldon] Mayer gave him a little work. When Nodell asked what it would take to get steady assignments, Mayer, who was looking for a new feature for the company’s signature title, All-American Comics, told him to come up with a character. Nodell returned a few days later with sketches and the germ cell of a strip called Green Lantern. He said the idea had come to him on the subway when he saw a man waving — you guessed it — a green lantern. Nodell also said he wrote and drew the first few pages of the first story…but he wasn’t a writer so Mayer brought in one of comics’ top writers, Bill Finger, to rewrite and finish the first tale.

On a personal note, I really liked Mr. Nodell for a number of reasons. First of all, the Green Lantern remains one of my favorite superheroes of all. His contribution to that character cements his position in the Pantheon of Comic Creators for me.

And secondly, he was a defining part of my first comic convention, the 2001 Pittsburgh Comic Convention. I got a GL T-shirt signed by him. As I was deciding whether to purchase a signed book as well, his wife said, “You’d better get it now. Marty doesn’t go to many comic conventions anymore.”

I saw him at almost every convention I attended ever since.

…Which, incidentally, was the inspiration for the inside joke in the Greystone strip below.