National Hug Your Cat Day is as comforting and as mysterious as the furry feline we long to snuggle.

With no known origin for the day to cite, we’ll focus on the kitties to cuddle.

The mascot for the day is Felix the Cat.

Considered the first, real animated movie star, Felix was created by Otto Messmer. He proved more popular than the live stars of the silent era in which he was spawned.

Not long after his debut on the silver screen, Felix found himself part of the King Features stable syndicated in over 250 newspapers worldwide. Pat Sullivan was the first to bring Felix to papers, but Papa Messmer took over art duties in 1927.

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When the Sunday strip was discontinued in 1943, Messmer began an 11-year run on the Dell comic book incarnation of his famous feline. He would write and draw the bi-monthly series.

Harvey Comics would later pick up the license.

During his heyday, Felix proved popular enough he was adopted by Fighter Squadron 2-B as their mascot. His likeness holding a bomb would be painted on each of the F-3 bi-planes.

Felix was even the first cartoon-related balloon featured in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in 1933.

His image would be the first to be broadcast over television airwaves. The engineers at RCA Research Labs used a rotating doll of the cat as their test subject.

This would prove prophetic as the pussy cat would be featured in 264, five-minute animated episodes for Trans-Lux TV. The cartoons would run continuously for the next 20 years.

In 2002, TV Guide ranked Felix the Cat number 28 on its 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time list.

To celebrate the day, here are some interesting facts about our furry companions:

There are more than 500 million domestic cats in the world with approximately 40 recognized breeds;

Over 30 percent of North American households own a cat;

A cat can travel at a top speed of approximately 31 miles per hour over a short distance;

Most cats give birth to a litter of one to nine kittens. The largest litter on record is 19;

Cat’s brains are biologically more similar to a human brain than it is to a dog’s;

Isaac Newton invented the cat flap;

Female cats are right pawed, while male cats are more often left pawed.

Finally, the one fact we all know and need to acknowledge, cats are the best. Period.

June is National Cancer Survivor Month.

While many of us have the unfortunate ability to put a face to the month, Four Color Holidays is using Deadpool’s scarred visage.

One of the Weapon X candidates, Wade Wilson, aka Deadpool, was diagnosed with an unspecific cancer. Due to his accelerated healing power, Deadpool is able to regenerate any damaged or destroyed portion of his body. That includes his normal and cancerous cells.

Following his debut in New Mutants 98, Deadpool bounced around the Marvel Mutant U associated with co-creator Rob Liefeld. He became a regular in X-Force before branching out to guest shots in The Avengers, Daredevil, and Heroes for Hire.

In 1993 Deadpool earned his own mini-series, The Circle Chase, penned by co-creator Fabian Nicieza and penciled by Joe Madureira. A moderate fan favorite, he returned in a second mini scribed by Mark Waid and penciled by Ian Churchill.

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In 1997 Deadpool received his first solo series. Joe Kelly and Ed McGuinness guided the new Merc with a Mouth through the first 36 issues. Christopher Priest replaced Kelly with issue 37.

Priest left after a year with other authors telling Wade’s tale until Gail Simone took over with issue 65. The book was “re-launched” with issue 69 as Agent X.

After the confusion of the reboot, Deadpool wandered the Marvel U for a bit until he was tagged for Cable & Deadpool in 2004 co-starring fellow mutant Cable. The buddy book lasted 50 issues until it, too, was cancelled to make way for Deadpool’s second solo series.

Marvel’s annual crossover bid for 2008 was Secret Invasion. Deadpool played a major role in aiding Nick Fury and S.H.E.I.L.D as they halted the attack. Daniel Way and Ale Garza were the artistic team for the series.

Deadpool seemed to blossom as the 2010s dawned. Launched were The Deadpool Corps, Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth, Deadpool MAX.

As Marvel continued to morph and reboot, so did Deadpool with Brian Posehn (or Bert on Big Bang Theory) at the helm. Posehn earned the dubious honor of having written the most Deadpool stories as he guided him through the previous decade.

In 2016 Ryan Reynolds appeared on the silver screen as Deadpool in his first movie. Reynolds reprised the role in 2018, both movies being financially successful. A third film is in the works.

While cancer treatment has improved, an estimated 5,200 cases are expected to be diagnosed each day resulting in 1,670 daily deaths.

For more information, please log onto the American Cancer Society’s Web page.

There are about 350 species of parrots in the world. Nearly half are endangered and about a quarter critically endangered.

To recognize the plight and pomp of these intelligent birds, May 31 is World Parrot Day.

The last day of May first featured the feathered fowl in 2004 as organized by The World Parrot Trust. The inaugural gathering was held in Trafalgar Square in London. Following a march to Downing Street, the Prime Minister was given a petition containing 33,000 signatures asking for a ban on importing wild parrots to the European Union.

The European Union Commission released a statement noting a permanent ban on wild bird imports including parrots in 2007.

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Illegal trade of wild parrots is a major contributing factor in their scarcity. Other factors include, destruction of habitats and hunting.

Some parrots live for over 60 years. In the wild, they usually mate for life. Its beak is strong enough to break open a metal cage. The most intelligent parrot is the African grey parrot.

With some parrot facts out of the way, let’s have some fun with Deadpool, aka Wade Wilson. At the expense of Hydra Bob.

As shown to the side, today’s comic book(s) is/are Deadpool issue(s) 13 and 14.

The fourth volume of Deadpool, and the third solo incarnation, began in 2008, on the back of the company crossover Secret Invasion.

By issue 13, Daniel Way had the Merc with a Mouth ready for new adventures. This time on the high seas.

Using money from a disguised Bullseye, Deadpool bought a sailing vessel seeking to plunder unsuspecting seamen. To help, Wade tagged Hydra Bob for help.

Bob, or Robert Dobalina, first appeared in Cable & Deadpool 38. Bob became a member of Hydra at the urging of his wife as a stable career choice. Deadpool would coerce him to leave after torturing the minion.

Over the course of Deadpool’s adventures, Bob would be called upon many times for various assists. For the Wave of Mutilation storyline, Bob is forced to wear a parrot costume in the warm Caribbean climate causing heat exhaustion.

His most nagging malady is the bamboo stick Deadpool uses to “discipline” his henchman with. Bob does wind up with the girl and gold, but his loyalty to his wife leads him to reveal the fact as the sun sets and the story ends.

While this has nothing to do with the plight of parrots or the actual day itself, the two issues are a very fun read.

If truly interested in the origins of the World Parrot Day, learn more about the beautiful birds, make a donation to the appropriate charity or even read up on President Andrew Jackson’s bilingual pet parrot, Poll.

Tune in tomorrow for more Deadpool action.

After a cloistered past coupla years, Americans are ready to hit the roads once more. Today is the day to do so.

Today is National Road Trip Day.

National Road Trip Day is the Friday before Memorial Day, the official kickoff to the summer road trip season.

Our official travelers are the “hard-traveling heroes” Green Lantern and Green Arrow. The pair bid farewell to the end of the Silver Age and the 1960s as they discovered America, faults and all, for a celebrated 14-issue run chronicled by Denny O’Neil Neal Adams.

The term “hard-traveling heroes” wasn’t coined until the early 1990s when their exploits were first reprinted in the burgeoning trade paperback genre. They had first been reprinted in the Paperback Library version of Paperback Comics in 1972. The book featured black and white reprints of Green Lantern (1959) issues 76 and 77.

That same year a second volume, in the same format, was offered featuring reprints of issues 78 and 79.

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In 1983, DC reprinted the issues in what has been termed as the Baxter series. The seven-issue run offered two issues per book, completely reprinting the original storyline.

The “hard-traveling heroes” were the brainchild of writer Denny O’Neil. DC editor Julie Schwartz offered him the floundering character allowing the writer carte blanch to boost sales.

O’Neil returned the space-faring policeman of sector 2184 and rooted him on Earth in the dying counterculture movement of the previous decade. With liberal Oliver Queen, aka, Green Arrow, they shared experiences and differed in opinions as they traversed the highways and byways of America.

False sales figures brought their adventures to a premature close with issue 89, but the storyline peaked with issues 85 and 86. Those featured Arrow’s teen sidekick and sometime Teen Titan, as a heroin addict in one of the first serious looks at drugs in the pages of comicdom.

At times the story telling was heavy handed, but the tales were recognized beyond comic book pages by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Newsweek.

Now, plot a course for your own adventure or relive part of comic book and American history. Either way, you won’t be disappointed.

National Solitaire Day celebrates its inaugural anniversary today, courtesy of Microsoft and all those participating in the card game that’s already passed its bicentennial birthday.

Solitaire, or Klondike, features an addictive play utilizing all 52-playing cards. Participants are challenged to arrange those 52 cards from lowest to highest in the four different suites for victory.

It can also mean any tabletop game played by one person, sometimes even including dominos. For our purposes, we’re using the solitaire everyone knows.

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Microsoft first included a digital version of the game with its Windows 3.0 version. In addition to creating a craze, it aided people in the use of learning how to manipulate the mouse and became the most played video game in the history of computers.

Representing the four-color community is the Royal Flush Gang.

These card suited villains were first introduced in Justice League of America (1960) issue 43. Using a playing-card based theme, each of the members used a codename based on the cards needed to form a royal flush in poker: Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10.

The original gang only appeared twice. A second Royal Flush Gang debuted in Justice League of America (1960) 203 as part of Hector Hammond’s devising. Their motif was the house of Spades.

A third gang surfaced in the post-crisis DC Universe. Rather than decking themselves in all the same suit, this group chose to utilize hearts, clubs and diamonds as well as using codenames from the lower cards.

With the advent of the New 52, the Royal Flush Gang returned in the Forever Evil storyline. They would resurface in DC’s Rebirth period as well.

Solitaire is believed to have been created sometime in the late 1700s in northern Europe.

While Klondike Solitaire is the most commonly recognized version, other popular interpretations include Spider, Yukon and FreeCell.

Of course, the most common way to celebrate the day is to grab a deck of cards or mouse. When you’re frustrated enough with that, grab a vintage Justice League or variation and give the criminal cards a read.

Giving the devil his due, today we celebrate National Devil’s Food Cake Day.

For the second year, we commemorate the dessert that shares its day of fame with the upper order of after dinner treats, Angel Food Cake. While the heavenly-named confection may satisfy our sweet tooth, it’s the baser, darker dessert what we desire.

This devilish last course is almost haughty with its moist and airy texture. Recipes call for hot or boiling water as the primary liquid, utilizing coca in the batter with chocolate. Coffee can be added for more flavor. All is topped with a creamy chocolate frosting.

The origins of the dessert’s day are as mysterious as how it earned its name. Some say it’s due to the fact a Devil’s Food Cake is the opposite of an Angel Food Cake in flavor and texture. Others cite that the more indulgent a dessert sounds, the more it’s craved.

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Devil’s Food Cake is said to have originated in the southern states with the first printed recipe appearing in Sarah Tyson Rorer’s book Mrs. Rorer’s New Cook Book in 1902. The original recipe used melted chocolate and baking powder. Today the recipe calls for cocoa rather than baking soda.

Last year we called on Harvey Comics Hot Stuff as the day’s mascot. This year we rely on the opening story of issue number one of DC Comic’s Strange Sports Stories.

With spring here what could be more appropriate than America’s national pastime, baseball? To Beat the Devil is a Frank Robbins/Curt Swan creation pitting the Metropolis Meteors against Lucifer himself.

The Meteors are flying high in more ways than one as they wing their way to the World Series. During the flight they experience a bad storm that leads them to Hell.

Old Nick makes a pledge to return the team and manager Skip Wilson to their previous destination if they defeat him in regulation play.

As a one-man baseball team, Beelzebub nearly takes down the Meteors until Wilson changes strategies meaning the Devil must forfeit the game and the players souls due to a simple rule.

Strange Sports Stories ran a total of six issues between 1973 and 1974.

DC tested the genre as early as 1963 with a five-issue run in Brave and the Bold. After the ill-fated series of the Seventies, DC attempted to turn sports on its ear once more with DC Super-Stars issue 10 in 1976 featuring the Justice League facing off against the leading villains of the time.

The story was reprinted in 1981 in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest issue 13.

As of this writing, DC has dusted off the concept one last time for the Vertigo imprint. The four-issue mini-series ran in 2015.

Enjoying a delicious slice of Devil’s Food Cake is gonna be way more satisfying then tracking down any of these retreads, so grab a fork and enjoy.

For those about to embark upon the remainder of your lives, happy National Graduation Tassel Day.

May 17 is the day. Across the nation a parade of graduates will be commemorating today, or a day like this soon enough, taking their tassel and moving it right to left in a symbolic recognition of their academic achievements.

Those earning graduate degrees will mirror that motion, moving tassels from left to right.

We will symbolize the day with a three issue, mini series published July to August 2003, Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day.

The trilogy was important for several reasons; not the least of which were the deaths of Donna Troy and Omen. It also meant the end of both title books allowing for new Teen Titans and Outsiders books to begin.

While never officially offered as a reason for cancellation, it’s long been rumored Young Justice was given the axe to make way for a new Teen Titans title to compliment the then new Teen Titans animated series on Cartoon Network.

Unlike the above-mentioned story, most graduations are a time of celebration. Nearly four-million high school seniors graduated last year. That same number are expected to graduate from college in the coming year.

About 66.2 percent of those high school students will attend college. The most popular college majors are Business, Health Professions, Social Sciences and History, Engineering, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Psychology, Communication and Journalism, Visual and Performing Arts, Computer and Information Sciences and Education.

About 136,000 of those high school graduates will enlist in the armed forces.

The Titans began as the Teen Titans in 1964. Over time they changed team members and affiliations. Marv Wolfman and George Perez launched the uber popular The New Teen Titans in 1980 which became Team Titans then the Teen Titans again in 1996 followed by the Titans of this story arc.

The Titans returned in 2008 and were rechristened once more for the New 52 and five years later for DC Rebirth and are currently under the Infinite Frontier banner.

Young Justice was formed in 1998 with members Superboy, Robin and Impulse. They would be joined by Wonder Girl, Secret and Arrowette.

The title would be relaunched in 2011 in an unrelated series as a literary version of the animated show. The comic book would conclude with issue 25, a month before the cartoon ceased to air.

Archery predates 2800 BC and is one of the oldest sports still in existence. It is also the focus of the day, National Archery Day.

The National Archery in Schools Program has helped tweak interest in the sport in recent years. NASP began in 2002 in Kentucky and has expanded to 47 states and 10 countries.

The NASP also petitioned for National Archery Day which was first recognized in March 2015. The second Saturday in May, when the day is celebrated, was chosen due to the proximity in dates as to when the NASP tourney is held annually.

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Last year we celebrated the day with DC Comic’s premier bowman. This year we tap Marvel’s marksman, Hawkeye.

He first appeared in Tales of Suspense issue 57, cover dated September 1964. He would guest twice more before becoming a full-time member of the Avengers in their second line up.

Hawkeye, or Clinton Francis “Clint” Barton, has become synonymous with Marvel’s premier anthology team; so much so he has appeared in all five incarnations. In addition, he has been featured in the Ultimates version and was founder and team leader of the West Coast Avengers.

Later he would jump ship and work for the Thunderbolts followed by the Secret Avengers.

A popular ensemble character, Hawkeye would earn three solo series, Hawkeye (2003) issues one through eight. Two other attempts were made, 2012 and 2015. Both lasted a handful of issues before cancelation.

He would also star in a handful of mini-series, the first of which was Hawkeye (1983), written by Mark Gruenwald and running four issues. Next was Hawkeye: Earth’s Mightiest Marksman issues one through four. Hawkeye & Mockingbird ran six issues in 2010. It spawned Widowmaker in 2010 and 2011 for four issues and Hawkeye: Blindspot in 2011 running four issues.

Jeremy Renner has brought life to the fictional character for Marvel’s cinematic universe. Hawkeye has appeared in Thor, The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Endgame.

You are now entering National Twilight Zone Day.

Rod Serling is the man behind the cult classic. He convinced CBS to take a chance on his creation and the network reaped the critical rewards. Over the five years the anthology series aired, a total of 156 episodes, all were half-hour shows with the exception of season four that stretched screen time to 51 minutes; 60 with commercials.

Serling was responsible for three quarters of the total episodes. The remainder were penned by Charles Beaumont, Ray Bradbury, Earl Hamner Jr., George Clayton Johnson, Richard Matheson, Reginald Rose and Jerry Sohl.

Many of the plots were science fiction veneers thinly veiling social commentary normally considered verboten for the era.

By 1964, the original series was finished on prime time. It would live on through reruns.

Come 1985 and all that was old was made new again as CBS resurrected its former series. Mostly due to Serling selling his share of the show to the network. Owning the property, CBS could make more money rather than buy a new series from outside.

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The second outing did fair business, but failed to live up to its predecessor.

A third series faired even worse, retiring after one season, 2002-03.

As early as December 2012 word began to circulate regarding a fourth attempt at the Twilight Zone. It wasn’t until April 1, 2019, the pilot aired on CBS All Access.

And, of course, there was the ill-fated 1983 film. The movie recreated three classic episodes of the first series as well as one original story. John Landis, Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante and George Miller each directed a tale. Landis’ segment experienced disaster when actor Vic Morrow and two child actors were killed while filming a scene.

The Twilight Zone found its way to the comic book world with Western Publishing’s contract to Dell Comics. Four issues were produced before Western partnered with Gold Key. That marriage enjoyed a surprising longevity with 92 issues published before the two parted ways.

Marvel mainstay Frank Miller had his first professional artwork published in issue 84 of that run.

In 1990 Now Comics published a one-shot before launching an ongoing series the following year that ran 12 issues.

To celebrate, what else, catch some of the old episodes or simply find an old issue or two to sit back and relax with.

While May 11 is officially National Twilight Zone Day, that day actually falls on January 1 for some friends of mine as they sit back with a marathon of the original series and celebrate their wedding anniversary. It’s a little early, but cuddle up anyway, Tom and Sherry.

Much of the time we take a candid approach to the non-holidays observed on this site. Today is not one of those. National Barrier Awareness Day challenges those of us without physical limitations to become aware of those who do.

These barriers can be something as simple as being unable to access an entrance because of a wheelchair or complicated with inability to comprehend an everyday situation due to a mental disorder.

Today is the day to strip those handicaps away. To allow everyone an equal playing field whether it be building a ramp or taking time and patience to explain how to perform a task.

There are currently over 36-million Americans who are plagued with some form of disability. It is estimated 80 percent of Americans will experience a barrier of their own at some point in their life.

Now, to help visualize a what a barrier is, we’ve chosen Norrin Radd, more commonly known in the comic book world as the Silver Surfer.

Radd was an astronomer on his home planet of Zenn-La. He sacrificed himself to the world devouring Galactus to save his home planet; in return for allowing the continued survival of Zenn-La, Radd became Galactus’ herald.

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Radd was infused with the power cosmic by his new master. As the Silver Surfer, he would now search out other worlds for Galactus to devour.

Earth was introduced to the Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four issue 48. The herald had discovered a new world for his master to sustain himself with. After interacting with the inhabitants of planet Earth, the Surfer found himself sympathetic to their continued existence and turned on Galactus.

With the help of another celestial being, the Fantastic Four were able to deter Galactus, but to punish the Surfer for his betrayal, a barrier was established around Earth designed to keep the former herald from venturing beyond the shield.

The Surfer proved a fan – and Stan Lee – favorite returning for FF issues 55-61, 74-77 and earned a solo story in the back of annual five.

The following year, he was starring in his own book. The title lasted 18 issues, all penned by Lee, John Buscema penciling the first 17 and Jack Kirby the final book.

The Surfer would knock around the Marvel Universe through the 1970s with a Lee/Kirby graphic novel in 1978.

He received a second solo series in 1987 running 146 issues.

The Surfer would continue to star in limited series for the remainder of the old millennium and into the new, though often playing a pivotal role in various company crossovers.

He would further appear in other media with his own animated series in 1998 for Fox. In 2007 he would play a titular role in the second Fantastic Four movie.

Software Creations, Ltd., offered the Silver Surfer video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990.

So, while our spokesperson is fictional, he does offer a lesson that even those who face barriers are still important to society and success may often come in the face of those barriers.

National Barrier Awareness Day was inaugurated by Congress on May 7, 1986, by a House Joint Resolution (544). It authorized President Ronald Reagan to call for Americans to recognize the day with events and programs that would contribute to removing the obstacles facing those with disabilities.