While we watch the calendar counting down the days to what many refer to as the biggest day of the year, consider Christmas was once illegal.

     And, the institution that instituted the day outlawed it. Well, one faction at least.

     In 1647, backed by a Puritan-backed Parliament, Christmas was outlawed. The Church of England did so citing the high holy day was pagan propaganda propagated by the Catholic Church.

     Parliament would finally reinstate Christmas by 1660.

    The decree would migrate to America in 1659 and last till 1681, mostly in Massachusetts.

    Christmas would continue unfettered until 1969 when Cuba declared it illegal until 1998.

     So, join Wolverine with a “Bah Humbub” in remembrance of a time when religious beliefs came before commercialism.

My mother was a Philatelist and I’m not ashamed to say so.

While there aren’t as many philatelists as in years past, there’s still a core group who will appreciate today. What is today? Today is National U.S. Postage Stamp Day.

The first postage stamp issued in the United States was on July 1, 1847. Prior to the stamp, a letter could be mailed without and paid for upon arrival. That changed in 1855 when stamps became mandatory.

The first two stamps issued featured likenesses of Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. Since then, stamps have been adorned with everything from flowers to works of art to, yes, even super heroes.

DC Comics heroes Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Flash, Plastic Man, Supergirl, and Hawkman were featured on a sheet of stamps issued July 20, 2006.

Marvel followed suit a year later, July 25, 2007, with Spider-Man, Hulk, Namor, Thing, Captain America, Silver Surfer, Spider-Woman, Elektra, Iron Man and Wolverine.

These are an oddity that I ran across on eBay. They’re dated 1991, but I’ve never seen either before.

These are just a couple examples of Marvel merchandising as the comic market was coming of age after the first Batman movie. It was a period before comic books started demanding attention with gimmicks and number ones.

Spidey and Wolverine are made of plastic/PVC and are approximately 1:43 scale.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed wading through the ones we’ve found as much as we’ve enjoyed finding ’em. The day is here, so look quick and go do something with that special someone.

Close to one billion Valentines are sent each year; whether that be via mail or hand delivered. At last count, and that was 2010, an estimated 15 million e-valentines were sent.

The next time you shell out money for a valentine card, thank Esther Howland. Don’t look for her on Facebook or any other social media outlet. She’s been dead since 1904.

Her father owned the largest book and stationary store in the city of Worcester. He catered to his daughter’s wishes importing paper lace and floral decorations imported from England to create her own valentine cards. Her family was conscripted to further the endeavor. One brother with particularly good penmanship wrote the inscriptions. Her other brother who was a salesman began hawking the cards. Orders flooded in and friends and other family members were recruited to keep up with the deluge.

By 1850 she had turned the family business into an annual $100,000 success story. She retired in 1881, selling the business to the George C. Whitney Company, the New England Valentine Co.

With one last Valentine’s Day card to post, let’s go with Marvel’s Logan/Wolverine. While he may not seem to be the playboy Tony Stark is, Logan has had his share of lady friends. For example: Storm, Jean Grey, Mariko Yashisda, Mystique, Domino, Rogue, Silver Fox, Elektra, Itsu, Yukio, Black Cat, Lady Deathstrike and Snow Bird.

Again, happy Valentine’s Day, from us to you. We hope you like the card.

I wasn’t gonna do anything for New Year’s Eve. After 24 days of trying to make ornaments sound interesting- or, as interesting as they have been to me – there was some burnout.

However, watching the countdown myself, there was a sense that there should be more. So, I tossed in the Day After and Lucky 13. Maybe it was an attempt to slow down 2024’s demise. Not that it was an exceptional year, nor was it a bad year. It’s just the swan song before another begins and we start that journey through the unknown after being able to look back at what has already transpired.

Then, I read the Marvel Holiday Tales to Astonish. It was a Christmas special, so a must have. I just wasn’t prepared to enjoy it as much as I did. Three holiday stories that entertained more than anticipated.

Marvel Holiday Tales to Astonish and variants

First, the variant cover was a nod to the Marvel Treasury Edition Giant Super Hero Grab-Bag from 1974. Then story one, ‘Twas the Fight Before Christmas, featuring the Fantastic Four, made for a good opening salvo.

Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny host an annual Christmas party for all heroes who have been included in the ranks of the FF over the years (see below for the list). A distress call takes the core members away to do battle with a first gen Doombot.

Festival of Fights, starring the Uncanny X-Men, was even better. Told through the eyes of new member Kitty Pryde, she counts down Hanukkah with their adventures including the classic Christmas tale from X-Men 143 and her solo battle in Demon.

Finally, Spectacular Spider-Man and Resolutions. This New Year’s Eve tale gave me the excuse and reason to chime in one last time this year.

Yes, this site has been silent for far too long. For that, I apologize. Next year will be different. Guess you could say this is my New Year’s Resolution; to make the coming year worth returning for. I’ve already gone down another rabbit hole for February. Please plan to be there.

Trying to keep the site fresh isn’t always easy. Hopefully 2025 will be a return to something good. We’ve already pulled down some new ideas while retaining the source material. We’ll try to make it worth your while. Whatever your decision, thanks for being with us this far.

As promised, here’s the list of Fantastic Four members from throughout the years and the issue they joined. Recruits include Crystal (FF 81), Medusa (FF 132), Luke Cage (FF 168), Nova (FF 238), She-Hulk (FF 265), Ms. Marvel/She-Thing (FF 306), Ant Man (FF 348), Storm (FF 543), Black Panther (FF 543) and Spider-Man (FF 657).

This does not include the time the FF were replaced by Spider-Man, Ghost Rider, Hulk and Wolverine for issues 347-49.

December 16th: Nine days and counting…

Wolverine first appeared in the final panel of Incredible Hulk 180, cover dated October 1974. His first full appearance was the following month in issue 181 and, then, on the first page of Hulk 182.

Nothing else was planned for the character until it was decided to include him as a member of the X-Men in Giant-Size X-Men in 1975. Even then, he took a back seat in the Chris Claremont written book until artist John Byrne came aboard to help steer the series through issues 108 to 143. As a native born Canadian, Byrne chose to feature fellow Canuck Wolverine more prominently in the story lines. Because of which, Wolverine’s popularity grew until he’s become one of the most recognizable Marvel heroes today.

This Carlton Cards Heirloom ornament was offered in 2004.

December 8th: 17 days and counting…

Any comic book devotee will tell you what a turbulent time the 1990s were for comic books and Marvel in particular. The situation was simply a money grab as the company was sold a few times over, based on inflated sales at the comic book shops. When the bubble finally burst, Marvel found itself filing for bankruptcy as it floundered to stay afloat.

Avi Arad, ToyBiz owner and executive producer on the X-Men the Animated Series, showed foresight by licensing out some of the product. Blade saw a return of $70,000,000, but Marvel only received $25,000. Same with the X-Men and Spider-Man movies.

What it did do was set up a formula that brought Marvel out of its financial distress; rather than farm their talent out, Marvel formed its own studio and began utilizing its characters, allowing the company to reap the rewards directly.

Yet, during the strife of the late 90s, Marvel carried on as best it could, licensing out not only its characters to films, but pimping out just about anyone to turn a profit. Three of the biggest – and most recognizable – names at the time were Hulk, Spider-Man and Wolverine. This ornament three-pack housed in a metal lunchbox-type holder showcase that trio.

Wish I had this set.

December 6th: 19 days and counting…

Marvel’s counterpart to DC’s Batman: the Animated Series was, well, X:Men: The Animated Series.

Airing a month behind Batman, the X-Men proved why it’s printed source material had outpaced the rest of the company’s titles.  X:TAS aired from Oct. 31, 1992 to Sept. 2, 1997. In its prime, the series reached 23 million households.

While many of its fellow cartoons proved to be little more than hour-long advertisements for toys, X-Men served a dual purpose. Not only did it hawk merchandise, but it provided quality entertainment as writers were able to pull from over two decades worth of material. Some of the more popular storylines adapted for the small screen included the Dark Phoenix Saga, Days of Future Past and the Genosha Island story arc.

X-Men: The Animated Series began to falter as the fourth season wore on, but producers Saban Entertainment funneled a few extra dollars into the show for a fifth and final season consisting of 11 episodes.

Nostalgia allowed the show to pick up where it left off with a single – to date – season of X-Men ’97. Streaming on Disney+, X-Men ’97 premiered March 20th, 2024 with two episodes. A total of 10 episodes aired.

To commemorate the return, a special, limited edition Wolverine Unmasked ornament was sold by Hallmark at the San Diego Comic Con.

Pre-heat the ovens or punch the phone buttons, but get that pie on the table for National Pizza Day.

Last year we discussed the Pizza Hut promo with Marvel Comics; more precisely the X-Men. We re-warming the same idea this year, but with new material.

Pizza Hut and Marvel proved a powerful pairing as they brought diners the Pizza Hut Super Savings Book featuring the X-Men. That only prepared the way for four, original 16-page X-Men comic books.

For the price of a personal pizza, diners received the free comic book.

The timing was no coincidence with the critically and commercially acclaimed X-Men animated feature airing on Fox Kids Network every Saturday morning beginning in October of 1992.

With Marvel’s mutant franchise on the rise, licensing was proving very lucrative. From the source comic books to the small screen and into the hands of eager youngsters with action figures and video games, the once stagnant title was proving a cash cow.

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby first created the X-Men in 1963. The book did little on the bookshelves and was relegated to reprints by decades end. Not until Len Wein and Dave Cockrum revamped the team title in 1975 did dividends begin to pay off.

Having introduced a new team in Giant-Size X-Men issue one, Wein stepped back allowing a young Chris Claremont to helm the book for the next 20 years.

In 1989, Pryde of the X-Men, an animated television pilot, aired on the Marvel Action Universe. It was not well received and plans for an animated X-Men series was ignored – until 1992.

By the time Marvel and Pizza Hut partnered, the series was airing in over 23 million homes.

Currently Pizza Hut has over 18,000 restaurants worldwide while Americans alone consume, on average, over four billion pizzas a year. That includes both pizzerias and the grocery-store, frozen variety. As related last year, that’s an average of 23 pounds of pizza per person in an annual basis.

To commemorate, order or warm up your pie of choice, then settle in to some X-Men goodness. Be sure to wash your hands so as not to get the pages greasy.

So many holidays, so much food.

Coming on the heels of Thanksgiving and just in time for the confectionary crush of Christmas time is National Cake Day.

Cake originates from the Viking kake. While the word has remained relatively the same, the end result has differed. Originally, cake was a flat bread with a regular shape flipped to ensure both sides were baked evenly.

The first ever birthday cake dates back before 1785. The term referred to a cake gifted for a birthday.

It wasn’t until the 19^th century cake became what we know it as today. Cakes could then be baked with extra refined white flour and baking powder instead of yeast. Buttercream frostings began replacing boiled icings with fruit toppings.

A history of National Cake Day is not as easy to find. All we know is its as good a (non) holiday as any. Better than others in that National Cake Day allows celebrants an excuse to enjoy a sweet pleasure they may have avoided that day.

Our comic book representation for the day is the four-issue mini offered by Drakes Cakes in 1993 starring a line up Marvels’ finest – and most popular at the time.

Drake’s Cakes are named after founder Newman E. Drake who started the company in 1896 in New York.

The National Biscuit Company, better known now as Nobisco, bought out the Drake bakery and referred to the bakery as the N.E. Drake Baking Co. The Drake’s Famous Loaf Cakes continued to sell under the brand name until 1902. The Drake Baking Company was dissolved in 1903.

Drake reestablished his business as the Drake Brothers Company in 1903 and had expanded to a five-story bakery in 1913.

The company remained a family business until 1998 when Interstate Bakeries Corporation purchased the brand. Drakes became part of a Bakeries line that included Hostess.

Hostess Brands Inc., formerly Interstate Bakeries, filed for bankruptcy in 2012. In April of 2013, McKee Foods purchased the Drake’s brand for $27.5 million, reintroducing the company’s top selling items the same year.

Amid the shuffling of ownership, Drake partnered with Marvel Comics to publish four mini-comic books (3”x5” and 16-pages long) featuring Spider-Man, Hulk, Silver Surfer, Jubilee and Wolverine. Together they faced off against the Rhino, Sabretooth, Juggernaut and Doctor Doom.

Titles included Spider-Man: Carnage on Campus, Wolverine: Danger on the Docks, Hulk: Mayhem at the Mount and Silver Surfer: Lunacy in Latveria.

Unlike many of the other promotional giveaways, these were free of product placement. Only the last page touted the remaining comic books in the series, courtesy of Drakes Snack Cakes! A one-page add for the product was featured on the back cover.