Pre-heat the ovens or punch the 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.

Today’s origins date back to June 30, 1908, when an asteroid destroyed 830-square miles of forest in Siberia. It has become known as the Tunguska event.

International Asteroid Day was founded by Dr. Brian May (yes, that Brian May), Danica Remy, president of B612 Foundation; Rusty Schweickart, Apollo 9 astronaut and filmmaker Greg Richters in 2016.

The day is used to raise awareness of hazardous impact by asteroids. The 1908 strike caused a 12-megaton explosion that flattened 80-million trees and caused at least three deaths.

It is the largest recorded impact on Earth.

X-Men (1963) 5

Outside of mythical meteoroids causing zombie outbreaks maybe the most famous asteroid in comic bookdom is Asteroid M.

Asteroid M was unveiled in X-Men (1963) five. Scarlet Witch caused its demise and the artificial asteroid fell to Earth off the shore of San Francisco. It was later brought to the surface to become the mutant homeland Utopia.

Magento rebuilt his space-faring fortress, this time a cubic mile in size. Warlock damaged the station and it, too, fell to Earth. When Magneto learned of its destruction, he set out to retrieve any salvageable technology.

A third version was constructed as a failsafe should his then dealings with the Hellfire Club fail. While that didn’t happen, his third attempt met with destruction when a rival deployed missiles against him.

Avalon was born of pieces of the previous Asteroid M and stolen bits of Shi’ar technology. It, too, was destroyed.

A fourth version was tossed into the sun causing Magneto to construct a fifth, and as of this writing, final Asteroid M.

X-Men issue five not only marks the first appearance of Asteroid M, but the first time a man-made celestial body called Asteroid M is destroyed. It also marks the X-Mens’ final exams, which they pass as determined by Professor X.

On a lesser note, issue five provides the first appearance of Jean Grey’s parents.

Entering the lexicon of Four Color Holidays is National Brothers and Sisters Day.

When an unknown woman lost her brother, she realized the loss was a permanent one and wished to commemorate a day allowing siblings to remember the importance of one another.

This is not to be confused with National Siblings Day. That is defined as a day to bond with brothers and sisters.

For the site, we choose Jean-Paul Beaubier and Jeanne-Marie Beaubier as our co-hosts. The pair are better known by their trade names Northstar and Aurora, respectively.

Both debuted in the pages of Uncanny X-Men 120 along with their comrades Alpha Flight.

Uncanny X-Men (1963) 120

Alpha Flight is basically the Canadian equivalent of the X-Men. It’s also Wolverine’s former (extended) family – of sorts.

Anyway, Northstar is the group’s speedster, able to whiz along at super sonic speeds as well as fire photonic blasts. He’s is also one of the first, openly gay super heroes. He was married to his husband, Kyle Jinadu, in Astonishing X-Men 51. It marked the first same-sex wedding in comic books.

Aurora has a dissociative identity disorder, leading two separate lives. Her Jeanne-Marie Beaubier identity is reserved while her super hero persona is much more flamboyant.

Like her brother, Aurora has superhuman speed and can fly. In addition, she has high endurance and stamina allowing her to attain and maintain her super speed.

Like 19 percent of their counterparts south of the border, Northstar and Aurora are completely different. Only about 10 percent of Americans say they are best friends with their sibling. Eight percent admit to having fought their sibling, leaving marks or even drawing blood.

Whatever your relationship, enjoy the day with the one you share a gene pool with – or not.

Maybe the best way to spend the day is to find a copy of Uncanny X-Men 120 and all the ones that follow through 166, curl up with some comfort food and tune out the world.

Over three billion pizzas are sold in the United States each year reinforcing the need for today’s non-holiday:  National Pizza Day.

The origin for today’s celebration is unknown. What we do know is pretty much everyone loves pizza. In addition to the three billion ordered, another billion are purchased in the freezer section of grocery stores. That’s an average annual consumption of of 23 pounds of pizza per person.

In the United States, 17 percent of all restaurants are pizzerias. The first was opened in Naples, Italy, in 1738 with Gennaro Lombardi opening the first American counterpart in 1895 in New York City.

The Pizza Hut Super Savings Book Featuring the X-Men (1993)

So, teaming one of the largest pizzerias with the biggest comic book act of the day wasn’t a stretch of the imagination for Pizza Hut and Marvel Comics in 1993.

The X-Men animated series premiered the previous year, October 31, on Fox Kids Network. The series was a commercial and critical success, reaching over 23-million households.

Initially, Marvel and Pizza Hut offered the 12-page promotional giveaway mini comic (4 5/8”X7 ¼”) featuring a full-color abridged retelling of the history of the X-Men. Professor X was the guide. Included were Pizza Hut coupons.

The Pizza Hut franchise began in Wichita, Kansas. Brothers Dan and Frank Carney were the founders. After six months, they opened a second restaurant and within a year had six franchises.

Pizza Hut was obtained by PepsiCo in November 1977. The Hut joined fellow PepsiCo restaurants Taco Bell and Kentucky Fried Chicken to form Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc. In 2002 the company was rebranded as Yum! Brands.

The chain currently has over 18,000 restaurants worldwide.

To celebrate National Pizza Day, nab your favorite pie, pepperoni being the most popular, and settle in with some semi-old school X-Men comic books or the series currently streaming in Disney+.

Some comfort food with some comfort entertainment.

Pizza Hut Coupons (no longer valid)

Mixed Blessings doesn’t sound like much of a Thanksgiving story, but that’s what each of the X-Men are doing.

Uncanny X-Men (1963) 308

Issue 308 ties up some extended story arcs allowing both players and readers some breathing space. Taking time to catch up on some personal matters or menial tasks, the book is broken down into relationships.

When they do come together, it’s for an impromptu football game mutant style. The book culminates with the announcement Scott Summers and Jean Grey are getting married.

This was also a time of great change in the comic book industry. The X-Men, long celebrated within the comic book field, were becoming sought after by investors. Readers were jumping bandwagons and most mutant properties were targets. Histories were retconned and characters plunged into chaos to keep the comics selling.

As the 1990s continued, much of what made the X-Men – and so many others – special waned. Gimmicks took precedence over character as companies attempted to grab as much money as they could.

The X-Men survived and continue to captivate and capture new readers having weathered reboots and fan’s fancies.

Maybe that’s what the comic book industry has become: a mixed blessing. Those of us who have been around for any length of time have weathered our share of knocks, but we still have hope every Wednesday.

Get ready to give more thanks. Tomorrow is a day for family, friends and football. Dig out the elastic waistband pants and polish that fork and knife.

July 29 has been set aside to raise the awareness of the dwindling number of tigers, the biggest cats on Earth.

Today is International Tiger Day.

The X-Men (1963) 10

Over the past 100 years, the number of tigers has dwindled from over 1 million to fewer than 4,000 in their 13 indigenous countries. Those include Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam.

These nomadic felines tend to roam. Their turf can be as large as 386-square miles. They are the largest of the cat species and the third largest meat eater, only behind polar and brown bears. An adult tiger can consume up to 88 pounds of meat in one meal.

Representing the classy cat is a predecessor, Zabu the saber-toothed tiger.

Zabu first appeared in The X-Men issue 10 with his partner, Ka-Zar, born Kevin Reginald.

His parents discovered the Savage Land, where prehistoric creatures still roam and home to Zabu. It also became their final resting place.

Ka-Zar was subsequently raised by Zabu; Ka-Zar literally translates to “son of the tiger” in Savage Land speak. The tiger possesses near-human intelligence due to radioactive mists that caused a mutation.

Later, Zabu would become a member of Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers. The four-issue limited series was published from July to October 2009. It proved popular enough to go into a second printing. A sequel, Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers Unleashed hit comic book shops from May to August 2010.

A third series, Avengers vs. the Pet Avengers, began December 2010 and ran through March 2011.

Later they would guest in Power Pack, Thor and the Warriors Four and Guardians Team-Up issue five.

All have been collected in trade paperbacks.

The Pet Avengers are playable in Marvel Avengers Academy.

For more information on International Tiger Day, visit the Facebook page.

Need we say more?

Well, we’re gonna.

There’s no real history for the day, but there are a plethora of games that can be sampled. Rather than bore you with a lengthy dissertation, we’ll let Nixian’s YouTube offering on the Evolution of Superhero games give you a sampling.

,center.,/center.

We’re gonna stick with the X-Men brand (it worked for Marvel) as we commemorate National Running Day.

National Running Day is celebrated the first Wednesday in June and designed to encourage Americans to reaffirm their desire to run. Last year DC’s scarlet speedster hosted the day. This year it’s Marvel’s mutant of momentum, Quicksilver.

The X-Men (1963) 4

As evidenced from the cover, Pietro Maximoff first graced the Marvel U in the pages of the X-Men issue four. Like many Marvel comics heroes, Quicksilver began his public life as a villain. Joined with his sister, Scarlet Witch; leader of the pack, Magneto; the Toad; and Mastermind the quintet began their career harassing the X-Men.

Seeing the error of their ways, Pietro and sister, Wanda, left the Brotherhood and joined the Avengers. He further legitimized himself with marriage to the Inhumans’ Crystal.

Pietro remained an outsider in the MU for most of his tenure. He was introduced to a wider audience in 1966 on The Marvel Super Heroes animated series courtesy of Captain America’s segments. He further guest starred in three episodes of the 1990’s X-Men cartoon and was a recurring character in X-Men: Evolution.

Quicksilver reprised his membership in the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants for Wolverine and the X-Men and appeared in more kid friendly The Super Hero Squad Show.

His stock rose higher when he appeared in 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, 2016’s X-Men Apocalypse and 2019’s Dark Phoenix.

Taking the spandex-clad mutant as inspiration, lace up the sneakers and head out for a quick spin around the neighborhood or pace yourself across town. For more information on the non-holiday, visit glabalrunningday.org.

Here’s a cover Four-Color Holidays readers may recognize. We’ve used it for Angel and today we’re utilizing the ground-breaking issue again for the Beast who is our grand marshal during National Go Barefoot Day.

Celebrants are urged to doff their shoes in honor of June 1. Take a moment and run through the green grass.

The X-Men (1963) 1

For the scholars in the audience or those old enough to remember, Hank McCoy wasn’t always the “ferocious, furry Beast” we know today. Mr. McCoy started out as pink skinned as the rest of the original team.

His dad, Norton McCoy, was employed at a nuclear power plant. His job caused him to be exposed to a massive amount of radiation resulting in Hank’s unusually large hands and feet at the end of equally unusually long arms and legs. His high school nickname was Magilla Gorilla.

Due to his greater strength and agility, Professor Charles Xavier approached Hank for membership in the titular Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Hank became the Beast and one of the founding members of the original X-Men team:  Angel, Cyclops, Ice Man and Marvel Girl.

Hank left the X-Men and became an employee with the Brand Corp. following his 20^th birthday. An experiment turned Hank furrier than Robin Williams. Over time, he has transformed back to a more human appearance only to grow his fur back.

During his heroic career, Hank would become a member of the Avengers, X-Factor and the X-Men again.

To help celebrate this early start to summer, participants are encouraged to donate a gently used pair of shoes to a charitable organization.

National Go Barefoot Day was created in 2004 by Soles4Souls following a Tsunami disaster. Donations have continued to this day amounting in over 40.5 million pairs worldwide.

For whatever reason, today is National Appreciate a Dragon Day.

Normally the backgrounds of these non-holidays are easy to find. Some are just plain goofy in origin, but there is a beginning.

National Appreciate a Dragon Day seems to be shrouded in some mystery as the day seems to float through the various pages of the calendar based on what people wish to associate dragons with.

For those at Cornell University, it’s occurs the Friday before Spring Break. First-year architecture students create a giant likeness of a winged lizard and parade it around campus.

Dragon Day is celebrated by some on the 26^th of November.

X-Men (1963) 166

We’re recognizing it today: January 16.

With Lockheed as our official mascot this year.

That would be Kitty Pryde’s pet first mentioned in Uncanny X-Men 153 in Kitty’s Fairy Tale. For more information, look to our celebration of National Tell a Fairy Tale Day.

Today we’ll focus on Lockheed’s first canonical appearance.

This takes place in the final story arc of the Bronze-Age X-Men’s run. The cat-sized dragon-like extraterrestrial bonds with the teenage mutant and helps save the team.

Lockheed has been associated with Kitty since.

This is really a stellar swansong to the “new” X-Men’s early adventures. Their return to Earth is met by the New Mutants and the beginning of multi-mutant titles that continue to flourish today.

Forget Game of Thrones and the magical Pete and enjoy an old school adventure. Grab whatever comfort food or drink – or both – you need and spend a wintery day warming to a story of a girl and her dragon.