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rysellscomics.bsky.social
Mostly Frogs
@rysellscomics.bsky.social
350 followers 270 following 330 posts
a comic shop masquerading as a writer

or

a writer masquerading as a comic shop


I also make zines and other cool things.

Please take a look via the links below :)

https://bio.site/mostlyfrogs
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rysellscomics.bsky.social
nice don heck page in the reprint package too
a splash page from iron man illustrated by don heck. a shadowy figure looms over iron man, who is posed in a fighting stance with his fist raised
June 20, 2025 at 2:41 PM
rysellscomics.bsky.social
bring back showing sue’s power as obliterating all ink from the page
a ff panel by kirby of the invisible woman enclosed in an invisible force screen. it is represented as a paper white space delineated by a dotted line. the human torch is touching the edges of the screen with his hands
June 20, 2025 at 2:41 PM
rysellscomics.bsky.social
i really like these panels where kirby would insert foliage or debris in front of the action—it puts you into the scene and feels like a callback to photographic rather than illustrative conventions
a panel from fantastic four drawn by jack kirby. a man in a red hat, fur lined brown coat and red boots is warning the ff to stay away from a castle. a branch with some leaves extends across the frame, bisecting it on a diagonal
June 20, 2025 at 2:41 PM
rysellscomics.bsky.social
I sent a newsletter out last week and forgot to post about it here! It's a fun grab bag issue in which I hit you with challenging ideas like "Aquaman should be in the water" and "John Byrne draws NICE looking discos" (even as I despise Byrne)

buttondown.com/TheComicList...
a page from the 1980s Aquaman limited series illustrated by Craig Hamilton. Ocean Master has abducted Aquaman to his underwater cathedral. Shafts of light break through at diagonal angles to the scene a four panel page of Peter Parker and Mary Jane attending a disco illustrated by John Byrne A screenshot of a comment I got that reads "Ur so brave for saying aqua man should be underwater [shrug face emoji and talk to the hand emoji]. 'I dunno dudes it just looks NICE' is how I feel reading any Claremont/Byrne collab & that disco shit is no exception
March 22, 2025 at 6:36 PM
rysellscomics.bsky.social
Deathlok by Denys Cowan and words by Dwayne McDuffie!

This series was kinda 'Milestone 1.0' and for my money the best attempt at making a good Deathlok comic. Great art anchored by McDuffie's philosophizing and early 90s cyborg stuff– really fucking cool

mostlyfrogs.bigcartel.com/product/deat...
a page from Deathlok Annual 1. Art by Denys Cowan, words by Dwayne McDuffie. Deathlok attends his son's show and tell class wherein he is questioned by the kids about his "liberal, secular, humanist whining." this is a response to the letters page that frequently had letterhacks complaining the Deathlok wasn't right wing enough for them. This story is making fun of them A page from Deathlok issue 2 by Cowan and McDuffie. Deathlok is speaking with Misty Knight, who is also a cyborg and Black. Deathlok quotes extensively from "The Souls of Black Folk" by W.E.B. DuBois in a passage on double consciousness wherein he and Misty find common ground Another page from Deathlok. Three panels, two tiers. Forge and Misty Knight are crouched in an alleyway in the first panel holding high tech looking guns. The second panel they are firing up and the third panel shows a flying vehicle that they are trying to evade. Art by Denys Cowan a stack of Deathlok comics from 1-16 and Annual 1 fanned out to show all of them are there
March 7, 2025 at 12:23 AM
rysellscomics.bsky.social
Some random pages from Xero by ChrisCross and Tom Simmons (written by Christopher Priest)

This comic beats ass in all the right ways and I highly recommend it! Available in my webshop right! now!!

mostlyfrogs.bigcartel.com/product/xero...
a 3 panel page from Xero illustrated by ChrisCross and Tom Simmons. The first panel shows Xero's futuristic jetplane emerging out of the water in Osaka. The second panel shows men aiming spotlights up. The third panel takes up most of the page. Xero is spotlit against silhouetted skyscrapers at night. He is standing on a rooftop looking down with one of his guns drawn a six panel page from Xero illustrated by ChrisCross and Tom Simmons. The first panel is the largest and shows Xero's jet crashed on snowy ground. Xero and a girl are in the cockpit. The second panel is all text describing Xero's injuries. panels three through six are all vertical rectangles showing details of the scene as the narration continues A page from Xero illustrated by Eduardo Barreto. It is composed of 6 panels in a three tier grid. This is a flashback scene to Xero's first mission. He is on the ground being threatened by a man with a gun until a missile goes off in the final panel, setting the scene ablaze. A page from Xero illustrated by ChrisCross and Tom Simmons. It is composed of 7 long vertical panels arranged in a two tier grid. The top tier has three panels while the bottom has four. Heavy on chiaroscuro, the scene is of Xero and his brother in their high tech lab after Xero receives a promotion to top by their boss. The two brothers leave open the question of how much they trust each other.
March 4, 2025 at 8:10 PM
rysellscomics.bsky.social
Newsletter is out, the first of two this month as I get back on schedule. I spend maybe too long ranting about my love/hate relationship with Alex Ross and Marvels among other things. Also this coincides with a MASSIVE update to the webshop. Link in bio
a spread from "Marvels" by Alex Ross and Kurt Busiek of Captain America leaping over a crowded street in pursuit of a supervillain a two page spread from "Thor: Vikings" by Glenn Fabry and Garth Ennis that shows a flying Viking ship in modern day Manhattan violently killing everyone it encounters interior page from "Call Him Thor" by Derec Aucoin of Thor fighting The Destroyer a screenshot of the webshop and many new books that are available in it including a Gil Kane/Steven Grant Green Lantern story; The Last American; Secret Origins; TMNT 37; a Renée French/Penn Jillette one-shot; Batman Adventures; Aliens Salvation; Dragonring; Lois Lane; Aquaman; early Stefano Guadiano and early Andrew MacLean. The link to the shop is in my bio.
February 10, 2025 at 7:01 PM
rysellscomics.bsky.social
i knew it was coming but i still had to go in the back and cry for a minute about Lynch passing.

The Straight Story is my favorite of his films. it is *bracingly* sincere—a G rated Disney production from 1999. but it works because sincerity was at the heart of all of his work
a behind the scenes photo from The Straight Story of David Lynch directing two actors at a bar a still from The Straight Story that shows an old man driving a small John Deere hauling a trailer behind it. fields of corn and a blown out sky fill the rest of the frame
January 16, 2025 at 8:23 PM
rysellscomics.bsky.social
buttondown.com/TheComicList...

In which I spend a few paragraphs talking about my new favorite guy: The Leader
a panel illustrated by Jack Kirby of The Leader in front of a large glass tube with a humanoid creature inside of it that looks like the advertisements for Sea Monkeys. The Leader is saying that he plans to use them to attack the Sub-Mariner A panel of The Leader looking out over a Roman plaza. His thought ballons reveal that his headquarters is disguised as an art gallery
December 17, 2024 at 9:17 PM
rysellscomics.bsky.social
some old Kirby, newish Fiffe, classic Banks and a fave Anya Davidson work are all up in the webshop now alongside so many other great comics (and a few prose books!) gonna be updating the shop all week and the next newsletter will be out monday the 16th!
a title page from Thor illustrated by Jack Kirby. the title in big capital letters reads “with my hammer in hand…!” below that lettering, Thor has his hammer held in a furnace with the aid of some Kirbytech tongs. thor is saying “I knew that here in the great blast furnaces of pittsburgh i would find a giant forge to mend my hammer” two works stand behind him and comment on his presence the back cover of Copra 1 as published by image comics and made by michel fiffe. it is a headshot of Guthie a green haired, green eyed what woman holding a big gun on a yellow background the cover of “consider phlebas” by iain m. banks. it’s a picture of a vast open sea taken at an angle with a starfield above it the cover of “lovers in the garden” by anya davidson. it’s a montage of imagery that shows a white man and a black woman embracing in a kiss, a white man and a black man getting out of a car and a woman in a polka dot dress holding a gun. dollar bills blow in the bottom right corner. this is all on a cityscape and has a 70s grindhouse poster aesthetic, but drawn in Davidson’s style with bright marker colors
December 8, 2024 at 10:59 PM
rysellscomics.bsky.social
wishing everyone a very happy landlord’s day to all that celebrate.

here are Steve Ditko’s thoughts on the profession:
two panels from a comic by Steve Ditko. the first has a caption that reads in part “much later in the distant future” and then two speech balloons. the first is someone saying to the other that they have returned from the past. the second says in part “my collection of the most heartless men of the past from all walks of life needed only one more thing…” the second panel shows an old man holding a shrunken man. the old man says “…a landlord from the twentieth century!”
December 2, 2024 at 4:08 PM
rysellscomics.bsky.social
it ALWAYS pays to flip through these anthology titles. This particular issue features an early Trevor Von Eeden Green Arrow story that predates the his mini-series by about a year!
Got this up in the shop right now if anyone is interested!
mostlyfrogs.bigcartel.com/product/worl...
The cover of World's Finest 281 drawn by Gil Kane. Batman and Superman are caught in a tornado on a monitor as a group of villains from the "Army of Crime" look on. A man in the foreground with a big face scar and smile points with his thumb at the heroes A page from the Trevor Von Eeden Green Arrow story. GA is observing a building fire that is being put out. TVE has made the page into 4 geometric diamonds that do not follow a grid pattern A page from the Trevor Von Eeden Green Arrow story. GA is in his civilian outfit. The bottom half of the page is divided into four vertical panels of varying heights that run atop three horizontal color blocks of green and black. A page from the Trevor Von Eeden Green Arrow story. Much more standard panel construction-- essentially a modified three tier page with a tall panel running from tier 2 to 3.
November 22, 2024 at 9:47 PM
rysellscomics.bsky.social
anyhoo i read all this in a 1970s reprint book that i’m getting ready to list. thx for following along!
November 13, 2024 at 3:46 PM
rysellscomics.bsky.social
shoutout to Kirby with the flying gallop! (a mild obsession that I have written about and made a t-shirt of)
a panel by Jack Kirby and Chic Stone of Thor and Balder riding horses in a flying gallop, which is physically impossible for horses to do
November 13, 2024 at 3:45 PM
rysellscomics.bsky.social
compare to this drawing. which feels much more static
a panel by Jack Kirby and Chic Stone of Thor disappearing into a pink fog. his shape is outline but only filled in with color holds and horizontal shading.
November 13, 2024 at 3:43 PM
rysellscomics.bsky.social
more cool inking by Stone over Kirby. i love that bottom panel where Thor’s shape is all gestural lines and light rays
a panel by Jack Kirby and Chic Stone of Thor fighting the Absorbing Man
November 13, 2024 at 3:41 PM
rysellscomics.bsky.social
if you took away the captions this would basically be a Clowes gag from Eightball
a panel by Jack Kirby and Chic Stone of the Absorbing Man stuffing cash into a bag. his word balloon says “when i’m near a steel filing cabinet, my body turns to steel!” a panel by Jack Kirby and Chic Stone of the Absorbing Man smashing a tank. his word balloon says “when i’m near armored tanks, my body becomes armored too!” a panel by Jack Kirby and Chic Stone of the Absorbing Man as a dictator. his word balloon says “silence dogs! I got somethin’ to say!” a page by Jack Kirby and Chic Stone of the Absorbing Man. the previous three slides were taken from this page. the final panel shows the Absorbing Man driving a car. he is looking in the rear view mirror at Thor who is flying behind in pursuit
November 13, 2024 at 3:38 PM
rysellscomics.bsky.social
foregone conclusion.
a panel by Jack Kirby and Chic Stone of an explosion. the sound effect says “WHOOOM!”
November 13, 2024 at 3:32 PM
rysellscomics.bsky.social
of course right below that panel is this one. character find of the century is waiting right here Marvel!
a panel by Jack Kirby and Chic Stone of a reporter named Hobbs holding a box of dynamite. his thought bubble says “lucky I brought some of these dynamite sticks with me, in case I needed them!”
November 13, 2024 at 3:23 PM
rysellscomics.bsky.social
this panel by Kirby (Stone inks) from Thor 114 is pretty interesting to think about. are those manga speed lines!? also love the color seps here. really effective to split the costume into C M Y and have it follow the line the way it does. colorist uncredited. would this be Marie Severin?
a panel from Thor 114 illustrated by Jack Kirby and Chic Stone. Thor is spinning a whirlwind around himself with his hammer. Kirby has drawn this as horizontal speed lines that roughly follow Thor’s shape. The colorist has filled in with unmixed cyan magenta and yellow dots some of his costume but not all
November 13, 2024 at 3:17 PM
rysellscomics.bsky.social
update: it goes so fucking hard
A painted spread from "World Without End" by John Nyberg that shows a large battle being fought in a fleshy purple landscape
November 12, 2024 at 6:26 PM
rysellscomics.bsky.social
quietly freaking out. Here's a photo I took of a frog
a photo I took of a dead frog laying belly up in a field of green grass with white flowers. Dappled sunlight breaks through a tree canopy above.
November 9, 2024 at 12:53 AM
rysellscomics.bsky.social
when the comic is about to go super hard:
close up of the back cover to “World Without End” by Jamie Delano and John Higgins, a comic published by DC in the early 90s. against a painted alien landscape is black text that reads “IN A FUTURE WORLD GROWN ENTIRELY OUT OF FLESH, THE ULTIMATE MAN AND THE ULTIMATE WOMAN FIGHT THE FINAL BATTLES OF THE SEX WAR AND PUSH GHASTLY VIOLENCE AND CORRUPT SEXUALITY TO THEIR RIDICULOUS EXTREMES”
November 3, 2024 at 5:05 PM
rysellscomics.bsky.social
Eric Powell, Steve Parkhouse, Bob Fingerman, and thee mighty Evan Dorkin doing their version of Hellboy for Weird Tales!

happy halloween!!
a spread from a Hellboy comic by Eric Powell. It's Hellboy as a kid with his pet dog who has been infected by alien goo a spread from a Hellboy comic by Steve Parkhouse written by Joe Casey. A man with a jetpack is being attacked by giant bats while Hellboy looks on from the ground a spread from a Hellboy comic by Bob Fingerman. Roger the homunculus pulled some money out of his bountiful cheeks to pay Hellboy back a spread from a Hellboy comic by Evan Dorkin. A death metal band has resurrected a storm giant in a huge baby
October 31, 2024 at 11:47 PM
rysellscomics.bsky.social
And shit like this. I love this shit we need more of it bring it all back I want to feel the internet again

Also should note Digitek was painted by Dermot Power and written by John Tomlinson and Andy Lanning.
October 29, 2024 at 10:07 PM