Some fun trivia from a long-ago post! [Now with answers!]

As promised, here are the answers! SPOILERS ABOUND!

While I was tracking down Greg Hatcher posts, I came across a trivia contest I came up with when I used to get stuff from companies, some of which I already owned, so I would give them away to you, good readers. I don’t get stuff anymore because AJS, sadly, isn’t as high profile as CSBG was back in its heyday, so companies have forgotten about me … excuse me, I have to go cry for a moment … ok, I’m back. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to repost these and see how many you can get. I don’t have any prizes, so you can just answer in the comments. I noted when I first posted these that I tried to make them “Google-proof,” but I know some people, at least, were able to find the answers on the internet. Ready? Let’s go!

1. What did the Joker once attempt to copyright? (3 points) [Originally, I wrote “patent,” but it’s actually “copyright.” Whoops!]

He tried to copyright (or trademark?) the smiling (or laughing, but they don’t really laugh, do they?) fish in Detective Comics #475.

2. How are Christine Spar and Hunter Rose connected? (4 points)

Christine Spar is the daughter of Stacy Palumbo, who was Hunter Rose’s adopted daughter. Hunter Rose was, of course, the original Grendel, and Christine later became the second Grendel.

3. In what DC comic did Jennifer Mays and Gabriel Webb appear? (10 points)

Jen and Gabe, partners in The Maze Agency, show up in Justice League America #34, one of the Kooey Kooey Kooey issues. Adam Hughes drew that issue, and he was the original artist on The Maze Agency, which is why they show up.

4. At least how old is John Constantine, and how do we know that? (5 points)

Back before DC killed Vertigo, John aged in real time, and his birthday is 10 May 1953. Is he currently 70 years old? Beats me, but that’s his birthday!

5. Speaking of John, in what comic is his first “official” appearance? And what is his first “unofficial” appearance? (3 points; 4 points)

Swamp Thing #37 is Constantine’s first appearance. Most comics people, however, think he first showed up in Swamp Thing #25, but it appears that Stephen Bissette and John Totleben were just fans of The Police and it’s probably not him. It’s funner if it is, though!

6. To whom did Tommy Czuchra lose his virginity? (9 points)

It’s not “your mom,” which is probably the knee-jerk response to this question. Tommy, otherwise known as Monolith in the Elementals, had sex with a woman named Mary Lo in Elementals Sex Special #1, which may seem creepy because he’s a kid but, because he came back to life and his body can’t age, he’s much older than he looks, so she took pity on him. HOWEVER, Tommy was molested when he was alive, which I forgot about, so I accepted both answers back in the day.

7. What name did Warren White go by after just a brief stint in Arkham Asylum? (4 points)

Warren White was the main character of Arkham Asylum: Living Hell, the terrific mini-series by Dan Slott and Ryan Sook. After he spent some time in Arkham, he started going by Great White Shark.

8. Whose men killed Ned Leeds? (3 points)

The Foreigner’s. I love the Foreigner, frankly. Dude never did enough in the Marvel U.

9. How did Sue Storm get Ben Grimm to fly Reed’s rocket? (2 points)

Everyone should remember one of the great panels in comics history:

Calling him a coward and wondering if he’s sympathetic to Commies? Dang, Sue!

10. Who killed Maggie Jordan? (9 points)

Maggie was the victim in Scene of the Crime by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark, and she was killed by her sister. That’s not very nice!

11. In what comic book in the “real” (meaning “American”) Marvel Universe did Sir Jim Jaspers first appear? (5 points)

Jaspers has appeared once in “American” comics, in Uncanny X-Men #200. He was an old Captain Britain villain when Alan Moore was writing the book for Marvel UK, and Claremont has said that he wanted to do a storyline with him in the “regular” MU, but his overlords didn’t let him. He eventually brought the Fury into the “American” Marvel U., so that was a thing!

12. What’s the oldest Portuguese leper trick in the book? (5 points)

This is from Scurvy Dogs, one of the funniest comics I’ve ever read. “Shillings in the belly” is the trick, as the captain disdainfully tells us.

13. According to John Byrne’s “special price guide,” how much is Amazing Spider-Man #1 worth? (7 points)

In Byrne’s She-Hulk, at one point Jen and her friends run through a price guide (because Jen knows she’s in a comic, remember?), and Byrne made up prices for the issues contained therein. Spider-Man #1 is worth ““indentured servitude for a period of not less than 15 years.”

14. On what continent did Rita Farr have her life-altering accident? (3 points)

Rita Farr of the Doom Patrol was filming in Africa when she inhaled some weird vapors and turned into a giant. Sucks to be her.

15. What do the Northern and Southern Hemispheres spell out in Centravian? (10 points)

In Alan Moore and Alan Davis’s D.R. and Quinch (another hilarious comic), the two main characters rearrange the continents on Earth to spell out “Dean Fusk is embezzling the canteen fund” in the northern hemisphere, “And Mrs. Fusk is a convicted shoplifter and their horribly ugly son Mark is a known snitch” is in the southern hemisphere. They don’t like the dean at their reform school, you see.

16. Where did Daredevil take Nuke when he died? (2 points)

DD took Nuke to the offices of The Daily Bugle so that the government couldn’t cover up his existence. I mean, the government wouldn’t do that, would they?

17. What’s William Gravel’s job? (7 points) [He kind of has two, so I accepted both.]

Gravel is the protagonist of Warren Ellis’s series of mini-series, Strange Kiss/Stranger Kisses/Strange Kilings. He’s a “combat magician,” but he’s also a sergeant major in the S.A.S.

18. Where did Mary Jane Watson go when Peter Parker asked her to marry him the second time? (4 points)

Beautiful Pittsburgh! I mean, of course!

19. What Genesis song is based on a famous comic strip by Winsor McCay? (9 points)

“Scenes from a Night’s Dream” on … And Then There Were Three … (1978) is based on Little Nemo in Slumberland. Those crafty dudes in Genesis!

20. What brother of a superhero did Doctor Crocodile capture and torture? (6 points)

Hey, it’s another Captain Britain-adjacent question! Jamie Braddock, brother of Captain Britain and Psylocke, was tortured by Doctor Crocodile, who ruled a vague African nation. Jamie was a big jerk, though, so he probably deserved.

21. What is the actual name of the protector of the “black and lightless void known as the Obsidian Deeps”? (4 points)

Rot Lop Fan is the Green Lantern who can’t see, so his ring and powers are based on sound.

22. In what town in what state did the Shadowpact spend a year, trapped? (3 points)

It would have been cooler if this had been Rutland, Vermont, but Bill Willingham doesn’t appreciate DC history, so they were trapped in Riverrock, Wyoming.

23. What’s Kylun’s mutant power? (4 points)

Kylun’s power is that he can imitate any sound. I always loved that power.

24. How did John Cumberland die? (5 points)

Cumberland, “The High” in Ellis’s StormWatch, flew into the force field surrounding the StormWatch HQ. He went splat.

25. In which region of the United States is Vanity located? (4 points) [Some people gave me the state, but I wanted the region, consarnit!]

Vanity, the city where Aztek showed up and hung out, is located in Oregon, so the Northwest is the correct answer!

26. What was Beta Ray Bill’s ship called? (3 points)

Bill’s ship is called “Skuttlebutt.”

27. What was the name of the person (later revealed to be a Skrull) who led the charge to banish superheroes in general, and the Avengers in particular? (3 points)

Back in Avengers #92, H. Warren Craddock demagogued against the Avengers. He was a meanie.

28. What’s Chris Grahame’s medical problem? (10 points)

Chris is the protagonist of Kingdom of the Wicked, the Ian Edginton/D’Israeli comic that I love and many other people do not. Oh well. It turns out that Chris had a twin who was never born, instead lodging himself inside Chris at the base of his spine. Ew.

29. Who wrote River Run, a collection of short stories set in alternate universes along the Mississippi River? (5 points) [This character did not get a last name, so the first name only was, obviously, acceptable.]

In Mark Millar and Phil Hester’s Swamp Thing, a woman named “Anna” wrote this collection. There was a lot more to her than meets the eye!

30. How did Lou Martin get his superpowers? (5 points)

Lou Martin was the “hero” of Major Bummer, and he got his powers … by mistake! He received a package in the mail, and when he opened it, it exploded and gave him superpowers. It turns out that the aliens who sent it did not mean for it to go to him.

31. Who tried to write The Unauthorized Biography of Lex Luthor? (6 points)

Peter Sands was a journalist who thought he could dig into Luthor’s life. That did not go well. Has Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography by James Hudnall and Eduardo Barreto, which is pretty dang good, ever been reprinted?

32. What does the purple Infinity Gem give its user power over? (6 points) [This was probably a bit harder before the movies came out, I reckon.]

That’s the space gem!

33. In which comic book did Kyle Rayner first appear? (4 points)

Kyle first appeared in Green Lantern #48.

34. What did Namor call his ecologically-minded company? (4 points)

Oracle, Inc. This is from Byrne’s run with the character.

35. What mysterious and ancient thing allows Joshua Jones to manipulate gravity? (8 points)

Jones is Captain Gravity, star of a fun pulpy series that came early in the century from Penny-Farthing Press. He discovered Element 115 in an ancient Mayan temple (dang Mayans!), which allowed him to do weird things with gravity.

36. Name the superpowered members of the original Jihad. (1 point each, 6 points total)

The original Jihad, from Ostrander’s Suicide Squad, was composed of: Rustam, Djinn, Manticore, Jaculi, Chimera, and Ravan. Back in the day, I gave people credit for answering Colonel Mushtaq as well, because Ravan didn’t really have a superpower.

37. Who was the first person to call Wolverine “Logan”? (6 points)* [I forgot about the very first person who called him “Logan,” which wasn’t really a person anyway and who is a part of one of the dumber scenes/sections of X-Men history. Some people answered with that, so I gave credit to either the actual human being or the “person” who revealed his name a bit earlier.]

All right, this is the one with the leprechauns. Stupid leprechauns! Yes, a leprechaun called Wolverine “Mr. Logan” in issue #103. I gave credit for that and for Heather MacDonald in issue #139, but Alaric points out in the comments that James Hudson calls him Logan in issue #109, and you know what, he did (I looked it up). Dang.

* This does not mean chronologically within the Marvel Universe, you understand. Flashbacks to World War II or earlier don’t count if they were published years later. I mean in terms of the first time we found out his name.

So, what do you think? Too hard? Too easy? Just right? I will post the answers tomorrow, but you can answer what you know in the comments! (Although I won’t tell you if you’re right or not, so there!)

I hope you had fun with this little trip down memory lane. I wish I got more free stuff from publishers so I could give them away, but I’m currently going through my old trades and graphic novels and culling my collection, so maybe I’ll do something like this in the future!