Writer Jeph Lobe has been working through the stages of grief in the most recent issues of Marvel Comics. You see, Captain America has been gunned down. And his buddies -- Wolverine, the Avengers, Iron Man, and Spider-Man -- are battling with denial, anger, bargaining, and depression. The whole story will be revealed when the latest issue, Fallen Son, hits newsstands July 5th, the day after Independence Day.

Loeb, also an executive producer for NBC's Heroes, chose his storyline to represent current politics.

"Part of it grew out of the fact that we are a country that's at war, we are being perceived differently in the world," he says. "He wears the flag and he is assassinated -- it's impossible not to have it at least be a metaphor for the complications of present day."

Blogger Jen Creer recently shared with us that Funky Winkerbean creator Tom Batiuk is weaving a breast cancer storyline into his comic strip. It seems he's not alone in his creative endeavor. The website MyBreastCancerNetwork is also pairing cancer and comics -- but with a twist.

These strips are personal. You get to be the subject. Just tell your story -- you can be the patient, the survivor, the loved one -- and illustrator Dash Shaw will craft your journey into a breast cancer comic strip to be featured on this site.

PJ Hamel, MyBreastCancerNetwork expert patient and author, was the first to have her story documented in this fashion, five years after she did battle with the disease. Here's just one excerpt of her journey, as told in her words and Shaw's illustrations.

Looking for a cartoonishly risqué way to keep track of the days in 2007? Fifteen webcomic artists have created the Tastefully Done: 2007 Nude Webcomic Calendar featuring nude versions of webcomic characters, with all proceeds going to cancer research.

The calendar showcases the work of Ivan Pope, Ali Graham, Gordon McAlpin, Charles Woolbright, Chris Jones, Bryan Chojnowski, Pontus Madsen & Christian Fundin, Chris Simmons, Philip Spence, Rich Dachtera, Robert Koch, Ramón Pérez, Rob Coughler, Ryan Estrada, and of course, webcomic characters appearing in various scenarios of nudity.

From geriatric strip poker to nude bus rides, the artists realize that the calendar might not be for everyone, but it was only a matter of time before webcomic cartoon characters joined the ranks of the nude in benefiting cancer research. It's not naked librarians, hunky firefighters, naked rugby players, naked day traders, nude village women (who started the nude calendar for cancer charity phenomenon) or topless models (who decided in being different they would remain fully-clothed), but it is a one-of-a-kind calendar in the webcomic category.

You can take a peek and purchase the Tastefully Done: 2007 Nude Webcomic Calendar through Lulu's here.

Years before she was diagnosed with cancer, Miriam Engelberg had planned on creating comics featuring her life as a mother. Instead, at the age of 43, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, she used cartooning as a way to cope with the shock of diagnosis, surgery, chemotherapy, support groups, and a second cancer diagnosis. A collection of her comics can be found in Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person: A Memoir in Comics.

Reviewers described her book as "a fusion of the deadly serious with the absurd, in the finest tradition of black humor." Readers described her book as an insider's humor for survivors -- funny, heartbreaking and totally relatable in her refreshing take on living with cancer.

The world has lost some of its humor and light and spirit today with the loss of Miriam Engelberg. She took the mundane moments and the challenging trials of breast cancer and through her delightful perspective, encouraged us to see the lighter side. She exposed our private and sometimes silly thoughts and gave us a chance to laugh at ourselves.

There is nothing funny about cancer. It is scary. It is heavy. It is dark. It is full of terror and it steals lives. But, through Miriam's extraordinary talent with pen and ink and cartoon conversation bubbles, we were somehow allowed a brief reprieve from the grim reality of the frightening struggle to survive a profane and inequitable disease that ordinary time makes impossible to escape. In the company of her delicious creativity, we found solace from and in our all too real and immediate reality.

Gina, a close friend whom Miriam trusted to continue her online mail and weekly cartoon publication after she entered hospice care, wrote this evening, "Miriam had her family and close friends with her and was not in a coma. As far as I can tell, she didn't suffer and was spared the intense pain many go through with cancer. I like to think the love, humor and good karma she shared with everyone protected her from the worst aspects of dying."

Our hearts are broken for the loss of the transcending spirit that will always be uniquely Miriam Engelberg. Our hearts are broken for the undefinable loss her family and close friends will endure in her passing from this life. Tonight, our laughter is muffled in a far away place, with Miriam. A part of who we are has gone, with Miriam. In the morning, we will keep her love, humor and good karma close to us in everlasting memory of Miriam. Tonight is full of tears.

Comic-Con International in San Diego is an event where comic book, comic strip, science fiction, gaming, and movie people and fans mingle.

I am not there -- although it sounds like fun. For The Cancer Blog readers, I can tell you someone who is there -- Brian Fies creator of the comic Mom's Cancer. He appeared as a Comic-Con featured guest panel speaker.

In 2004, Brian Fies mother was diagnosed with incurable lung cancer. Fies created a serialized web comic strip called Mom's Cancer, as a way to express and come to terms with the emotional issues of watching his mother struggle with the challenges of facing life and death with cancer. He made the comic freely available for reading by anyone interested. Mom's Cancer wasn't advertised, but when it comes to the internet, if it's good, it creates its own buzz.

That is what happened to Mom's Cancer. It created enough buzz that it gained a large readership following and won the 2005 Eisner Award for Best Digital Comic. Mom's Cancer went on to become a book published by Abrams Books for those who like to hold a hard copy of a publication in their hands. Fies blogs about all-things related to Mom's Cancer and his daily life -- and he did mention in his blog that he is attending Comic-Con, however, he does not appear to be blogging Comic-Con live. But Fies promises to blog photos and stories about his Comic-Con experience when he returns home ... a vicarious way for us to attend this year's 2006 Comic-Con.

Over a month ago we introduced you to Miriam Engelberg, breast cancer survivor and author of Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person: A Memoir in Comics. Years before she was diagnosed with cancer, she had planned on creating comics featuring life as a mother.

Instead, she used cartooning as a way to cope with the shock of diagnosis, surgery, chemotherapy, support groups, and a second cancer diagnosis. Today I discovered her blogging at Live Journal about her current cancer treatments, adventures in the world of being a published author and every day life as Miriam Engelberg.

In addition, at her Miriam Engelberg website, she features a weekly cartoon. Engelberg is simply delightful and deliciously funny. You'll enjoy the blog and the featured weekly cartoon.  

Video game icon and gaming legend Lara Croft has been chosen as spokesmodel for the Skin Cancer Awareness Sun Smart Teens Program. According to the skin cancer awareness foundation, the goal of the Sun Smart Teens Program will be to raise awareness of skin cancer risks and educate teens to the dangers of the sun. Because melanoma is being diagnosed in ever younger populations, the foundation has chosen a spokesmodel they feel teens can relate to -- Lara Croft personifies the benefits of having a healthy body. Beginning November 2006, Lara Croft's image will be used as part of a nationwide tour designed to educate and provide skin cancer awareness information for teens. For more information, visit the  Skin Cancer Awareness Sun Smart Teens Program.