Nobody but nobody knew how to spin a PLOP! tale like Sergio Aragones and Steve Skeates--and why not? They pretty much invented and defined the concept with "The Poster Plague". Irreverent, violent, sadistic, and fall-on-your-face funny. "The Banana Dolls" from PLOP! #13 (March 1975) was plotted and illustrated by Aragones with a script by Skeates. It's a twisted twist on an old trope, but it ain't tripe, baby!
↧
Groove's Faves: "The Banana Dolls" by Aragones with Skeates
↧
The Grooviest Covers of All Time: Summer of 1978--The DC Explosion Implodes!
The DC Explosion imploded beginning in August, 1978. Compare the drop-off in the number of titles published in August to June and July! 31 titles in June, 27 titles in July...21 in August...and this was just the beginning. Oh, the bittersweet memories that follow...
Thankfully, while the 44 page format and many (many!) of DC's titles bit the dust, the quality kept up and even improved in the short run, allowing DC to bounce back. When DC tried the 44 page, 50 cent mag format for a second time in 1981, t'was much more successful. Dont'cha just love a happy ending?
Thankfully, while the 44 page format and many (many!) of DC's titles bit the dust, the quality kept up and even improved in the short run, allowing DC to bounce back. When DC tried the 44 page, 50 cent mag format for a second time in 1981, t'was much more successful. Dont'cha just love a happy ending?
↧
↧
Our Pal Sal: "A Change of Mind!" by Wein and Buscema
Today's Labor Day here in the good ol' U.S. of A., so Ol' Groove thought it might be cool to dig on some awesome art by one of the hardest-working titans of the Groovy Age, Our Pal Sal Buscema. Sal's runs on Avengers, Captain America, Defenders, Incredible Hulk, Marvel Team-Up, Spectacular Spider-Man, Rom, not to mention his bazillion fill-ins on just about every Marvel mag, made Sal a fave among faves, even earning him an award or three as FOOM's favorite penciler. Oh, author Len Wein was no slacker himself, writing reams of classics for both Marvel and DC on JLA, Batman, Swamp Thing, FF, Spider-Man, and many others, plus editing dozens of mags and co-creating characters like Swamp Thing, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and Storm. These journeymen didn't work together very often, but when they did, they went together like the Captain and Tennille! Just check out "A Change of Mind!" reprinted in Chamber of Chills #22 (February 1976) from Chamber of Darkness #6 (May 1970). Enjoy!
↧
Random Reads: "One Man's Poison!" by Warwick and Cruz
↧
Black and White Wednesday: "Shall I Love the Bird of Fire?" by Claremont and Nebres
Greetings, Groove-ophiles! So, ya have all the color Iron Fist comics...Marvel Premiere numbers 15 through 25 and all 15 issues of IF's self-titled mag. Or maybe you have all those mags reprinted in glorious black and white in the Essential Iron Fist volume. You feel safe in knowing that you have all of the K'un-Lun Kid's solo Seventies adventures. Well, you're wrong. First there's the book-length saga in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #10 (which you can read a portion of here), originally intended for the first ish of the aborted b&w Iron Fist mag. Then, from issue 19 through issue 24 of DHoKF, Marvel ran a serialized Iron Fist adventure written by regular IF writer Chris Claremont and artist Rudy Nebres. Now, it's not Ol' Groove's way to leave your lives incomplete and unfulfilled, so here is the first chapter of Claremont and Nebres' minor masterpiece from Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #19 (November 1975)..."Shall I Love the Bird of Fire?" Who loves ya, baby?
![]() |
Cover art by Bob Larkin |
↧
↧
Random Reads: "The Arena of the Frost-Dragon" by Maggin and Vosburg
↧
The Grooviest Covers of All Time: Nick Cardy Made Me Buy These!
Nick Cardy was one of DC's top cover-artists in the late 60s/early 70s, utilizing his mastery of layout and design to sell at least one ish of nearly every comic DC pubished, especially during 1972-74. Here is a smidgen, a mere micro-sampling of DC comics Young Groove plunked down his quarters and dimes for in answer to the call of Nick Cardy's artistic genius...
↧
Random Reads: "Til Death Do Us Part!" by Edelman, Milgrom, and Austin
Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Here's the fabulous follow-up to Marvel's Captain Marvel #50 (which you can read here), "Til Death Do Us Part!" from Captain Marvel #51 (April 1977). Marv's battle with Thor-villain Mercurio, the4-D Man is kinda cool, but the really neat stuff are the "minor" bits with Marv and his "side-kick" Rick Jones trying to figure out how to have real lives on earth. Scott and Al also put the Marvel Universe to good use with a quickie Avengers appearance, a funny J. Jonah Jameson cameo and the return of the Teen Brigade (from the Silver Age Hulk and Avengers series). Milgrom provides some cool action sequences and Austin's inks make it all look properly science fictiony (whaddya mean that ain't a word?).
↧
Groove's Faves: "The Treasure Vaults of Opar!" by Wein and Thorne
Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Ya know what an Edgar Rice Burroughs fan Ol' Groove is, so it's about time we visited DC's Korak, Son of Tarzan, innit? Korak ran for 14 "DC Issues" (March 1972-July 1975) before converting to the extra-sized Tarzan Family (which featured a mix of new material and reprints), but, just to confuse things, DC didn't "reboot" the title (previously published by Gold Key/Western for 45 issues) with a first issue, but continued the Gold Key numbering. Thus, the "First DC Issue" of Korak, Son of Tarzan was ish #46. And what an ish it was! Editor Joe Orlando kicked things off right by handing the reins of Korak's lead feature to writer Len Wein and Artist Frank Thorne. The backups, Carson of Venus and Pellucidar were handled by Wein and artists Mike Kaluta and Alan Weiss (which you can read here and here). Orlando would soon be replaced by cover artist Joe Kubert as editor, Wein's words would give way to those of Robert Kanigher and Kubert, and artists Murphy Anderson and Rudy Florese would eventually handle the illustrating chores, but Korak was continually in great creative hands for its short life. But for today, let's focus on Wein and Thorne's debut Korak tale, "The Treasure Vaults of Opar!" 18 pages (plus Kubert's awesome cover) of pure jungle action! (Hey, wouldn't that make a neat title...?)
↧
↧
Black and White Wednesday: "SoulSlayer" by Claremont and Nebres
↧
Amazed by Aparo: "The Feud" by Skeates and Aparo
Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Today we're gonna gaze on some early Jim Aparo artwork from the back pages of Charlton's Hercules #1 (July 1967). Thane of Bagarth was written by Steve Skeates, set in the days of King Beowulf and read a whole lot like a companion strip to Prince Valiant. Skeates' stories were (as always) intriguing, and Aparo's art was a joy to behold. Check it out!
Man, wouldn't it have been cool to have seen JA take on Conan? Oh, the missed opportunities!
Man, wouldn't it have been cool to have seen JA take on Conan? Oh, the missed opportunities!
↧
Making a Splash: Those Amazing Inhumans
What it is, Groove-ophiles! The Inhumans! One of Lee and Kirby's most classic creations, aren't they? A whole race of super-humans, hidden from humanity for everyone's own good. What a cool concept! Usually Black Bolt and his kin played the role of supporting characters, but they had a couple of pretty good runs as a solo feature--like the time they fronted Amazing Adventures (issues 1-10, May 1970-October 1971). With art by Jack Kirby, Neal Adams, and Mike Sekowsky, these were some good-lookin' comic mags, baby! Check out these sizzling splash pages to see if ya don't agree...
↧
Groove's Faves: "Keeper of the Eternal Flame!" by Maggin, Swan, and Anderson
Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Let's kick this week off with a fave Groovy Age Superman tale by the dream-team of Elliot S! Maggin, Curt Swan, and Murphy Anderson! "Keeper of the Eternal Flame!" is an all-time fave 'cause Maggin, Swan, and Anderson were able to cram so much cool into a mere 15-and-a-half pages! Superman showed off his powers in so many ways: taming bears, finding hidden villages, and of course, fighting an epic battle with a pretty far-out new superdude, Valdemar the Viking Keeper of the Eternal Flame! On top of it all, Maggin's Superman (and Clark Kent) displays the swagger, smarts, and sense of humor we knew and loved from the George Reeves Adventures of Superman TV show. The Swanderson art was gor-ge-ous, especially when illustrating the fantasy elements of this classic tale from Superman #260 (November 1973). Oh, and doesn't that Nick Cardy cover just knock you out?
↧
↧
Groove's Faves: "Seawinds of Change!" by Gerber and Heck
What it is, Groove-ophiles! I know a lot of ya didn't dig it, but Young Groove really flipped out over the new threads Reed Richards created for Prince Namor in Savage Sub-Mariner #67 (August 1973). While I never could figure out how a dude became "savage" by actually putting on more clothes, I thought the dark blue suit was much more regal and dynamic than those old scaly green trunks. Leave it to Mighty Marvel to spend an entire issue explaining why a super-hero gets a new costume (placing an entire race into a chemical-induce coma and plugging in guest stars like the FF and Triton of the Inhumans) as part of the plot), and then only let him wear it on the very last page! Still, t'was an exciting tale of triumph and tragedy that Ol' Groove still gets a kick out of. What do you think of Steve Gerber, Don Heck, and Frank Bolle's "Seawinds of Change!", Groove-ophiles? Here 'tis in all its glory (minus extraneous sub-plot pages)...
![]() |
Cover art by John Romita |
↧
Black and White Wednesday: "Small War" by McKenzie, Starlin, and Marcos
Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Here's a real treat: "Small War" by Roger McKenzie, Jim Starlin, and Pablo Marcos. Separately, this terrific trio churned out reams of great comics, so it's a rare treat to see them working together as a team! This classic sci-fi shocker first appeared in Creepy Magazine #114 (cover-dated January 1980). Dig it!
↧
The Boys from Derby: "Night of the Wanderer" by Tom Sutton
↧
The Grooviest Covers of All Time: Steve Ditko's Super-Heroes
Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! From the beginning to the end of the Groovy Age, Sturdy Steve Ditko laid some far-out covers on comicdom (Wow, was that putting things mildly!). Plant your peepers on just a select few of his best super-hero covers...
![]() |
The Plastic Man half of this cover is penciled by Dave Cockrum, baby! |
↧
↧
Random Reads: "The Trophy" by Joe Kubert
Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Imagine one of the world's most iconic literary characters written and drawn by one of the most universally acclaimed comicbook creators of all time, and you have DC's Tarzan mag by Joe Kubert. Kubert's art was lush, majestic, naturalistic. His stories totally captured the vibe of Edgar Rice Burroughs' pulp adventures. Comics don't get a whole lot better DC's Tarzan issues 207-249 (February 1972-February 1976). Just grab a random ish, say Tarzan #218 (January 1973) featuring Joe Kubert's "The Trophy" and you'll get a pretty good idea of what Ol' Groove's rappin' about!
↧
Groovy Age Gold: "The Eye of Doom" by Basil Wolverton
Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! By the time Marvel launched it's "latest" (40 years ago, y'know) reprint/mystery mag Weird Wonder Tales #1 (September 1973), Young Groove was really into reprint mags. Whether it be DC's 100 pagers or Wanted Golden Age reprints, or Marvel Triple Action style Silver Age reprints, yers trooly was on the lookout for 'em. When Marvel reprinted stuff from their Golden Age, t'was a rare and wondrous thing, like Basil Wolverton's "The Eye of Doom" which was originally published in Mystic #6 (cover-dated January 1952). This story creeped me out in the best of ways, and did I ever grow to love the singular art stylings of Basil Wolverton. Check it out!
↧
Black and White Wednesday: "And When I Died" by Claremont and Nebres
"Hey, Groove, " you said, "we loved that McKenzie/Starlin/Marcos sci-fi mastgerpiece last week--but where's part 3 of Chris Claremont and Rudy Nebres' rare b&w Iron Fist epic?" Why, it's right here, Groove-ophiles. Never fear!
Oh yeah, "And When I Died" was first published in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #21 (January 1976)!
Oh yeah, "And When I Died" was first published in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #21 (January 1976)!
↧