Diversions of the Groovy Kind

Secret Origins: Tarzan by Roy Thomas and John Buscema

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:02:00 PST

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Let's take a look at the sensational secret origin of Edgar Rice Burroughs' immortal Tarzan of the Apes. This condensed version of the classic tale is extra-special since it's narrated by none other than Lady Greystoke, Jane Clayton. From Marvel's Tarzan #2 (April 1977), here's the origin of Tarzan by team-supreme Roy Thomas and John Buscema. Who loves ya, baby?

Veterans Day Salute: Jack Kirby's Losers in "Good-Bye Broadway...Hello Death!"

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:02:00 PST

Ol' Groove would like to extend a heartfelt "Thank You" to all of our men and women in uniform, past and present. I can't think of anyone better to showcase on Veterans Day than Jack "King" Kirby, who put his own military experiences to good use as writer/artist/editor of a short, but sweet, stint on Our Fighting Forces starring the Losers. "Good-Bye Broadway...Hello Death!" is a personal fave from Our Fighting Forces #156 (March 1975).

(Don't sweat it, man! Black and White Wednesday will be back next week!)

Random Reads: "Monster Men of Tropica!"

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:02:00 PST

From Charlton's Flash Gordon #13 (January 1969), here's "Monster Men of Tropica!" by Bill Pearson and a very young Jeffrey Jones.

Mining For Gold(en): "The Monstrosity Chase!"

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:02:00 PST

It's time for more Michael Golden greatness as he applies his peerless pencils once again to a bodacious Batman adventure, this one from Batman Family #18 (March 1978). "The Monstrosity Chase!" is written by Denny O'Neil and inked by P. Craig Russell--rounding out a Groovy Age Dream-Team if there ever was one--as they treat us to an adventure featuring the Batman Ol' Groove digs the most: smart, cool, resourceful, human and humane. O'Neil's story gives off a very cool Will Eisner vibe with it's running news commentary by D.J. Barry Dark (a far-out character in his own right), and the Dark Knight shows why he's the world's greatest detective as he pits those skills against both time and the elements. Golden and Russell's art is rich in detail and inventive character and costume designs. It's also much moody and action packed. If this one doesn't get your pulse pounding, Groove-ophile, you'd better dial 911!

Groovy Guest-Post: MAN-GOD: The Story That Was Almost Never Published!!

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:55:25 PST

Dig it, Groove-ophiles! Here's a groovy Guest-Post by Mighty Michael Mikulovsky, comicbook fan and original art collector. He's got some Man-God memories to share with ya! Take it away, Mike!

Hey Groovy Ones!

Growing up in the 70s I always loved Marvel's great B & W mags. Around 1976 however the B & W magazine marketplace was kind of slim pickings. By this time all their awesome monster mags, Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, Planet of the Apes, etc. were pretty much canceled. (All way too soon in my opinion.) Well, one of the last of these mags, besides the Savage Sword of Conan, was Marvel Preview, which had different features every issue. In the winter of 76 we had the long delayed Man-God. I originally thought it was going to be a Kirby type story. Something on the take of the Eternals. Boy, was I wrong.

I had forgotten about it, because of the many delays before it was published for various reasons. One reason being that Rich Buckler was assigned to draw it, but he had to stop after only drawing the first 3-5 pages, due to either too many other assignments or the flu. He's credited as the artist, but Tony DeZuniga actually drew the issue, though he was credited only as the inker. To top it off it was then lost in the mail for about 2-3 weeks, but the US postal service recovered it! So it was a small miracle it actually got published.

When I first saw the cover it really caught my eye. It was by one of my favorite magazine cover painters of the time, Earl Norem. It featured a very Samson like character, and reminded me of Victor Mature (who, ironically, played Samson in the movie version). It shows Hugo Danner in tattered clothes holding up two buildings in wha t looked to me like in the middle of the great San Francisco earth quake of 1912. The story of Man-God appeared in Marvel Preview magazine#9. It was adapted by the great Roy Thomas from the 1930 book Gladiator. It tells the tale of a Hugo Danner--a superman predating the Man of Steel by 8 years! (3 years if you count when Jerry Seigel & Joe Shuster created Superman.) Was it an influence on Superman? I say YES! But the origin of his super power is scientific, more like that of Captain America/ Steve Rogers.

A scientist/college professor in Indian Creek, Colorado, creates a formula based off the strength of insects. Injecting the family kitten named ironically, Samson, the cat gains super strength, then proceeds to go on rampage across the country side. To fill his great appetite, Samson starts killing cattle before being shot by farmers. The bullets bounce off Samson. Afraid he'll be found out, the prof poisons Samson. A short time later the prof finds out his very religious wife is pregnant. Well, of course you know the rest. He can't but help wonder, "What if my child could have these great powers? The great deeds he could perform to help & benefit mankind." After their son Hugo is born, his wife soon realizes her husband had injected her unborn child with his formula. She considered unholy, especially after seeing how Samson turned out.

Hugo's origin is pretty much Clark Kent's/ Superman's except he has a huge appetite. The story starts around 1885/1899 & goes through to the mid- late 30's. This adaptation by Roy only covers the first half to 2/3's of the novel. It jumps around a bit in a few flashbacks covering his various adventures from his boyhood, college days, boxer, sideshow strongman, pearl diver, & as a soldier in the French Foreign Legion in WWI. This issue's adaptation ends with the end of WWI. Sadly part II was never done. At least not yet! Hopefully, it will be one day!

I've been lucky enough to collect 16 pages from this story so far (that's them, scattered throughout this post). I'm still looking for the remaining 35 pages by Tony DeZuniga as well as the beautifully painted cover by Earl Norem. I hope someone out there might own some or know someone who owns any of these pages--or even just seen some at a website or at a comic con. I'd greatly appreciate any help in acquiring any more of these pages. Even if you do own some pages & are not interested in selling them, I'd still like to hear from you very much. Feel free to pass on my name & e-mail address. Thank you, Michael Mikulovsky. michaelwzeus@aol.com

Today is artist Tony DeZuniga's 68th birthday! Happy Birthday Tony! Thanks for all your years of beautiful artwork! All our best to you & your family. Here's to many more! Tony is currently drawing a new 130 page Jonah Hex graphic novel.

Grooviest Covers of All Time: The Best of George Perez

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:02:00 PST

George Perez has always known how to create eye-popping, quarter-grabbing, heart-pounding covers.

See? (Having far-out inkers like Bob Wiacek, Bob Layton, Terry Austin, and Joe Sinnott don't hoit, either!)

Famous First Fridays: E-Man

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:02:00 PST

By 1973, Charlton's Action-Hero line was naught but a dim memory. Charlton's output consisted mostly of adaptations of various cartoon characters, westerns, war, and of course, horror/mystery. The Phantom was still around to represent the superheroes, but that was pretty much it. Thankfully, for some odd-yet-wonderful reason, Charlton's powers-that-were gave Nick Cuti and Joe Staton the go-ahead to produce a brand-new superhero: E-Man. E-Man, of course, just happened to turn out to be one of the most original, far-out, and fun characters to populate the pulpy pages of a comicbook in, well, almost ever.

Take a sentient glob of energy, a giant (and eeeeevil) alien brain, and an exotic dancer, mix with some tongue-in-cheek humor and a heaping helping of imagination, and fold with superb and fanciful artwork and you get the recipe for what should have been the mega-hit of the decade. Get ready to fall in love with Alec Tronn and Nova Kane all over again. Here's Nick Cuti and Joe Statons' "The Beginning!" (Characters, story, and art are Copyright Nick Cuti and Joe Staton. Thanks to Mr. BC for the sweet scans.)

For 10 issues (July 1973-June 1975) Cuti and Staton proved that comics could be hip, relevant, and whimsical all at the same time. Each issue was a gem, blending Marvel-hip, Silver Age DC wonder, and an off-beat underground comix vibe. No one expected anything like this from Charlton. Not enough readers noticed. Sadly, at that time comics were making a darker turn, so E-Man, instead of becoming the Next Big Thing, became yet another failed comic in a long line of truly awe-inspiring cult favorites.

But like Ol' Groove's always sayin', you can't keep a great comicbook character down. In the 1980s, E-Man was revived by First Comics. In the 1990s, Alec Tronn and company popped up at Comico and Alpha Productions. Digital Webbing has produced a few issues here in the 21st Century. Nick and Joe own the rights, they still have the vision and talent, so I'm sure there are more E-Man stories to come. I'll be watching for them, snatching them up, and diggin'' 'em. I hope you will, too!

Random Reads: The Thing Meets Doc Savage

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:02:00 PST

As I mentioned way back in the early days of DotGK, when Marvel lost the rights to Doc Savage, fandom lost the chance to see some very cool/interesting/strange team-ups. Like this one from Marvel Two-In-One #21 (August 1976) teaming the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing with our favorite Man of Bronze. Much like Gerry Conway's plot for the Spider-Man/Doc Savage team-up in Giant-Size Spider-Man #3 (October 1974), writer Bill Mantlo came up with a plot that affects both the 1930s Doc and our present day hero, Bashful Benjy. What makes this team-up even better than the Spidey/Doc one is that Savage (along with Monk and Renny) actually meets and shares the adventure with the Thing (plus the Human Torch). Artists Ron Wilson and Pablo Marcos do a nice job on their end; I especially dig the look they gave the villain, Blacksun (or Black Sun. They spell it both ways for some reason). I do find it interesting that they went with the look Doc wore in his short-lived color series, rather than the look he was wearing in his black and white mag--which was going strong when this ish came out. But, Ol' Groove's mind just works that way. Ya can ignore me and g'head and read and enjoy "Black Sun Lives!" I won't mind. Honest.

Black and White Wednesday: Space: 1999 "Class Determination: Alien Insecta!"

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:02:00 PST

Here's a sci-fi treat for ya, Groove-ophiles! From Charlton's Space: 1999 magazine #4 (cover-dated May 1976), here's "Class Determination: Alien Insecta!" written by former pro-football-player-turned-comicbook-writer Mike Pellowski with amazing art by the magnificent and mysterious Ed Davis.

Addicted to Alex Nino: A Captain Fear Two-fer

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:02:00 PST

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Since I laid the debut of Captain Fear upon ya way back on my b-day, I figured it was high time to share a couple more awesome adventures and Alex Nino artistry with the whole wide world. You don't mind, do ya? That's what I thought you'd say. So, without further ado, from Adventure Comics #s 426 (November 1972) and 427 (January 1973) here are "God of Vengeance" written by Robert Kanigher and "His Daughter's Keeper" written by Steve Skeates. Enjoy!

Bring On the Back-ups: Chaykin and Gerber's Tales of Atlantis

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:02:21 PST

For five short issues, Marvel's Sub-Mariner ran an enthralling back-up series called "Tales of Atlantis". Mixing Marvel mythology with a bit of Robert E. Howard, plotter/penciler Howard Chaykin, scripter Steve Gerber, and inker Joe Sinnott gave us the untold story of how mighty Atlantis found its destiny beneath the blue-green waves of the sea. Get ready to groove to "Tales of Atlantis" (from Sub-Mariner #62, March 1973) and "Cataclysm" (from Sub-Mariner #63, April 1973)!

After that, Chaykin, Gerber, and Sinnott continued Atlantis' saga(Sub-Mariner #64, June 1973), filling us in on how the Atlaneans survived and rebuilt. Unfortunately, the Chaykin left the series before it was complete, leaving the plotting solely to Gerber and the penciling chores to Jim Mooney (Sub-Mariner issues 65-66, July-August 1973). The conclusion to the mini-series was satisfying, but ya have'ta wonder what it would have been like had Chaykin stuck with it.

Sunday Funnies: Star Wars and Rocky Cracked by John Severin

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:13:16 PDT

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! How 'bout another heaping helping of hilarity, John Severin style? Just dig this pair of parodies from Cracked #'s 143 (cover-dated August 1977) and 146 (cover-dated November 1977)! Based on the two biggest movies of that year (nay, of all time!), here come "Rockey" and "Star-Warz"!

Ol Groove's Request Line: Spawn of Frankenstein by Marv Wolfman and Mike Kaluta

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:37:42 PDT

We're back with the wretched wrap-up of our 2009 Halloween party! For our fearsome finale, here's the legendary Phantom Stranger back-up...Spawn of Frankenstein (as requested by Groove-ophile John Short) by Marv Wolfman and Mike Kaluta. While Marvel was adapting Mary Shelley's classic a'la Gary Friedrich and Mike Ploog, Wolfman and Kaluta were giving us the modern-day adventures of Frankenstein's Monster. The catch is that the Wolfman/Kaluta Spawn of Frankenstein ran for only three issues (Phantom Stranger #s 23-25, November 1972-March 1973). Wanna see 'em? Here ya go!

In Phantom Stranger #26 (May 1973), the Monster teamed with his comicbook host in a story by Wolfman and Len Wein with art by Jim Aparo. Issues 27-30 (July 1973-January 1974) featured a new writer/artist team, Steve (Aquaman, Plop!) Skeates and Spectre co-creator Bernard Baily. I guess I'll share those with ya next Halloween--unless, that is, enough of you demand to see them sooner. It's up to you, Groove-ophiles!

Ol' Groove's Request Line: "The Man Who Cried 'Werewolf'!"

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:38:21 PDT

Happy Halloween, Groove-ophiles! Here's the first of two (Count 'em, two!) special, Halloween Bonus Request Line Specials, thanks to Groove-ophile John Short! First up, here's a freaky fable based on the creepy classic by Robert (Psycho) Bloch from the debut ish of Monsters Unleashed (March 1973). Get ready to howl with "The Man Who Cried 'Werewolf'!" by Gerry Conway and Pablo Marcos. AaaOOOOOO!!

See ya in eight hours for the fear-fraught follow-up!

Groove's Weird Faves: Brave and the Bold #116

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:02:00 PDT

Happy Halloween, Groove-ophiles! The Halloween Countdown is over, the big day is here, and it's time to celebrate! To make things extra special, today you'll get ta dig on a brand new post every eight hours! That's three big, super-spooky posts in one day. It's just Ol' Groove's way of making your day a little more gloomy! Ready for our first spook-tacular? Then awaaaay we go!

I don't know about you, but in all of comicbookland I can't think of a cooler or creepier pairing of super-heroes than The Batman and the Spectre. When Brave and the Bold #116 hit the stands in September, 1974, Young Groove couldn't wait to pull that 100 page, sixty-cent monster off the drug-store shelf and dive into the weird wonder of it all. I was already diggin' the Spectre in Adventure Comics, I had always been nuts over The Batman, so it was all I could do to contain myself long enough to get to the car and start reading. I was curious to see how the Darknight Detective would react to the murderous justice of the Astral Avenger, but Jim Corrigan's alter ego kept it toned down a bit (due, no doubt, to the story being written and edited by a different team than worked on Adventure). Bob Haney's story was plenty dark, gritty, and spooky, though, as you'll soon learn. The art was by Spectre and B&B master Jim Aparo, so there was no way this terror-tale could be anything less than super-spectacular! I wasn't disappointed in the least, and I don't think you will be, either, Groove-ophile. Pull up a tombstone, flip on the nite-lite, and get ready to gasp when you find yourself in the..."Grasp of the Killer Cult"!

Famous First Fridays: Mike Ploog's Eerie Premiere

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:02:00 PDT

"More Ploog! Halloween's almost here, the Countdown's almost done, and we need more Mike Ploog!" That's the hue and cry of Groove-dom on this All Hallows Eve--er--Eve, and ne'er let it be said that Ol' Groove would ever let his gang down. How's this for a tasty trick-or-treat--Ploog's first professional comicbook work! Believe it or not, although Ploog had worked as a cartoonist on military magazines like Leatherneck and P*S (where he worked with his inspiration, Will Eisner), and had even worked as an artist on many Saturday-morning cartoons (including Superman/Batman, Wacky Races, and Scooby-Doo), it wasn't until 1971, at the behest of legendary pros Ben Oda and Wally Wood, that Ploog sought work in comicbooks. Well, you know his moody, Will Eisner-inspired art got him gigs p.d.q., baby! From Warren's Eerie #35 (cover-dated September 1971), here's "The Tower of the Demon Dooms!" written by the great Gardner Fox. Enjoy!

Ol' Groove's Request Line: Nick Cuti and Mike Zeck's "The Hour of the Werewolf"

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:11:58 PDT

Hey, hey, hey! Time for a brand new feature, Groove-ophiles: Ol' Groove's Request Line! Got a Groovy Age memory you'd like to relive here on the DotGK? Well, drop Ol' Groove a line and if I can beg, borrow, steal, or scan it, I'll post it here for ya! For our inaugural request post, here's Nick (Today's his birthday!) Cuti and Mike Zeck's "The Hour of the Werewolf" from Monster Hunters #9 (October 1976) requested by Groove-ophile Tim Butler! Enjoy!

Black and White Wednesday: Gardner Fox and Barry Smith's "The Boy Who Loved Trees!"

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:02:00 PDT

Here's a far-out collaboration between Golden Age vet Gardner Fox and Groovy Age maestro Barry (Windsor-) Smith from Vampirella #9 (cover-dated January 1970). Bet you'll dig "The Boy Who Loved Trees!"

Diggin' Ditko: Ghost Manor Tuesday Double-Play

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:02:00 PDT

Any kid who plunked down two dimes for a copy of Charlton's Ghost Manor #2 got more than their money's worth in thrills, chills, and Ditko artwork! Under that haunting Ditko cover lay two (count 'em, two!) Steve Ditko masterpieces! And you, you lucky Groove-ophile, get to enjoy 'em today! (And you don't even have'ta plunk down any dimes at all! Who loves ya, baby?)

If You Blinked You Missed: Demon-Hunter

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:45:49 PDT

One of the best Atlas/Seaboard comics was Demon-Hunter #1-and-only (July 1975). Creator/plotter/artist Rich Buckler, along with scripter Dave Kraft produced one of the most fun, cool, and original comics of the whole A/S line. Demon-Hunter was probably supposed to be a Dr. Strange rip-off, with bits and pieces of the then-popular occult characters like Ghost Rider and Son of Satan tossed into the mix, but like the best A/S comics, the creators went beyond publisher Martin Goodman's demands to create Marvel clones and created something fresh and unique.

Rich Buckler has been unfairly criticized as being not much more than an above average swipe-artist. While he has, indeed, been known to do very good imitations of artists like Jack Kirby and Neal Adams (most likely at editorial behest), when he cuts loose, as he did in Deathlok and does in Demon-Hunter, he synthesizes the best of Kirby, Adams, Jim Steranko, and John Buscema into a dynamic style of his own. He had some pretty wild ideas of his own, too! Just dig Demon-Hunter's cape. Yeah, we've seen capes that could lead to other dimensions (Cloak, Obsidian) and capes that seem to be alive (Spawn), but Buckler's Demon-Hunter did it first--and best! And how many super-heroes (supernatural or otherwise) do you know of that were (at least partially) inspired by the music of Blue Oyster Cult? Huh? Huh? Okay, enough yappin'! On wit' da comics!

Buckler and the editorial powers-that-were knew a cool concept when they saw one. After Demon-Hunter's mag bit the dust after one issue, Buckler brought him to Marvel as Devil-Slayer, complete with origin, a very similar costume, and his crusade against Xenogenesis (shades of Howard Chaykin's Scorpion/Dominic Fortune!). Devil-Slayer appeared in several Marvel comics throughout the 70s and 80s, especially Defenders and Captain America. When Buckler self-published his black and white comic mag, Galaxia, Demon-Hunter was resurrected as Bloodwing, complete with his Gideon Cross persona. Marvel recently "re-imagined" Devil-Slayer, but from the looks of it the mag didn't have a whole lot in common with Buckler's creation. (I'm sure a more with it Groove-ophile will correct me if I'm wrong about that!)

Weird Sunday Funnies: Frankenstein Sicksty-nine!

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 21:02:00 PDT

Only in comics can you get a Marvel-ously macabre and merry mess like this! From Not Brand Echh #12 (November 1968), here's Arnold Drake and Tom Sutton's "Frankenstein Sicksty-nine!"

Making a Splash: Nestor Redondo's Swamp Thing

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:02:00 PDT

When most folks think of the Groovy Age Swamp Thing, they naturally think of the art of Swampy's co-creator, Bernie Wrightson. However, there is another artist who actually drew more issues of Swamp Thing than Wrightson, and that's Philippine comicbook artist Nestor Redondo. (Wrightson drew the first 10 issues, while Redondo drew issues 11-23.) Redondo was a legend in his own country and quickly became a favorite of both U.S. fans and pros alike when he began working for DC during the 1970s. Wanna see why? I thought you would!

Famous First Fridays: John Byrne Finds "Dark Asylum" at Marvel

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:02:00 PDT

Whoo-hoo! I've finally tracked down Giant-Size Dracula #5 (March 1975) and just in time for the Halloween Countdown! As you might recall, in my last Famous First Friday featuring Byrne (I know, "How many 'firsts' can one guy have?" As many as I want 'im to, Irving!), Ol' Groove mentioned that John Byrne's first pro job was "Dark Asylum" plotted by Tony Isabella and scripted by Dave Kraft. As the story goes, the art sat in an editor's drawer for quite some time before being inked by Rudy Nebres (an outstanding--but overpowering--artist in his own right) and finally published in G-S Dracula #5. By the time this story saw print, Byrne's art had already appeared in Skywald's Nightmare and Charlton's E-Man and Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch. Still, it's a Famous First worth talking about since it was at Marvel that the Jocular One became a super-star "overnight". Dig? Dig it!

Random Reads: Denny O'Neil and Jack Kirby's "The Monster Bug!"

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:02:00 PDT

Denny O'Neil. Jack Kirby. Pulp Heroes. Germ Warfare. And, oh yeah, for our Halloween Countdown...monsters. It doesn't get much better than this, my Groovy Ghoulies! From Justice, Inc. #3 (July 1975), here's "The Monster Bug!

Black and White Wednesday: Tigra Faces "The Serenity Stealers"

noreply@blogger.com (The Groovy Agent) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:02:00 PDT

Has it really been just over a year since we last visited the lovely and furry Greer (Tigra) Nelson? Sheesh, how time flies! Well, here's the black and white gem Ol' Groove mentioned in passing in last year's post, "The Serenity Stealers" by Tony Isabella, Chris Claremont, and Tony DeZuniga! It's Were-Woman vs. Were-Rat as only Groovy Age Marvel could present it. Enjoy this macabre masterpiece from Monsters Unleashed #10 (December 1975), Groove-ophiles!