Sports Sunday: "The Kid Who Beat the Oakland A's!"

In July, 1973, the month following the debut of Julie Schwartz's Strange Sports Stories, DC began publishing a second sports-related comicbook, Champion Sports, edited by Joe Simon (co-creator with Jack Kirby of dozens of memorable characters like Captain America, Boy Commandos, and the Newsboy Legion). Evidently, with the reprinting of the Golden Age Simon/Kirby classics in the back of the Kirby-edited DC titles, Simon's star had begun to rise again. During this period Simon created Prez, a new Sandman, and today's feature, Champion Sports.

With Champion Sports, Simon plowed much of the same ground as Strange Sports Stories with tales involving supernatural or science-fictional trappings, but there were also "realistic" tales involving sheer guts and talent. Evidently most Groovy Age sports fans preferred actually playing or watching their sports on TV, and few comicbook fans wanted to read about sports, so Champion Sports ran for only three brief issues (July-November 1973).

Simon employed a small stable of artists for his corner of the DC Universe, mainly Golden Age artists Jerry Grandenetti and Craig Flessel. I think you'll dig the team of Simon, Grandenetti, and Flessel as they tell the story of "The Kid Who Beat the Oakland A's!" from Champion Sports #1!

Happy Birthday to U.S.!

Let Freedom Ring, baby!

Famous First Fridays: Talkin' 'Bout the Top 50 Famous Firsts

Something a little different today, Groove-ophiles! Andrew Wahl, editor of the fabulous Comics Bronze Age has posted a new topic of discussion concerning the 50 most important books of the Bronze Age (1970-1984 by his reckoning). For his discussion, he listed his own top 50, then opened the floodgates for readers to comment on whether he was right or wrong in his picks. Andrew created a most excellent rule to keep things under control: the list stays at 50. So, if you thought a comic should have been added to the list, then you had to drop one of his picks.

Now, Ol' Groove loves to post and pontificate on what I feel to be the most significant mags of the Groovy Age (1967-1980) on most each and every Friday (duh!), so I felt compelled to add my voice to the discussion. Most of what Andrew has on his list I'm in agreement with--in fact, I've already covered many of them in depth here on DOtGK. In the end, I had 8 suggestions for adding and 8 for dropping, so we saw eye-to-eye on 42 of the 50 he listed.

Here's what I suggested Andrew add to his list:


Here's what I suggested be dropped from his list:


Nothing against any of those comics--I own 'em and love 'em, myself! It's just that I feel the others have more significance.

I still wonder, though. Was Ol' Groove off his rocker for suggesting that Andrew drop Avengers #93 from the list? Should each title of Kirby's Fourth World be represented? Should MGM's Marvelous Wizard of Oz replace Superman vs. Spider-Man for the sake of historical accuracy? Does Ol' Groove think way too much about comics? Inquiring minds wanna know!

Make sure you go to Comics Bronze Age and check out Andrew's list for yourself. Then jump into the discussion with your own ideas. Have a blast, Groove-ophiles!

Shades of Gray: "A Warp In Time...Loses Everything!"

Ol' Groove's got a special treat for ya today! Here's Gray Morrow's first-ever comicbook story for DC Comics! While he'd done quite a bit of work for Marvel (Atlas) and Warren up to this point, he'd only done a cover and some spot illos on a prose piece for DC before this issue of the Witching Hour (#10, May 1970) hit the spinner racks! I jive you not! DC would make up for lost time after publishing "A Warp In Time...Loses Everything", utilizing Gray's immense talents on everything from (more) mystery/horror stories to westerns to science fiction to superheroes. You'll see lots of Gray's DC masterpieces here in time, Groove-ophile, never fear! But don't be greedy, man! Enjoy this far-out classic, then keep comin' back for more!

Black and White Wednesday: Tim Conrad's "A Vision of Venus"

Tim A. Conrad is one of those artists who never produced enough work to satisfy Ol' Groove. I really dig Conrad's early style, which combined the styles of his contemporaries Barry (Windsor) Smith, Bernie Wrightson, Mike Kaluta, with masters like Frank Frazetta, Joe Shuster, and classic pen-and-ink "slick" magazine artists of the 30s/40s into a retro-modern style. His art was perfect on strips like Conan, Bran Mak Morn, and Almuric. TAC created his niche of drawing pulp-heroes beginning with this, his first published story in which he adapted pulp-author Otis Adelbert Kline's tribute to Edgar Rice Burroughs' interplanetary romance novels, "A Vision of Venus". Here it is, from Marvel's Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction #4 (May 1975)!


Author Otis Adelbert Kline was a pretty interesting fellow, I might add. Here's the article on "A Vision of Venus" author OAK written by comicbook writer/interviewer/editor/publisher David Anthony Kraft from the same issue of UWoSF. Take it away, DAK!

The Grooviest Covers of All Time: John Romita, Sr. Presents...

We know that John Romita, Sr. created some of the most iconic and awe-inspiring Spider-Man covers of all time (and Ol' Groove'll be sharing some of 'em in the future). But know ye this: as Marvel's art director during a huge chunk of the Groovy Age, the Jazzy One treated us to some superb work on the covers of Marvel mags featuring the debuts of new characters and new costumes. When you saw one of these iconic, pin-up style covers, baby, you just knew something big was gonna happen in that particular ish! Heck, even if nothing big did happen, you had a comic with a far-out cover! Here are a few of my faves...


What about you, Groove-ophile? What are some of your favorite non-Spidey-starring John Romita, Sr. covers?

Monday Miscellanea: Two Girls, A Guy, Back Issue, and X-Men Forever

ITEM! I don't know how I've overlooked it, but now that I've found it, Ol' Groove is ga-ga over Two Girls, A Guy, and Some Comics. An excellent, round-table-discussion style blog covering the Silver and Bronze ages of comics, TGaGaSC is fun, informative, thoughtful, interesting, and extremely cool. Recent entries have covered the "Cap's Kooky Quartet" era of the Avengers (there's a lot of Avengers love on that blog--and I do dig the Avengers!), the Adult Legion of Super-Heroes, the history of the Vision, and lots more cool stuff. Their discussions are very in-depth, analyzing and dissecting most every aspect of whatever topic they're covering. Mega-kudos to Karen, Doug, and Sharon for creating such an outta-site blog! And speaking of Karen...

ITEM! ...Not only does Karen Walker contribute to Two Gals, and Guy, and Some Comics, but also to TwoMorrow's Wonderful Back Issue. Ol' Groove was able to nab Back Issue #34 recently, and really dug Karen's article on Adam Warlock (my all-time fave, ya know!), "The Life and Death (and Life and Death) of Adam Warlock". Lotsa other cool stuff in that ish, as well, including articles on Jim Shooter, Marvel's New Universe, DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths, Marvel's Logan's Run adaptation, DC's Star Hunters, the third and final part of a nearly all-encompassing interview with the lovely and talented Steve Skeates, and more. Track down or order a copy, Groov-ophile! And tell 'em Ol' Groove sent ya!

ITEM! Ol' Groove actually bought a couple'a new comics--and dug 'em! Got my paws on the first two issues of X-Men Forever written by none other than Chris Claremont (the man who put the "X" in the Groovy Age) with pencil-art by the oh-so-talented Tom Grummett. I have to admit, Ol' Groove was a full-time X-Men fanatic in the Claremont-era, but I lost interest after the Cheerful One stopped guiding the lives of our Merry Mutants. Oh, I dipped back in from time to time, but things were more complicated than ever with all the "X"-titles and cross-overs--I just couldn't get into it. X-Men Forever, though, looks to be set in its own little universe, picking up where Claremont left off when he left the "X" titles in 1991, ignoring all that came after, and going off into its own reality/continuity. The first two issues were fun and fast-paced; really enjoyable for an old-timer like yours truly. Plenty of action, big doses of soap opera, and just overall exquisite storytelling. I hope the "young-uns" give support the title, 'cause I'd sure like to keep on reading it! (Even if each issue does cost four bucks a pop!)

ITEM! This post is late due to the double-whammy of Blogger's inability to correct whatever is wrong with their "post options" settings and my electricity having been out for about 16 hours. Thanks to all who continue to stop by and check in in spite of these posting woes!