Monday, February 28, 2011

Groove's Faves: "Death Is Bliss!" by O'Neil, Wein, Kaluta, and Friends

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Let's take another trip back to the 30s via the 70s! "Death Is Bliss!" from DC's The Shadow #4 (January 1974) is one cool and creepy tale! Written by the dyn-o-mite team of Denny O'Neil and Len Wein with pencils by Mike Kaluta and inks by some of his mightily-talented pals (Howard Chaykin, Steve Hickman, and Bernie Wrightson--Can you follow the signs that reveal who inked what, Groove-ophile?)--whooEE! We're talkin' high-octane comics greatness, baby!
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8 comments:

  1. Mike MikulovskyFebruary 28, 2011 at 3:33 AM

    Ok Groovy one, Bernie Wrightson inked the first 5 pages. Steve Hickman inked pgs6-15, Howard inked pages 16-20. Great series it's a shame Michael Kaluta couldn't draw faster. DC should have just gave him more time to do the series up front. To get like 6 issues under his belt first. I'd still love to see a Shadow GN done by him.

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  2. hobbyfanFebruary 28, 2011 at 9:58 AM

    Kaluta did a Shadow graphic novel----but it was for Marvel. "Hitler's Astrologer" came out a few years back as a hardcover OGN.

    I remember picking off Shadow #4 for mere pennies at a flea market more than 30 years ago. Much better than the abomination that Chaykin helped produce years later.

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  3. bobFebruary 28, 2011 at 11:12 AM

    Many, many thanks! The DC Shadow of the 70s is my favorite comic, ever. You made my day...

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  4. JimFebruary 28, 2011 at 5:10 PM

    Best of the series. Loved this issue.

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  5. Mike MikulovskyMarch 1, 2011 at 12:04 AM

    That's right, I forgot about that Marvel Shadow GN. I either bought it & forgot or for some odd reason didn't care for it?

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  6. Geoff GroganMarch 1, 2011 at 11:28 AM

    one of my favorite comic books ever.
    read it at least once a year!glad to see it celebrated!

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  7. Mike RhodeMarch 1, 2011 at 7:54 PM

    The Marvel GN was inked by Russ Heath, iirc, a great artist, but his style didn't work well with Kaluta's on this.

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  8. Mike MikulovskyMarch 1, 2011 at 8:33 PM

    I loved heath's DC war & ghost comics. But I'm sure that's why I don't remember the GN much. I mustn't have like the jelly of two different styles. Because I know I have always loved Mike Kaluta's art.

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Special thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics and Grand Comics Database for being such fantastic resources for covers, dates, creator info, etc. Thou art treasures true!


Note to "The Man": All images are presumed copyright by the respective copyright holders and are presented here as fair use under applicable laws, man! If you hold the copyright to a work I've posted and would like me to remove it, just drop me an e-mail and it's gone, baby, gone.


All other commentary and insanity copyright GroovyAge, Ltd.

As for the rest of ya, the purpose of this blog is to (re)introduce you to the great comics of the 1970s. If you like what you see, do what I do--go to a comics shop, bookstore, e-Bay or whatever and BUY YOUR OWN!