Friday, February 24, 2012

Cosmic Week Concludes: "Metamorphosis!" by Starlin and Milgrom

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! We're gonna end COSMIC WEEK with the biggest bang Ol' Groove can think of. THE comic that totally won Young Groove over to Jim Starlin and his cosmic consciousness, "Metamorphosis!" from Captain Marvel #29 (August 1973). Neither the Kree/Skrull War nor the earlier chapters of Captain Mar-Vell vs. Thanos (mostly written by Mike Friedrich) could have prepared Young Groove for what Jim Starlin laid 'pon us in CM #29. That cover (in spite of the John Romita head) with all of those funky planets really grabbed me, but man, the art and colors inside reeled me in and I s'pose I encountered a metamorphosis of my own. While I'd been grooving to Captain America, the Avengers, the JLA and other "mainstream" comics (as well I should have!), Starlin and Mar-vell, beginning especially with this issue, gave me an appetite for "something else". It was an elusive "something else" that, at the time, I couldn't quite put my finger on (and it's probably a good thing!). I'd never seen such...how shall I put this...psychedelic art. Yeah, I'd seen Steranko's S.H.I.E.L.D. and Kirby's FF, but, man, this was out there! Daredevil heads with arms and legs. Floating, talking eyeballs. Broccoli-headed cyclops. Talking trees. Stone-demon doubles. Soulless dead girlfriends. Judo Jim was speaking a language I was only beginning to understand, and it all but ruined me for "regular comics". I held on, though, and would be able to appreciate Jim's work on Warlock even more, but CM #29 was the catalyst that totally turned me on to cosmic comics. Thanks, Jim!


















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10 comments:

  1. Rip JaggerFebruary 24, 2012 at 4:28 AM

    It's a watershed comic book, no doubt. While my nostalgic heart always yearns for the green and white Cap, I cannot deny the awesome wildness of Starlin's transformation. If not for that infusion, Cap would be among the likes of Black Goliath, Skull the Slayer, and 3-D Man, a mere relic.

    Rip Off

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousFebruary 24, 2012 at 1:57 PM

    I said it before and I'll say it again, nothing got me back into comics more than Jim Starlin. Marvel, Warlock, I can hold these up against anything.

    RickH

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousFebruary 24, 2012 at 4:57 PM

    Absolutely mind blowing art! This is the stuff of genius.

    ReplyDelete
  4. spiderkevFebruary 24, 2012 at 5:37 PM

    Indeed,It'd be fine with me if you posted the entire storyline.It reminds when Marvel was really good.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mayra recetas facilesFebruary 24, 2012 at 10:01 PM

    Fantastic really excellent..

    ReplyDelete
  6. bozodeathgodFebruary 26, 2012 at 3:52 AM

    Man all the Starlin love has drawn me here. After all the nerd-rage I've spent on these decompressed sagas... If the story above is what compression looks like, i'm in!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mykal BantaFebruary 27, 2012 at 8:55 PM

    Hey, Groove! Thanks for following me over at my Spectre blog. And thanks as well for the listing your your classic blog - quick question: You got me down under "gone but too groovy to forget" - I just got started!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Groovy AgentFebruary 28, 2012 at 6:25 AM

      Mykal, I thought about making a joke that since the Spectre's a ghost that was the appropriate place in the list, but the truth is, I'm just a bonehead, lol! I fixed it though. Thanks for the head's up!

      Delete
  8. Mykal BantaFebruary 28, 2012 at 6:57 AM

    Bonehead, you're not! Thanks, Pal

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousMarch 7, 2012 at 5:08 PM

    when i was a kid buying these when they came out thought captain marvel kinda stereotyped as not cool. But the whole captain marvel starlin series is a work of art! Not to mention warlock as well! And the stories were great too, thanos character awesome. I was very happy that starlin finally got a book out about him and his craft over the years. what an unsung hero.

    ReplyDelete

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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.


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