Thursday, April 4, 2013

Bring on the Back-ups: "The Puzzle of the Pyramids" by Rozakis and Martinez

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Today let's dig on a classic Bob Rozakis penned Robin solo tale from Detective Comics #447 (February 1975). "The Puzzle Pyramids" is typical fun Rozakis--down to earth, centered around Dick Grayson's college life, some funny dialogue ("Shove this in your ear!"), and even a cameo by one Clark Kent. What makes this particular tale stand out to Ol' Groove is the snappy art by A. Martinez and Mazzaroli. Now, I'm pretty sure that this A. Martinez is the same penciler who did a truckload of romance and war comics for Charlton. As far as Mazzaroli, it seems that this was a one-and-only job. According to the Grand Comics Database, the pencils and inks are credited to Continuity Studios in Julie Schwartz's editorial records. That's another clue that might possibly link A. Martinez to Charlton, as Dick Giordano, one of the head-honchos of Continuity at the time, was a former Charlton editor. I ain't no Sherlock Holmes, but I think I got this one! 'Course even if I'm dead wrong, you still have a fun little featurette to flip over!

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5 comments:

  1. AnonymousApril 4, 2013 at 4:54 AM

    Thank you,Mr Groove!
    I remember reading this one in the 70's and
    thinking that the Splash and Clark Kent's right hand looked a bit Mr Adams(/Mr Giordano)-esque,
    but the rest drawn in a different style.
    If I may be Dr Watson;
    I know that Mazzaroli is a real name,but maybe
    this time it's a joke from the mind of Mr Adams?
    "Mazzaroli"= Matzah roll?
    "Matzha" or Matzho,a bread baked for Passover
    or whenever.
    /Mr Anonymous

    ReplyDelete
  2. dbutler16April 4, 2013 at 12:32 PM

    This is one of a handful of old Detectives I have (coverless at that) and I re-read it a few months ago for the first time in probably 30 years. This was a very nice little backup story, and yes, snappy art.

    ReplyDelete
  3. EugenioApril 4, 2013 at 6:14 PM

    Hi Mr Groove and thanks for all your bringing back time.
    I have a request: please complete the adaptation of Robert E. Howard's "The Hyborian Age".
    Go on like this.
    Greetings.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bob RozakisJanuary 9, 2014 at 8:43 AM

    As I recall, Martinez & Mazzaroli were South American artists Neal Adams was trying to get Julie to use. I thought they did an okay job, though I didn't like their version of Chief McDonald. And the Robin (and Clark and Dick) one page one most certainly shows signs of "assistance" from Neal and/or Dick Giordano.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Groovy AgentJanuary 9, 2014 at 8:58 AM

      Thank you, Bob! This helps clear things up a lot. I appreciate your dropping by with your eyewitness accounts. Means a lot to all of us here in Groove City! The Answer Man never lets us down! :D

      Delete

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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!


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