Friday, February 21, 2014
The Grooviest Covers of All Time: Mike Grell Made Me Buy These!
Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Starting in 1974, Mike Grell hit Young Groove's radar and sped up into my super-star stratosphere with the speed of light! While he's best known (and justly so!) for his work on Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes, Green Lantern/Green Arrow, and Warlord, Iron Mike plied his pencils to a plethora of DC back-up features and even a few issues of Batman! His covers, rare on mags other than Superboy, GL/GA, and Warlord, were coin magnets, yanking quarters outta my pockets with astonishing ease. Here are a few all-time faves...
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I loved All Star Comics with the Justice Society featuring the Super Squad! One of my favorite '70's comics! The Earth One/ Earth Two deal was a bit confusing at first, me being a little kid, but that's what made it interesting. I didn't know Grell did that cover.
ReplyDeleteThat Superman comic was good fun, too.
Hard to imagine Sinestro using the term "Buddy"
ReplyDeleteIf it were today, it would be "Bro, like he better not totally miss!"
DeleteUp until just this moment, I didn't realize that Grell did that All Star Comics cover, either. But I guess he made me buy that, because I snapped that right off of the spinner rack, without knowing anything about the JSA or Earth 2, etc.
ReplyDeleteAnd although I didn't have those particular issues of GL/GA or Superboy and the Legion, I do recall buying several issues of both titles around that time when Grell was also doing some of the interior art.
Such great covers! I was a huge fan of Warlord (why can't DC release Warlord tpbs collecting the entire 80s run?). And that Legion of Super-Heroes cover is fantastic. By the way, I've been writing about the Legion lately and I would love it if you could visit my blog.
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Where is your blog? I'd love to take a look!
DeleteI LOVE Mike Grell! As a kid reading comics, he was the first artist that I knew by name. Also, I could pick out his style. I loved seeing him draw all the DC characters. I would buy any book that he worked on. My favorites were Warlord, LOSH, and GL/GA. His covers are indeed magnetic, at least to me.
ReplyDeleteSadly, I also soon learned that names of various inkers who would embellish Iron Mike ... none was more dreaded to me then Vince Colleta. I have some appreciation for Vince's work to be sure and (as an adult) an understanding of the time pressures under which he worked. Having said that, young me would sag when buying an issue (often Warlord) with a sweet Grell cover only to find Colleta inking him inside! Austin of course was a favorite inker; Rubinstein was good in his own way.
That Warlord #3 cover was a landmark issue (and cover) to me! That cover pulled me in from across the comic book store! That issue is one of the few issues that I had as a kid, then lost, but finally repurchased as an adult.