Groove's Faves: "The Ghost Town Sheriff" by Newman and Gill

Dig it, Groove-ophiles: Ol' Groove totally digs the Lone Ranger. Always have, always will. Young Groove didn't buy a lot of Lone Ranger comics 'cause they were hard to find, but when I did find a stray Gold Key ish with those gorgeous painted covers, I'd snatch 'em up. I never new if an issue had new stories or reprints (until I started noticing those "Reprinted by Popular Demand" blurbs stamped on the first pages of the stories), but I didn't care. Take for instance "The Ghost Town Sheriff" from Lone Ranger #14 (February 1969). This gem by Paul S. Newman and Tom Gill could have come directly from the late 1800s for all I cared--I just knew a rousing fun story with terrific art when I saw one! Check it out for yourself...

Oh, and this one was, indeed, a reprint from Dell's Lone Ranger #100 (cover dated October 1956).

Black and White Wednesday: "The Last War of the Worlds" by DuBay and Ortiz

What it is, Groove-ophiles! Here's a sci-fi shocker from Warren's 1984 #4 (August 1978) by Bill DuBay and Jose Ortiz. "The Last War of the Worlds" is a stunning sequel to (you guessed it) H.G. Wells' classic tale--but with a decidedly 1970s twist (but of course)!

Greetings from Skartaris: "Holocaust" by Grell and Rubinstein

Dig it, Groove-ophiles! Mike Grell's Warlord is back on the Diversions! We're celebrating the return of Ol' Groove's favorite Groovy Age DC creation with Warlord #15 (July 1978), which is a pretty spectacular issue, lemme tell ya! It's the only 25 page DC Explosion/Implosion ish (due to its then bi-monthly status) and it is glorious! Joe Rubinstein inks this issue with those gorgeous, lush brush-strokes that have made him one of comics' top inkers ever...we get our hero's return to his wife Tara...the first appearance of Travis and Tara's son, Joshua...sci-fi action...and the return of Travis Morgan's greatest foe! Hang on for..."Holocaust!"

Marvel-ous Monday: "A Passion of the Mind!" by Conway, Kane, and Esposito

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Let's kick off this week with a classic early Marvel Team-Up: Spider-Man and The Vision from MTU #5 (August 1972)! This one's always been a fave, due to the rare appearance of The Vision in a non-Avengers comic without any Avengers around. Ol' Groove has always really dug The Vision, and he was especially interesting during this particular period when he was struggling with his emerging humanity. He was falling in love with Scarlet Witch and battling temptations from The Grim Reaper (who was offering him full humanity by claiming to be able to put the Android Avenger's mind into the then-believed-to-be-dead Wonder Man's body) over in the Avengers' mag, which is why he's so deep in thought at the beginning of this tale. More cool stuff about this issue: it actually ties into the Kree/Skrull War and the art by Gil Kane and Mike Esposito is far-freakin'-out (makes Ol' Groove wish Kane had drawn some Avengers issues) ! Oh, and since it's Marvel and the heroes all share, the main villain of the piece is Fantastic Four arch-enemy The Puppet Master! Hoo-hah!

Cover art by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia