Black and White Wednesday: "Show Me the Way to Go Home..." by Layton, Duffy, Cockrum, and Villamonte

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Whilst digging around in the Repository of Rarities, Ol' Groove lucked upon Bizarre Adventures #27 (May 1981) featuring "Secret Lives of the X-Men"! Now, I know that's a waaaaaaaay post-Groovy Age, but I'm pretty sure at least two of the three tales published in B.A. #27 (featuring Phoenix, Iceman, and Nightcrawler) were done in the late 70s for Marvel Spotlight and/or Marvel Premiere. Why thinkest Groove this? 'Cause I know fer sure the Iceman tale was scheduled for Marvel Spotlight--the Bob Layton penciled cover for it made the fanzine rounds in 79/80. Nightcrawler was rumored to be in the pipline for one of those Marvelous mags, as well. Add to that the fact that the stories ran 18 pages (while Marvel was running 22 pagers by this time)--yeah, yers trooly is pret-ty sure they were intended for Marvel's color line. (Not sure about the Phoenix tale...).

I said all'a that to say this: "Check out this freakin' cool Nightcrawler story co-plotted by Bob Layton and Jo Duffy, scripted by Duffy, and featuring art by Dave Cockrum and Ricardo Villamonte!" Not only is this story a hoot in both the story and art departments, but it ties up loose ends from the final ish of The Champions and sets up Nightcrawler's 1985 mini-series. It's easy to forget just how awesome Nightcrawler was back in the good ol' days...let "Show Me the Way to Go Home..." show ya just how much fun Kurt Wagner truly was...

Black and White Wednesday: "Final Warning" by Graeme and Miller

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Here's a hard-to-find late Groovy Age artifact sure to razzle and dazzle ya! Marvel Preview #23 (August 1980) featured Bizarre Adventures II, an anthology of all-new twisted tales inspired by the highly successful first Bizarre Adventures (MP # 20)--but this time featuring all-new, er, bizarre adventures! Editor Lynne Graeme put on her writer's cap and teamed with some young hotshot named Frank Miller to produce the following sci-fi fable, "Final Warning". It's a pretty cool story and the art is dyn-o-mite! Wonder whatever happened to that Miller guy...?

Black and White Wednesday: "Huntsman" by Goodwin and Golden

What it is, Groove-ophiles! Now, when Ol' Groove lays the fact on ya that the following rare and classic collaboration between titanic talents Archie Goodwin and Michael Golden (with Steve Mitchell on inks) came from a comic published in August 1981, you're probably gonna give me a wide-eyed "What the--?!?" What am I doing rapping about a story from a mag...shudder...post Groovy Age? No, Irving, it's not a sign of the apocalypse. It's a sign that sometimes Groovy Age stuff saw print after the Groovy Age, 'tis all. Y'see, the mag in question is the former Marvel Preview, which had months earlier changed its name to Bizarre Adventures and the story in question was actually created as a fill-in issue of Logan's Run (published by Marvel circa 1976-77). That's right, "Huntsman" is actually a re-worked "Untold Tales of Logan 5" job that would have saved the regular LR creative team from the "dreaded deadline doom"--had the mag run long enough to get into deadline trouble. Instead of letting it sit forever in a musty ol' filing cabinet, BA editor Denny O'Neil snatched it up and ran it in Bizarre Adventures #28.

So ya see, Ol' Groove's still on the up-and-up.

Mostly.

If you need any more reasons for tracking down your own copy of Bizarre Adventures #28, check this out: along with the Goodwin/Golden "Huntsman" story, there's a Triton story by Jo Duffy and Wendy (Elfquest) Pini, a one-shot hero called Shadow Hunter by Doug Moench, Larry Hama and some guy named Neal Adams, aannnd...the very first solo Elektra story by Frank Miller.

Yeah. eBay sellers can start thanking Ol' Groove right now!