R.I.P. Mirthful Marie and Groovy Gary

One of the great ladies of comics has left us, Groove-ophiles. Mirthful Marie Severin, by all accounts a wonderful person and of course an incredible artist (colorist, plotter, etc.) passed away yesterday at age 89 after complications due to strokes. She's best remembered as a colorist and for her humor work, as well as her King Kull comics (usually inked by her late brother, John Severin), but Marie was also an artist on strips like Dr. Strange, the Hulk, and the Sub-Mariner. She was also an art director at Marvel during the early 70s, doing cover layouts, touch-ups, coloring, and all kinds of things that helped put our fave Marvel mags on the spinner racks. She also produced many amazing covers for Marvel during the early 70s. These are some of Ol' Groove's faves...

Not long after learning of the passing of Marie Severin, Ol' Groove learned that Groovy Gary Friedrich, co-creator of the blazing-skulled, motorcycle-riding Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze) and all-around brilliant comicbook writer, has also left us due to complications from Parkinsons. He was 75. Besides Ghost Rider, Friedrich wrote scores of Marvel comics like Sgt. Fury, Combat Kelly, the Western version of Ghost Rider, Son of Satan, and (best of all) Frankenstein's Monster/Monster of Frankenstein. He also wrote for Charlton (where he got his start on strips like Blue Beetle and The Sentinels), Skywald, Atlas/Seaboard, and more.  Here's Gary bringing us the (then) new (and still best) Blue Beetle...in tandem with Sturdy Steve Ditko, natch. From Captain Atom #83 (the 1977 Modern Comics reprint)...

Heartfelt condolences to the Severin and Friedrich families and circles of friends.

R.I.P. Steve Ditko

Never wanted to write this post, Groove-ophiles. Steve Ditko has passed at the age of 90. Ol' Groove has struggled with how to best honor, nay, celebrate the memory and talent of Steve Ditko. He always seemed to prefer to let his work represent him. I think it's most fitting to do the same....

The man will be missed, but his legacy will last forever!

The Grooviest Covers of All Time: Steve Ditko's Super-Heroes

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! From the beginning to the end of the Groovy Age, Sturdy Steve Ditko laid some far-out covers on comicdom (Wow, was that putting things mildly!). Plant your peepers on just a select few of his best super-hero covers...

The Plastic Man half of this cover is penciled by Dave Cockrum, baby!

Black and White Wednesday: Charlton Hit the Bullseye with These Pin-Ups!

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Charlton's far-out fan-mag Charlton Bullseye, modeled after Marvel's FOOM mag and DC's Amazing World of DC Comics was filled to the brim with tons of funtastic features. One of the best of those features was the random mix of pulsating pin-ups one could find issue after issue. Here's a heaping handful'o those pics from top-talents like Byrne, Simonson, Starlin, Newton, Nasser, Zeck, Sutton, and more!