Black and White Wednesday: Ring-a-Ding Original Art

Happy birthday Jazzy John Romita! Where would we Groovy Age fans be without this phenomenal artist and his art direction at Marvel during the 1970s? Would Punisher, Wolverine, Luke Cage, the Savage Sub-Mariner, or Kingpin or so many other heroes and villains have looked as cool? Would the "Marvel House Style" been as glitzy and glamorous? Would Marvel's covers grabbed us nearly as much? Glad we don't have to find out, huh? Let's celebrate John Ring-a-Ding Romita's 88th birthday with a look back at some cool covers and sensational splashes that he created to take our dimes, nickels, and quarters! Thanks for all the great art and memories, O Jazzy One!

Pencils by Don Heck

Pencils by Ron Wilson

Making a Splash: John Romita's Captain America

Ya know, Groove-ophiles, for a short time in 1971, John Romita was reunited with a character he'd drawn back in the mid-1950s: Captain America. The Jazzy One's style had changed quite a bit, and the times had certainly changed, but Cap and Romita still made a great fit. Ol' Groove should also mention that Romita's take on Cap made for a nice bridge from the Gene Colan era to the long-running Sal Buscema era of CA&F (and a few issues had dynamite inks by Joe Sinnott, to boot). Just dig these splashes from Captain America and the Falcon issues 138-144 (March-September 1971) and see for yourself!

The Grooviest Covers of All Time: The Groovy Age Falcon

What it is, Groove-ophiles! While we're gonna be diggin' this guy in Captain America: The Winter Soldier any moment now...

Let's not forget the original (aka, to most of us, the real deal) Sam Wilson, The Falcon! Here he is in some of the Grooviest Covers of All Time, with art by the likes of Gene Colan, Jack Kirby, Gil Kane, John Romita, Sal Buscema, and even some guy named Frank Miller, from mags like Captain America and the Falcon, Marvel Team-Up, and Marvel Premiere...

Making a Splash: "Madbomb"--Jack Kirby's Return to Captain America and Marvel

Today, of course, is the late, great Jack "King" Kirby's birthday. I thought a cool way to celebrate would be to share the sizzling splashes that spearheaded Jack's 1975 return to Marvel Comics and Captain America: the mighty "Madbomb" saga from Captain America #'s 193-200 (October 1975-May 1976). Captain America's mag reached ish #200, the good ol' U.S. of A. turned 200, and The King's wild and wacky sci-fi/action thriller made Young Groove's head spin around (Linda Blair style, no less!) at least 200 times! Remember these...?

Making a Splash: "Our Pal" Sal Buscema's Captain America--Round Three

Here it is, Groove-ophiles! Continuing what is probably the most famous and celebrated era of the Groovy Age Captain America (for the first two rounds, click here and here), represented by the stupendous splash pages supplied by Sal Buscema! We start off with the amazing Secret Empire saga (which guest-starred a then mag-less X-Men!), truck on through to the "Falcon Fights Alone" arc (complete with "Who Wants to Be Captain America?"), break it down with the intro of Nomad, and wind it up with Sal's fill-in work (during the time he was replaced, believe it or not, by Frank Robbins).

Ol' Groove really digs the "secret identity" author Steve Englehart dreamed up for Hawkeye. Golden Archer is a hilarious play on both DC's Green Arrow and McDonald's trademark Golden Arches. Genius!

Soon after, Jack Kirby would return to his co-creation--but that's not all for Our Pal Sal! No way, baby! Sal will return for yet another classic Cap run before the Groovy Age draws to a close. Stay tuned!