Black and White Wednesday: "The Monstrous Forces Tear His Planet Apart!"

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Here's a Groovy Guest Post the truly far-out (far, FAR out) Mars Will Send No More's Matthew H. Camp! This is just a taste of what awaits you when you truck on over to MWSNM--so when you get through diggin' this diversion, get thee hence and groove to the martian magnificence!

What it is, Groovy Nation! Lo and Behold, Legions of Bronze Age Believers! Happy belated birthday to the labyrinthine library of the Groovy Agent!

We quickly became Addicted to Alex Nino here at DotGK. We flipped our lids over the complete John Byrne run on Space: 1999, and we still haven’t recovered from the holy headgear of Odin. But nothing savagely mutates us quite like a Black and White Wednesday. And when Ol’ Groove throws Jim Starlin into the mix, we boldly besiege the back issue bins like rampaging lizard men to add to our collection.

The Groovy One not only shares our enthusiasm for all things Starlin but furiously aids and abets us in shamelessly squandering our youth upon them. Thus, we passionately present to you these pages from Jim Starlin’s Metamorphosis Odyssey, from Epic Illustrated #1!

If you must have it all, you need Epic Illustrated #1-9 plus #15, The Price graphic novel (or Dreadstar Annual #1), and the Dreadstar graphic novel. That sets you up for Dreadstar #1-26 at Epic through #27-40 at First Comics. Whoa! There goes the kids’ college fund! But don’t worry – you can read the 10-page “Cliff Notes” version at Planets Disappeared In Atomic Infernos!

 

What can we say about Metamorphosis Odyssey? This is why Guttenberg invented the printing press! It’s what the ancient Egyptians hoped for when they first put words and pictures together on a piece of papyrus! The Iliad? A warm-up. Beowulf? Amateurs. The Brothers Karamazov? Not even close. So read it, buy it, and store 1000 copies in a weatherproof, impact-resistant time capsule for future generations. Now let’s rock!

Groove's Faves: "Almuric, Part 1" by Thomas and Conrad

What it is, Groove-ophiles! Roy Thomas and Tim Conrad adapting Robert E. Howard was always magical. Thomas and Conrad's adaptation of REH's unfinished "sword and planet" epic, "Almuric", was originally intended for Marvel's color Marvel Premiere mag as "Warrior of the Lost Planet" (I remember reading about it in '76), but wound up running in issues 2-5 of Epic Illustrated (Marvel's answer to Heavy Metal, natch). So while this story was conceived and created during the height of the Groovy Age, it didn't see print until May 1980, tantalizingly near the end of the Groovy Age.

T'was most fortuitous that "Almuric" was snatched up by Epic editor Archie Goodwin, because Epic's high-scale printing allowed Conrad to paint the adventures of Esau Cairn, something we're used to now, but it was new and exciting in 1980. In Ol' Groove's opinion, Conrad's coloring takes a back-seat to none, so when Dark Horse gets around to reprinting this (again, they collected it in a graphic novel format back in 1991) in an upcoming issue of Robert E. Howard's Savage Sword (which I'm sure they will!), I hope they don't touch it and just present it as it was in Epic Illustrated. I'm not sure if it was Roy or Tim or both who decided to go the Wizard of Oz route with making Cairn's life on earth nearly black and white, saving the full-color for his time on "Almuric", but it was a master-stroke. Beyond the coloring, Conrad's art is gorgeous. I get a Max Fleischer Superman vibe from his depiction of Esau Cairn, and his overall style and command of detail puts him in the ranks of Barry (Windsor-) Smith, Bernie Wrightson, and other masters of fantasy art. And you'd better believe Roy Thomas was at his peak, channeling REH's prose with perfection, deftly picking up the best scenes and dialogue bits from the original prose. Roy could make us believe that these were comics that REH would have written had he been alive to do so. Dig it, baby!


Most people get off on the fact that "Almuric" is REH's answer to Edgar Rice Burrough's John Carter of Mars, but Ol' Groove can't help but feel that the savage Esau Cairn, himself, is closer to Tarzan when he cuts loose. Of course, REH and ERB were coming from completely different places, so in all reality, the only thing the two pulp giants shared was the "interplanetary romance" aspect. ERB saw savages and savage lands being tamed by noble men. REH just turned savages loose against more savages and let the blood fly.

Countdown to Halloween 2010! If You Blinked You Missed: Ray Rue

Ray Rue is a writer/artist with mad skills. In fact, the dude was totally mind-blowing, baby! Strange thing is, he only (as far as I know) did three stories in his all-too-brief comicbook career. Two for Heavy Metal during mid 1979, and this masterpiece of mood, "Lullaby of Bedlam" from Marvel's Epic Illustrated #1 (Spring 1980).