Now That's Heavy, Man: "The God of Tarzan" by Thomas, Buscama, and Alcala

Ol' Groove loves Tarzan. I dig all things Edgar Rice Burroughs, and that's a fact. I dig Roy Thomas, John Buscema, and Alfredo Alcala--separately or together--the most, as well. When you get 'em all together--even for a freakin' fill-in ish--you get something special. In Marvel's Tarzan #9 (November 1977), Thomas, Buscema, and Alcala got it all together for an "untold tale of Tarzan" in which the Lord of the Jungle searches for the Lord of Creation. Now that's some heavy stuff, especially when we're talkin' ' bout a dude that spends most of his time swinging from vines and wrestling with jungle critters. And hey, even if the story doesn't  clutch ya, doesn't that art just grab your eyeballs and not let 'em go?

Now That's Heavy, Man: "The Tangled Web" by Malmgren and Bolling

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! If you know much about comics of the early 1970s, you know that comicbooks got pretty heavy into dealing with "issues of the day". We called the trend "relevance". Some of the most famous were the Spider-Man "drug issues", Captain America dealing with corrupt government, and, of course, the legendary (and that overused adjective honestly fits here) Green Lantern/Green Arrow series. We also had lots of mags with the JLA dealing with pollution, the Teen Titans battling the Generation Gap, Wonder Woman doing her thing for Women's Lib, and of course The Batman taking down dope dealers and muggers.

One publisher, though, did more than their fair share to bring relevance to their readers. They, too, dealt with things like pollution, the Generation Gap, Women's Lib, and yes, even muggers. That company, believe it or don't, was Archie Comics. All the mags in the Archie line touched on real issues of the day at one time or another, but a few, especially Betty and Me and Life with Archie, found ways to deal with the human condition (yes, even religion) in a gentle, semi-humorous, sincere way.

Dick Malmgren and Bob Bolling's "The Tangled Web" (Life With Archie #112) is a story that has stuck with me ever since I brought that mag home from the local King Kwik back in May, 1971. In one ten page story that angered, saddened, and, yes, educated Young Groove, I learned lessons about honesty, responsiblity, friendship, and citizenship that have remained part of me to this day.

Now THAT'S heavy, man!

Now That's Heavy, Man: Betty Cooper is "The Wall Flower Child"

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! It's time to get serious, again, and this time with a story starring Archie Andrews and Betty Cooper, if you can believe it. You can tell as soon as you look at the cover that accompanies the following story from Life With Archie #114 (July 1971) that this is not your run-of-the mill Archie yarn. While DC and Marvel's "socially relevant" comics phase is well documented, true, long-time Archie fans remember that Archie and the gang dealt with "relevant" issues during the early 1970s as well. Stories dealing with muggings, death, pollution, racism, politics, religion, and (as in the case of today's post) sexual assault could be found comics like Life With Archie, Betty and Me, and Archie at Riverdale High during the Groovy Age's "Relevant Phase". Sometimes these extra-long, extra-special stories worked, sometimes they didn't, but the folks at Archie Comics definitely had their hearts in the right place when they took the time to warn kids about things like how dangerous it could be for even someone as sweet as Betty Cooper to get into a car with a stranger. Learn and live, baby!


Oh, one other thought. Okay, two other thoughts. For all of you Groove-ophiles bummed out by Archie's proposal to Veronica in the recent issues of Archie, let Ol' Groove lay some heavy truths on ya. First up, even "ancient" stories like "The Wall Flower Child" show Archie's feelings toward Betty aren't the kind that lead to matrimony. I love ol' Arch, but ya have to admit, he's a total dingbat when it comes to the ladies. To him, Betty is a "pal" and "sister-type", and in all honestly, someone to be used to make Veronica jealous or to kill time with when Ronnie is away. While I have always thought (and still do think) Betty is the most far-out chick in the Archie-verse (mayhap in the whole comicbook multiverse), she really needs to get her head on straight and forget about Ol' Carrot Top. Second, if you read Archie #600 very carefully, you'll see that the story is an "imaginary" or "what if...?" tale that might--or might not--happen in the future of our favorite forever-teens. So sit back and enjoy the ride!

Now That's Heavy, Man: "The Phantom's New Faith"

Of all the superheroes in comicdom to suffer from an inferiority complex, the last one you'd expect is the Phantom. The Ghost-Who-Walks is one of the oldest, most established superheroes in the medium, y'know? He was leaving skull-ring prints on baddies' noggins back when Aunt May was a flapper! But in The Phantom #38 (March 1970), as our hero studies the Book of Phantoms Past, he begins to feel mighty small. How does he handle it? Why, with a bit of pop-psychology, natch! You have to read it to believe it, so look out! Here comes "The Phantom's New Faith"! (Hey, at least it sports some nifty Jim Aparo art!)