Marvel-ous Monday: "Crime and Circuses" by Isabella, Mantlo, Wilson, and Kida

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Here's part two (part one was back in June, right here) of Black Goliath's debut from Power Man #25 (March 1975)--at last! Plotted by Tony Isabella, plotted by Bill Mantlo (his color comics debut), penciled by Ron Wilson, and inked by Fred Kida prepare for..."Crime and Circuses!"

Cover art by Gil Kane and Mike Esposito

Marvel-ous Monday: "Among Us Walks...Black Goliath!" by Isabella, Tuska, and Hunt

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Remember Black Goliath? Yeah, right from the start, most folks didn't like the name, but bless Tony Isabella and company for trying to introduce new, multicultural characters to carry on the Marvel legacy. Bill Foster, as we learned when we first met in him Avengers #32 (July 1966), was a friend and assistant to Hank (Ant-Man/Giant-Man/Goliath/Yellowjacket) Pym who had previously worked for Tony Stark. During Pym's Yellowjacket phase, Foster decided to become a superhero using Pym's formula--well, you'll read all about that as we go.

Main thing is, Isabella wanted to turn a civilian character into a superhero (cool!) and did so in the pages of Power Man issues 24-25 (January-March 1975). Newcomer John Byrne (who?) designed the duds, but George Tuska and triple-threat man (letterer, colorist, and inker) Dave Hunt, provided the art. Evidently, somebody in editorial/publishing thought Black Goliath was worthy of his own mag, so eight months later, Black Goliath #1 hit the stands with Isabella and Tuska at the helm. The series only ran for 5 issues (Chris Claremont took over the writing with #2, Tuska stayed on til #3, followed by Rich Buckler in ish #4 and Keith Pollard in #5), but BG did show up in a few issues of Champions (#'s 11-13, November-December 1976, February 1977) and then in the legendary "Project Pegasus" saga in Marvel Two-In-One (issues 55-58, July-October 1979) where he changed both his costume and his name (to Giant-Man). Lots happened after that, but not a lot of it is good and not part of the Groovy Age, so Ol' Groove is (finally!) gonna shaddup and get on with the comics! From Power Man #24: "Among Us Walks...Black Goliath!"

Cover art by Gil Kane and Dan Adkins

Thanks to max_renn for the far-out scans!

Making a Splash: John Byrnes Up Marvel Team-Up

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Ol' Groove is in the mood for some cool team-ups and some John Byrne art! Sound good to you? Yeah, that's what I thought! From October 1976 to December 1978 (issues 53-79), Byrne was the main artist on Marvel Team-Up. Most issues were scripted by Chris Claremont, but the first few were scripted by Byrne's former Champions partner Bill Mantlo. Dig it! The Hulk! Woodgod! Adam Warlock! Yellowjacket and The Wasp! Human Torch! Ms. Marvel! Iron Fist! Captain Britain! Tigra! Man-Thing! Havoc! Thor! Power Man! Red Sonja! Ahhhhh, the Groovy Age!