Sports Sunday: A Groovy Guest Post by Mike Mikulovsky! 1970 Browns and Bengals as Marvel Heroes by Lee and J. Buscema

What it is, Groove-ophiles! Here's a special guest-post by Mighty Mike Mikulovsky featuring a fab find he's dug up to share with all of us here in Groove City! Thanks, Mike! Enjoy, Groove-ophiles!

Are you ready for some football? It's that time again people--playoff time! That's where the monsters of the gridiron battle like gladiators to achieve the ultimate prize in the NFL! No, not the cheerleaders! The Vince Lombardi Trophy! Ok, the cheerleaders too!

Anyway, I forgot this even existed, but long ago Stan "The Man" Lee & "Big John" Buscema did a layout for PRO, an NFL magazine, comparing various players in the NFL at the time to the various Marvel superheroes.

I first saw this as a boy and it was a few years old already. My best buddy Neal Moore snuck it to out show it to me. It belonged to his really cool step father--who was also a fellow Marvel zombie to my surprise! I remember him saying, "Hey, Mike, check this out!" At first I thought, "Who cares? It's a football magazine." When I actually saw it I thought, "How cool is this!" Hey I was like 13 or a very young 14! It was great seeing John Buscema's pencils. So here they are from the Oct 18th & Nov 1st editions of PRO!

My Super Bowl prediction: GB 48, Pittsburgh 38! Go, Packers!

Sports Sunday: "The Challenge of the Faceless Five!"

What's happening, Groove-ophiles! March Madness not mad enough for ya? Well, here's a little four-color bizarro b-ball for those of us who just can't get enough! From DC's Strange Sports Stories #4 (December 1973), here's Cary Bates and John Rosenberger with "The Challenge of the Faceless Five!"

Sports Sunday: The Justice League and Friends (and Enemies) in "The Great Super-Star Game"

One of the things Ol' Groove loves so much about the Groovy Age of comics is the free-wheeling experimentation. DC was always considered the "safe" or "square" company, but truth to tell, they did quite a bit of experimentation at the House That Superman Built. One of their greatest experimental titles was the not-very-originally titled DC Super-Stars. Each issue would feature a different hero, villain, or theme. Sometimes an issue might be nothing but reprints. Sometimes all-new material. Other times it might be a mix of new and old. You never knew what the folks at DC were gonna toss at us from issue to issue, but we knew it would at least be interesting. One of the wildest issues was DC Super-Stars #10 (September 1976) with its Strange Sports Stories theme (and Ernie Chua--aka Chan--cover). This time, instead of an anthology of sports themed sci fi and fantasy stories, editor Julie Schwartz assigned writer Bob Rozakis and artists Dick Dillin and Frank McLaughlin (the regular JLA art team) to create a story about a super-All-Star Game. The story is quite whimsical and more than a little silly, but it's more fun than any dozen "mega-events", can you dig it? Like, who wouldn't wanna read about a super-powered baseball game that pit the team of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Kid Flash, Plastic Man, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and the (original) Huntress, against the team of Lex Luthor, the Joker, Chronos, Weather Wizard, Dr. Polaris, Matter Master, Felix Faust, Tattooed Man, and Sportsmaster--with Uncle Sam and Amazo as umpires? Just for giggles, I'm tossing in the the play-by-play feature from the letters page. Batter up!

Sports Sunday: "Gridiron Knightmare!" by Robbins, Swan, and Giordano

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! It's time for another classic from Julie Schwartz's short-lived Strange Sports Stories! This one's a far-out tale that takes the term "fantasy football" to a whole 'nother level! From Strange Sports Stories #3 (October 1973), here's "Gridiron Knightmare!" by Frank Robbins, Curt Swan, and Dick Giordano. A winning team if there ever was one!

Sports Sunday: "A Tall Tale of Tenpins!"

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Here's a bowling tale of wonder, concocted by writer Frank Robbins and artists Curt Swan and Bob Oksner--with a Rip Van Winkle twist--or should I say "bender"? Prepare to be bowled-over by "A Tall Tale of Tenpins!" from DC's Strange Sports Stories #1 (June 1973)!