Black and White Wednesday: "Winterbeast" by Lewis and Mayerik

Dig it, Groove-ophiles! A creepy, cool masterpiece by the Budd Lewis and Val Mayerik. "Winterbeast" is from Creepy #120 (June 1980).

Why do I keep hearing Steve Martin's voice in my head yelling, "He spoke French!"?

Making a Splash: Fear the Man-Thing!

What it is, Groove-ophiles! We can't let another October slip by without a loving look back at the macabre Man-Thing! After a thimble-full of nigh-legendary appearances (Savage Tales #1 and Astonishing Tales #'s 12-13), Manny finally got a regular swamp to haunt in Adventures Into Fear. He Burned Anyone Who Knew Fear for issues 10-19 (July 1972-September 1973) before graduating to his own mag (which ran for 22 issues, plus five unfortunately named Giant-Size issues). Check out the spooky/sludgy splashes with art by Gray Morrow, Howard Chaykin, Jim Starlin, Rich Buckler, and Val Mayerik (usually inked by Sal Trapini)...but whatever you do--don't let Man-Thing know you're afraid!

Making a Splash: Marvelous McLeod (Bob, That Is)

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! During the Groovy Age (and beyond!), Young/Teen Groove was always happy to see the name of inker Bob McLeod in the credits. Loved his inks from the first time I saw 'em (for me, t'was Defenders #24 (March 1975). His lush, organic line meshed with most everyone he ever inked (at least in my eyes), giving a unique sheen right up there with his peers like Klaus Janson, Joe Rubinstein, and Terry Austin (is it Ol' Groove, or did all of these incredible inkers find a sweet spot between the styles of Dick Giordano and Tom Palmer?). Here are a ton o' titanic and superior splashes pairing the talented Mr. M with many of the greats of Groovy Age Mighty Marvel. Enjoy, baby!

The Hulk! #13

Amazing Spider-Man #187

The Hulk! #15

The Hulk! #21

Marvel Treasury Edition #27

Marvel Team-Up #100

And yeah, we'll dig on Bob's DC masterpieces in a future post!

Black and White Wednesday: "Alien Affair" by Bates and Mayerik

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Today we're gonna dig on a sci-fi/horror shocker by the titanic team of Cary Bates and Val Mayerik! Moody, twisted, and beautifully illustrated, "Alien Affair" from Creepy #109 (May 1979) will thrill and chill, baby!

Black and White Wednesday: "Dreams of Grandeur" by Lewis, Mayerik, and Janson

Check it out, Groove-ophiles! Here's a sci-fi shocker from the cool creative combo of Budd Lewis, Val Mayerik, and Klaus Janson! "Dreams of Grandeur", from Creepy #111 (July 1979), takes hero worship to a whole 'nuther scaaaaaary level...