The Grooviest Covers of All Time: The Weird Humor of Wayne Howard's Midnight Tales

Dig it, Groove-ophiles! The incredibly talented student of Wally Wood, Wayne Howard had a knack for drawing "weird humor" in the PLOP!-ish vein. He never contributed to that DC title, but at Charlton he used that side of his talent on covers for his own wonderful Midnight Tales comic. Here are some of Ol' Groove's favorite funny--and "punny"--covers from that fun series...

The Boys from Derby: "Ambia!" by Wayne Howard

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Let's check out this rare sword and sorcery offering from Charlton Comics! Leave it to Wayne Howard to give us a cool twist on the some fantasy tropes in his masterpiece, Midnight Tales! "Ambia!" first came our way in Midnight Tales #16 (October 1975)!

I'd like to see more of Ambia, m'self! Hey, Charlton Neo! How 'bout it?

The Boys from Derby: "A Winner's Curse" by Unknown and Howard

Hooowoooooooooo's it goin', Groove-ophiles! Whaddya say we dig on a superior Wayne Howard art job (who wrote it? Mort Todd, can ya enlighten us?) from Ghost Manor Vol. 2, #4 (February 1972)? Yeah, Ol' Groove thought that might grab ya! Guess you could call it..."A Winner's Curse!"

Ol' Groove's Request Line: "Tower of the Serpent-Women!" by Carter, Fox, Mayerick, and Howard

"More Thongor!" cried Groove-dom! "More Thongor you will have!" replied Ol' Groove! "Tower of the Serpent-Women" by Gardner Fox, Val Mayerick, and Wayne Howard (continuing the adaptation of Lin Carter's Thongor and the Wizard of Lemuria) was published in Creatures on the Loose #26 (August 1973). It's the first of two issues authored by Golden Age great Gardner Fox (who also was a pro at prose sword and sorcery, natch), but it's also the final issue for penciler Val Mayerick (who replaced him? Stay tuned for future Thongor posts, Groove-ophiles!) Also of interest is the fact that this is a rare Marvel job for Charlton mainstay Wayne Howard. His Wally Wood-inspired inks give Mayerick a very different look, don'tcha think? Enjoy!

The Boys from Derby: "Malfunction" by Cuti and Howard

Here's a sweet sci-fi shocker from Charlton's Midnight Tales #3 (February 1973) by Nick Cuti and Wayne Howard, Groove-ophiles! "Malfunction"!

Praising Kane: "Mayhem Is...the Men-Fish!" by Wein, Kane, and Howard

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Today we're going to glom onto and gaze into a long-time fave--Marvel Team-Up #14 (July 1972). Imagine you're a kid with a quarter. It's summer time and you want to get the coolest comic you can get your hands on to help you wile away a scorcher of a day. You're at the spinner-rack at Heck's Drugs--there are tons of cool comics stuffed into that wire gateway to grooviness. You have to be careful, 'cause this is the only comic mag you're getting today. Ya gotta have standards, so what do you look for? Awesome characters? Spidey and Subby. Check. Far-out art? Gil Kane inked by Wayne Howard. Check. Weird villains? Tiger-Shark and the Men-Fish. Check. A fave writer? Len Wein. Check. Yep. "Mayhem Is...the Men-Fish!" is a keeper. Can you dig it?