Bring On the Back-ups: "Let There Be...Darkness!" by O'Neil and Grell

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Can ya believe it? Today is six years since Ol' Groove started blabbin' on this here blog! Six years of cool comics, terrific trivia, and rancid ramblings, all made possible by you! Yeah, I'm blamin' you, Groove-ophiles! If it weren't for your enthusiasm and support, Yers Trooly would'a quit this bloggy thing (apologies to Tony Isabella) bleems ago! But no! You keep encouraging me, so I keep on truckin'! Really, all kiddin' aside, Ol' Groove humbly thanks ya from the bottom of his tie-dyed heart!

Since the Diversions started with a Mike Grell-centric post, Ol' Groove thought it only fitting that we celebrate the occasion with a Mike Grell-illoed masterpiece. Whaddya think? This particularly superb sci-fi short, "Let There Be...Darkness!", was written by Denny O'Neil and inked by Bill Draut. It first appeared in the back of The Flash #237 (August 1975), during the time when O'Neil and Grell were working toward bringing Green Lantern back to greatness (and back into his own title). Their cosmic style clicked with both fandom and editorial, so about a year after this tale was published, GL would, indeed, get his own mag back under Denny and Iron Mike. Don't ya love happy endings?

The Grooviest Covers of All Time: Ken Kelly's Creepy Covers

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Ol' Groove recently learned that Richard Sala and company were producing a new b&w full-sized magazine called The Creeps! Sala and the gang (which includes Groovy Age greats like Rich Buckler, Frank Brunner, Joe Rubinstein, and today's subject, Ken Kelly) are out to re-capture the Warren glory days, and, judging my my hot-off-the-presses copy, doggoned if it doesn't look like they just might pull it off!  'Tis a thing of blood-curdling beauty--looks like it just crept in from the 1970s (that's meant in the best possible way)! For more info on the inspiration for today's post, head on over to the official The Creeps Magazine website (but only after ya get done here, Irving)!

"And why don't we get on with today's post, huh, Groove?" Okay, Groove-ophiles! Feast your eyes on these creature-filled Creepy Magazine covers painted by the great Ken Kelly!

The Forgotten Batman: "Into the Den of the Death-Dealers!" by O'Neil, Brown, and Giordano

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Yesterday was actually "Batman Day", the official 75th anniversary of our fave Caped Crusader, but since it was Black and White Wednesday, we put our part of the Bat-celebration off 'til today. (Think Alfred will notice?) 

Yeah, it's no secret around here how much Ol' Groove loves The Batman (he's the reason I got into comics, don'tcha know), so the fact that The Darknight Detective is celebrating seventy-five years is mucho important to moi! I've picked an important episode of The Batman's life, his first meeting with Talia, daughter of Ra's Al Ghul, mother of Damien Wayne! Naturally this classic is written by Denny O'Neil and inked by Dick Giordano--two of the most important post-Batman TV show creators--but instead of being penciled by Neal Adams (who did contribute the cover) or Irv Novick, it's penciled by the ever-underrated Bob Brown, who does a fabamundo job! So happy anniversary, Batman! From Detective Comics #411 (March 1971),lets  follow The Batman..."Into the Den of the Death-Dealers!"

Black and White Wednesday: "The Vendetta" by Conway and Staton

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Get out the flashlight and pull the covers up over your head, 'cause it's time for a Vampire Tale (from ish 8, October 1974, to be exact)! "The Vendetta" was written by the husband-wife team of Carla and Gerry Conway with art by the great Joe (Dick Tracy, E-Man) Staton! And hey, it may be a vampire tale--but it doesn't suck! (Ouch!)

Addicted to Alex Nino: "Dead Man's Bride" by Oleck and Nino

What it is, Groove-ophiles! Today let's enjoy a macabre masterpiece by two masters of mystery, Jack Oleck and (but of course!) Alex Nino! "Dead Man's Bride" was but one sensational story out of eight from the dynamic two hundred and fifty-fourth issue of the then-Dollar Sized House of Mystery, and it's definitely one of the best! Truck on back to July 1977 with Ol' Groove, won'tcha?

Groove's Faves: "Games Godlings Play!" by Gerber, Starlin, Wein, Adkins, Newton, and Mooney

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Today we're gonna rap about an all-time fave from one of Ol' Groove's all-time fave formats--Marvel's Giant-Size line of 1974/1975. Those 68 page quarterlies were always something special, extra-long stories (a lot of times with guest-stars), superior art--almost like a Silver Age annual four times a year! Giant-Size Defenders was one of the best, and one of its best issues was G-SD #3 (October 1974)--"Games Godlings Play!" Co-plotted by Steve Gerber, Jim Starlin, and Len Wein, with lay-outs by Starlin and finishes/inks by Dan Adkins, Don Newton, and Jim Mooney, "Games..." is a tour de force for our fave non-team. It's cosmic,  it's lyrical, it's whimsical, and it's even brutal at times. It's also innovative (Gerber and Starlin's use of pictures and set-type prose blew me away) and it introduces Korvac, who seems like a neat throw-away character here, but will later become a major Avengers villain. Not only that, but it features one of the biggest boo-boo endings in comicbook history--part of the legendary "Gerber Curse"? Wow! So much cool stuff packed into one ish--no wonder it was Giant-Size!

Cover art by Ron Wilson and Joe Sinnott

Oh, and that major boo-boo Ol' Groove alluded to above? Didja catch it? Here's the letters page from G-SD #4 in which fans point it out and Marvel responds. It's pretty funny. Oh, there's a minor boo-boo a sharp-eyed fan caught in "Gods...", too! Check it out...