Those Groovy Saturday Mornings: Hot Wheels

Have I ever mentioned the fact that Li'l Groove was almost as big a fan of Mattel's Hot Wheels as he was of cartoons and comicbooks? Well, it's true. I had tons of the tracks, the cars, iron-on decals for my windbreaker (which I proudly wore to my very first day of school), you name it, I had it. Imagine my glee when all three of those worlds met through the truly titanic talents of Alex Toth! In 1969, Toth designed the cast for the Hot Wheels cartoon show; a show which made its debut on ABC-TV in September, 1969. In December of that same year, DC produced the comicbook version of the show--and was wise enough to hire Toth to draw all but the final issue (but hey, they got Neal Adams to do that one, so who could complain?). The show ran for two seasons; the plug being pulled, not because of poor ratings, but due to pressure from parents' groups and the FCC claiming the show was nothing more than an extended commercial. Boy, the times they have changed, huh? The comic only ran six issues (January 1970-October 1970), but man, were they six gorgeous issues. Aside from the mastery of Toth's penciling, there was the rare treat of seeing Toth inked by Dick Giordano on a few of 'em. Giordano's slick inks looked really great over Toth to Li'l Groove's eyes--they look good to Ol' Groove's bifocalled eyes to this day! So, dig the crazy intro to the cartoon show, then groove to the debut issue (written by Joe Gill, no slacker in the writing department!). Start your engines!!

Black and White Wednesday: The Question by Stern, Uslan, and Toth

What it is, Groove-ophiles! Today we're gonna plant our peepers on a rare treat--Alex Toth illustrating Steve Ditko's The Question from Charlton Bullseye #5 (Summer 1976). The untitled story, plotted by Roger Stern and scripted by Michael Uslan, no matter how good it may be, is only an excuse for us to admire the artistic prowess of a true master of the medium. How did the CPL Gang (Bullseye's publisher) manage to snag Alex Toth for their fanzine? In an interview with John Cooke in Comic Book Artist #12, CPL editor Roger Stern answered that very...er...question...

"Dumb luck, I guess. Somehow, we'd gotten Toth's address and sent him a complimentary copy of CPL. Then, we managed to get him to draw a cover for issue # 11. When Bob (Layton) launched Charlton Bullseye, one of the things we both really wanted to do was run a new Question story—and since we weren't sure how to get in touch with Steve Ditko, we hit on the idea of asking Toth. I think Bob called him. Anyway, Toth said yes."

 Dumb luck rocks, dunnit? Check it out!

 

Black and White Wednesday: Alex Toth's Vanguard

What's happening, Groove-ophiles? Today's B&W Wednesday post is not only a veritable feast for the ol' eyeballs, but a missing link to the short-but-oh-so-complicated history of the meteoric Atlas/Seaboard line. Seems that when Howard Chaykin first sprung The Scorpion on publisher Martin Goodman and company, they didn't dig where Humble Howie was coming from. They then commissioned the master, Alex Toth, to try his hand at the property. Toth worked like a madman, completing a ten page strip in ten days--only to have it rejected, The Scorpion being given back (if only temporarily) to Chaykin. Toth knew he had something groovy in his hands, though, and reworked the strip as The Vanguard. A couple years later, Sal Quartuccio, publisher of the very cool ground level mag, Hot Stuf', ran the strip in (ta dah!) Hot Stuf' #4 (cover dated Spring 1977). Toth, since Vanguard was going to be published in b&w rather than the color, added gray tones, and before you can say "dy-no-mite!" Mark Forte's masked alter-ego finally saw the light of day.

Groove's Faves: "Eternal Hour" by Alex Toth

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Art class is now in session! The Master, Alex Toth, illustrated "Eternal Hour" for Witching Hour #38 (October 1973). Haven't been able to track down the author (Toth, himself, perhaps?), but it's Toth's art that grabs the eye and imagination. See for yourself...