Mining for Gold(en)/Tuesday Team-Up: Micronauts and Man-Thing by Mantlo, Golden, and Rubenstein (Or All This and Neal Adams, Too!)

Hoo-hah, Groove-ophiles! Sometimes a comicbook comes along that just punches every "cool" button on the panel, and Micronauts #7 (April 1979) is one of 'em. First off, the premise: sci-fi meets horror as the mini-folk from the Microverse meet the Creature Who Burns All Who Know Fear--mega cool points to writer Bill Mantlo for thinking up such a meeting--and then making seem as natural and likely as Spidey and DD bumping into each other on an NYC rooftop! Next, the art: Michael Golden and Joe Rubinstein. Need I say more? (Okay, ya know Ol' Groove will!) We knew they could handle the far-out fantasy elements of the Micronauts, but their Man-Thing is appropriately slimy and creepy, while their rendition of the Florida swamps makes you almost feel the mosquito bites! And to top it all off: Golden's cover is inked by...Neal Adams! 'Nuff Said? Read on!


Presumptuous Plug Department: Hey, Groove-ophiles! Yet again, Ol' Groove has a comic coming out! My cosmic superhero Ultimus will star in Red Leaf Comics' Daring Adventures #1, set to roll off the presses in a few short weeks. I (in my civilian identity) recently did an interview on the subject for Comic Book Interviews, if you'd like to read more. We now return you to your regularly scheduled diversions...

Grooviest Covers of All Time: Classics from Our Pal Sal

What it is, Groove-ophiles! During the early '70s, Our Pal Sal Buscema drew many a cover for Marvel Comics. Before long, he became so busy (drawing 3 or 4 titles a month sometimes) that his cover-work slowed down to almost nothing. But during those early days--WOW! There's no way you could pass these up when you spun that comic rack! Help yourself to a heaping handful, baby!

What are some of your faves? Let Ol' Groove know and I'll dig 'em up and run 'em in a future post!

Sunday Funnies: Wally Wood's PLOPular Poetry

Here's a treasure-trove of forgotten treats for ya, Groove-ophiles! From issues 18-24 (August 1975-August 1976) of DC's "Magazine of Weird Humor" PLOP!, Wally Wood produced a humorous hum-dinger of a feature called "PLOPular Poetry". "PLOPular Poetry" ran a full-page in each issue and featured three poems (presented alphabetically) about the strange and sundry folks and fiends who invaded the imagination of one of comics' pioneers. Enjoy!

I wonder if  poems "v"-"z" were ever completed? Enquiring minds want to know!

The Boys from Derby: "The Beasts of Madame Kahn" by Cuti and Newton

Sometimes a comic is so good it doesn't even need much of an intro. In fact, sometimes you can just kick things off with a question and let it truck right on. To wit... How 'bout a classic Phantom story from two of Charlton's finest, Nick Cuti and Don Newton? Yeah, Ol' Groove thought you'd dig that! Get ready to face..."The Beasts of Madame Kahn" from Charlton's Phantom #68 (September 1975)!