Making a Splash: Neal Adams' Batman

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Waaaaay back in late November of '09 we got down with Neal Adams' Batman splashes from Detective Comics. It's about time we grooved to Nefarious Neal's Batman splashes for The Batman's own mag, don'tcha think? Can mortal eyes handle the magnificence that follows these imperishable woids? Let's find out...

You survived! As your reward here's some extra info on the pulsating pages you just perused! They were originally published in Batman #'s 219 (December 1969), 232 (April 1971), 234 (June 1971), 237 (September 1971), 243-245 (June-August 1972), 251 (June 1973), and 255 (December 1973). All of 'em were inked by Dick Giordano except #251 (which Adams inked himself). All of 'em were written by Denny O'Neil except #'s 219 (Mike Friedrich) and 255 (Len Wein). Harlan Ellison helped plot #237. Julie Schwartz edited 'em all!

Random Reads: "The Nightmare Maker!" by Maggin, Swan, and Anderson

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! While Superman has had his ups and downs over his 70-plus year career, having his adventures illustrated by the dyn-o-mite duo of Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson (aka "Swanderson" to those fans in-the-know) was definitely one of the "ups". While Swan was the unchallenged Superman artist of the 1970s, the times he was paired with inker Anderson are universally considered the very best of the best. While the quality of the stories could vary wildly from writer to writer, Swan kept things consistent and Anderson's inks could elevate even the most mundane to something special. Not saying writer Elliott S! Maggin's story is "mundane"--I mean, we've got "ghost stars", mad scientists and the Abominable Snowman fer crine out loud! Nah, you definitely got your double-dime's worth when you peeled back the action-packed Nick Cardy cover of Superman #266 (May 1973) to read..."The Nightmare Maker!"

Black and White Wednesday: "The Vampire Wants Blood!" by Moench and Mayerik

Long before Def Leppard warned us that love bites, Doug Moench and Val Mayerik told a tale that drove that sentiment home in a most literal way. From Vampire Tales #5 (April 1974) here's..."The Vampire Wants Blood!"

Two-fer Tuesday: "Carson of Venus"/"Mutiny at Sea" by Wein and Kaluta

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! After watching (and digging) John Carter this weekend, Ol' Groove got re-bitten by the Edgar Rice Burroughs bug. I started re-reading my 1975 (with Neal Adams cover) copy of Tarzan and the Leopard Men (it's been a while!), and I also realized that tt's been waaaaaay too long since we thrilled to the Venusian exploits Carson Napier here on the Diversions! That, thought I, is easy to fix! Here's a double-play of dyn-o-mite sci-fi action and adventure from Len Wein and Mike Kaluta from Korak, Son of Tarzan #'s 50-51 (November 1972-January 1973)! (And if you missed the first two Carson of Venus posts, click here and here, frantic one!)