Groove's Faves: "King Konk '68" by Thomas and Sutton (with Severin)

HoowwWOOOOOO's about some hilarious horror today, Groove-ophiles, courtesy Roy Thomas and Tom Sutton (with lots'a help by Marie Severin on the various caricatures)? Yeah, Ol' Groove thought you might dig it! The cover-feature for Marvel's Not Brand Echh #11 (September 1968) was "King Konk '68". As you might expect, it was the Mighty Marvel Bullpen waxing cuckoo about what kinda flick King Kong would have been had it been re-made for 1968. The story is ka-razee, populated with dozens of pop-culture folk, both real and created, movie stars, monsters, TV stars, singers, and super-heroes all get their cameos. The humor is dense, found both in the prose and pictures, but man, you can spend a lot of time having a blast with all of this silliness! Are you ready for it?

All-in-all, I prefer this version to the 1976 and 2005 versions--by far!

Black and White Wednesday: "Within the Torture Chamber!" by Pagan and Wildey

Greetings, my Groovy Ghoulies! Who'd'a thunkit? While Doug Wildey was conjuring up cartoon masterpieces like Johnny Quest and The Herculoids, he was hiding a decidedly darker side. A side that writer Kevin Pagan (a horror-writer's name if ever there was one!) could tap into in order to create monster-pieces like "Within the Torture Chamber!" for Nightmare #5 (cover-dated August 1971). Dig it--if you dare...

Groove's Faves: "It's a Monster!" by Moench, Colan, and Wiacek

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Teen Groove (and a lot of other Groove-ophiles, no doubt) really, really dug The Hulk! color mag. Not only was the MarvelColor technique totally far-out (pointing toward today's computer coloring and heavier paper stock), but writer Doug Moench's stories took on the tone of the even more popular Hulk TV show of the day, with it's down-to-earth morality tales. The coolest part was that while The Hulk! had the realistic feel of the show, it featured the real Hulk who could smash stuff like no TV budget would ever allow! So in The Hulk #19 (December 1979), Moench gives us a cool, thoughtful story enhanced by the power-packed art of Gene Colan and Bob Wiacek! John Tartaglione's colors add greatly to the realistic feel. But that's my opinion about "It's a Monster!", your opinions may vary. 'Cause like the story poignantly points out, what we think about something is all based on our own individual perspectives...

Groove's Faves: "Death Flies the Haunted Sky" by Goodwin and Toth

Here's a classic if ever there were one, Groove-ophiles! Archie Goodwin and Alex Toth teamed up in Detective Comics #442 (May 1974) to deliver this love-letter to their fellow Batman creators. They called it "Death Flies the Haunted Sky" and considered by many fans and pros alike to be one of the all-time great bat-tales. Dig it!

The Grooviest Covers of All Time: The Tomb of Kane and Palmer

Ah, October. The time of year when a young fan's mind turns to...Dracula?!? But of course, my Groovy Ghoulies! Marvel's Tomb of Dracula, to be precise! Let's trip on down memory lane with a bevy of blood-curdling Tomb of Dracula Covers covers by the artistic dream team of Gil Kane and Tom Palmer! Yeah, Ol' Groove thought you'd dig that!

The Boys from Derby: "A Handsome Devil" by Cuti and Staton

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Here's another monstrous masterpiece from our fave Boys from Derby, Nick Cuti and Joe Staton! From Haunted #33 (September 1977; reprinted from Haunted #11, November 1973), prepare to meet..."A Handsome Devil"!