Groove's Faves: "Death Is Bliss!" by O'Neil, Wein, Kaluta, and Friends

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Let's take another trip back to the 30s via the 70s! "Death Is Bliss!" from DC's The Shadow #4 (January 1974) is one cool and creepy tale! Written by the dyn-o-mite team of Denny O'Neil and Len Wein with pencils by Mike Kaluta and inks by some of his mightily-talented pals (Howard Chaykin, Steve Hickman, and Bernie Wrightson--Can you follow the signs that reveal who inked what, Groove-ophile?)--whooEE! We're talkin' high-octane comics greatness, baby!

Sunday Funnies: "Where Stomps the Scent-ry!" by Thomas and Colan

It's been a while since we got our giggles on with Marvel's self-parody mag, Not Brand Echh! Here's one for all of us Captain Mar-vell fans--Captain Marvin in "Where Stomps the Scent-ry!" What made Not Brand Echh so cool was that, whenever possible, Stan would have the regular creative team work on the parody of the very mag(s) they actually worked on. Such was the case with this silly story in Not Brand Echh #9 (May 1968). When Captain Marvel (Marvel's Space-Born Superhero, natch) got his own mag, t'was written by Roy Thomas and drawn by Gene Colan--so here they are poking fun at their own stories. Silly? Yes. Strange? Certainly. Entertaining? You bet'cha!

Making a Splash: "Our Pal" Sal Buscema's Captain America--Round One

Early in the Groovy Age, Captain America ran through a lot of artists. Jack Kirby, Jim Steranko, Gene Colan, and John Romita being the main ones. But beginning with Captain America and the Falcon #146 (November 1971), "Our Pal" Sal Buscema took on the penciling reins and held them for the majority of the rest of the decade. We're gonna celebrate Sal's turn as Cap's definitive Groovy Age artists with a few "Making a Splash" posts beginning with this one. This time out we'll be tackling Sal's "pre-Steve Englehart" issues, Captain America and the Falcon issues 146-152 (May 1972). The majority of these action-epics were written by Gary Friedrich and Gerry Conway. Can you dig it?

Random Reads: "The Gunfight at Murphysburg!" by Fleisher and Garcia-Lopez

Howdy, Groove-ophiles! Hop on ya hoss and foller Ol' Groove down the trail a piece. Hang in there close, and don't go a'strayin' off'n the trail. We're lookin' for that bounty-huntin' bad boy who goes by the handle'a Jonah Hex. Anytime yuh git near Hex, you know you're in for a rip-snortin' time'a fightin', shootin', an all-around general mayhem. T'day we're followin' Hex's trail to a town called Murphysburg. Writer Michale Fleisher and artist Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez done beat us there, and do they ever have a tale ta tell! It's from Jonah Hex #32 (October 1979), so yuh get ready ta dodge the flyin' bullets--'cause you'll more'n likely find yoreself right in the middle of... "The Gunfight at Murphysburg!"

Cover Art by Luis Dominguez