Groove's Faves: "The Mer-Mutants!" by Friedrich and Weiss

What it is, Groove-ophiles! In early 1972, Namor, the Sub-Mariner's creator, Bill Everett, returned to his creation. Young Groove really dug Everett's slick, organic line, baby! Of course I'd always been a nut for Subby, but those Everett issues really stood out. Sometimes, though, Wild Bill would have deadline problems which would result in reprints. Not a problem for moi, 'cause the reprints were vintage Everett, and though it was some 30 years old at the time, t'was all new to me! Some folks didn't dig getting so many reprints I suppose, so Marvel tried to appease those fans with Sub-Mariner #54 (July 1972). That issue contained one short, brand-new Everett tale, a classic Everett reprint, and this brand-new Subby saga by Mike Friedrich (who was scripting Everett's issues on-and-off) and a young, and far-too seldom-seen Alan Weiss. Though Weiss's art was waaay different from Everett's , I flipped for it. The story itself is a nice piece, with Friedrich hitting the "relevance" notes that were popular with fans back then, but it was Weiss's art that stole the show. Check it out!