Lo! There Shall Come Endings! "Gotterdammerung" by Goodwin and Simonson

The New Year is almost upon us, and the Old Year is nearly done. Here in Groove City that means one thing--another annual installment of Lo! There Shall Come Endings!

One of the best and most beloved series of the Groovy Age was, without a doubt, Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson's Manhunter, which ran from issues 437-443 (July 1973-July 1974) of Detective Comics. Young Groove loved it, most of fandom--and pro-dom--did, too, as it won award after award during that fateful year. (You can read more about the behind-the-scenes of Manhunter here.) One of the most innovative and daring things Goodwin and Simonson did on the strip (and we're talking about an entire series that was filled to overflowing with innovation and daring) was to, not only complete the strip, but end it with the death of the hero. Goodwin knew he was leaving the editorship of 'Tec with ish 443, so he and Simonson decided to bring Manhunter from the back of  'Tec to team him up with The Batman in this full-out, blockbuster style ending to end all endings, "Gotterdammerung"! T'was a wise decision that led to one masterpiece of comic art. You're gonna love this, Groove-ophiles!

Cover art by Jim Aparo

Grooviest Covers of All Time: Jack Returns to Kover Some of His Ko-Kreations

When Jack Kirby returned to Marvel in late 1975, he refused to return to penciling any of his Marvel  ko-kreations except for Captain America (and later Black Panther).The King did, however, provide some kool kovers right outta the gate! Here's the earliest batch of Marvel's kovers from Jack's riotous return!

Happy 90th Birthday, Stan!

Tomorrow Stan (the Man) Lee will be 90! To help celebrate this distinguished deed of durability, Ol' Groove thought he'd share a few Groovy Age milestones--the covers  to the 90th issues of Tales to Astonish, Tales of Suspense, Fantastic Four, and Amazing Spider-Man--mags that reached their own nineties during the Groovy Age with Stan still at the writing/editing helm! Hoo-hah!

Cover art by Jack Kirby and Vinnie Colletta

Cover art by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia

Cover art by Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott

Cover art by Gil Kane and John Romita

Black and White Wednesday: The Savage Barry Windsor-Smith

Happy Holidays, Groove-ophiles! How 'bout some Barry Windsor-Smith to groove to as we wind down from our big Christmas day? The early issues of Savage Tales were filled to the brim with Barry's sensational stylings--from the scintillating splashes of "The Frost Giant's Daughter" and "Red Nails" to the pieces of Conan art used to decorate ads, articles, and such. Wanna see?

12 Days of Christmas 2012! "Tis the Season!" by Stern, Tuska, and Perlin

Here's wishing the happiest of Christmas Days to all of my Groove-ophiles! Today's extra-special post features the far-out framing sequence from Marvel Treasury Edition #13's (Christmas 1976) Giant Superhero Holiday Grab-Bag by Roger Stern, George Tuska, and Don Perlin, complete with Gil Kane/Joe Sinnott covers and the splashes from the stories the framing sequence introduced. 'Twas the last, and thanks to the framing sequence, finest of Marvel's treasury-sized holiday offerings and it featured tons-o-characters...Spidey, the FF, the Avengers, the Hulk, the Silver Surfer, the Defenders, Daredevil, and even the Champions! What a merry and Marvel-ous Christmas gift it was!