Making a Splash: Marvelous McLeod (Bob, That Is)

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! During the Groovy Age (and beyond!), Young/Teen Groove was always happy to see the name of inker Bob McLeod in the credits. Loved his inks from the first time I saw 'em (for me, t'was Defenders #24 (March 1975). His lush, organic line meshed with most everyone he ever inked (at least in my eyes), giving a unique sheen right up there with his peers like Klaus Janson, Joe Rubinstein, and Terry Austin (is it Ol' Groove, or did all of these incredible inkers find a sweet spot between the styles of Dick Giordano and Tom Palmer?). Here are a ton o' titanic and superior splashes pairing the talented Mr. M with many of the greats of Groovy Age Mighty Marvel. Enjoy, baby!

The Hulk! #13

Amazing Spider-Man #187

The Hulk! #15

The Hulk! #21

Marvel Treasury Edition #27

Marvel Team-Up #100

And yeah, we'll dig on Bob's DC masterpieces in a future post!

The Boys from Derby: "The Swamp Creature" by Gill, Larson, and Boxell

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Ya know how much we love swamp creatures here in Groove City, so anytime Ol' Groove chances upon a tale featuring some sorta muck we're gonna put it up here for all to see! This one, the oh-so-brilliantly titled "The Swamp Creature" by Joe Gill, Rich Larson, and Tim Boxell is no Swamp Thing, but it's still pretty cool. Can you hear it sloshing your way from The Many Ghosts of Dr. Graves #58 (May 1976)?

Black and White Wednesday: RIP Ken Barr

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! As most of you probably know, artist Ken Barr passed away about a month ago, just a few days after his 83rd birthday. Barr was an artist of international renown (you can read a wonderful tribute to the man on Down the Tubes), but to kids like Young Groove, he was the master cover artist for many of Marvel's b&w mags. Ol' Groove posted a few of them back in 2012 (which you can see here), so here are a few more faves from the brush of a master of action and adventure!

Decent Comics: "When Fall the Mighty" by Conway, Levitz, Giffen, and Wood

Dig it, Groove-ophiles! With All-Star Comics #62 (June 1976), things are moving pretty rapidly toward returning the venerable Justice Society of America to prominence as the greatest super-team of all time. How was this going to happen? Well, baiting us with the possible death Dr. Fate and then bringing back the (original) Golden Age Superman was certainly a giant step in the right direction in Young Groove's eyes! This ish was also the last for writer/editor Gerry Conway (who was headed back to Marvel for a short-and-disastrous gig as the House of Ideas' EiC), with Paul Levitz scripting his first ish. Next ish, Levitz would become full writer (no longer working off of a Conway plot) and Joe Orlando would take over as editor. But let's back up to "When Fall the Mighty," shall we? An action-packed, densely plotted story with plenty of surprises aided and abetted by incredible art by a young Keith Giffen, who was doing some very cool experimentation with layouts and storytelling, and the master, Wally Wood who pulled it all together with a style that gave the whole thing a Golden Age style, but with a modern sheen. Can you dig it?

Cover art by Ernie Chan