Let it be known, Groove-ophiles, that there was a time when comics actually had a competitor for my fanatical obsessions--Mattel's
Hot Wheels. Li'l Groove was in the first grade, and digging comics a lot, but man,
Hot Wheels were cool, too (sorry
Matchbox fans), and my friends and I could collect, trade,
and play with 'em. I had a white windbreaker covered with
Hot Wheels decals that I proudly wore to school, and then--BAM!--I discovered that DC comics was producing a comicbook version (which tied into the
TV cartoon version, which I also dug mucho--at least until the FTC had it taken off the air!)...and the die was cast, my fate was set, and all that other stuff that means I was hooked big-time! And when your favorite toy has a comicbook filled with art by masters like Alex Toth and Neal Adams...well, let's just say Ol' Groove still gets a kick out of the short-lived series (six issues from January-November 1970) based on my first favorite line of toys! Enjoy these splashes, baby!
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| Hot Wheels #1 |
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| Hot Wheels #2 |
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| Hot Wheels #3 |
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| Hot Wheels #4 |
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| Hot Wheels #6 |
(Don't worry all you completests--we'll dig on Ric Estrada's back-up features later, man!)
OoooHHH yeaah! Hot Wheels are such awesome toys, I love the old classic ones and in recent years they've been knocking it out of the park with offerings like The Jetson's Car, The Flintstone's car, the Mystery Machine, Battlestar Galactica Viper & Cylon Raider and the 1966 Batmobile.
ReplyDeleteLove these comics too, especially the cover of #6 Nothing says "Merry Christmas" like a crazed criminal Santa trying to Run you down.
http://static4.comicvine.com/uploads/scale_small/0/4/10168-2465-11197-1-hot-wheels.jpg
I notice the name Joe Gill as writer of the early issues (and Dick Giordano as editor). Any chance this project might have originated at Charlton, till Mattel ended up moving the license over to DC instead?
ReplyDeleteMore likely this was when Giordano had moved to DC from Charlton and was bringing his talent with him (Skeates, O'Neil, Aparo). Joe Gill didn't seem to stick around.
DeleteIn my earlier incarnation as a comic book collector I was a snob. It was super heroes or nothing. So no Westerns, war, Archie or Hot Wheels. Boy did I miss out. Great stories by Wein and Gill. Great art by Toth and Adams (# 6 was spectacular). Fortunately the older, wiser comic collector has expanded his horizons and now has all the Hot Wheels, as well as Archie, Richie Rich, western and war.
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