Greetings, Groove-ophiles! First of all, Ol' Groove want's to say, "Happy Anniversary!" Yep, t'was eight years ago today that yers trooley posted our very first Diversion! It wasn't much, but it was a start, and who'da thunk eight years later we'd still be around, rappin' about the comics of the 70s, sharing memories, and just chillin' with our fellow Groove-ophiles? Thank you, one and all for your support, dedication, and love. Ol' Groove loves ya, baby! Let's keep truckin' on for as long as we can!
Today we're gonna look at another of the awesome
Aurora Model Kits which originally hit stores in the late 60s, disappeared for a while, then made a comeback in the mid-70s with the super-cool twist of those hard to find (and expensive if you do find 'em) comicbook inserts. Not only do those inserts give us instructions for how to put those 'mazing models together (which I'm pretty sure were drawn by Dave Cockrum), but we get a piece of incredible background art (to set the finished model in front of, natch), but a whole stand-alone story, to boot! For the
Amazing Spider-Man, author Len Wein (who'd go on to write the regular
Amazing Spider-Man comic) and artist John Romita, Sr. (one of the Mt. Everest of
Spidey creators) got it all together with a fun
Spidey vs. Kraven the Hunter mini-classic! Check it out, baby!
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| The box and the unpainted model |
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| A nicely painted finished version of the model--but what's up with Kraven's pants? |
A very happy 8th to you!
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine had the Spider-Man kit back in the '70s. Unfortunately, Aurora had tweaked their reissued superhero kits, removing some accessory parts (like nameplates and other small pieces, etc.), which made them slightly less attractive to me than their '60s versions.
ReplyDeleteHAPPY ANNIVERSARY GROOVE!! Here is to eight more years!
ReplyDeleteSImply awesome post! Really did the ROmita Kraven, too!!! I'm running to my box of oldy-moldy's to dig out a few SPiderMans by ROmita!!!
ReplyDeleteI saw the original art come up on eBay a few years back. But I guess it was pulled for one reason or another. Either it was bought fast or perhaps it was stolen? Happy 8th Anniversary Groovster! I was here almost from the beginning I guess. Happy your still going strong! Keep em coming!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary, Groove! You are an institution (not in an institution, brother) as a true friend to 50-somethings everywhere! Keep on truckin', indeed!
ReplyDeleteI had this model as a youngster, but wow -- was I disappointed that the darn thing had to be painted. Those skills I did not possess. But it was really cool back then to see our four-color heroes mass marketed in all these sorts of great things: models, Megos, and Marx Toys among them.
Be well,
Doug
I'm ashamed to admit I used to steal the comic inserts out of the Aurora models in high school. Good thing I didn't get caught! I have since repented of my ways. I bought a legitimate set of them in New York from the late Mark Hanerfeld (who was sharing a table with Dave Cockrum). They are artistic treasures, featuring a lot of the popular artist of the day. I like the Neal Adams and Dave Cockrum ones the best.
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