Marvel-ous Monday Thursday: "And Then Came...the Black Widow!" by G. Friedrich, J. Buscema, and Verpoorten

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Don'tcha think it's about time we dug into the Black Widow's solo-series in Amazing Adventures that ran through that Marvel-ous mag's first 8 issues (May 1970-June 1971)? Yeah, Ol' Groove thought so! Ya know, Madame Natasha doesn't get nearly the respect she deserves. It almost seems that a lot of fans forget that the Widow was one of the first Marvel super-heroines to star in their on series. Sure, the Wasp had a few solo stories in the 1960s, but other than that...? Not the Cat, Shanna, or Night Nurse--t'was The Black Widow, baby! And Green Lantern/Green Arrow gets all the attention for being the first to dive into the "Relevant" pool, but the Widow dove in at around the same time--and wore the wetsuit to prove it! Add to all of that that, while the series went through quite a few creators, said creators included Gary Friedrich, John Buscema, John Verpoorten, Gene Colan, Bill Everett, Mimi Gold, Roy Thomas, Don Heck, Sal Buscema, and Gerry Conway. And it all started right here with..."And Then Came...the Black Widow!"

Cover art by Jack Kirby and John Romita

Black and White Wednesday: "The Thing In the Box!" by Hewetson and Rubio

Check it out, Groove-ophiles...a cool, kooky, and mostly silent shocker that could have actually fit into an ish of DC's PLOP!--but was, instead, published in Skywald's Psycho #16 (cover dated January 1974)! For some reason, whenever I "read" Al Hewetson (writing as Harvey Lazarus) and Fernando Rubio's "The Thing In the Box!" I keep hearing Phil Harris singing in my head. Wonder why...?

Decent Comics: "The Plot Against the Human Race" by Bridwell, Newton, and Chiarmonte

What it is, Groove-ophiles! We're back with part two of E. Nelson Bridwell, Don Newton, and Frank Chiarmonte's SHAZAM/Monster Society of Evil epic! This time, Mr. Atom and Kull team up to battle the good Captain Marvel! From World's Finest #265 (July 1980) it's..."The Plot Against the Human Race!"

Happy 100th Birthday, Jack Kirby!

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Today is the hundredth anniversary of the birth of one of the most revered comicbook creators to ever pick up a pencil--Jack "King" Kirby! Why is Kirby so revered? To say that it's his creativity, energy, mastery, and love for the medium only scratch the surface. Just look at the following covers featuring characters he either co-created, created, wrote, or drew (or all of the above)--in the 1970s alone! If we went all the way back to the 1940s and on into the 1990s, we could spend a week on Kirby and his accomplishments. And he'd deserve it.

(And thanks to the Grand Comics Database for being a comicbook blogger's best friend!)