Groovy Christmases Past: 1971

Merry Christmas, and welcome back to our two-week trip to December nine-teen-seventy-something to look at the comics Li'l Groove scarfed up from the spinner racks of various drugstores and the ever-lovin' King Kwik! Christmas 1971 always holds a special place in Ol' Groove's memories. Lots of family who didn't normally get to travel for Christmas holiday got to visit aaaand, my fave memory, I finally, for New Year's Eve got to stay up and play Monopoly with the grown-ups! No one but me probably remembers that, but it was a huge deal for Li'l Groove! Anyway--here come da comics!

 Ol' Groove did a post on this one many years back. Li'l Groove so wanted a cowboy outfit like the one the kid on the cover is wearing!

While I dug the spooky villain, Starbreaker, what Li'l Groove really loved was the Golden Age reprints in this ish! These first tastes of the Golden Age really grabbed me!

 Why in the world did Li'l Groove buy Lois Lane comics? For the Rose & Thorn back-ups!

 After seeing comicbook characters flying, why did a guy WALKING on the air strike Li'l Groove as so cool? 'Cause it was cool!

Bad guys had been trying to figure out Superman's identity for years--but when it happened to Spidey, it took on a whole 'nother level of drama!

Okay, Ol' Groove mentioned in the last post that in 1971 I was supplementing the comics I bought new off the spinner rack with coverless, cellophane-wrapped comics (three for twenty cents or a quarter). Those, ahem, unaurhorized comics really helped me grow my collection--and snagged me some very important comics like Avengers #97 (the end of the Kree/Skrull War), Captain American #147 (Cap vs. Hydra--when those battles really meant something), and the first appearance of Jonah Hex in All-Star Western #10. And to let you experience 'em the same way Li'l Groove did for the first time, here are the splashes to those brain-blasting comics instead of the covers! (See, splashes are important, too!)