Friday, December 22, 2017

Groovy Christmases Past: 1979

Merry Christmas, Groove-ophiles! Before we take the weekend off for our happy holiday, let's ease on back to 1979 and take a look at the comics that Teen Groove bought in the month of December. There's more "okay" stuff than great stuff on this list, but the great stuff is really, really great (looking at you Batman 321, DC Super Star Holiday Special, X-Men 131, and Daredevil 163). My sister, Electro-Woman (long story, ask me later) got me a bunch of these for Christmas--so yeah, for the Christmas of 1979, I literally unwrapped a stack of very cool comics! Thanks, Sis!

 Another awesome Adventure Comics era! Staton on Plastic Man, Ditko on Starman!

 Len Wein, Walt Simonson, and Dick Giordano. Batman vs. Joker. Garcia-Lopez cover. Merry Christmas, for sure! (Oh, and Teen Groove bought this'un at the Piggly Wiggly in Rose Hill, Virgina on the way--are you ready for this?--to Grandma's house!)

Frank Miller's first Batman story is only one of the in-freakin'-credible things you can find in this astounding Holiday Special!



 The Silver Age is still hanging on at DC!






The first issue of Bill Mantlo's staggering six year(ish) run as Ol' Greenskin's writer. (Thanks to Groove-ophile Ron H.  for the reminder!)




 One of the best Marvel Preview issues ever--and it's all reprints! Genius!!









 Yep, this is one of 'em Sis got me for Christmas. I let her read it first. I know, I'm a sweetheart.


 Doug Moench, Mike Zeck, and Gene Day's best story arc.



 Everyone remembers Frank Miller's incredible art (inked, all but 2 pages, by Joe Rubinstein), but writer Roger McKenzie deserves a truckload of kudos for the script on this spectacular ish.


Have a great weekend and Christmas Eve, Groove-ophiles! See you back here on Christmas day for (you guessed it) December 1980! And, we'll answer the soul-stirring question--"What did Ol' Groove get for Christmas this year?"

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10 comments:

  1. Kevin LakeDecember 22, 2017 at 7:29 AM

    The Marvel Team-Up with Spiderman and Ghost Rider was a personal favorite, I was a big Ghost Rider fan at the time even though coming from a semi religious farm family it did freak me out at times.

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  2. Scott D. ParkerDecember 22, 2017 at 8:47 AM

    Man, I love these retrospectives. I had many of the issues you've been featuring, but that Batman 321 cover is one of my all-time favorites and one that I remember over the years. Thanks for doing all of this. Merry Christmas.

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  3. hobbyfanDecember 22, 2017 at 10:45 AM

    I remember my brother buying Batman at the newsstand. Some of the others we ran across second-or-third hand.

    But, like, yo, Groove, what about the Super Friends?

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    1. The Groovy AgentDecember 22, 2017 at 10:58 AM

      I'm only posting comics I actually bought off the stands. The only ish of Super-Friends I ever bough was the first one. I thought I was "too old" for 'em when the comics started (I was 12), so I skipped them. I'd probably really like them now.

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  4. AnonymousDecember 22, 2017 at 8:49 PM

    I remember buying most all of these at the local 7-11. Still have them. Brings back some good memories. Merry Christmas Groove to you and your family.

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  5. Dee MarsDecember 22, 2017 at 10:55 PM

    Merry Christmas Groove. This has been an awesome two weeks.

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  6. tomDecember 23, 2017 at 8:15 AM

    Was that Michael Golden on the Micronauts? He may very well be the greatest artist to ever enter into the medium.

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    1. The Groovy AgentDecember 23, 2017 at 10:52 AM

      Golden did the cover, but by this time he'd left the feature and the team of Howard Chaykin and Al Milgrom were handling the interiors.

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    2. keythd23January 2, 2018 at 11:13 PM

      I'd rank him as one of the top 4, joining such esteemed company as Neal Adams, Jack Kirby and Jim Steranko.

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    3. keythd23January 2, 2018 at 11:21 PM

      1979. The year that was a prelude for one of the greatest decades ever: the 80s. The offerings this month were a little weak compared with previous years. But the Daredevil, filled with the shimmering beauty of the Miller/Rubinstein art and the ever X-trordinary Claremont/Byrne/Austin X-Men were standouts.

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