Friday, July 20, 2018
Groovin' Back In the Summertime: July 1971
Dig it, Groove-ophiles! The Summer of 1971 is the summer that changed Young Groove from a reader to a fanatic! I was 7, and movies, music, and TV shows (well, except Saturday Morning Cartoons, Batman, Prince Planet, and the Marvel Super-Heroes) didn't rule my world. Nope, the dam broke in 1971, baby! Dear Ol' Mom got her own car, which meant more trips to King Kwik and other places that sold comics! The biggest deal was a little store that sold "three packs" of comics--you know, those "unsold" comics that the stores had to return either the covers or logos from the covers to the distributor for credit? Yep, Li'l Groove's stash of comics grew like Clint Barton downing a dose of Hank Pym's "giant juice!" Below are the classics I remember getting that sensational summer (coverless or not). Pretty nice, huh? If you wanna see all the covers of the cool comics that came out in July 1971, just follow this link to the ever wonderful Mike's Amazing World of Comics Newsstand!
SPECIAL NOTE! Next Week, the Diversions turns TEN YEARS OLD! Yep, we're gonna celebrate a Decade of the Diversions with a special "Best of" week of "reprint" posts, then (since the actually anniversary is on a Saturday) follow up with a brand-new, special 10th anniversary post! Enjoy!!
You are right, Groove. What a great crop of titles in 7/71. We were getting close to relocating from South Carolina to Kansas City, Missouri and I had my 4 color friends to provide a bit of continuity in my life. Neal Adams covers for both DC and Marvel. Sekowsky's Wonder Woman. The prelude to the Thomas/Adams/Palmer run of Avengers. The first appearance of Morbius. Kirby's Fourth World run. Life was great for the 14 year old comic collector me.
ReplyDeleteFive Neal Adams covers! And he did many more that summer, besides stories. Hoped to see some of Kubert's war covers & Wrightson's horror covers. Great stuff!
ReplyDeleteHilarious to see Don Rickles on Kirby's Jimmy Olsen cover.
Regards,
Chris A.
Look at those Marvel issues - the last ones with the classic corner box, the last at 15c, the end of an era.
ReplyDeleteI love those corner boxes. Sigh ...
Cool!! This is the very beginning of my serious comic collecting. Lots of good memories here. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite era for comics. I have most of the DC issues (except the Action #404), and I'm pretty sure I bought all of them when they came out. Not so much the Marvel -- I didn't start seriously collecting Marvel until mid-1973. Awesome stuff!
ReplyDeleteMike Sekowsky's Wonder Woman cover is hilariously wonky. She looks like Linda Blair in the Exorcist with her head turned backwards(!). At best we would see her face in *profile* with her back to us. The figure is too squat (far less than an 8 heads tall heroine should be) & compressed in the torso & waist, her head is too large, & her hips too narrow. Three & four issues later Jeff Jones contributed some beautiful WW covers to show us how it should be done.
ReplyDeleteBest regards,
Chris A.
Whatever Mike Sekowsky lacked in anatomical accuracy (there was an appealing bizarreness to the way his figures moved across the page) he more than compensated for with the sheer energy he imbued all his comics work with. He is one of my favorite artists of the Silver and Groovy Ages. Once freed of the scratchiness of Bernard Sachs inks and teamed with Sid Greene and Dick Giordano he really came alive in the latter part of his career. Plus after he became the triple threat writer/penciller/editor, Wonder Woman and Supergirl flourished under his direction. Metal Men was probably his weakest effort, but it seemed to fall to him to rescue floundering titles with new concepts. While never a Kirby, Adams or Buscema I think he was one of the finest talents to ever grace the industry. I have to also call attention again to the beautiful one-time teaming of him with Tom Palmer in House of Mystery # 205. Like most everyone Mr. Palmer inked this was the best Mike Sekowsky ever looked.
DeleteHouse of Mystery # 206. Missed it by one.
ReplyDeleteGREAT Wrightson frontispiece in that one---one of his best. Gorgeous brushwork.
DeleteRegards,
Chris A.