Lo, There Shall Come Endings! "The Legion of the Black Orchid!", "The Black Orchid Conspiracy!", and "Will the Real Black Orchid Please Stand Up?" by Fleisher, Carley, and Carrillo

Happy New Year's Eve, Groove-ophiles! We're continuing our tradition of sending the old year off with the finale of a comic we've been sharing during the waning year! This time we're going with our unfinished look at Black Orchid. We had three tales to go featuring our mysterious femme fatale, so here they come! Let it be known that these tiny yet titanic tales are Ol' Groove's "Happy New Year" to ya all! Written by Michael Fleisher (with script continuity by Russell Carley) with art by Fred Carillo, here's the wrap-up to the Groovy Age Black Orchid, with all the cool art and story twists and turns you'd expect! From Phanton Stranger #39 (July 1975) here's "The Legion of the Black Orchid!"

Followed by "The Black Orchid Conspiracy!" from Phantom Stranger #40 (September 1975)…

And here's the actual finale from Phantom Stranger #41 (November 1975)…

Happy 2019, Groove-ophiles! Ol' Groove'll be back with more surprises by and by and now and then. Until next time, make every day great!

Merry Christmas 2018 with Roy Thomas, Sal Buscema, Jim Mooney, Len Wein, Walt Simonson, Jim Aparo

Merry Christmas, Groove-ophiles! Not only do we have (as promised) part two of the awesome Roy Thomas/Sal Buscema/Jim Mooney Titans Three Saga, but we have some little-seen classic tales from the amazing Detective Comics #500! Nothing says "Merry Christmas" like a trio of barely-clad outcast heroes and detective-themed superheroes, right? When it's happening in Groove City--RIGHT ON!

When Young Groove got his hands on  Sub-Mariner #35 (December 1970), second grade me was just starting to become enraptured by Mighty Marvel. This was the warm-up for Avengers #88, the mag that hooked me forever. Why is Ol' Groove rappin' about this mag in a Christmas post? 'Cause this is another of those (for me) legendary comics I picked up on the way home from Christmas play practice, baby! I read and re-read this mag pretty much every day leading up to Christmas--and many, many times after. Check it out...

Detective Comics #500 (December 1980) is a milestone, natch. An 84 page, square bound cornucopia of comicbook treasures. I have great memories of discovering the last copy on the spinner rack at my grandmother's local Piggly Wiggly (in Rose Hill Virginia). Man, I'm so glad she sent us to pick up an extra can of yams for our Christmas Feast! Anywho, I've shared the Walter (The Shadow) Gibson-penned prose-piece in the past (read it here), so I thought we'd share a couple more faves from that magnificent mag for this Christmas--both of 'em written by the late, great Len Wein. First is the legendary, Snoopy-inspired "Once Upon a Time..."

And finally, this cool tale teaming some of The Batman's non-super-hero back-up pals from the first five hundred issues of 'Tec, starring Slam Bradley with art by one of the all-time greatest Batman artists, Jim Aparo…"The 'Too Many Cooks' Caper!"

 And here's an extra Christmas surprise--the gorgeous wrap-around cover and the story-behind-the-story of Detective Comics #500!

I hope you've enjoyed this visit to Christmas' past with moi, Groove-ophiles! Better to spend time with Subby, Hulk, Silver Surfer, Batman, and Slam Bradley than those spooky ghosts that keep tracking Ebenezer Scrooge down year after year, right?

Oh, and it's not a Christmas post without a look at some presents from Ol' Groove's Christmas Present...

Hope you enjoy your day! Spend quality time with the ones you love, remember the Reason for the Season, and share the love all year long! Meeeeeeeerry Christmas! (See ya New Years Eve!)