Hey, Kids! Comics from 50 Years Ago!
April 28 & 30, May 1, 1970
Groovy Age Splash Page of the Week
Groovy Age Spotlight On: Alex Niño
"Search for a Werewolf" Written by George KashdanHappy 80th Birthday to Alex Niño! As long-time citizens of Groove City know, Alex is one of Ol' Groove's most favoritest artists ever! he's still trucking along, posting "how-to-do-it" videos on FaceBook, making it look so easy--and stunning--as he still produces masterpiece after masterpiece! Of course, this being DotGK, we're going way back to Weird Mystery Tales #13 (May 1974) to dig on a short shocker Mr. Niño laid upon us--one with his unique take on another of Ol' Groove's favorite things--a werewolf! Have a howlingly awesome birthday, Mr. N!!
Three Neal Adams covers in one week, plus the interior pencils for Detective Comics #400 and a Deadman backup story in Aquaman. Busy fellow!
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Chris A.
Someone told me that when Neal Adams drew Sauron (the pteranodon-man villain) in X-Men in 1969 that he wanted to draw a Man-Bat. Is that true? The first Manbat story at DC was written and drawn by Frank Robbins, not Neal Adams.
Delete- Neil
Yes, Adams wanted to draw Sauron as a man-bat, but Marvel (Stan and Roy, most likely) feared Comics Code interference (because Sauron was a type of vampire, and his being a bat would, they feared, be too close for comfort) and went with a the familiar man-pterosaur we all know and fear. The story has been told several times, including in the Marvel Masterworks volume that contains X-Men #60. As for Man-Bat, his first appearance in Detective Comics #400 (right up there postage-stamped size in our 50 Years Ago section) was, indeed, written by Frank Robbins, but drawn by--Neal Adams! Adams got to do his Man-Bat in the most appropriate place and we got two cool Neal Adams villains out of the deal!
DeleteAlex Nino always had a strong sense of design, but sometimes it got in the way of his storytelling. Not in this case, though. His drawing here is a bit rough-edged, however. The story was pretty trite, but Nino provided enough atmosphere to carry it to it's obvious conclusion. Berni Wrightson did a GREAT cover for Weird Mystery Tales no. 21 with multiple werewolves facing a lone man with an axe under a snowy tree.
ReplyDeleteGene Poole
LOVE these weekly posts! I owned that Jetsons off the stand, but still a bit early for me. Not complaining--I love the posts--but do a lot of the cover links not work for everyone? (for viewing larger versions). Thanks again! -- Rob
ReplyDeleteYeah, the covers are a Blogger issue I can't figure out. I download all the pics from the same source to the same file, upload them all from the same file--and yet, crazy stuff happens once they're online. With Blogger anymore, the final page even looks different from the page you make and the preview you see before you post. It's beyond annoying for sure. If anyone out there has any tips, I'm all ears!
ReplyDeleteThanks for spotlighting Alex Nino! Very nice, stylish, great stuff.
ReplyDeleteLooking over the comics of the week, I was caught by surprise. They actually had a "Hee Haw" comic? I'm almost speechless. My folks rarely missed the show. I mainly caught some of it because it came on Saturday evening right before my favorite show at the time, " Emergency". Which also had a comic, incidentally...
Who would have guessed that Kathy Lee Gifford started out as a Hee Haw honey?
Delete- Neil
I reacted the same way to Hee Haw! Though it was my grandparents who loved that show. Luckily, I had comics to read instead. ha -- Rob
ReplyDeleteAll right, now, y'all! Ol' Groove's a Kentucky boy, ya know, and Hee Haw was must-see-TV for us! Shucks, I still love to watch it! Pull up episodes on YouTube when I get the urge. I miss having RFD-TV where they re-run it regularly! Yeah, it's silly--purposefully corny (what else?)--but the music is great, the show is fun, Buck and Roy were national treasures, and oh, the nostalgia!
ReplyDeleteWow, is that Wonder Woman fighting the Vietnam war all by herself, Rambo style, on that cover?! And in a spotless white costume, no less.
ReplyDelete- Neil
Hee Haw was one my dad's favorite shows.
ReplyDeleteProbably one of the many reasons why I would rather stay in my room and read comics instead of hanging out with my family.
First time I ever even knew Hee Haw had a comic book. Gads!
Werewolves are definitely in my top 5 favorite monsters. Whether in novels, comics or movies I can't get enough of the furry buggers.
ReplyDeleteAmazing that the Hee Haw comic is eliciting this much response! The show was a cornball rip-off of Laugh In. Buck Owens had scored a number one hit with "Act Naturally" in 1963, and Ringo Starr covered it on the Beatles Help! album in 1965. I remember seeing Roy Clark on an episode of "The Beverly Hillbillies" some years before "Hee Haw" aired. He played guitar quite well! As for the comic book, I never knew it existed, and it lasted for only seven issues.
ReplyDeleteGene Poole
The Hee Haw comic wasn't very good, but I LOVE the show! If the comic could have incorporated the music (the best part of the show) it might have been better. ;D Hee Haw the TV show outlasted Laugh-In by about a couple decades for some reason! ;D Roy Clark was a three-time CMA award-winner, Buck played Carnegie Hall, the White House, and the Fillmore--I keep sayin' they were national treasures. :D
DeleteSo Charlton released 21 titles that week. Wow! How many did they have in their total lineup at the time? It seems they had more titles besides these, like Ghostly Tales, e.g.
ReplyDelete- Neil