Like the title says, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, Groove-ophiles! 2020 has been some year, but we've made it to the Most Wonderful Time Of The Year, so let's celebrate! And how better to celebrate here in Groove City than to look back at the wonderfulness of yesteryear? Remember Ivan Schnieder (Heroes World founder) and his wonderous Superhero Catalogues? If you're like Ol' Groove, you ordered the daylights out of them in the late 1970s. I found this particular version wandering around on the interwebs, and, although most of it's from the Spring of 1978 ish, it still captures the spirit of "gimme that" we all felt back then--and it served as a "wishbook" for those of us who were too young to make our own bread! Trek back through memory lane via the art of the Kubert School students (and future artistic stars) of the day. What did you get? What do you still have? What do you still need? Rap about it in the comments below!
Oh, and if you'll forgive one more plug for my own modern-retro mags--for all you fans of digital comix, all of my Blue Moon Comics titles are on sale for ninety-nine cents each over on DriveThruComics. Please check it out!
And here's your annual look at what Ol' Groove got--or in the case of today's post--what Ol' Groove's getting (that he knows of)!
Remember the reason for the season, Groove-ophiles. Love each other and be kind--every day. Ho, ho, ho!
You have great Christmas wishes. I think I'll have to imitate you (except for the Judge Dredd). I must have been so absorbed in the comics I read because none of what you presented rings a bell to me. It is great seeing the Kubert School in action. Sure miss Joe. He was creating up till the very end
ReplyDeleteOh MAN you have a ton of good stuff here! I am particularly diggin' that Bat-Cave spread... you know, it just occurred to me while looking at this bounty, it was pretty cool how comics back then advertised their toys and such with hand drawn illustrations, when I'm sure it would've been easier to just post some probably poor photos! I'm going back up now to look at this stuff more in earnest--Groove, thanks for sharing & I sure hope you have a Mighty Marvel Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteI would like to order everything in the superhero catalogue please:).
ReplyDeleteWouldn't we all! Especially if we could get those goodies at their 1978 prices!
DeleteGroove, the happiest of holiday seasons to you! Oh yeah, I remember those toy ads and used to dream about many of the options there. I still have some of those from my youth: the Superman and Batman hardcovers, posters, and the supreme toys from my collection-the Corgi Batmobile and Batboat, and the vinyl Batcave. Man, I played with those a lot.
DeleteAs far as your Christmas presents to yourself(?), you can't go wrong with Judge Dredd, especially if Carlos Ezquerra is involved. The Forever People book is an interesting one-many of those stories are crucial for the overall development of the Fourth World saga, except for the Deadman two-parter that made no sense at all for the big story. Apparently, DC forced Kirby to include the character, and he cooperated reluctantly. The Conan book is terrific, and I bought the Omnibus that has the same stories. As much as I love Barry Smith's stuff (especially the later ones like Red Nails), I find myself much more moved by the Buscema stories-maybe because when I first started buying Conan off the rack the Smith books were impossible to find and were way too expensive when they were available. I do remember thinking at the time that I really wished the Savage Sword stories were in color. Eventually, Marvel did do one in color and it was fantastic. Still one of my all time faves.
All the best to you!
John