Making a Splash: Curt Swan's Groovy Superman

What it is, Groove-ophiles! Did'ja know that today is the 97th anniversary of the birth of Curt Swan? Well, 'tis! So whaddya say we celebrate the birthdate of THE Superman artist of the Groovy Age by taking a dip into a pile of his sensational Superman splashes? A random bunch of awesome artistry from Groovy Age issues of Superman and Action Comics coming right up!

Action Comics #402

Superman #248

Bring On the Back-ups: "Up Pops the Atom!" by Maggin, Dillin, and Giordano

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Here's a classic Atom back-up from Action Comics #430 (September 1973) by Elliot S! Maggin, Dick Dillin, and Dick Giordano! Did Mego even get a mention in this "superhero-toy"-centric tale of "Up Pops the Atom!"?

The Grooviest Covers of All Time: The Super Six of the Groovy Age

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Today is the big day for Superman fans the world over! Man of Steel is prepared to blow us away and yers trooly is ready for it! Still, though, the folks behind MoS have made it clear that this isn't a "comicbook Superman", which makes me a bit nervous, but then the recent trio of Batman flicks haven't been our "comicbook Batman" either, and I dug them. So what has all of this to do with the Groovy Age? Nothing really, but in my warped brain, it does! See, the real Superman films began with Superman the Movie in 1978, followed by Superman II in 1980, Superman III in 1984, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace in 1987, and Superman Returns in 2006. Get it? No? Man of Steel, though it's a reboot and isn't s'posed to have anything to do with the first five, is still gonna be the sixth Superman movie, which gave me the idea to showcase my favorite six Superman covers of the Groovy Age. Get it now? No? Well, it makes sense to me, but then, I understand myself all the time! Anyway, dig on these suh-wheet Superman-centric covers for a while, okay?

Groove's Faves: Famouos First Edition # C-26--Action Comics #1

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Well, it looks like the celebration of Superman's 75th Anniversary has begun, and if there's anything Comicdom needs to celebrate it's definitely the debut of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's Man of Steel in Action Comics #1 (April 1938). But what has that to do with the Groovy Age, you wonder? Nothing really. Ha! Got'cha, didn't I? No, seriously, we appreciated Superman's Action Comics debut mightily during the Groovy Age. In 1971, t-shirts with that iconic debut cover were sold via ads that ran thru most of the DC Comics line...

...but most of all, t'was the coming of Famous First Edition # C-26 in January 1974 that really turned us on! FFE C-26 allowed us to experience what our parents and their siblings had been able to experience back in 1938 (albeit in a much larger--making it even more awesome!--format): Action Comics #1 in its entirety. For a young comicbook fiend like Young Groove, this tabloid-sized reprint was a revelation. Not only did we get to thrill to the very first Superman mini-epic (which we'd later learn was cobbled-together newspaper strip samples), but we got to see all the other non-superhero (there were no others! Superman was the first!) features starring an exciting array of cowboys, cops, reporters, boxers, adventurers, and magicians. We experienced some "big-foot" humor and were taken back to a virtual "who's who" of Depression Era celebrities. Comics were more than super-heroes, silly teens, scary tales, barbarians, and child-friendly supernatural characters. And they could all appear in one mag! It definitely made its mark on moi, baby! Read that giant-mag over and over. I still have it and pull it out from time to time. I s'pose now would be another good time to check it out!

The ad that got the heart racing!

I never dreamed of taking the outer cardboard cover off of my copy!

 

 

Neal Adams' in-freakin'-credible back cover

Bring on the Back-ups: "The Candy Kitchen Caper!" by Maggin, Dillin, and Giordano

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Here's a short-but-sweet Green Arrow back-up from his days as a rotating back-up feature in Action Comics. "The Candy Kitchen Caper!" by Elliot Maggin, Dick Dillin, and Dick Giordano (from Action Comics #424, March 1973) is a pretty good representative of the types of Green Arrow stories we were getting after the Avenging Archer's "Denny O'Neal Adams" heyday: human interest, simply told, not too flashy, but satisfying. Ol' Groove is pretty sure that it was our hero's strong personality and cool costume (and especially his JLA appearances) that kept him alive during the mid-to-late 70s.

Bring on the Back-ups: "The Shadows-of-Yesterday Contract" and "The Deadly Dancer Contract!" by Wein and Giordano

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Here's a double-dose of Len Wein and Dick Giordano's Human Target from Action Comics #'s 422-423 (January-February 1974).

Don't ya just love the way Giordano made Hyram Walsh look like a slimmed-down version of TV star William Conrad who was on the boob-tube as Cannon at that time?