The Comicbook Soundtrack of My Life, or Imitation Is the Sincerest form of Flattery

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! I recently received an e-mail from Groove-ophile Peter Bebergal supplying a link to a post he felt I'd be interested in. Was I interested? I think Pete's post is about the coolest thing I've ever read, the kind of post I can't believe I'd never thought of! In his post, Pete discussed how his comicbook memories intersected with his music memories, then went on to share several of his favorite comics along with YouTube clips of the songs he remembered listening to as he read 'em. 'Tis a most magnificent post, and you should get to Peter's blog, Mystery Theater and read it right now! Here's the link. I'll wait 'til ya get back! And thanks again for the inspiration, Pete! (And thanx as always to Grand Comics Database for the covers!)

Are ya back? Was that far-out, or what? Okay, what follows was inspired by Peter's post...

My family often likes to joke about my long-term memory. I can remember the most elusive things, but that's not all! No, Ol' Groove can usually remember a particular comicbook that goes with that memory and/or a song that was on the radio at the time. (Yeah, I listened to the radio a lot, both at home and in the car.) That's why I had one'a those smack-yourself-in-the-forehead moments when I read Peter's post. So let's trek through the 70s, comicbook in hand and radio on, while Ol' Groove regales ya with the comics and songs that made the Comicbook Soundtrack of My Life...

1970: DETECTIVE COMICS 400 and "HE AIN'T HEAVY, HE'S MY BROTHER" by THE HOLLIES

By April of 1970, Li'l First Grade Groove could read just about every word in a comicbook on his lonesome. One of the first (near) solo readings I can remember is the spectacular Detective Comics #400, with the debut of Man-Bat. I remember a sunny afternoon, Dad asking me if I wanted to go to King Kwik with him, which I did (it always got me some candy or a comicbook), and hopping into the Volkswagon. I'm sure we listened to the radio either going or coming or both, and I'm sure The Hollies' "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" played. Probably sending messages to The Batman on how to handle his Man-Bat problem...

1971: AVENGERS 89, BATMAN 232, FANTASTIC FOUR 112, and "JOY TO THE WORLD" by THREE DOG NIGHT

1971 was the year Young Groove went over-the-brink bonkers for comics, and April 1971 is probably the reason! Avengers #89, the beginning of the Kree/Skrull War! Batman #232, the debut of Ra's al Ghul, and Fantastic Four #112, a classic Thing/Hulk battle! Those are just a few magnificent mags that came out that month. And the song that summarizes that Spring for me? Three Dog Night and "Joy to the World"! All us 7-year-olds were rockin' out to that one!

1972: CAPTAIN AMERICA 155 and "BRANDY" by LOOKING GLASS
By 1972, Young Groove was buying just about every mag in sight. The mag that blew my mind the most was Captain America #155 (August), as the Star-Spangled Avenger learned that he'd actually had a replacement while he was on ice for two decades. It also seemed that every time we'd get in the car, we'd hear Looking Glass singing "Brandy". I'm sure I heard it on the way home from the store as I flipped through Cap 155!

1973: SPIDER-MAN 122 and "COVER of the ROLLING STONE" by DR. HOOK

 In March 1973, Young Groove's mind was totally blown by Amazing Spider-Man #121. I was devastated by the Death of Gwen Stacy. Totally bummed. Luckily, a mind-blowing, funky, and funny tune was dancing along the airwaves. Dr. Hook's "Cover of the Rolling Stone" sure helped cheer me up!

1974: STRANGE TALES 178, THRILLING ADVENTURE STORIES 1, "I CAN HELP" by BILLY SWAN and "KUNG FU FIGHTING" by CARL DOUGLAS

 Two of my all-time favorite comics came out in November 1974, Strange Tales #178 (featuring the debut of Jim Starlin's Adam Warlock, natch) and upstart Atlas/Seaboard's Thrilling Adventure Stories #1. I can remember sitting in my room listening to Billy Swan sing "I Can Help" as I read that classic Warlock tale. I bought my copy of Thrilling Adventure Stories #1 on a cold, rainy Saturday at Mack's, flipped through it in the back seat of the car as Carl Douglas black-belted out his hit, "Kung Fu Fighting"...

1975: GIANT-SIZE X-MEN 1 and TONY ORLANDO and DAWN "HE DON'T LOVE YOU"

My fave comic and my fave song (from my fave show, yeah, I was a TOaD fan and still am!) of 1975 kicked off the spring and ended my time in Loyal, KY. Strong, strong feelings here, Groove-ophiles...

 

 1976: DOC SAVAGE MAGAZINE 5 and "AFTERNOON DELIGHT" by STARLAND VOCAL BAND

During the Summer of 1976, you could not turn on the radio without hearing Starland Vocal Band's "Afternoon Delight". I was never too crazy about it, but I was sure crazy for the fifth ish of Marvel's b&w Doc Savage Mag!

1977: DETECTIVE COMICS 475 and JAMES TAYLOR's "YOUR SMILING FACE"

My hands-down fave series of 1977 was the Steve Englehart/Marshall Rogers/Terry Austin run on Batman in Detective Comics. The hands-down best ish of the run was ish 475, which came out in November. "The Laughing Fish" is an all-time classic, and there's one song that was riding the air-waves in the Fall of 77 that totally goes along with it--"Your Smiling Face" by James Taylor!

1978: THE DC EXPLOSION and "ONLY the GOOD DIE YOUNG" by BILLY JOEL

The biggest comicbook event of 1978 hit in the summer (of course!)--the DC Explosion! New mags, more pages, back-ups featuring new and beloved characters. What more could a fan ask for? For it to last, baby! By September the Explosion was an IMPLOSION. What other song could get us through such a short-lived comicbook Nirvana? Billy Joel's "Only the Good Die Young"!

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 1979: ARCHIE'S SUPER HERO COMICS DIGEST  MAGAZINE 2 and "GOLD" by JOHN STEWART 

Summer is always a great time for comics, innit? Out of the blue, in June of 79, Archie Comics smacked us upside the head with the second ish of their Super Hero Comics Digest Magazine featuring "new" (unpublished from 1974, actually) Black Hood stories by the likes of Gray Morrow and Neal Adams. T'was filled to the brim with classic Archie heroes like the Fly, the Shield, and Hangman. Pure gold, baby! Solid gold, even! Made me think of John Stewart's hit "Gold" (with Stevie Nicks' backing vocals)! And hey, YouTube has him singing it on Solid Gold...

  

 

1980: X-MEN 137 and "LITTLE JEANNIE" by ELTON JOHN

 Another heartbreaker, X-Men #137 (June 1980) featuring the death of Jean Gray/Phoenix signaled the end of the Groovy Age for moi. T'was a magnificent if heart-rending ish that hit Teen Groove even harder than the death of Gwen Stacy. My sister, Electra-Woman, who read only Iron Man and X-Men was devastated by Jean's death, as well. T'was she who, as soon as she finished reading the mag, put Elton John's "Little Jeannie" 45 on the turntable and re-read it again.

Okay, Groove-ophiles! Peter inspired yers trooly--now it's your turn! What's the comicbook soundtrack of your Groovy Age? Lay it on us in the comments section! Don't be shy!

If You Blinked You Missed: Black Hood in Archie's Super Hero Comics Digest Revisited

Okay, Groove-ophiles, at last Ol' Groove has dug up scans of the legendary Black Hood tales from the equally legendary (and elusive) Archie's Super Hero Comics Digest Magazine #2 (Summer 1979)!

Looking at the original stories, I now realize that the reprinted version from Blue Ribbon Comics #8 that I used in this post reads quite a bit differently. The original, which we'll look at today, was written and edited by Gray Morrow, while the reprinted one was edited by Robin Snyder, while writing credit still went to Morrow. Did Snyder ask Morrow to rewrite the origin? Or did he add some exposition himself in his editor's capacity? Dunno, but there is a difference. My point is that I was wrong-o when I said, "They're slightly re-edited/formatted, but nothing that should impede your enjoyment." Anywho, we're gonna kick off today's big honkin' post with the original, solo Morrow effort, and keep on truckin' until we've shared all four Red Hood stories from ASHCDM #2!

Next up, we have "The Black Hood Hits a Sour Note..." by Marvin Channing and Al McWilliams...

Followed by "Life's Not Like a Comic Book!" plotted by Morrow with story and art by Neal Adams and Dick Giordano...

...and we close the day out with "It's Murder to Beat the Odds!" by Channing and McWilliams...

Howzat for some far-out comics, baby?

If You Blinked You Missed: The Black Hood

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Wouldn't ya love to read the origin of the Black Hood by Gray Morrow, not to mention Morrow, Neal Adams, and Dick Giordano's "Life's Not Like A Comic Book!" from Archie's Super Hero Comics Digest Magazine #2 (Summer 1979)? They are, after all, the best of the four Black Hood stories that appeared in that legendary digest comic. If you read my buddy Jazzy Jon "A" Gilbert's post on Morrow's Black Hood way back in February (it's right here if ya need your memory refreshed) then you already know these stories (along with two more by Marv Channing and Al McWilliams) were created way back in 1974/75 by then-Red Circle editor Morrow for the aborted first issue of their planned Black Hood comic. Ol' Groove is having to cheat a little (can't bend and tear up that precious digest mag, no matter what!) by using scans from Blue Ribbon Comics #8 (February 1984). They're slightly re-edited/formatted, but nothing that should impede your enjoyment. Dig it, baby!