Decent Comics: "The Monster Society Strikes Back!" by Bridwell, Newton, and Hunt

Dig it, Groove-ophiles! One of the great things about DC Comics back in the Groovy Age is that they were proud, and I do mean proud, baby, of their past--even if it was a past they put out of business and then brought back! Huh? Ol' Groove's rappin' about the Original Captain Marvel, or as they hadda call the feature back then (because of some fly-by-night comicbook company, I hear) SHAZAM! This pride in comicbook history was rarely more evident than when the SHAZAM! team of E. Nelson Bridwell, Don Newton, and Dave Hunt brought back the Mister Mind and the Monster Society of Evil in the back pages of World's Finest #264 (May 1980). Y'see, the original MMatMSoE storyline was a thing of legend to us Groovy Age fans. A storyline that ran for two years in Captain Marvel Adventures (issues 22-46)? That kind of lengthy adventure was unheard of in the Golden Age of comicbooks and it was One Of Those Things fans dug the most. So how cool (and surprising) was it to find a sequel to that fabled epic in the back of World's Finest? About this cool...

And yep, it's a multi-issue storyline--not as long as the original, but long for the SHAZAM revamp! How long? Stay tuned! Part 2 next month!

Marvel-ous Monday: "Among Us Walks...Black Goliath!" by Isabella, Tuska, and Hunt

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Remember Black Goliath? Yeah, right from the start, most folks didn't like the name, but bless Tony Isabella and company for trying to introduce new, multicultural characters to carry on the Marvel legacy. Bill Foster, as we learned when we first met in him Avengers #32 (July 1966), was a friend and assistant to Hank (Ant-Man/Giant-Man/Goliath/Yellowjacket) Pym who had previously worked for Tony Stark. During Pym's Yellowjacket phase, Foster decided to become a superhero using Pym's formula--well, you'll read all about that as we go.

Main thing is, Isabella wanted to turn a civilian character into a superhero (cool!) and did so in the pages of Power Man issues 24-25 (January-March 1975). Newcomer John Byrne (who?) designed the duds, but George Tuska and triple-threat man (letterer, colorist, and inker) Dave Hunt, provided the art. Evidently, somebody in editorial/publishing thought Black Goliath was worthy of his own mag, so eight months later, Black Goliath #1 hit the stands with Isabella and Tuska at the helm. The series only ran for 5 issues (Chris Claremont took over the writing with #2, Tuska stayed on til #3, followed by Rich Buckler in ish #4 and Keith Pollard in #5), but BG did show up in a few issues of Champions (#'s 11-13, November-December 1976, February 1977) and then in the legendary "Project Pegasus" saga in Marvel Two-In-One (issues 55-58, July-October 1979) where he changed both his costume and his name (to Giant-Man). Lots happened after that, but not a lot of it is good and not part of the Groovy Age, so Ol' Groove is (finally!) gonna shaddup and get on with the comics! From Power Man #24: "Among Us Walks...Black Goliath!"

Cover art by Gil Kane and Dan Adkins

Thanks to max_renn for the far-out scans!

Decent Comics: "The Graybeard Gang" by Bridwell, Newton, and Hunt

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Today's SHAZAM! spotlight shines on Freddy Freeman aka Captain Marvel Jr. as he battles baddies that should be home sippin' their Geritol!  "The Graybeard Gang" by E. Nelson Bridwell, Don Newton, and Dave hunt first showed up in World's Finest Comics #263 (March 1980). Let's hustle on into the disco and let the adventure begin!

Decent Comics: "There Goes the Neighborhood!" by Bridwell, Newton, and Hunt

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! It's time for another SHAZAM! mini-epic, this one from World's Finest #260 (September 1979). "There Goes the Neighborhood!" is another short charmer by writer E. Nelson Bridwell, who had a knack to write Silver Age style whimsy, while keeping things modern enough to satisfy, er, modern fans. The more realistic art of penciler Don Newton and inker Dave Hunt (who just passed on March 5th at age 74, RIP) help give a solid look to what, in other, less sensible hands, could have been a bunch of really silly-looking characters (okay, some of them are pretty silly, still, but less silly than they could have been otherwise). Fun is fun, and I wonder how today's readers would react to this fun little throwaway tale...

Marvel-ous Mondays: "Trial" by Moench, Tuska, Esposito, and Hunt

Part four of Marvel's six-part adaptation of the great Planet of the Apes flick, Groove-ophiles! "Trial," by Doug Moench, George Tuska, Mike Esposito, and Dave Hunt first appeared in color in Adventures on the Planet of the Apes #4 (December 1975; originally published in Marvel's b&w Planet of the Apes mag). All this and a Gil Kane/Frank Giacoia cover, too!