Addicted to Alex Nino: "Feathertop" by Hawthorne, Boudreau, and Nino

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! School's out, so Ol' Groove has decided to go all ejumacational on ya with Gerry Boudreau and Alex Nino's short-but-sweet adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1852 short story "Feathertop :A Moralized Legend" (which you can read right here if'n ya wanna)! What inspired DC to put this tale in Forbidden Tales of the Dark Mansion #15 (November 1973), Ol' Groove can't say. Perhaps a bit of inspiration came from the 1972 TV rip-off, er, adaptation, "The Scarecrow", that featured folks like Gene Wilder, Blythe Danner, and Will Geer?

Cover art by Nick Cardy

Bring on the Back-ups: "Return" by Boudreau and Simonson

Today we observe Veteran's Day here in the good ol' U.S. of A., and Ol' Groove would like to take a moment to thank those men and women who put on the uniforms and risked their lives for the cause of freedom. Now, the following tale isn't the traditional war tale one would expect to see for such a tribute, but since when do you expect "traditional" here in Groove City? Fans of war comics and sci-fi comics alike can certainly dig a futuristic fable like Gerry Bourdreau and Walt Simonson's "Return" from Star Spangled War Stories #180 (February 1974), don'tcha think?

Is it just me, or does Kyr look a lot like Howard Chaykin did back in the Groovy Age? And is that Wondrous Walt, himself, on page 2? Hmmmmmmmm...

Addicted to Alex Nino: "The Island of No Return" and "Don't Cry for Uncle Malcolm"

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! It's been too long since we scratched our Alex Nino itch, so Ol' Groove's layin' a double-shot of Nino neatness 'pon yas! From House of Secrets #106 (December 1972), we set sail for "The Island of No Return" written by John Albano...

...then Nino and writer Gerry Boudreau make sure we "Don't Cry for Uncle Malcolm" (from HoS #117, December 1973)...

EC-in' Ya! Wood and Crandall In Color!

Warren's Comix International was filled, filled, I say, with groovy comix, but the second issue (late 1975), in Ol' Groove's opinion, is especially spectacular. Besides Groovy Age Greats like Rich Corben and Bernie Wrightson, two of EC's top horror/sci fi artists from the 1950s, Wally Wood and Reed Crandall, are represented as well--and lookin' great in the Groovy Age, baby! Comix International reprinted stories from Warren's other fear-mags, Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella, colored 'em, and packaged 'em between high-quality covers. The Wood-illustrated "The Man Hunters" was written by Gerry Boudreau and is reprinted from Eerie #60. The Crandall masterpiece, "The Beast on Bacon Street", written by Budd Lewis, was originally presented in Creepy #74. Get ready to feast your eyeballs on a titanic two-fer, Groove-ophiles!

Black and White Wednesday: Gerry Boudreau and Alex Toth's "The Phantom of Pleasure Island"

Here's a pre-Thanksgiving day snack, Groove-ophiles! A Creepy (#75, cover dated November 1975) mystery-noir piece by Gerry Boudreau and the master, Alex Toth. It's a pleasant change from the usual horror and sci-fi fare, don't ya think?


See ya tomorrow for the Groovy Thanksgiving Day Comicbook Feast! Don'tcha dare miss it--it wouldn't be the same without ya!