Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, 2020

  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!

"Where Did Groovy Age Comicbooks Come From, Groove?"

Today's comicbooks are printed in lots of different places in lots of different formats. Back during the Groovy Age, most of the major publishers--namely Marvel, DC, Archie, and Harvey--used good old fashioned newsprint and the services of World Color Press. (We'll talk about Charlton and the others when you get older...) World Color Press was so important to the publishing industry that June 18, 1977, was declared "World Color Press Day". Joe Kubert and the students at his aptly named Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art were tapped to create a (-n extremely rare) comicbook tribute called Magazineland, USA to help celebrate the occasion.

"Okay, so World Color Press is where comics came from, but how were they made, Groove?" My, but you're a precocious li'l Groove-ophile today, aren't you? Okay, if you think you're ready for it, here's how World Color Press made your favorite Marvel, DC, Archie, and Harvey comics way back in the Groovy Age...


Pretty far-out, huh? But hey, Ol' Groove doesn't do things half-way, ya know! Here, via YouTube and thanks to DynaPubs, is actual film footage taken on that fateful day at World Color's main plant in Sparta, Ill! Not only can you see first-hand how comics were made, but there's even a little "mini-interview" with the late Phil Seuling, one of the founding fathers of the direct-sales market! Man, do I dig up the stuff for ya or what? Watch, listen, learn, and enjoy, baby!