The Grooviest Covers of All Time: The Groovy Age JLA Covers That Really Grabbed Me

The title says it all, Groove-ophiles! Ol' Groove is just in the mood to pore over those Justice League of America covers that grabbed my imagination when I was just a Li'l Groove. Not just the awesome artistry of talented titans like Mike Sekowsky, Murphy Anderson, Carmine Infantino, Neal Adams, Gil Kane, and Nick Cardy, but the total package these covers presented. The logo, the layouts, the roll call, the colors, the lettering, even the judicious use of word balloons, captions, and titles all came together to create a magic spell that made quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies all disappear from my pocket. Feast your eyes, baby!

Groovin' Back In the Summer Time: June 1973

The Summer of 1973! We were tyin' yellow ribbons around Leroy Brown because we were so vain our superstitions were causing us to drift away in the smoke on the water because we were stuck in the middle with an American band! Today we're gonna reel in the years and get it on with 1973 before the lights go out (in Georgia, no less)! Sorry, Ol' Groove was listening to the 1973 Billboard Top Pop Hits CD as I was writing this post... Why am I so happy/goofy? 'Cause school's out! No, that's not on the 1973 CD--that one came out in 1972 (love me some Alice Cooper). School's really out and the World's Oldest Sixth Grader (that's me, Irving!) is sooooo happy! Thinking back to the Summer of 1973 takes Ol' Groove back to some good times. Visiting my grandparents and cousins... more cousins taking their vacations at my house...the suh-wheet above ground swimming pool in the back yard...building a clubhouse out of scrap lumber...lip-synching with pals and gals to many of the songs in the opening rant...and of course...comic books! Yep, this was the summer of the Avengers/Defenders Clash, Denny O'Neil/Neal Adams' Joker revamp, the debut of The Freedom Fighters in the annual JLA/JSA team-up, Dave Cockrum's Legion of Super-Heroes taking over Superboy's mag, Starlin's Thanos in Captain Marvel, and so much more! Now, the covers Ol' Groove is sharing today don't scratch the surface of the wonderment that was available on the spinner racks and magazine shelves back in June 1973, but they are the comics I remember buying at home and on vacation (if I included the comics from trades and garage sales this post would never end!). If you wanna see ALL the mags available during June 1973, click here and head for Mike's Amazing World of Comics' neat-o Newsstand--then come back and rap about the mags you got when school went out!

Groovy Christmases Past: 1971

Merry Christmas, and welcome back to our two-week trip to December nine-teen-seventy-something to look at the comics Li'l Groove scarfed up from the spinner racks of various drugstores and the ever-lovin' King Kwik! Christmas 1971 always holds a special place in Ol' Groove's memories. Lots of family who didn't normally get to travel for Christmas holiday got to visit aaaand, my fave memory, I finally, for New Year's Eve got to stay up and play Monopoly with the grown-ups! No one but me probably remembers that, but it was a huge deal for Li'l Groove! Anyway--here come da comics!

 Ol' Groove did a post on this one many years back. Li'l Groove so wanted a cowboy outfit like the one the kid on the cover is wearing!

While I dug the spooky villain, Starbreaker, what Li'l Groove really loved was the Golden Age reprints in this ish! These first tastes of the Golden Age really grabbed me!

 Why in the world did Li'l Groove buy Lois Lane comics? For the Rose & Thorn back-ups!

 After seeing comicbook characters flying, why did a guy WALKING on the air strike Li'l Groove as so cool? 'Cause it was cool!

Bad guys had been trying to figure out Superman's identity for years--but when it happened to Spidey, it took on a whole 'nother level of drama!

Okay, Ol' Groove mentioned in the last post that in 1971 I was supplementing the comics I bought new off the spinner rack with coverless, cellophane-wrapped comics (three for twenty cents or a quarter). Those, ahem, unaurhorized comics really helped me grow my collection--and snagged me some very important comics like Avengers #97 (the end of the Kree/Skrull War), Captain American #147 (Cap vs. Hydra--when those battles really meant something), and the first appearance of Jonah Hex in All-Star Western #10. And to let you experience 'em the same way Li'l Groove did for the first time, here are the splashes to those brain-blasting comics instead of the covers! (See, splashes are important, too!)

Groovy Age Gold: "The Origin of Dr. Mid-Nite"

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Seems most of us love the JSA here in Groove City, so how 'bout we truck back to the Golden Age (via the Groovy Age, natch) to dig on the origin of a fave JSA-er, Dr. Mid-Nite? Yeah, Ol' Groove thought you'd dig that. "The Origin of Dr. Mid-Nite" really grabbed Young Groove for some reason. I s'pose 'cause Dr. Charles McNider was heroic before he even became a super-hero, and it was really wild that his becoming blind is what led him to become a "mystery man." (Remember, I was 8 years old and still processing the fact that this hero pre-dated Marvel's Daredevil by a couple decades. These Golden Age reprints challenged my growing understanding of what all went on in those four color fantasies I was growing to love so much.) I dug his pet owl (shades of Batman's origin!) Hooty, too. Though author Charles Reizenstein's story is rough, it's fun and definitely grabbed my developing imagination. Stanley Josephs Aschmeier's (better known as Stan Asch) art was crude, but energetic, moody, and fun. Need Ol' Groove say he LOVED finding these Golden Age first appearances and origin stories in the back of those big, beautiful twenty-five cent, 52 page issues of Justice League (this one was #95, October 1971)? Originally from All-American Comics #25 (February 1941) here comes..."The Origin of Dr. Mid-Nite!"

Decent Comics: "Crisis in Triplicate!" by Levitz, Pasko, Dillin, and McLaughlin

Check it out, Groove-ophiles! We're back with the senses-shattering conclusion of the massive JLA/JSA/LSH team-up that Paul Levitz, Martin Pasko, Dick Dillin, and Frank McLaughlin started last Tuesday! "Crisis in Triplicate!" was originally published August 1977 (just in time for Teen Groove's 14th birthday!) in Justice League of America #148. Are you ready to take a trip through both time and space with 19 superheroes and 4 magic-wielding villains? Then let's gooooooo!

Cover art by Rich Buckler and Jack Abel