Marvel-ous Monday: "Crime and Circuses" by Isabella, Mantlo, Wilson, and Kida

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Here's part two (part one was back in June, right here) of Black Goliath's debut from Power Man #25 (March 1975)--at last! Plotted by Tony Isabella, plotted by Bill Mantlo (his color comics debut), penciled by Ron Wilson, and inked by Fred Kida prepare for..."Crime and Circuses!"

Cover art by Gil Kane and Mike Esposito

Marvel M-Ad-ness: Really Groovy Full Page House Ads

Really groovy full page house ads? Yep, that's what Ol' Groove has for ya today! Art by Dave Cockrum, Michael Golden, Bill Sienkiewicz, Steve Ditko, Gil Kane, and more! Ads for X-Men, Micronauts, Moon Knight...lots of good stuff, baby, so dig right in!

That's right! The Brothers Buscema, Kirby, Starlin, and Cockrum right here!

Setting the Pace: "Just a Guy Named 'X'!" by Mantlo, Perez, and McWilliams

Welcome back, Groove-ophiles! All you George Perez fans rejoice! Ol' Groove has dug into the Files of the Far-Out to find another early Perez classic, this one from Power Man #27 (July 1975). "Just a Guy Named 'X'!", a filler written by Bill Mantlo and inked by Al McWilliams, gave us a chance to see how The Pace-Setter would handle a couple things we rarely got to see him draw: a solo super-hero, street-level action. Want Ol' Groove to stifle and let you dig George, Bill, and Al's handiwork? Well, okay!

Groove's Faves: "One Must Die!" by Duffy and Gammill

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Ya know, from time to time, we've rapped about Luke Cage, Power Man (aka Hero for Hire). We've gabbed quite a bit about Iron Fist. But we've yet to have a sit-down about Power Man and Iron Fist, that awesome merger of Cage and the K'un-Lun Kid that ran from Power Man issues 48-66 (September 1977-September 1980) and Power Man and Iron Fist issues 67-125 (November 1980-July 1986). Sadly forgotten, this was one of the absolute best series of the late 70s/early 80s, right up there (imho) with Miller's Daredevil, Byrne's Fantastic Four, J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck's Captain America, David Michelenie/John Romita, Jr./Bob Layton's Iron Man, and Roger Stern's (with Marshall Rogers and Paul Smith) Dr. Strange. My favorite era of PM/IF was issues 61-79, which was written by Mary Jo Duffy and Kerry Gammill. Mixing such disparate but compatible 70s icons/80s has-beens (blaxploitation and kung fu) was actually a stroke of genius, leading to a World's Finest-style mix of cosmic and street-level superheroics, complete with a fantastic crew of supporting characters (Misty Knight, Colleen Wing, Sons of the Tiger, and D.W. Griffith) that added layers (and cool sub-plots) to Duffy's (usually) down-to-earth, humanistic, and often charming stories. Kerry Gammill's art was perfect for the series, combining the best of John Buscema, Gene Colan, and Don Newton in a totally unique style (and usually inked by Ricardo Villamonte) that could take us to the mean streets of New York to the fantasy world of K'un-Lun and back again in dynamic, action-packed, cleanly-told pencils. Yeah, PM/IF was a classy, top-notch mag that deserves to be remembered. Just take ish #62's (January 1980) "One Must Die!" for example. Duffy and Gammill tell a riveting, powerful story using an old Daredevil street gang and supporting characters (Thunderbolts and Billy and Lonnie Carver from Daredevil #69), Marvel's version of a major branch of organized crime (The Maggia), a third-rate Spider-Man villain (Man-Mountain Marko), and a "new" superhero (tribute to T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agent Lightning?). Just check it out, baby!

Cover art by Kerry Gammill and Bob Layton