Black and White Wednesday: "Sand Castle" by Fedory and Marcos

HowOOOO's it shakin', Groove-ophiles! Only in the Groovy Age could you find horror stories that--in one terror tale--feature botched bank robberies, plane crashes, treks through the desert, vampires, and the entrance to Hell! And the best place to find such Horror-Mood monsterpieces? Why in Skywald's  black and white monster mags, natch! From Nightmare #21 (aka the 1974 Nightmare Summer Special), prepare to face a different kind of..."Sand Castle!"

Black and White Wednesday: Gene Day's Scream-ing Psycho Nightmares

What it is, Groove-ophiles! Today we're gonna dig on some stunning and scary art by none other than the late, great Gene Day. Day was best known during the Groovy Age as an awesome Marvel Comics inker, making an indelible mark on Master of Kung Fu, as well as Marvel Two-In-One and elsewhere. Post Groovy Age, his penciling talents were allowed to shine, again on MoKF, as well as on Star Wars. But seeing art both penciled and inked by the amazing Mr. Day was usually seen in the b&w mags and the "ground-level" comics from companies like Star*Reach. Day's earliest U.S. work, however, appeared in the waning days of Skywald's wild n spooky Horror-Mood mags, Nightmare, Psycho, and Scream. Day did ads, spot illos, and pin-ups from late 1973-early 1975, and Ol' Groove's dug up most (if not all) of those pages for your perusal! Enjoy!

Black and White Wednesday: "Slime World" by McNaughton and Reese

Gory greetings, Groove-ophiles! Has Ol' Groove mentioned lately how much he loves the art of Ralph Reese? Well, I do, baby! Here's a primo example of his haunting handiwork from Skywald's Nightmare #5 (cover-dated August 1971). "Slime World", written by Chuck McNaughton, lives up to any and all preconceived notions you might have based on a title like that. Check it out!

Countdown to Halloween 2010! Bruce Jones' " A Rottin' Deal"

Bruce Jones was one'a those guys who really "got" the EC style and was able to update it to the sensibilities of his Groovy Age audience without sacrificing any of that classic style. Is it any wonder he was in such high demand by the b&w publishers of the day? His work appeared almost like clockwork in Warren's and Marvel's black and whites. Jones also contributed quite often to Skywald's horror-mood mags, though he'd have to use pseudonyms like "Philip Roland" to keep from getting axed by James Warren for "working for the enemy". Here's a really far-out and frightening example of Jones' handiwork from Nightmare #3 (cover-dated April 1971) called "A Rottin' Deal"!

Black and White Wednesday: "The Vampyre!"

Don't let the generic title of this terror tale fool ya, Groove-ophiles! Ed Fedory and Pablo Marcos' "The Vampyre!" (from Skywald's Nightmare #16, cover-dated December 1973) is a scintillating shocker well worth your time for it's titanic twist ending!


See what I mean?