Black and White Wednesday: "Bolt" by Margopoulos and Nino

Check it out, Groove-ophiles! "Bolt" by Rich Margopoulos and Alex Nino made its debut in the first issue of Warren's Rook mag (August 1979) and looked for all the world like the start of an ongoing series. Well, as far as Ol' Groove can deduce, t'was the only appearance of Jason Bolt, and that's a shame, 'cause his was a cool concept. Now, as was the wont for Warren mags at the time, author Margopoulos loaded "Bolt" with text, and Nino was allowed to go totally bananas on the layouts with the true "wide-screen" double-page spreads (competing with Heavy Metal, y'think?), and the level of detail Nino puts into these pages is mind-boggling. It's an amazing strip to look at (design-wise, especially), but really hard to read...but Teen Groove thought it was worth the effort and enjoyed it even more than the Rook tale that fronted the mag (sorry Bill DuBay and Lee Elias)...

Black and White Wednesday: "The Quest" by Margopoulos and Stone

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! In Skywald's Psycho #2 (cover-dated March 1971), writer Rich Margopoulos and artist Chic Stone gave us a twisted twist on the "planetary romance" genre of heroes like John Carter and Esau Cairn. See for yourself as you join..."The Quest!"

Black and White Wednesday: "The Oval Portrait!" by Poe, Margopoulos, and Corben

Happy April Fool's Day, Groove-ophiles! We'll celebrate with an awesome adaptation of a classic Edgar Allan Poe shocker from Creepy #69 (cover dated February 1975). Here are Rich Margopoulos and Richard Corben with..."The Oval Portrait!"

Black and White Wednesday: "Only Losers Win!" by Margopoulos and Chaykin

Dig it, Groove-ophiles! Sci-fi race car driving by Rich Margopoulos and Howard Chaykin! "Only Losers Win!" comes from Creepy #64 (July 1974)--and it'll make your pulse race! Vrrrooom!!

Black and White Wednesday: "Star Slaughter" by Margopoulos and Torrents

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Check out this sci-fi shocker by Richard Margopoulos and Ramon Torrents! From Creepy #51 (cover-dated March 1973) prepare for a..."Star-Slaughter"!

Random Reads: "Demon in the Cockpit" by Margopoulos and Corben

What it is, Groove-ophiles! Y'know, we all think of Warren Publishing as a purveyor of black and white comic mags--and they were! But for about a couple'a years, from late 1973-late 1975 Warren ran a special full-color tale in a good number of their mags.  If Ol' Groove's research hasn't mislead him, the full-process color sections were, at least in part, the brainchild of the great Richard Corben.  Speaking of Rich Corben, "Demon in the Cockpit", written by Rich Margopoulos for Creepy #63 (May 1974), is one of those extra-special Corben color stories. Wanna see?

If You Blinked You Missed: Comix International

In 1974, Jim Warren went to war (again) with Stan Lee over who would take up the most space on the magazine racks. Lee (and of course, Marvel, though they left that name off the mag, believe it or not) had teamed with Denis Kitchen* to produce The Comix Book to cash in on the Underground Comix craze that was sweeping the country. Chafing at yet another attempt by Marvel to squeeze him out of his own turf, Warren answered with Comix International, showcasing his only real tie to Underground Comix, the amazing artist who had broken from the UG ranks and into the mainstream at Warren, Richard Corben. Reprinting various Corben-drawn (and colored, natch) stories from Creepy and Eerie, the magazine was square bound, full-color, on white paper, sporting a heavy cover stock--and it was expensive ($2-$2.50 per issue when regular comics were twenty-five to thirty cents). As usual, the big boys were getting into a fad just as it was fading, so Warren quickly gave up the pretense of CI being an overground Underground and simply reprinted the best of his color inserts from Creepy, Eerie, Vampirella, and even the Spirit for the rest of the mag's run. Comics International lasted only five issues, published more or less annually from 1974 through 1977 (two issues were published in 1975).

Here's Ol' Groove's favorite story from Comics International #1, "Judas" by Rich Margopoulos and Richard Corben!

* UPDATE: Click the "comments" link below for more interesting info on the Warren/Marvel Comix International/Book feud by the man who was there--none other than Denis Kitchen, himself! (Ol' Groove is so psyched that Denis stopped by...!)