Decent Comics: "Twelve Million Years to Twilight" by Conway, Giffen, and Celardo

Dig it, Groove-ophiles! All good things must come to an end, and so it goes with DC's Groovy Age revival of Challengers of the Unknown. Yep, Challs #87 (March 1978) is the grand finale of the massive cosmic epic featuring not only the Challs, but also Deadman, Swamp Thing, and Rip Hunter. Tons of wild stuff going on in this ish, with penciler Keith Giffen really strutting his artistic stuff (dig that full page diagram of Challenger Mountain, f'rinstance). Husband/wife writer team Gerry and Carla Conway work hard to tie up soooo many loose plot threads, and though it would have been nice to have had at least one more ish to let things breathe, it's a pretty satisfying (if kinda rushed) ending to the whole shebang. And dig the JLA and Demon cameos! Are you ready for one last Challs journey as we travel..."Twelve Million Years to Twilight"?

Cover art by Alex Saviuk and Dick Giordano

Decent Comics: "The War at Time's End!" by Conway, Giffen, and Celardo

Check it out, Groove-ophiles! The penultimate issue of DC's Challengers of the Unknown revival is one of those everything-but-the-kitchen-sink issues with loads of characters and tons of world-building. Actually, in this case, it's "future-building"--and what a bizarre and unique future Gerry Conway, Keith Giffen, and John Celardo came up with! From CotU #86 (January 1978) enter..."The War at Time's End!"

Cover art by Rich Buckler and Frank Giacoia

Decent Comics: "The Creature from the End of Time!" by Conway, Giffen, and Celardo

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Gerry Conway, Keith Giffen, and John Celardo are really cookin' with Challengers of the Unknown #85 (November 1977) and "The Creature from the End of Time!" They've already added Swamp Thing and Deadman to the cast, and with this ish Rip Hunter, Time Master enters the fray! A tale featuring all those characters PLUS giant monsters and time travel? Yeah, a kid back in the Groovy Age would turn loose of thirty five cents pretty quickly for a comic like that. Heck, most of us would do the same thing today if we had the chance, right?

Cover art by Rich Buckler and Jack Abel