Bring on the Back-ups: "Babes in the Woods" and "Into the Nooblian Valley" by Michael Kaluta

What have we got here, Groove-ophiles? It looks like Mike Kaluta's final Carson of Venus story for DC's Korak mag! We've just gotta dive into this one..."Babes in the Woods" from Korak...Son of Tarzan #56 (November 1973)!

But wait, there's more! While that was Kaluta's last CoV tale for Korak, his final CoV mini-epic appeared a few months later in Tarzan #230 (February 1974), "Into the Noobolian Valley".

Sadly, "The Black Castle" never appeared, though DC did reprint several stories from this series in Tarzan Family in 1975-76.

Sci-Friday: "Return to Mongo" by Warner and Garzon

Back in 1978, science fiction was rocking the comicbook world. Thanks to Star Wars, everyone was getting on the sci-fi bandwagon (or should that be cantina-ship?), including good ol' reliable Gold Key who brought back the daddy of all sci-fi heroes, Flash (aaAAH!) Gordon, himself. Oh, and any of you whipper-snappers out there reading this, don't let your mind be blown when Ol' Groove lays it on ya that Flash (aaAAH!) didn't get a brand new first issue on this outing. Nope, Gold Key's revival continued the Charlton (!) numbering...from 1970! (You don't even wanna know that Charlton picked up the numbering from the original King Comics version from 1967!) I know, in this age of re-booting and re-numbering every dozen or two issues, the fact that a comic can come off an eight year hiatus to start with ish #19 (June 1978) is downright freaky deaky! Still, it's a pretty cool revival with John (Bloodstone) Warner writing and the elegant Carlos Garzon doing a sweet Alex Raymond homage. Okay, enough yakkin'! Are you ready to..."Return to Mongo"?

Black and White Wednesday: "The Star Saga of Sirius Sam" by Cuti and Severin

Wha-hoo! The holiday season is underway, baby! Tomorrow's Thanksgiving for all of us here in the U.S. of A., and Ol' Groove is kickin' things into high gear preparing for tomorrow's annual Thanksgiving Feast--Groove City style! Here's a sample of the the kind of gourmet comicbook cuisine in store--and a grand example of why us Groovy Age fans have so much to be thankful for! From Creepy #95 (cover-dated February 1978), here's two super-stars of the seventies (at least!), Nick Cuti and John Severin, with a sci-fi shocker that'll leave you looking for more! Are you ready for "The Star Saga of Sirius Sam"?

Diggin' Ditko: "His Own Little World"

Psst. Hey, Groove-ophile. Wanna rule your own world? Okay, but ya better be careful of what you--or your pals--wish for! This far-out sci-fi tale features Sterling Steve Ditko at his best.  Originally published in Outer Space number one-and-only (August 1968), this version of "His Own Little World" comes from its reprinting in Space Adventures #13 (December 1978). Enjoy!