Decent Comics: "Assault of the Rock of Eternity!" by Bridwell, Newton, and Smith

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! We're here with the grand finale to E. Nelson Bridwell and Don Newton's SHAZAM/Monster Society of Evil saga from World's Finest #267 (November 1980)! All the Marvels (including the Lieutenants!) vs. all the bad guys for all the marbles! Inker Bob Smith joins in on "Assault of the Rock of Eternity!"

By the by, Don Newton would have been 83 this past Sunday. Here's to his memory and his immense talent!

Decent Comics: "Sivana's Space Armada!" by Bridwell, Newton, and Giella

Check it out, Groove-ophiles! Here's part three of E. Nelson Bridwell and Don Newton's SHAZAM/ Monster Society of Evil saga! This time, they're joined by inker Joe Giella as Captain Marvel takes on the terror-team of Dr. Sivana and IBAC! From World's Finest #266 (September 1980) here's "Sivana's Space Armada!"

Decent Comics: "The Plot Against the Human Race" by Bridwell, Newton, and Chiarmonte

What it is, Groove-ophiles! We're back with part two of E. Nelson Bridwell, Don Newton, and Frank Chiarmonte's SHAZAM/Monster Society of Evil epic! This time, Mr. Atom and Kull team up to battle the good Captain Marvel! From World's Finest #265 (July 1980) it's..."The Plot Against the Human Race!"

Decent Comics: "The Monster Society Strikes Back!" by Bridwell, Newton, and Hunt

Dig it, Groove-ophiles! One of the great things about DC Comics back in the Groovy Age is that they were proud, and I do mean proud, baby, of their past--even if it was a past they put out of business and then brought back! Huh? Ol' Groove's rappin' about the Original Captain Marvel, or as they hadda call the feature back then (because of some fly-by-night comicbook company, I hear) SHAZAM! This pride in comicbook history was rarely more evident than when the SHAZAM! team of E. Nelson Bridwell, Don Newton, and Dave Hunt brought back the Mister Mind and the Monster Society of Evil in the back pages of World's Finest #264 (May 1980). Y'see, the original MMatMSoE storyline was a thing of legend to us Groovy Age fans. A storyline that ran for two years in Captain Marvel Adventures (issues 22-46)? That kind of lengthy adventure was unheard of in the Golden Age of comicbooks and it was One Of Those Things fans dug the most. So how cool (and surprising) was it to find a sequel to that fabled epic in the back of World's Finest? About this cool...

And yep, it's a multi-issue storyline--not as long as the original, but long for the SHAZAM revamp! How long? Stay tuned! Part 2 next month!

Decent Comics: "The Graybeard Gang" by Bridwell, Newton, and Hunt

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Today's SHAZAM! spotlight shines on Freddy Freeman aka Captain Marvel Jr. as he battles baddies that should be home sippin' their Geritol!  "The Graybeard Gang" by E. Nelson Bridwell, Don Newton, and Dave hunt first showed up in World's Finest Comics #263 (March 1980). Let's hustle on into the disco and let the adventure begin!

Decent Comics: "There Goes the Neighborhood!" by Bridwell, Newton, and Hunt

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! It's time for another SHAZAM! mini-epic, this one from World's Finest #260 (September 1979). "There Goes the Neighborhood!" is another short charmer by writer E. Nelson Bridwell, who had a knack to write Silver Age style whimsy, while keeping things modern enough to satisfy, er, modern fans. The more realistic art of penciler Don Newton and inker Dave Hunt (who just passed on March 5th at age 74, RIP) help give a solid look to what, in other, less sensible hands, could have been a bunch of really silly-looking characters (okay, some of them are pretty silly, still, but less silly than they could have been otherwise). Fun is fun, and I wonder how today's readers would react to this fun little throwaway tale...