The Grooviest Covers of All Time: Joe Kubert's Unknown Soldier

Check it out, Groove-ophiles! While Young Groove dug Sgt. Rock, Haunted Tank, and the rest of DC's war features, his fave was (and still is) the Unknown Soldier. Debuting in Star Spangled War Stories #151 (April 1970), the "Mystery GI of WWII" took over the title of the mag with issue # 205 (January 1977), and continued on until the final ish (#268, July 1982). Pretty successful mag with lots of cool stories and art, and tons of magnificently illustrated covers by some of DC's best--mostly, though, by the great Joe Kubert. Here's a dozen of Ol' Groove's fave Kubert covers featuring the Unknown Soldier from the Star Spangled War Stories era. So action-packed, stylish, and even (at times) profound! Enjoy!

Black and White Wednesday: "How a Comic Is Created" Parts 1 and 2 by Paul Levitz

Dig it, Groove-ophiles! Ol' Groove's love for comics was always so strong that I always wanted to create 'em myself. I wanted to draw, write, everything--and eventually I did start making my own comics (on typing paper, natch). Eventually I got into self-publishing, and now I'm writing for lots of great small press comicbook publishers--and it all started with tutorials like these from Amazing World of DC Comics (issues 1 and 2). Pros like Paul Levitz gave us creatives-in-training the low-down on how things really worked, and to this day Ol' Groove appreciates and treasures articles like these...

Groove's Faves: "Unknown Soldier and Sgt. Rock" by Kanigher and Kubert

Dig it, Groove-ophiles! When is a team-up not a team-up? When the story is a reprint ret-conned into a team-up via a frankly fabulous framing sequence! Either the economy or the Dreaded Deadline Doom was bearing down on the powers-that-were at DC when Star Spangled War Stories #157 (April 1971) was being put together, so (artist/editor Joe Kubert along with author Bob Kanigher, I'm sure) whipped up an Unknown Soldier framing sequence that made our favorite bandaged battler part of a Sgt. Rock story that was published four years before the star of Star Spangled War Stories was even created ("I Knew the Unknown Soldier!" from Our Army at War #168 (April 1966).)! Now that's how you make a reprint worthwhile, baby!

12 Days of Christmas/Making a Splash: DC Comics for December 1977

Season's Greetings, Groove-ophiles! The Groovy Age 12 Days of Christmas rolls merrily along with a mountain of momentous splash pages from DC Comics' December 1977 Christmas crop! How many of these classics turned up in your stocking?