The Grooviest Covers of All Time: Weird Heroes

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Today Ol' Groove is (finally) sharing the covers of his all-time favorite paperback novel series: Weird Heroes! Byron Preiss' brainchild of New American Pulp will be getting lots and lots more digital ink in the future, so right now I'll just say the series was beyond amazing and its arrival was definitely a life-changing event for moi. (Why? Look at the names of the talent listed on these covers and you just might figure it out...) Instead of my rapping, let's just salivate over Weird Heroes as covered by artistic masters Jim Steranko, Alex Nino, Ralph Reese, Jeffrey Jones, and Stephen Hickman...

Happy 75th Birthday, Jim Steranko!

Since James Steranko is one of the of the Fathers of the Groovy Age, there's no way Ol' Groove could let his 75th birthday pass without a little bit of huzzah! Jim's comicbook art (you can see many samples if you just click his name over in the Stream of Comicbook Consciousness) helped create and then define the Groovy Age. His use of advertising and pop-art motifs in our four color fantasy worlds turned the whole comicbook industry on its ear and inspired--inspires--new generations of artists to this day. Young Groove grabbed every  comic with the name "Steranko" he could get his paws on, so, naturally, when Steranko's powerhouse paintings started appearing on the paperback racks, yers trooly hadda procure those for his own as well. While I never outgrew comics (as my teachers had hoped), I did "grow" enough to actually read "real" books like tons of Shadow reprints and the whole Weird Heroes series before high-school ended. Thank you, Mr. Steranko! You inspired me as a kid, and you continue to inspire me today in so many ways!!

(Really) Weird Heroes: the Scarecrow

During the Groovy Age, we got some really weird heroes, y'know. Yeah, you probably know all about the Thing, the Hulk, Swamp Thing, Man-Thing, Ghost Rider, and probably even Man-Bat and the Demon. But there are a few only the most hard-core groove-ophiles remember. This week, we're gonna shine the spotlight on those nigh-forgotten stalwarts of the supernatural as we continue our...Sure, you've heard of the Scarecrow. But not this Scarecrow. We're not talking about the Batman's psychotic sparring partner, here. We're talking about a magical entity. One of the "Fear Lords" who is also known as the Straw Man, guardian of a mysterious painting that serves as the portal between earth and another unearthly dimension.

Created by writer/editor Scott Edelman, the Scarecrow was originally to have been a continuing feature (drawn by fresh-from-Charlton John Byrne) in Monsters Unleashed. Unfortunately, MU was cancelled before work could begin in earnest. Next the feature was scheduled to appear as a back-up in Giant-Size Werewolf by Night, but that mag was cancelled, too. There were actually plans to just give the feature its own comic, but that never happened. Finally, it was decided that the Scarecrow would star in one of Marvel's color supernatural comics, a reprint title called Dead of Night. The strip finally appeared in issue #11 (May, 1975) of D.O.N., with art by Rico Rival (along with that truly far-out Gil Kane/Bernie Wrightson cover). The Straw Man's luck kept running true, as that was also the final issue of D.O.N.

Marvel rarely gave up on a concept back in the Groovy Age, though! They gave the Scarecrow another shot, this time in Marvel Spotlight #26 (December, 1975). No dice. Still, Marvel gave it one more shot, teaming the Scarecrow with the ever-lovin', blue-eyed Thing in Marvel Two-In-One #18 (May, 1976--exactly one year after the Scarecrow's debut). Didn't set the world on fire that time, either, so it was hasta lumbego to the Straw Man for the rest of the Groovy Age. Too bad, 'cause he really was kinda cool. Sort of a straw-Spectre.

But shed not one tear, Groovesters! Thanks to the scanning skills and generosity of my pal and blogger par excellence, Joe Bloke, of Grantbridge Street and other misadventures fame, here for your enjoyment is that second-chance story from Marvel Spotlight #26, complete with art by Ruben Yandoc and cover by the unlikely team of Howard Chaykin and Al Milgrom. Thanks again, Joe (and read his blog! It's great!)! Enjoy!