Random Reads: "One Man's Poison!" by Warwick and Cruz

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Here's a rare sci-fi shocker illustrated by mood-master E.R. Cruz. Written by Mal Warwick, "One Man's Poison!" first appeared in Weird Mystery Tales #21 (May 1975). Dig it!

Addicted to Alex Nino: "Dead Man's Gold" by Oleck and Nino

Pirates and jungles and spooooky stuff! Our man Alex Nino draws each of those things so well that when a top-notch writer like Jack Oleck hands him a script that allows him to put 'em all together into one story ya have something special on your hands. Enjoy "Dead Man's Gold" from Weird Mystery Tales #21 (May 1975)...

Random Reads: "Horoscope Phenomenon or Witch Queen of Ancient Sumeria?" by Kirby and Royer w/Kaluta and Wrightson

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! How 'bout some King Kirby? Did you ever grab a mag 'cause the cover looked cool and you could'a cared less about what was inside? Mike (The Shadow) Kaluta covers had a habit of making Young Groove do that very thing. After the cool and creepy Kaluta cover on Weird Mystery Tales #1 (April 1972) screamed my name from the spinner rack, I plunked down my twenty cents and headed for the car. I flipped open to the first page and there was some spooky guy named Destiny staring back at me--illoed by Bernie (Swamp Thing) Wrightson, no less. Next to him was a slightly smallish splash panel done up by, wonder of wonders, Jack Kirby (and inked by Mike Royer, natch), himself. It was strange to see a Kirby story in a mag without a Kirby cover, but it was the Groovy Age, baby! Expect the unexpected! As usual, The King blew me away. "Horoscope Phenomenon or Witch Queen of Ancient Sumeria?" might've had a goofy title, but it featured the Kool Kirby Karacter designs I'd come to love and expect, this time featuring various members of the Zodiac (not the Marvel bad-guy group, Gilligan--I mean the "What's your sign?" Zodiac). I didn't know it at the time (and actually could'a cared less back then) but this terror-tale was created for Jack's defunct black and white horror mag, Spirit World. A few more of those unpublished tales would find their way into early issues of Weird Mystery Tales--and once I knew Kirby'd be featured in WMT, Young Groove would be looking for 'em! Are you ready to enter the Spirit World, Groove-ophiles?

Addicted to Alex Nino: "Dream House" by Oleck and Nino

Man! Ol' Groove just realized we haven't gotten down with any Alex Nino awesomeness since December! Gotta do something about that, Groove-ophiles! Try this shocker from Weird Mystery Tales #5 (January 1973), written by the great Jack Oleck. It features some really far-out, psychedelic scenes as only Nino could present 'em. Beware! Fans of HGTV (like my wife!) might not be able to stand the night in this..."Dream House"!

Random Reads: "The Strange Ones" by Oleck and Kaluta

What it is, Groove-ophiles! Ya know, sometimes during the Groovy Age you'd pick up a mag out of habit or 'cause you had an extra quarter burning a hole in your pocket. You didn't expect much, just a few moments of entertainment, but then--BAM!--out of the blue, you get hit by an unexpected surprise hidden in the back like this haunting classic by Jack Oleck and Mike Kaluta. From Weird Mystery Tales #24 (August 1975), dig on "The Strange Ones"!