Happy anniversary, Groove-ophiles! This coming Saturday Marks 10 years since the Diversions hit the interwebs, so Ol' Groove thought we'd celebrate by looking back at some his favorite, but least viewed, posts from our first fateful year! We'll be back new and live next Monday with a special anniversary post. Until then, enjoy these "reprints" and rap with us about 'em!
(Now, before we even get started, I know that both the Beatles and Kiss had made cameo appearances in comics before the books I'm gonna rap about, so please don't go sending me nasty messages about it. The Beatles (as a group or as individual members) appeared in anything from a Thing/Human Torch issue of Strange Tales (#130), to satirical strips in Not Brand Echh (#8 reprinted in Crazy! #1, f'rinstance) and Spoof. (They appeared in some DC comics and under other publishers, as well). I know KISS appeared in Howard the Duck #13. The Beatles' stories I haven't had the pleasure of reading (besides, except for the Spoof appearances, they came out pre-Groovy Age), and I've not seen the ish of HTD--yet. So I'm gonna start where I started...thanks for your kind indulgence. )
Ol' Groove was 13 years old and just getting into rock (as opposed to Top 40/Pop). If
you were 13 in 1977, chances are
your favorite rock group was
KISS. If you were a
KISS fan and a
comicbook fan, 77 was a great year!
Being a member of
F.O.O.M., I knew about the coming of a
KISS comic (actually
Marvel Comics Super-Special #1) months before my buddies. Good thing, too, 'cause when I found a copy at a local convenient store, it was the only copy on the rack! I snatched it up, plunked down a week-and-a-half's allowance and was blown away by the insanity that
KISS, writer
Steve Gerber, and artists
Alan Weiss, John
Buscema,
Rich Buckler, Sal
Buscema, and
Al Milgrom cooked up.
The first thing that struck me is that this was an event, not just your average
comicbook. It was magazine sized, in full color, and was twice the number of pages of a regular
comicbook. About half the book was devoted to
KISS'
superheroic exploits (more on that below), the rest of the book was like a fan/rock magazine devoted to the real
KISS, complete with group history, discography, and loads of pics. Oh, and it was printed using the band's actual blood. (
Honest!) It's been reported that the first
KISS comic was
Marvel's best-selling comic, and held that title until 1990s
Spider-Man #1 by
Todd McFarlane.
Let's just say it was a hit with Teen Groove, too! After all, the boys gained cool powers and fought
Dr. Doom and
Mephisto--two of
Marvel's greatest villains. What's not to love? I read it til it fell apart (and looking at what it goes for in the back issue market, it makes me kinda sad!). If you'd like to read a good summary of the story, it's right
here, along with a summary of the second
KISS comic,
Marvel Comics Super-Special #5.
Now, the second
KISS comic didn't have near the cool factor as the first one (even the
Creem style articles were gone), but it was a good comic. Nobody does weird like Steve Gerber, so writer
Ralph Macchio (no, not the
actor) went for more of a fantasy bent, with bits of humor. The
mage had a great poster--and even better cover!
A few months before the second
KISS comic, Marvel released
Marvel Comics Super-Special #4 which featured the
comicbook biography of the
Beatles. Now this mag was in the same style as the first
KISS mag, but instead of making up a story with the
Beatles as superheroes, Writer David Kraft and artists
George Perez and
Klaus Janson set out to present the whole history of the
Beatles in
comicbook form. It was an original and intriguing idea for a comic, and Teen Groove surely enjoyed and appreciated it. The creators obviously put their whole hearts into the project, and it was also obvious that they loved the
Beatles. Made for one of the most heartfelt and bittersweet comics I've ever read.
I've heard stories told in hushed whispers about
Marvel Comics Super-Special #7...an adaptation of the
BeeGees/Peter
Frampton film fiasco
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (based on the
Beatles' album, natch). From all accounts, the comic was never released in the U.S. but sadly, the same can't be said about the movie. (The soundtrack was pretty good, though. As was Steve Martin--but of course!)
The next rock n roll Marvel Teen Groove got his hands on was none other than
Marvel Premiere #50, featuring the one and only (thank goodness!)
Alice Cooper! Now, this was a standard comic in size and dimensions--but the story and art were definitely out there (and in a good way). "From the Inside" was a side-
splittingly hilarious adaptation of
AC's then recently released album of the same name. Written by Alice Cooper (himself!),
Jim Salicrup,
Roger Stern, and
Ed Hannigan, with pencils by the criminally underrated
Tom Sutton and inks by the legendary
Terry Austin, this comic was unlike anything
Ol' Groove has seen before or since. Captured and placed in an insane asylum, AC has to learn to adapt or escape--and meets up with folks way crazier than himself in the process. The story was done as an homage to the old
EC horror comics, right down to the lettering style, by way of
EC's own
Mad (the comics version, not the magazine). Hard to believe, but it's even better than the first
KISS comic!
Now, if you've got the time/money/inclination to track these magnificent mags down, have a blast! ROCK ON!
