The Grooviest Covers of All Time: A Flash In the Spinner-Rack

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! We haven't dug on nearly enough Groovy Age Flash covers, so whaddya say we make up for lost time right now! Here are a dazzling dozen super-speed showpieces by artists like Carmine Infantino, Gil Kane, Neal Adams, Nick Cardy, Rich Buckler, and more!

Art by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito

Art by Neal Adams and Dick Giordano

Art by Dick Giordano

Art by Nick Cardy

Art by Rich Buckler and Jack Abel

I knew you'd dig 'em!

If You Blinked You Missed: Atlas/Seaboard's The Cougar

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! It's been a while since we visited the wild-n-woolly world of Atlas/Seaboard with its strange mixture of high-powered talent, mid-range talent, high-concept ideas, and total rip-offs. Today's subject, The Cougar (February-April, 1975) manages to find itself firmly in all of those camps with creators such as Steve Mitchell, Gary Friedrich, Dan Adkins, and Frank Springer working together to bring something cool and new to the Groovy Age of Comix--via a mish-mash of then-popular pop-cultural fads: Evel Knievel, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, movies, super-heroes, monsters...and bayou voodoo. The story goes that Atlas/Seaboard publisher wanted the rights to Dan Curtis' cult-favorite Kolchak, but found the price too high. As was his habit, Goodman ordered up a rip-off, er, homage, but Mitchell and company tried to be at least a bit subtle in what they were doing (though editorial couldn't resist putting a blurb with the term "night-stalker" on the cover). The first issue, written by Mitchell with art by Adkins and Springer had a pretty good Night Stalker vibe, though Jeff Rand aka The Cougar was much more action-oriented than Carl Kolchak. He was a stunt-man by trade, after all...

Cover art by Frank Thorne

The second (and final) issue features the origin of The Cougar....

If you're interested in reading it, just let Ol' Groove know, baby! (What, you thought I'd spill everything in one post? Perish the thought, Frantic Ones!)

Black and White Wednesday: "The Gardener" by M. W. Kaluta

Dig it, Groove-ophiles! One of the cool things Marvel's Epic Illustrated mag did was reprint early works by some of the best Groovy Age creators. Take for instance "The Gardener" by Mike Kaluta. Originally published in 1970 in a fanzine called This Is Legend, this early M.W. Kaluta masterpiece was reprinted in Epic Illustrated #26 (August 1984).

Groove's Faves: "Vulcan: Son of Fire!" by Conway, Giffen, and Wood

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! We're back with another episode of The All-Star Super-Squad and the Justice Society of America, this one from All-Star Comics #60 (February 1976)! Things really get cooking with "Vulcan: Son of Fire!", baby! (No extra charge for the bad puns, either!) Keith Giffen's layouts give the JSA a "modern" feel, while Wally Wood's inks keep things cool and traditional. A perfect blend of Golden and Groovy Ages is what Ol' Groove thinks! Conway is doing some pretty keen stuff too, going beyond just the "generation gap" stuff of the first two issues--and you know I dig the spotlight on Dr. Fate!