Marvel-ous Monday: "What If the Avengers Had Fought the Kree-Skrull War Without Rick Jones?" by DeFalco, Kupperberg, and Patterson

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Let's kick this week off with one of Ol' Groove's favorite comics: What If? #20 (January 1980)! "What If the Avengers Had Fought the Kree-Skrull War Without Rick Jones?" might have been a mouthful of a title, but it was a fistful of far-out and fabulous four color comics! All of Groove City knows that t'was the Kree/Skrull War (Avengers 89-97) that solidified Young Groove's standing as a comicbook fiend, so this comic was a particular pleasure when it came out--and it still is! Author Tom DeFalco (future Marvel EiC in the early days of his Marvel career, here) gave the original story some very cool twists and turns (including letting most every 1971-era Marvel character join in the fun). The art by Alan Kupperberg and Bruce Patterson was very different from Neal Adams' style on Avengers 93-96 (though Kupperberg had worked for Adams), and much closer to Sal Buscema (who drew Avengers 89-91--and according to Kupperberg, the first three pages of What If #20!) captured the look and feel of the original epic and did a great job of showing us the war side of the K/S War. We got a virtual graphic novel in 35 pages, baby! Dig it!

Cover art by Al Milgrom and Joe Sinnott

Yep! There's the infamous DD miscolored panel! Whodunnit?

Making a Splash: Kane and Anderson's Batgirl

Dig it, Groove-ophiles! Way back in 1969/1970 (Li'l Groove's first grade year! Just tossin' that in there...) Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson provided the art for Batgirl and Robin's solo back-ups in Detective Comics. Capes, fists, and feet were a'flyin' from issues 384-397, with each young caped crusader alternating in two-part tales (thanks in no small part to the smashing scripts by Mike Friedrich and Frank Robbins). Today we're gonna focus on the Batgirl splashes: 384, 385, 388, 389, 392, 393, 396, and 397. We'll get to the Robin ones in the near future, and after 397, Kane stayed on for a little while longer with a few different inkers. Again, we'll get to those, too. But for now...it's Kane and Anderson unleashed on the Dominoed Daredoll!

Funny Stuff: "In Or Out?"

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Here's a Sack of Sad from Sad Sack #250 (February 1976) called "In Or Out?" (Yep, that's what it's called...)

R.I.P. Basil Gogos

Sigh. Seems like this is becoming a weekly thing, but that's they way it is. As most of you probably already know, Basil Gogos passed away last Thursday (11/14/17). Those of us who grew up during the Groovy Age know Gogo's art well because, though he painted many a book and magazine cover, to us, he was the ultimate monster portrait artist with his Famous Monsters of Filmland covers. Even non-comics lovers dug FM (and yeah, FM wasn't a comic, but you get my drift), baby, and Gogos' covers were a big part of what made those mags so cool. Can't think of a better way to pay respects than to share a ghoulish gallery of his awesome artistry...