Batman Day 2020!

 Okay, Groove-ophiles, you know how much Ol' Groove loves The Batman! Tomorrow's Batman Day 2020, so let's celebrate! However, this being Groove City, we're not gonna do it like everyone else is doing it! Nope! Instead of listing my all-time favorite Groovy Age tales of The Batman ( "Silent Night of The Batman",  "Hot Time In Gotham Town Tonight", "Challenge of the Man-Bat", "The Demon of Gothos Manor", "A Vow from the Grave", "Daughter of the Demon", "The Warrior In a Wheel-Chair", "Half An Evil", "Killer's Roulette", "The Demon Lives Again", "Joker's Five-Way Revenge", "Deathmask", "A Monster Walks Wayne Manor", "Moon of the Wolf", "Grasp of the Killer Cult", "Bat-Murderer", "The Cape and Cowl Deathtrap!", "The Daily Death of Terry Tremayne", "There Is No Hope In Crime Alley", "Dead Man's Quadrangle", "Death-Web/The Doomsday Express", The whole Steve Englehart Detective run, "The Monstrosity Chase", "The Coming of...Clayface III/If a Man Be Made of Clay", all the stories in DC Special Series #15 (aka 1978 Batman Spectacular), "A Ticket to Tragedy", "Murder In the Night/Night of the Body Snatcher", "Murder By Thunderbolt", and "Dreadful Birthday, Dear Joker...",--OOPS! I just did it, didn't I?), I just thought I'd share THE "must have" Batbooks of the Groovy Age...the great reprint packages that solidified The Batman as being my all-time favorite crimefighter. Wanna check 'em out? I thought you would!

My faaaavorite Golden Age story: The Monk two-parter!

The original Two-Face trilogy!

Traveled dozens of miles and checked out a dozen or more stores--only to find this baby (shipped late, natch) at my local drugstore after I'd given up hope of finding it!

These two Famous 1st Editions were like going into a time machine! Best. Format. Ever!!

The cover alone was worth a buck!

Yeah, this one's a little bit of a cheat because it reprints all Groovy Age stuff, but there's no way I'm not including it! Pre-graphic novel graphic novel!

I know this one was out way before the rest of the books on this list, but I didn't get my copy until Summer 1977, so...

 

Is it me, or does this cover look familiar (if smaller, in real life!)?

There you have it, Groove-ophiles! Now, you can share your favorite Groovy Age Batman stories and/or Batbooks in the comment section so we can keep this party going! Pax!

Happy Birthday, Walt Simonson!

 Walt Simonson's birthday was this past Wednesday. If you ever wondered how much Ol' Groove loves the handiwork of Walter Simonson, just check out any of the 66 (this will make 67) posts he's featured in here on DotGK! There's a reason the Marvel Bullpen nick-named him "Wondrous"! Here's a huge pile of spectacular Simonson masterworks for you to ooh and ah over--then go check out all those other posts to give it all some context--and yourself added joy! Happy 74th, Mr. Simonson! Groove City loves you tons!

Cool Stuff to Captivate Your Cranium!

Hey, Kids! Comics from 50 Years Ago! 
January 27 & 29, 1970

Groovy Age Splash Page of the Week

Art by Don Newton

Groovy Age Spotlight On...
Conan: Hour of the Dragon TPB

Can you dig it, Groove-ophiles? Marvel's Groovy Age adaptation of Robert E. Howard's Conan masterpiece Hour of the Dragon is now available in trade paperback form! That's right, the Roy Thomas/Gil Kane/John Buscema epic that spanned Giant-Size Conan issues 1-4, Savage Sword of Conan issues 8 and 10, and Conan Annuals 4-5 is all together between two cardstock covers at last! Evidently the b&w stories are going to be colorized, so that probably means the other issues will be re-colored; hopefully they'll stay true the original hues. Still and all, seeing this whole saga together in one place is something worth celebrating, Groove-ophiles! As of this writing (yep, Ol' Groove writes these posts way in advance) the book hasn't come out yet, but Ol' Groove is sure 'enuff lookin' forward to it! If you've a copy, sing out in the comments section and let us know what ya think of it! Meantime, here are the sensational splashes from the original issues...

'Til next week...Pax!

Features to Fire Up Your Facilities for Fun!

Hey, Kids! Comics from 50 Years Ago!
January 6 & 8, 1970

Groovy Age Splash Page of the Week

Art by Jack Kirby and Mike Royer

Groovy Age Spotlight On...

Christopher Mills' Atomic Action Comics!

If you're like Ol' Groove, the above ad is a real grabber. We all miss comics made in the Groovy Age style. We long for the clean art, the fun storytelling, done-in-one stories that you could jump in on without having to search the Internet for a decade's worth of backstory before the mag you just bought could make any sense. Many an indie publisher promises and tries to do comics like they used to make 'em--but Christopher Mills and the Atomic Action gang have succeeded, baby!

Ol' Groove has purchased, read, and re-read all three of the Atomic Action mags that have been released so far (all pictured in the ad above) and I truly dig 'em, Groove-ophiles! They really do read like mags from the Groovy Age, the art really does look like art from the Groovy Age, the ads and editorial material really do give it all an authentic Groovy Age vibe! If the mags were on newsprint (an impossibility for small-press undertaking such as this, alas), you'd swear they came from the Groovy Age!

Mills' idea was pure, simple, genius: take PD characters from the Golden Age, create stories about them as if they'd been continuously published into the 1970s! THESE Atomic Action mags "are" the books that were published in the 70s!

Christopher Mills, a pro for 30 or so years has surrounded himself with other pros like Rick Burchett, Matt Webb, Peter Grau, Nik Poliwko, Joe Staton (!), and many others, to bring this dream project to life. Oh, and besides the three titles in the ad (Space Crusaders #'s 1-2 and Sleuth Comics #1--available RIGHT NOW at Indyplanet, by the way), Mills and company have several more titles and characters in the works as this pin-up by Rick Hoberg shows us...

Yep, besides Rex Dexter, Spacehawk, and The Owl, be on the lookout for "70s" updates of Crom the Barbarian, Cave Girl, Black Terror, The Heap, Miss Fury, and other Golden Age titans! For more info, get thee to Atomic Action Comics right now! And tell 'em Ol' Groove sent ya! See ya next week, Groove-ophiles! Pax!