Mining for Gold(en): "Trouble In Paradise" by Kashdan, Golden, and Wiacek

Check it out, Groove-ophiles! Here's a cool George Kashdan sci-fi fable, beautifully illustrated by artist Michael Golden and inker Bob Wiacek. While the plot of "Trouble In Paradise" might have seemed a far out when Mystery In Space #113 came out in August 1980, but now...it doesn't seem quite so out there at all...

Black and White Wednesday: "Among the Great Divide" by Gerber, Starlin, and Wiacek

Check it out, Groove-ophiles! Steve Gerber and Jim Starlin were to of the strongest, most unique, most, yes, idiosyncratic voices of the Groovy (or any) Age. Their comics were the ones you looked forward to because you really didn't know what to expect--except that it would be a comicbook experience like no other. They worked together a few times, with varying degrees of success. An early collaboration in Iron Man #56 (legend has it) got 'em fired from the mag by Stan Lee, himself. Then you get a macabre, thought-provoking, uncomfortabley amazing piece like "Among the Great Divide" from Rampaging Hulk #7 (December 1977). Since the story features one of Gerber's signature characters, Man-Thing, when Teen Groove flipped to the back of the mag, he knew he was in for a treat. When I saw that the art was by Jim-freakin'-Starlin (inked by Bob Wiacek)--yeah, I knew I'd spent my buck well. Everyone was still buzzing about the TV mini-series Sybil (starring future Aunt May (!), and soon-to-be Emmy  and Oscar winner, Sally Field), but of course Gerber and Starlin took their look at the serious subject of Dissociative Identity Disorder (then known as Multiple Personality Disorder) and gave their story--and the disorder, itself--its own twists...though most of my friends didn't know that this, superior, story even existed. Many folks still don't. Well, if you're reading this--you know it now...

Making a Splash: Star-Lord

Man, does Ol' Groove ever love Star-Lord--but I'm sure I'm not the only one! Created by Steve Englehart and Steve Gan for Marvel Comics way back in 1975, Peter Jason Quill's alter ego remained a cult favorite during the Groovy Age, went through a lot of changes over the past decade-plus, and has become a movie star via the excellent Guardians of the Galaxy movies (though he's a very different Star-Lord in those). Star-Lord was originally going to headline his own b&w sci-fi mag, but those plans fell through, so his debut was in Marvel's b&w try-out mag, Marvel Preview #4 (October 1975). He disappeared until July 1977 when he re-surfaced in MP #11 under the care of the new creative team of Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Terry Austin (who would soon go on to make history with some mag with an "X" in the title...). In May 1978, Claremont teamed with a new artistic team: Carmine Infantino and Bob Wiacek to produce a more hard-sci-fi styled Star-Lord for MP #14, then that same team got it all together one more time in MP #15 (July 1978). In March 1979, Star-Lord finally appeared in full-color, under the creative team of Doug Moench, Gene Colan, and Tom Palmer in Marvel Super-Special #10 (March 1979). A couple months later, it was back to black and white for MP #18 where Moench was still writing, but for that ish, he was teamed with a new guy who would soon become a legend: Bill Sienkiewicz (with stunning inks by Bob McLeod). Not long after that, Star-Lord made his standard color comics debut in Marvel Spotlight Volume 2, in issues 6-7 (February-April 1980), once more with Moench at the typewriter who was joined by Charlton mainstay Tom Sutton on the art. That same team produced a third Star-Lord fable, but that one didn't see print until the final issue of Marvel Premiere (May 1981). Whew! That's a lot to read in order to get to these sensational splashes, huh? Weeelll--it's worth it! Blast off!

Decent Comics: "Multi-Man's Master Plan!" by Conway, Netzer, and Wiacek

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! The Challengers of the Unknown got their own mag back with issue #81 in March 1977 after spending the majority of the Swingin' Seventies in limbo (discounting a few reprint issues). As we've seen here, here, and here, the Challs made their triumphant return to new episodes in Super-Team Family. Those issues sold well enough that publisher Jenette Kahn green-lit the resurrection of Challengers' own mag...and it lasted an entire year. But what a year! It kicked off with a continuation of the storyline that had begun in their last Super-Team Family outing, but with a brand new creative team. Writer Gerry Conway took the helm, losing some of the quirky-cool that former author Steve Skeates brought to the Challs, but bringing some action-packed scripts and Marvel-style soap-opera-ish subplots with him. Penciler James Sherman's other assignment, Legion of Super-Heroes, had gone monthly, so he chose to give up the Chall's strip, so the exciting Michael Netzer (known then as Mike Nasser) drew the first two issues, inked first by Bob Wiacek, then by Joe Rubinstein. After that, another young, exciting penciler, Keith Giffen took over the penciling, inked quite nicely by veteran John Celardo. But enuff wit da info! On with da comics! Here's "Multi-Man's Master Plan!"

Cover art by Michael Netzer and Neal Adams