Black and White Wednesday: RIP Ken Barr

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! As most of you probably know, artist Ken Barr passed away about a month ago, just a few days after his 83rd birthday. Barr was an artist of international renown (you can read a wonderful tribute to the man on Down the Tubes), but to kids like Young Groove, he was the master cover artist for many of Marvel's b&w mags. Ol' Groove posted a few of them back in 2012 (which you can see here), so here are a few more faves from the brush of a master of action and adventure!

Black and White Wednesday: "Bruce Lee" by Sands, Staton, DeZuniga, and the Tribe

Mike Nasser's (Michael Netzer's) awesome frontispiece.

It was 38 years ago today that the real master of kung fu, Bruce Lee died oh-so-mysteriously. His life,movies, philosophy, and fighting style became, not only the stuff of legend, but made the late actor a cult-hero--no, a full-fledged icon. Books, magazines, articles, and films too numerous to mention have been made about the life of the young man who made himself known to the world playing Kato on the short-lived but highly-influential Green Hornet TV show. Thanks to his movies (and yes, the tons of imitators), Lee had made the words "kung fu" not only household words, but a full-out craze. It was a rare instance, indeed, if Young Groove made the trek to the local newsstand without seeing some sort of Bruce Lee related magazine cover on the racks during the 1970s. But as far as Ol' Groove can tell, there was only one biographical comicbook based on the life and times of the founder of Jeet Kune Do during the Groovy Age, and that was in Marvel's Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #28 (August 1976).

It was only fitting that Marvel would create such a comic, since without Lee, DHoKF, one of Marvel's most successful b&w mags, would never have come into existence. They had done many articles about Lee, but never thought to create comicbook stories about him. That idea, according to John Warner, came from the fans. Outgoing editor Archie Goodwin got the ball rolling, planning the concept of doing a comicbook version of Bruce Lee's life, but it was under incoming editor Warner that the issue actually saw print. Marvel went outside their deep talent pool and tapped journalist Martin Sands to write the script, but the art fell to two well-known, but wildly different, artists: penciler Joe Staton and inker Tony DeZuniga (aided by The Tribe). Only during the Groovy Age did Marvel have the freedom and vision to produce a comic like..."Bruce Lee". Enjoy, Groove-ophiles!

Ken Barr's iconic cover.

Thank Gorn for the scans!

Groove's Faves: The Green Hornet and "The Threat of the Red Dragons" by Newman and Spiegle

Are ya hyped up to see the new Green Hornet flick, Groove-ophiles? Ol' Groove has mixed feelings about what he's seen preview-wise, but is willing to give it a shot. Something I KNOW I dig is the old Green Hornet TV show with Van Williams and the immortal Bruce Lee. As a Bat-fan, Li'l Groove had to watch Batman's darker (!) and more serious (!!) counterpart. Besides, Green Hornet was one of those cool old-time radio heroes Dear Ol' Dad was always telling me about. T'was only natural, then, that Li'l Groove would get his sticky fingers on the Green Hornet comicbooks produced by Gold Key Comics. All three issues (December 1966-May 1967) are pretty cool, but it's ish #2 (February 1967) that's my personal fave. It reads a whole lot like an episode of the 1966-67 TV series, but with a better budget. Author Paul S. Newman could always be counted on for turning out fun stories, and Dan Spiegle never, ever disappointed on the art. Here's hoping that Seth Rogan and Jay Chou read Green Hornet #2's "The Threat of the Red Dragons" if they wanna know how the Green Hornet and Kato really get down!



I just have'ta toss in this special inside-back cover feature from ish #3 spotlighting all of the Green Hornet's groovy gadgets. How many of 'em will pop up in the movie?