The Grooviest Covers of All Time: 35 Years Ago This Month or The End of the Groovy Age (?)

Check it out, Groove-ophiles! Naw, don't let the title scare ya, DotGK isn't going anywhere anytime soon, the truth behind the title is that this week marks what Ol' Groove has most always considered the End (or at least the beginning of the end) of the Groovy Age. That's right, 35 years ago this week, X-Men #137--Death of the Phoenix as we all call it--hit the newsstands and changed the X-Men and Marvel (at least in my eyes) forever. Note that Jean Grey's demise isn't the only milestone for June 1980! Marvel and DC both raised their prices to fifty cents (DC was ready with their new 8 page features and 25 total story pages format that had died a'borning two years earlier; Marvel, evidently, wasn't and all we got was one of the ugliest, most space-taking blurbs/advertisements in the history of comicbook covers). You could feel the "new" coming as you look at these covers (and yeah, there were lots more--these are the covers that SCREAM "June 1980" at Ol' Groove); not much by way of Neal Adams, the Brothers Buscema, Gil Kane, or John Romita, here. Instead there's plenty of John Byrne, George Perez, Frank Miller, Michael Golden, and even a bit of Bill Sienkiewicz...

...just so ya know "the end" wasn't ALL bad! Soon we'd get Wolfman and Perez's New Teen Titans, a proliferation of both comics shops and independent publishers (with quality comics!), graphic novels, and tons more stuff Ol' Groove'd like to cover one'a these days, should I have time to bring back Blinded Me With Comics.

Fret not, gentle Groove-ophile! Ol' Groove will be back right-chere Monday at 12:02 am with all kinds of Groovy Age goodness comin' at'cha! 'Til then, enjoy the bittersweet memories of June 1980.

Making a Splash: John Byrne's X-Men, Part 3

And we're back with the third (and sadly final) batch of John Byrne X-Men (issues 132-143, January-December 1980) splashes! These splashes are (putting it mildly) part of the stuff of legend! The legend of Dark Phoenix, that is! Claremont, Byrne, and Austin were clicking on all cylinders! Their various artistic visions blending and melding (sometimes in spite of their differences) into a run of awesome comics that are nigh-unto-impossible to beat! As promised, Ol' Groove is including post-Dark Phoenix splashes...including the almost as legendary Days of Future Past storyline! Plus, the debut of Wolverine's John Byrne-designed tan and brown uniform! Can mere mortals dare gaze 'pon such magnificence and not have their lives forever changed? Dare ye find out, Groove-ophiles? Dare ye?

Dream Teams of the Groovy Age: Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Terry Austin, and Tom Orzechowski

Many are the fab and fantastic writers, artists, inkers, letterers, colorists, and editors who graced our beloved comicbook pages during the Groovy Age. Singly, each talented titan deserves more accolades than Ol' Groove, who is, after all, only a mere mortal, can bestow. Sometimes, though, two or more of those incredible individuals team up, and while their individual efforts are the stuff of legend, their combined energies create a kind of pure comicbook magic that shakes the foundation of the soul. (How's that for heavy hyperbole, Groove-ophiles?)

To put it mildly, sometimes some comics creators team up and make the best comics ever! Dream Teams of the Groovy Age is dedicated to bringing you, the constant reader (hey, I'm constantly writing, so you'd better be constantly reading!), the best of the best. From the most heralded to the most obscure, we're looking for that comicbook alchemy that makes the jaw drop and the heart pound.

First up, we have a team that's doggoned obvious, but it would almost be a sin to start with anyone else. Naturally, I'm yappin' about the team of Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Terry Austin, and Tom Orzechowski. Best known for their long, legendary run on the X-Men, this dream team also teamed up a few times outside that marvelous mutant mag, most notably on Marvel Preview #11 (Star-Lord) and Marvel Team-up #79 (Spider-Man and Red Sonja). Wanna see? Then, let's dig in, baby!

The Claremont/Byrne/Austin/Orz (I ain't gonna spell his name every time I mention it!) Dream Team first collaborated on Ol' Groove's all-time favorite sci-fi comic, Marvel Preview #11 (1977) featuring Star-Lord. They took a character created by the very different team of Steve Englehart and Steve Gan, spruced him up, and created a sensation. Englehart's version of Peter Jason Quill (aka Star-Lord) was an unlikable psycho. Our boys gave Quill a very unique side-kick, the living starship called "Ship", ironically, to emotionally ground him. They set the story a few years after the original so our hero had time to grow, mature, and, thankfully, mellow a bit. These ingredients, combined with a star-spanning tale of vengeance, love, and family, became a hit, making Star-Lord a cult classic. Here are a couple pages of original art I found lying around cyberspace:


Outta sight, huh?

Somebody at Marvel was a freakin' genius, 'cause when All New, All Different X-Men co-creator Dave Cockrum decided to try his hand at something non-mutant, they nabbed Byrne, Austin, and Orz to join Claremont in the mutant mayhem he'd been writing since ish #94. So for most of issues 108-143 our boys delivered what, to this day, is considered by many to be the greatest comicbook series ever. What made the magic here? Claremont and Byrne each had a vision, and those visions were sometimes very different. Somehow, they were able to compromise where it counted to create a unified voice for our Merry Mutants. Byrne, Austin, and Orz put pencil, pen, and brush to those pages with all the skill, energy, creativity, and heart they had. And they had tons of it, cause, dude, they rocked!


See, Ol' Groove won't jive ya, man!

Claremont and Byrne also teamed up fairly regularly on Marvel Team-Up before and during their X-Men run (issues 59-70, 75, 79, 100). Austin and Orz joined them on issue #79 to help Spidey meet Red Sonja. While visiting a museum with Peter Parker, Mary Jane touched Red Sonja's sword, which caused her to be possessed by/transformed into the real She-Devil with a Sword to battle the villainous Kulan Gath. This story became such a cult favorite it was given a sequel in the recent Spider-Man/Red Sonja inter-company crossover mini-series between Marvel and Dynamite. Here's just a taste of that fantasy masterpiece:

See what I mean, Groovesters? Can I get a big 10-4 for the sheer coolness of Claremont, Byrne, Austin, and Orz? I knew you'd dig 'em!

Now, have any of you got a Dream Team you'd like Ol' Groove to cover here on the Diversions blog? I have several more in mind, but I wanna hear from you! Who do you wanna see and why? Go bananas! Ol' Groove is waiting to hear from ya!

Pax!