Ol' Groove's Request Line: "Curse of the Sea Monkey!" by Maiwald and Cruz

Check it out, Groove-ophiles! While Ol' Groove is running this post under the "Request Line" banner, this one was actually a plea spurred by last Friday's "Grooviest Covers" post. One "Concerned and perplexed M.P." "needs closure" after seeing Neal Adams' hauntingly amazing cover for House of Mystery #254 (June 1977)...

...So, M.P., here ya go, baby! You might be surprised at how different this story is from what you might expect from that cover, but in return you are getting a story featuring a creature that might have taken your comicbook moolah at one time or another...

Oddly enough, no Sea Monkey ad in this particular ish, but this crazy little ad was on page 17...

Weird, huh? Or was it all part of some sort of devious marketing plan...?

Was this one-and-only story written by the mysterious Lois Maiwald inspired by those kooky Sea Monkey ads that ran in our comic mags for oh, so many decades? Aw, great! Now Ol' Groove needs closure! Sigh...well, let's try to reign in our feelings and enjoy the cool story and fab-a-mundo E.R. Cruz art!

Groove's Faves: "The Crusader" by Fleisher and Cruz

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! It's been a while since we dug a classic Jonah Hex tale, so here's a bee-yoo-tee-ful one illustrated by E.R. Cruz and written by the great Michael Fleisher. From Jonah Hex #33 (November 1979) prepare to meet..."The Crusader"!

Random Reads: "Death Race to Cholera End!" by Fleisher and Cruz

Time t'saddle up an' hit the trail, Groove-ophiles! Did'ja know that talented hombre name'a E.R. Cruz, best known for his eerie work on The Shadow and hundreds of terror tales for DC's mystery mags, drew a few issues of Jonah Hex? Well, he did! Today we're gonna look at the first of 'em, "Death Race to Cholera End!" from Jonah Hex #26 (April 1979). Of course, it's classic Hex, story-wise, as it's written by long-time Hex scribe Michael Fleisher! Let's ride!

Random Reads: "One Man's Poison!" by Warwick and Cruz

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Here's a rare sci-fi shocker illustrated by mood-master E.R. Cruz. Written by Mal Warwick, "One Man's Poison!" first appeared in Weird Mystery Tales #21 (May 1975). Dig it!

Groove's Faves: "The Night of the Killers!" by O'Neil and Cruz

Here's another reason Ol' Groove loved DC's Shadow during the Groovy Age! Denny O'Neil's take on Bonnie and Clyde vs. the Shadow from The Shadow #10 (January 1975), gorgeously illustrated by the criminally underrated E.R. Cruz.

Why, oh, why did DC never put Cruz on a Batman mag? Sheesh!