Lo! There Shall Come Endings! The Shadow and E-Man

It's New Year's Eve 2010, Groove-ophiles! It's become a bit of a tradition here in Groove City to say goodbye to the old year by checking out classic final issues from the Groovy Age, and this year is gonna carry on that tradition. This year, we're looking at the finales of two of Young Groove's fave mags--DC's The Shadow and Charlton's E-Man.

The Shadow was a masterpiece, and I could never figure out why it didn't last longer than 12 issues. The writing (mainly) by the great Denny O'Neil, who could write the kind of hard-boiled, atmospheric whodunits you'd expect for a pulp crime-smasher, was top-notch. The art was provided by three highly distinctive and wildly talented artists: Mike Kaluta, Frank Robbins, and E.R. Cruz, all masters of mood and period-pieces. I can't think of a single issue that I didn't dig, but there weren't enough like-minded fans to suit the powers-that-were at DC, t'would seem. The Shadow went out with an appropriate "bang" though, with this O'Neal/Cruz classic from May 1975..."Night of the Damned!"


E-Man was a major cult fave and definitely on Ol' Groove's short-list of best mags of the Groovy Age, but, alas, it wasn't a great seller. Nick Cuti and Joe Staton's masterpiece lasted only 10 issues in the 70s, but made a major comeback in the 80s and then jumped in and out of print during the 90s and early 2000s. Low seller it might have been, each ish of E-Man was a true gem, right down to the final issue's (June 1975) Al Capp tribute (or is it parody?), "The Witch of Hog Wallow". Dig it!


Here's wishing all of Groove-dom the happiest of New Years! Ol' Groove hopes 2011 will be your best year ever! See ya tomorrow as we kick off a brand new year! Huzzah!

Lo! There Shall Come Endings! Aquaman and Sub-Mariner (Sorta) Crossover

Both DC and Marvel's underwater heroes hit some pretty high highs and the lowest of the lows during the Groovy Age. The lowest lows being--what else?--their mags' cancellations. Aquaman ended with issue #56 (December 1970). It's recently been discovered that DC's King of the Seven Seas' mag was selling extremely well, thanks to the stupendous S.A.G. team (that's writer Steve Skeates, artist Jim Aparo, and editor Dick Giordano for the uninitiated among ya). It's still a mystery as to why then-publisher Carmine Infantino pulled the plug on Aquaman, but pull it he did. Knowing it was the final ish, Sir Steve pulled out all the stops. He introduced--then promptly killed--a new hero, Crusader, played with the narrative flow/structure (inspired by the then-popular Underground Comics), and ended the mag--literally--with a bang. It was an inspired story complemented by Aparo's equally inspired art. Comicdom had to be scratching its collective head when Aquaman #57 didn't show up the next month (and wouldn't for nearly seven years). Pay especially close attention to the last page as you boggle your mind with..."The Creature That Devoured Detroit!"


What would have happened if Aquaman #57 had appeared in early 1971? Funny you should ask... About three and a half years after Aquaman's final issue, Mr. Skeates was given the task of closing out Prince Namor, the Savage Sub-Mariner's mag. Skeates wasn't Subby's regular writer--in fact, I don't think he'd ever written an issue of Sub-Mariner. For whatever reason editor Roy Thomas called upon the amazing Sir Steve to write Sub-Mariner #72 (June 1974), t'was a pure stroke of genius. The irony of writing the final issues of the two major comicbook Kings of Atlantis wasn't lost on Skeates. He decided to revamp what would have been the basic plot of Aquaman #57 to make the final issue of Sub-Mariner a sequel to the final issue of Aquaman--and in spite of a major colorist's gaff (or was it editorial cold feet?), it worked! Check out "From the Void It Came..." with it's sweet Dan Adkins/Vinnie Colletta art and you'll be amazed when you hit page three, Groove-ophiles!


Be back tomorrow for the New Year's Day blow-out, Groove-ophiles!