Ol' Groove's Request Line: "Desert Scream!!" by Brodsky, Katz, and Smith

The Request Line is buzzing this week, baby! Groove-ophile Dennis R. suggested running some Jack Katz, so here ya go, Dennis! Naturally, Ol' Groove had to dig up something kinda different and unexpected, so here's "Desert Scream!!" written by Allyn Brodsky, drawn by Katz, and inked by Barry (Windsor-) Smith! And tho these scans came from Giant-Size Chillers #3 (May 1975), today's tale was originally published in Monsters on the Prowl #9 (November 1970).

Black and White Wednesday: "The Swordsman of Sarn" by Fox, Katz, and Colletta

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Here's another classic intended for the never-published Science Fiction Odyssey #1, rescued from File 13 by Horror-Mood Master Archaic Al Hewetson! This nearly-lost treasure is written by Golden Age great Gardner Fox with art by independent comics pioneer Jack Katz and the fastest brush in the land Vinnie Colletta and comes complete with cover art by the late, great Jeffrey Jones. From Skywald's Psycho #12 (cover-dated May 1973) prepare to meet..."The Swordsman of Sarn"!

Bring on the Back-ups: "The Spell of the Sea-Witch!!"

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Here's a sensational shocker from the Files of the Forgotten. "The Spell of the Sea-Witch!!" by Allyn Brodsky, Jack (The First Kingdom) Katz (as Jay Hawk), and Golden Age Great Bill Everett (as Black Bill) first appeared in Fear #10 (July 1972) as a brain-blasting back-up feature to the macabre Man-Thing's lead. Check it out!

Black and White Wednesday: "The Gloomb Bomb" by Jack Katz

Check it out, Groove-ophiles! Here's a spooky sci-fi parable by Jack (First Kingdom) Katz from Skywald's Psycho #21 (cover-dated October 1974). Wait'll you dig the far-out twist-ending to "The Gloomb Bomb"! It's a blast!

If You Blinked You Missed: Skywald Publications' Zangar

Back in the early 70s, Marvel's production man Sol Brodsky teamed with former Super Comics publisher Israel Waldman to produce a line of black and white and color comic mags under the ingeniously-named Skywald Publications (get it? Brodsky and Waldman? Skywald? Sheesh.) The company's biggest successes were a trio of cheap-o horror mags in the mold of Warren's Creepy and Eerie called Nightmare, Psycho, and Scream (aka the Horror Mood line edited by "Archaic"Al Hewetson--more on all of that in a future post), but they also produced some experimental material in their black and white and color lines, like today's subject, a pretty cool Tarzan rip-off created by Golden/Silver Age great Gardner Fox and self-publishing pioneer Jack (the First Kingdom) Katz called Zangar, who appeared as the only all-new feature (the rest of the mag was Golden Age jungle comic reprints) in all three issues of Jungle Adventures (December, 1970-March, 1971). Since there were only three issues of JA, it stands to reason that Zangar only appeared in three tales, right? And you, you lucky Groove-ophile you, are gonna get to plant your peepers on 'em right now!