Thursday Team-up: "The Night Lakota Died" by Glut and Santos

What it is, Groove-ophiles! Remember that time Dr. Spektor teamed up with Doctor Solar to save Spektor's girlfriend Lakota from the clutches of the evil witch Kareena? Yeah, that's what Ol' Groove thought! Well, here they are doing what I just said from The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor #14 (April 1975), written by (who else) Don Glut and drawn by (who else else?) Jesse Santos!

Was that cool, or what?

Making a Splash: R.I.P. Jesse Santos

Sad to report that Ol' Groove recently learned of Jesse Santos'  passing on April 27 at the age of 83. Santos was the artist/co-creator of Gold Key's Groovy Age hits Dagar the Invincible and Dr. Spektor, two books yers trooly totally digs. I thought admiring Santos' swingin' Dagar splash pages would make for a nice tribute, so here ya go, baby!

(Sorry I'm missing the splash for ish 14, but maybe the inclusion of Gold Key Spotlight #6's splash will make up for it?)

Sci-Friday: "This Is the Way the World Ends" by Wein and Sparling

What if you made a comicbook to sell a line of toys but nobody bought 'em? Ol' Groove has had a copy of The Microbots #1-and-only since the fall of 1971, but I can't say I remember wanting--or even seeing--the Microbots toys that it was supposedly selling. I say "supposedly selling" 'cause for some reason there's nary a mention of the Kenner toys the mag is based on. Not an ad, blurb, or editorial in sight. Still, the story (by Len Wein) hit Young Groove where he lived, with it's environmentalist message, cool robots, and Vic and Jeffrey's friendship (my best friend at the time was named "Jeffery"). Dr. Micron's sacrifice was about as heavy as anything I'd ever read in a comicbook up to that point, so it really stuck with me. Another mystery behind the mag is the art. I can tell without a doubt that it's penciled by Jack Sparling, but many think the mag was inked by Jesse (Dr. Spektor, Dagar) Santos. It's possible, but it looks more Sparling that anything to Ol' Groove's bleary eyes. Check out the origin of the Microbots and decide for yourself, Groove-ophile!

And just 'cause you-know-who loves ya baby, here's the blazin' back-up tale!