The Grooviest President!

Does anyone reading this blog not know it's Election Day here in the good ol' U.S. of A.? If you didn't know, you really need to read something besides Ol' Groove's blog every once in a while, man! Sheesh! In fact, if you're over 18, registered, and a U.S. citizen, I urge you to get out there and vote if you haven't voted already. It's a right and a privilege, and it's also very, very cool. (Just got back from doin' it m'self!) End of ever-lovin' sermon!

Now, I know what you're expecting--something about DC's wild and wacky Prez comic. Well, I ain't goin' there today. I figure there'll be tons of blogs covering that kooky comic. If I'm wrong, and if you ask real nice, I'll share the first issue of Prez with ya this coming Famous First Friday. But only if you ask. Nicely. And I do accept bribes.

Nope, I was gonna focus on Presidential Appearances (just seemed right to capitalize that) of the Groovy Age, but there wasn't a lot of excitement in that. I did do some research though, looking at superhero comics produced by Marvel and DC only (hadda narrow it down somehow), and if you're interested in my findings, Jimmy Carter appeared the most times (14), followed by Gerald Ford (12), and Richard Nixon (7). Lyndon Johnson who was Prez during the dawn of the Groovy Age didn't make any Marvel or DC super-appearances that I could find (though he did seem to pop up in Herbie quite a bit...) Franklin D. Roosevelt deserves an honorable mention here, I suppose. Although he wasn't Prez during the Groovy Age (duh!), he did make quite a few appearances in the Invaders, which was set during WWII (when he was Prez. There, don't never say this blog ain't ejimicational!) Here's a quick look at those grooviest comicbook Commanders-in-Chief:

That's Richard Nixon, from Fantastic Four #104 (August, 1970) by Stan Lee and John Romita, Sr.; Gerald Ford from Defenders Annual #1 (July, 1976) by Steve Gerber, Sal Buscema, and Klaus Janson; and Jimmy Carter from Justice League of America #150 (October, 1977) by Steve Englehart and Dick Dillin, just in case you're wonderin'.

I had actually planned on running the whole Ford appearance from Defenders Annual #1 'cause it's so far-out, but then I remembered an issue of the Flash (by Cary Bates and Irv Novick, natch) Li'l Groove read way back in 1971...that's the one I have to share with you today. According to DC, in the future we'll have a different kind of President. And it'll be up to the Flash to keep him alive and kickin'! From the Flash #210 (August, 1971), ladies and gentlemen, I give you...Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, 2971!

Ah, the way-out whimsy of DC in the Groovy Age. Kinda brings a tear to your eye, huh? But if you want something a little grittier; a little more down to earth and thought provoking, where better to go than to Stan Lee and John Romita's op-ed piece that ran in the 16 April, 1972, issue of the New York Times Magazine (and was reprinted in FOOM Magazine #17)? (A special "thanks, man" to my pal, Barry Pearl for the scan!)

Marvel's Olympics of 1980

For our final look at the Groovy Age of Marvel Olympics, we go to 1980 Moscow, where--what? Excuse me, sir? Say hello to President Jimmy Carter, Groovophiles! What's that, Mr. President? Yes, I know that the United States boycotted the 1980 Olympics due to Russia's invasion of Afghanistan. And boy, did that ever teach them a lesson. I mean, look at them in Georgia right n--no sir, the country, not the state. No sir, it's not funny, I was just being ironi--yes, sir. Thank you, sir. Have a nice day, too, sir.

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Is he gone? Okay, let's take a look at what would've been the winners had we been allowed to go to Moscow...

The Bronze Medal for the Bronze Age comic that ended the Groovy Age goes to...X-Men #137! Yes, the infamous Death of the Phoenix issue. Chris Claremont and John Byrne being forced to kill founding X-Men member Jean Grey because of her crimes as Dark Phoenix effectively ended the last flickering light of the Groovy Age. Gone was the freewheeling fun of the Groovy Age, replaced forever by Editorial Edict. Claremont and Byrne had the last laugh, though, because they were able to craft a story so beautiful and moving that it went down in comicbook history.


The Silver Medal for best silver-skinned superhero who wasn't the Silver Surfer goes to...ROM, Spaceknight! Who would have thought that a comicbook based on a little-seen toy could become one of the best comics of the twilight of the Groovy Age? Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema, evidently, who put as much energy, originality, and slam-bang fun into this comic as any comic Marvel published at the time. And those bee-yoooteeful Michael Golden covers didn't hurt one tiny bit, either!

And finally, the Gold Medal for best Golden Age superhero to survive in an iceberg and almost run for President of the United States...Captain America in Captain America #250! Writer Roger Stern (with a plot suggested by Roger McKenzie and Don Perlin) and artist John Byrne (who was on quite a roll, here!) crafted a wonderful tale in which Cap had to search his very soul in an effort to decide whether he would do the most good as a superhero or as president. Naturally, he chose being a superhero, as the comic didn't change its name to President America that fall, but Stern and Byrne gave us an up-close personal look at what makes Cap so special; not just from Cap's own perspective, but from the outlooks of characters as varied as Jarvis, the Avengers, Spidey, Daredevil, Nick Fury, Dr. Strange, and J. Jonah Jameson. A thoughtful, insightful comic, the likes of which there are far too few.