The Grooviest Covers of All Time: Bob Larkin Made Me Buy These!

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Artist Bob Larkin just had his 68th birthday this past Tuesday, so why don't we wish him a belated happy one by ooh-ing and ahh-ing over a few of his captivating covers from the good old Groovy Age? Larkin did tons of covers for paperbacks, merchandising, and other comic mag publishers, but it's his Marvel-ous covers that still turn Ol' Groove on! Here are some of my favorites (and yeah, the insides of these are pretty cool, too!)...

A Very Special Groovy Guest Post: Roy Thomas On Bernie Wrightson

Roy Thomas wished to express his feelings on the passing of Bernie Wrightson. Ol' Groove is honored that Roy chose to share those thoughts with us here on the Diversions.

Bernie Wrightson was one of the giants to emerge from the comics field in the late 1960 and 1970s, influencing an entire generation--perhaps more than one generation--of artists who followed him.  He was the co-creator of Swamp Thing, and easily the best illustrator of Mary Shelly's novel Frankenstein in the 200 years since it was first published.  I was only privileged to work with him on a bare handful of stories, but they were work that left me with an abiding admiration of his talent and commitment to excellence.  He will be missed.

Roy Thomas

Many thanks to Groove-ophile Mike Mikulovsky for getting the ball rolling by helping put us in contact with Roy.

Making a Splash: Mike Ploog's Kull the Destroyer

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! For a short-but-sweet time, Marvel's Monster-Master, Mike Ploog, took over the penciling chores of Kull the Destroyer (11-15, August 1973-May 1974), and man, was it dyn-o-mite! Wanna see for yourself? You got it, baby!

And yeah, a couple'a those pages aren't splashes--but, man, aren't they far-out?

Black and White Wednesday: "The Chan Barbarians" by Ernie Chan

Check it out, Groove-ophiles! Ernie Chan, one of the main inkers on Conan the Barbarian, one of the chief artists on Savage Sword of Conan and the Conan newspaper strip of the late 70s, created six smashing double-page spreads featuring Robert E. Howard's finest (plus one)--and Marvel was smart enough to publish 'em in Savage Sword of Conan #52 (April 1980)! And you, you lucky Groove-ophile, get to plant yer peepers on 'em right now!

Grooviest Covers of All Time: Ed Hannigan's Early Marvels

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Way back when I had a second blog, Blinded Me With Comics, one of the most rewarding moments was when I did a post on the 80s cover innovations of Ed Hannigan (which you can read here if ya wanna). Ed was kind enough to thank me for the post via e-mail; made my day to put it mildly. Well, Ol' Groove thinks it's about time to look at the early days of Energetic Ed's comicbook cover output. Bet ya didn't realize how many Groovy Age Marvel Comics you had with Ed Hannigan covers, did'ja? Of course this isn't all of 'em, just a handful of faves, but something tells me you might have a bunch'a these yourself...

Black and White Wednesday: Kull II by Marie and John Severin

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Today let's feast our eyes on the magnificence of Marie and John Severin's incredible art for the Kull II Portfolio* as presented in Marvel Preview #19 (Summer 1979). The first five plates are Big Brother John's solo work, while the last three are laid out/penciled by Sister Marie and inked by Bro John. Are you ready for this?

(*Kull I, wherefore art thou?)

Grooviest Covers of All Time: Kane and Palmer Made Me Buy These!

Here's a stack of Marvel-ously magnificent and totally cool covers from the super-team of Gil Kane and Tom Palmer. Young Groove had no choice but to plunk down dimes, nickels, and quarters when faced with such in-your-face awesomeness staring out of the spinner rack! What would you have done? Huh? Huh?