Random Reads: "Lord of Chaos!" by Carter, Gerber, and Alcazar

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Today, at long last, we're gonna take a look at the grand finale to Marvel's adaptation of Lin Carter's "The Wizard of Lemuria" starring his barbarian hero Thongor. If you've been following DotGK, then you know you'll find the whole series scattered amongst the plethora of posts presented periodically--and if you're not a regular, then you can dig up the links in the Stream of Comicbook Consciousness in the sidebar. So without further ado, from Creatures on the Loose #29 (February 1974), here's Steve Gerber and Vincente Alcazar bringing you Lin Carter's Thongor in final combat against..."The Lord's of Chaos!"

Random Reads: "Mountain Thunder!" by Gerber and Alcazar

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Time for more of Marvel's adaptation of Lin Carter's Thongor and "The Wizard of Lemuria"! "Mountain Thunder!", from Creatures on the Loose #28 (December 1973), is the first ish by the new Thongor creative team of Steve Gerber and Vincente Alcazar. Check it out!

Random Reads: "In the Crypts of Yamath!" by Fox, Mayerick, and Alcazar

Okay, Ol' Groove makes bonehead boo-boos from time to time, but when I find out, I will fess up! When we last visited Lin Carter's Thongor, I mentioned that Creatures on the Loose #26 was the final ish for regular series artist Val Mayerick. Well, the Keeper of the Cool was wrong! T'was CotL #27 (October 1973) in which Mr. Mayerick bid farewell to Thongor. "In the Crypts of Yamath!" was inked by Vincente Alcazar, who would take over the full art chores beginning with CotL #28 (for sure!). So ish 27 truly is the final for penciler Val and also writer Gardner Fox. Steve Gerber would finish out the series in partnership with Alcazar, and we'll see those in the not-too-distant future! Enjoy!

Cover art by Vincente Alcazar

Ol' Groove's Request Line: "Tower of the Serpent-Women!" by Carter, Fox, Mayerick, and Howard

"More Thongor!" cried Groove-dom! "More Thongor you will have!" replied Ol' Groove! "Tower of the Serpent-Women" by Gardner Fox, Val Mayerick, and Wayne Howard (continuing the adaptation of Lin Carter's Thongor and the Wizard of Lemuria) was published in Creatures on the Loose #26 (August 1973). It's the first of two issues authored by Golden Age great Gardner Fox (who also was a pro at prose sword and sorcery, natch), but it's also the final issue for penciler Val Mayerick (who replaced him? Stay tuned for future Thongor posts, Groove-ophiles!) Also of interest is the fact that this is a rare Marvel job for Charlton mainstay Wayne Howard. His Wally Wood-inspired inks give Mayerick a very different look, don'tcha think? Enjoy!