Decent Comics: "The Earth Below" by Kraft, Chan, and Carrillo

Check it out, Groove-ophiles! It's the final issue of Swamp Thing's original mag. Ol' Groove has to wonder what writer David Anthony Kraft and artists Ernie Chan (Chua) and Fred Carrillo would have done if they'd been given a few issues, but the world will never know. Oh well, let's head on back to May 1976 for Swamp Thing #24 and..."The Earth Below!"

Wouldn't it have been cool to have seen what DAK had in mind for the Hawkman team-up? But at least Swamp Thing's story continued on-- at the hands of Gerry Conway--in the pages of Challengers of the Unknown starting in issue 82, which you can read beginning right here!

Decent Comics: "Rebirth and Nightmare" by Conway and Redondo

Okay, Groove-ophiles: the cover of Swamp Thing #23 (March 1976) claims, and I quote, "Because YOU asked for it!" What Ol' Groove wants to know is, which one'a you asked for "The New Swamp Thing"? C'mon, fess up! That horribly generic new logo, the super-silly (but oh-so-1970s) super-villain... But ya know, other than that--what writer Gerry Conway and artist Nestor Redondo isn't too terribly different from the Conway-scripted fill-ins (issues 19-20). Still and all, all the hype on the cover is too little, too late as we'll see next month. Meantime, prepare for..."Rebirth and Nightmare!"

Cover art by Ernie Chan (Chua)

Decent Comics: "The Solomon Plague" by Michelinie and Redondo

Dig it, Groove-ophiles! David Michelinie's final Swamp Thing tale is a pretty cool one, continuing the sci-fi and horror mash-up-thing with a town full of nuclear radiated mutants! Artist Nestor Redondo is back doing his usual ghoulishly gorgeous art-thing, natch! From Swamp Thing #22 (January 1976), here's "The Solomon Plague!"

Cover art by Ernie Chan