Black and White Wednesday: "A Tale of Sword & Sorcery" by Hicks and Simonson

Hail, Groove-ophiles! Today we're gonna truck back to April 1974, to the first fab ish of Mike Friedrich's "ground level" (not Underground, not newsstand) comic, Star*Reach, and the wonderment provided by Ed Hicks and Walt Simonson's "A Tale of Sword and Sorcery"! It's a cool humor/satire piece pointed straight at the burgeoning sword and sorcery genre, a romp that allowed Walt to get a bit "wild and wooly" in the art department (which is always fun to see!). And dig that ka-razee comic strip, dedicated to Walt's then partner-in-comics on DC's Manhunter, Archie Goodwin, that runs along the bottom of the story!

(Story and art are still copyright 1974 Walter Simonson!)

Black (and White) Friday: "Speed" by Gene Day

Welcome, shoppers! Here's a (Harlan Ellison inspired?) treat by the late, great Gene Day from Star*Reach's Imagine #2 (cover dated June 1978). Do you feel the need for..."Speed"?

Black and White Wednesday: "Warriors!" by Gene Day

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Y'know, the late, great Gene Day was well known for his inking prowess during the latter part of the Groovy Age. His work on mags like Marvel Two-In-One (over George Perez and Jerry Bingham), Star Wars (over Carmine Infantino), and Master of Kung Fu (over Mike Zeck) is the stuff of legend. In the 1980s mainstream comic fans learned what a far-out penciler Day was as he strutted his stuff on Star Wars and MoKF. Fans of "ground level" comics already knew of Gene's powerful pencils 'cause they'd seen cool stuff like "Warriors!" from Star*Reach #15 (cover-dated December 1978). Dig it!

Black and White Wednesday: "Cosmix" by Dave Sim

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Here's a short-but-sweet lead-in for a short-but-sweet shocker! Lurking in the pages of Star*Reach's Imagine #4 (November 1978) is "Cosmix", Dave (Cerebus) Sim's ode to Jim Steranko--and a savvy and prophetic look at where home computers and social networks could possibly lead. Heavy, man!

Black and White Wednesday: "...The Birth of Death" and "The Origin of God!" by Jim Starlin

In 1974, Jim Starlin was at the peak of his creative powers and a sky-rocketing comicbook superstar. When fellow comicbook creator Mike Friedrich founded his "ground-level" (not quite mainstream, not quite underground) comicbook company Star*Reach--and it's flagship title, also called Star*Reach--Starlin was there contributing high-quality graphics and provocative stories the likes of which he couldn't possibly do in Captain Marvel or Warlock. 16 of the 52 pages of Star*Reach #1 (Spring 1974) were filled with Jim Starlin's opinions/flights of fancy concerning drugs, death, and religion. Here's a sampling of Starlin unleashed: "...The Birth of Death!" and "The Origin of God!"

Heavy, man. Hea-VY!

Black and White Wednesday: Gene Day's "Days of Future Past"

How about another example of the awesome artistry of Gene Day, Groove-ophiles? This one's a goodie--though the plot of this sci-fi shocker isn't the most original, it is well-written, and, of course, superbly illustrated. From Star*Reach's Imagine #2 (cover-dated June 1978), take a trip to "Days of Future Past"!

Black and White Wednesday: "Samurai" by Gene Day

The comics world lost one of its brightest when Gene Day passed away in 1982. The Canadian writer/artist had a unique voice and style, making every project he touched extra special. I first noticed him as an inker on Marvel mags like Marvel Two-In-One (over George Perez), Star Wars (finishing Carmine Infantino's pencils) and Master of Kung Fu (inking Mike Zeck)--and yeah, his style blew Teen Groove away. Later, Day was allowed to pencil MOKF and Star Wars, and with his mind-bending, Steranko-esque layouts...WOW! Can your mind be blown twice and even harder? One can really get the full effect of Day's artistic prowess when reading one of his solo black and white tales, like "Samurai" from Mike Friedrich's Star*Reach #11 (cover-dated December 1977). The thought-provoking, cinematic layouts...the organic, ornate, lush inks...the mastery of spotting blacks...the ingenious use of negative space...it's there in all its glory. Dig it, baby...and thanks, Gene!