Black and White Wednesday: "Alien Affair" by Bates and Mayerik

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Today we're gonna dig on a sci-fi/horror shocker by the titanic team of Cary Bates and Val Mayerik! Moody, twisted, and beautifully illustrated, "Alien Affair" from Creepy #109 (May 1979) will thrill and chill, baby!

Random Reads: "Manslaughter" by Cary Bates and Rubeny

January 13, 1976. It was a cold, gray day. It was a Tuesday. I was off from school. Snow day. A trip to town and thirty cents got me a copy of House of Mystery #240. The cover story was a typical shocker with some nice E.R. Cruz art. Nothing out of the ordinary. Next comes "Manslaughter" by Cary Bates and Rubeny (Ruben Yandoc). I stop, stunned. Staring at me from the first page is Humphrey Bogart. That's right. Bogey. The copy called him "Mick Mason", but I knew who he really was. I started reading...

I'll say it before you say it, baby: "They should have called this one...'Frankencow'!" Here's lookin' at you, calf.

Thanksgiving Feast 2015: "The Legionnaires Who Haunted Superboy!" by Bates and Grell

Dig it, Groove-ophiles! We're finishing our Thanksgiving Feast 2015 with a most superior dessert, recommended by none other than James Sanders III (artist and Groove-ophile supreme)! From Superboy #206 (October 1974) here are Cary Bates and Mike Grell with..."The Legionnaires Who Haunted Superboy!"

Murphy Anderson Week: "Brother for a Day!" by Bates, Swan, and Anderson

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! We're back with day two of our week-long tribute to Murphy Anderson! Today we're gonna dig on yet another of Ol' Groove's faves, "Brother for a Day!", a very cool Private Life of Clark Kent back-up from Superman #256 (July 1972). Written by Cary Bates and penciled by Curt Swan, Anderson's slick inks made Zeena, the Tiger-Woman a most memorable character for Young Groove--was that costume dynamite or what? And check out that bratty kid, Mickey Moran. It'd be a miracle if he grew up to be someone we'd marvel at, huh, man? What Ol' Groove also most remembers (besides Zeena) is getting this particular ish of Superman in one of those three-packs you used to find in grocery stores. (Oh, the other two mags in that pack? Batman #244 (!) and Mister Miracle #10. What a find, huh?)

Ol' Groove's Request Line: "Massacre by Remote Control" by Bates and Grell

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! We're back with a very special post from Ol' Groove's Request Line--Mike Grell's first full artwork on The Legion of Super-Heroes from Superboy #203 (April 1974)! This is a great big "Happy Birthday!" request for Groove-ophile (and artistic genius) James Sanders III! It's a milestone in the history of the Legion in more ways than one baby, right down the letters page (which Ol' Groove has included) and its heavy-handed handling of Dave Cockrum's departure from LSH! Here ya go, Jimbo! Happy Birthday!!