Random Reads: "He Who Stalks!" by Stern, Sutton, and Chan

Dig it, Groove-ophiles! Yesterdays' magical post has gotten Ol' Groove in a magic mood, so here's a fave Dr. Strange tale, written by one of my fave Dr. Strange writers, Roger Stern. The moody art is by the unlikely-but-interesting team of Tom Sutton and Ernie Chan (anyone who remembers that the Doc/Clea figures on the splash page were used on the back cover of the Pocket Books Dr. Strange reprint paperback book, go to the head of the class). I s'pose the main reason I like this one so much is because it features a rare non-Defenders team-up of Doc and Nighthawk, plus cool cameos by Iron Man, the Beast, and Yellowjacket (what, you thought Ol' Groove dug it because it featured Daredevil's old nemesis, Death-Stalker?)  Oh, and, yeah, I'd have bought Dr. Strange #29 (March 1978) for the gorgeous Frank Brunner cover alone!

Funny Stuff: "Dr. Deranged vs Deadpan!" by Thomas, Colan, and Grainger

Dig it, Groove-ophiles! Roy Thomas and Gene Colan (with inker Sam Grainger) brought us a doozy of a supernatural, super-hero parody in Not Brand Echh #13 (February 1969). Can ya believe..."Dr. Deranged vs. Deadpan!"? (And how 'bout that Spookter cameo?)

R.I.P. Steve Ditko

Never wanted to write this post, Groove-ophiles. Steve Ditko has passed at the age of 90. Ol' Groove has struggled with how to best honor, nay, celebrate the memory and talent of Steve Ditko. He always seemed to prefer to let his work represent him. I think it's most fitting to do the same....

The man will be missed, but his legacy will last forever!

Making a Splash: Colan and Palmer's (Dr.) Strange Days Part 2

Ol' Groove just finished watching Doctor Strange again on Netflix, and that reminded me that I'd never gotten around to the second round of the Gene Colan/Tom Palmer Doctor Strange splashes (see where Ol' Groove gets his ideas?). Remember we shared the early Groovy Age splashes back in this post? (A couple years really gets away from us here in Groove City, doesn't it?) Anywho, while Gene the Dean eventually came back to Doctor Strange's mid-70s solo mag, it took a few issues for inker Tom Palmer to join him there. There was ish #8 (March 1975), then the Sorcerer Supreme Team hung in together for issues 11-18 (September 1975-June 1976), before both left the mag. Their time together made for some (dare Ol' Groove say it?) magical splashes!

Yeah, Gene and Tom worked together extensively on Tomb of Dracula (and what classic work that was). And yeah, Gene would come back for yet another round during the late Groovy Age with other inkers--mainly Dan Green--but that's a future post, baby!

Black and White Wednesday: Frank Brunner's Mind Blowing Original Art

Check it out, Groove-ophiles! Believe it or not, Ol' Groove has been to only one (!) comicbook convention in my life (that's what I get for living out in the boonies--literally, Daniel Boone Memorial Park is just out the road...), and that was last September's Cincinnati Comic Book Expo. I didn't get Stan Lee's autograph (but I did manage to snap a blurry pic before security tried to nab my phone), but I did get to meet Neal Adams and get him to autograph my copies of Avengers 93 and Batman 232. My favorite moment, though, was just walking up to Frank Brunner who was sitting alone at his table drawing away. I asked him if I could shake his hand and thanked him for all the cool comics he'd drawn that I loved so much, especially Dr. Strange. I got to tell him that the work he and Steve Englehart did on Doc "Totally blew my nine-year-old mind!" Then the real moment came: as soon as I said that, Frank's eyes slowly widened as what I'd said sank in. He replied, "You were reading that stuff when you were NINE?" "Well," said I, "I didn't say I understood it!" We had a great laugh and it was a cool moment. So when Ol' Groove set his thinking cap for something cool this Wednesday, that conversation and Brunner's kaptivating and kosmik art came swiftly to mind. Here are some exquisite examples yers trooly managed to steal--er--scavenge from the InterWebs...

From the fanzine days...

Inks by Ernie Chan

Inks by Dick Giordano

Inks by Dick Giordano

Inks by Dick Giordano

The owner of the original art peeled off the blurb to see what was underneath...