Countdown to Halloween 2010! Groove's Faves: Jack Kirby's "The Psychic-Blood-Hound"

What it is, my Groovy Ghoulies! Here's another one of those forgotten faves Ol' Groove loves to excavate from the files of the far-out! This macabre masterpiece was intended for the second issue of Jack Kirby's legendary b&w mag, Spirit World. Plotted by Mark Evanier (though, according to an interview, Kirby tossed out the entirety of Evanier's plot--keeping only the marquee title, "A Piece of the Action"), laid out by the King, finished, inked, and lettered by Mike Royer here it is from Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion #6 (April 1972)..."The Psychic-Blood-Hound"!


And hey, just 'cause Ol' Groove loves ya, baby, here's the tumultuous text-page that goes with the perilous presentation you previously perused!

Countdown to Halloween 2010! If You Blinked You Missed: The Legion of Monsters

What it is, my Groovy Ghoulies! When you think of masters of the macabre, the names Bill Mantlo and Frank Robbins leap right to the top of the list, right? Now you're thinkin', "Has Ol' Groove lost his ever-lovin' mind?" Yeah, that's what I thought you'd think. Okay, while each of those talented titans did their share of monster mags, they're much better known for their work on other genres. Any other genre, in fact. Yet somehow fate (or was it just editor Marv Wolfman) who put this unlikely duo together (topped off with Steve Gan, no stranger to horror mags, as inker) to create this one-time-only super(natural)-team? What team? Ya gotta know by now that I'm rappin' 'bout The Legion of Monsters, baby! Of course, they weren't really a legion but a fearsome foursome of Marvel's mightiest macabre minions: Morbius, Man-Thing, Ghost Rider, and Werewolf By Night. Super-teams have always been popular, so I s'pose someone thought putting monsters together Avengers (or really, perhaps, Defenders) style had a shot at being a hit.

Cool as Marvel Premiere #28 (November 1975) was, a hit it was not. Check it out, anyway!


Still, Marvel liked the name and used it from time-to-time, usually to front horror mags for their black and white line.

Countdown to Halloween 2010! Bruce Jones' " A Rottin' Deal"

Bruce Jones was one'a those guys who really "got" the EC style and was able to update it to the sensibilities of his Groovy Age audience without sacrificing any of that classic style. Is it any wonder he was in such high demand by the b&w publishers of the day? His work appeared almost like clockwork in Warren's and Marvel's black and whites. Jones also contributed quite often to Skywald's horror-mood mags, though he'd have to use pseudonyms like "Philip Roland" to keep from getting axed by James Warren for "working for the enemy". Here's a really far-out and frightening example of Jones' handiwork from Nightmare #3 (cover-dated April 1971) called "A Rottin' Deal"!

Countdown to Halloween 2010! A Wrightson/Kaluta Tuesday Two-fer

Welcome back to the Groovy Graveyard! Today we're going to curdle--er--cuddle up by the fire with DC's House of Mystery #195 (July 1971) to enjoy a double dose of demoniacal dynamite by two of Ol' Groove's fave fear-festers, Bernie Wrightson and Mike Kaluta. Wrightson's "Things Old...Things Forgotten" shows the master of the macabre slowly slithering toward Swamp-Thing territory with his "Moss Men". Kaluta's short-short is one of those twist-endings you see coming a mile away, but would be disappointed with anything different. And just for ghoulish giggles, I'm even tossing in Wrightson's creepy cover! Dig, dig, dig it, baby!