Decent Comics: "Multi-Man's Master Plan!" by Conway, Netzer, and Wiacek

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! The Challengers of the Unknown got their own mag back with issue #81 in March 1977 after spending the majority of the Swingin' Seventies in limbo (discounting a few reprint issues). As we've seen here, here, and here, the Challs made their triumphant return to new episodes in Super-Team Family. Those issues sold well enough that publisher Jenette Kahn green-lit the resurrection of Challengers' own mag...and it lasted an entire year. But what a year! It kicked off with a continuation of the storyline that had begun in their last Super-Team Family outing, but with a brand new creative team. Writer Gerry Conway took the helm, losing some of the quirky-cool that former author Steve Skeates brought to the Challs, but bringing some action-packed scripts and Marvel-style soap-opera-ish subplots with him. Penciler James Sherman's other assignment, Legion of Super-Heroes, had gone monthly, so he chose to give up the Chall's strip, so the exciting Michael Netzer (known then as Mike Nasser) drew the first two issues, inked first by Bob Wiacek, then by Joe Rubinstein. After that, another young, exciting penciler, Keith Giffen took over the penciling, inked quite nicely by veteran John Celardo. But enuff wit da info! On with da comics! Here's "Multi-Man's Master Plan!"

Cover art by Michael Netzer and Neal Adams

Decent Comics: "Multi-Man Rules the World" by Skeates, Sherman, and Abel

What it is, Groove-ophiles! Today we're gonna dig on Super-Team Family #10 (January 1977) featuring the Challengers of the Unknown in "Multi-Man Rules the World!" The team of Steve Skeates, James Sherman, and Jack Abel were clicking right along on all cylinders, bringing back some classic characters from the Challs' past, most notably the villainous Multi-Man. Sales must have been pretty good, because if you look at the blurb in the final panel of the final page you'll see that the Challs would be graduating to their own mag two months later. Strangely enough, even though this particular story would be continued in the revived mag, not a single one of the men who brought the Challengers back so successfully would be assigned to the new mag...

Cover art by Rich Buckler and Jack Abel

Decent Comics: "To Doomsday and Beyond!" by Skeates, Sherman, and Abel

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Here's the second of Steve Skeates, James Sherman, and Jack Abel's three Challengers of the Unknown stories for Super-Team Family! "To Doomsday and Beyond" is from Super-Team Family #9 (November 1976) and it's another tale that features the Challs acting kinda like Doc Savage's Amazing Five--without Doc around. It also features a mad scientist, bombs, a volcanoe, and a hidden civilization. In other words..."Ho-hum! Saving the world again..." (Ol' Groove loves that line!)

Cover art by Rich Buckler and Jack Abel