Ol' Groove's Request Line: "The Invaders!" by Lieber and Wood

Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Because you demanded it, we're back with more of the awesome artistry of Wally Wood from his Dr. Doom series in Astonishing Tales! Today's chapter, written by Larry Lieber, features a re-vamp of sorts, since Captain America villains the Red Skull and his sometimes-allies, the Exiles, regroup under a cool new name: the Invaders! (Man, Marvel never wastes a good name or two, does it?) Sadly (for Woody fans), this cliff-hanger from Astonishing Tales #4 (December 1970) is the last of Wally Wood's run; next ish, George Tuska takes his place!

Monday Miscellanea: Help a Fellow Groove-ophile Out, More Housecleaning, and Jack Kirby's Greatest Hits: Captain America Round Two

ITEM! Groove-dom is such a great place. We've got die-hard fans, casual readers, life-time fans, young whippersnappers, guys, gals, a few aliens, and quite a few comicbook pros populating the FOOG army. Ya know Ol' Groove loves, loves, loves ya! I also know that you're a great, giving bunch who would go the extra mile for a fellow Groove-ophile--and that's just what I'm about to ask ya to do! Loston Wallace, artist and co-creator of Image's Lorna: Relic Wrangler has come upon some hard times. His wife has been hit with breast cancer, so Mr. Wallace is wrangling up all the commission work he can to help offset the cost of the surgeries and treatments she'll have to undergo. Loston's not asking for hand-outs (though I'm sure he'd be tickled with any financial help he can get!), he's working hard to pay the bills, and I hope as many of you as possible will contact Loston with some commission bucks! Just so you can see for yourself how far-out his art is, here are a few samples of some commissions Loston's produced lately...

I know things are tight, but man, wouldn't it be cool to have some great art and help a man take care of his brave and beautiful wife at the same time? E-mail Loston or contact him through his Deviant Art page asap, Groove-ophiles! That's Loston Wallace at loston@lostonwallace.com or http://lostonwallace.deviantart.com/

ITEM! You might have noticed a bit of cyber-sprucing going on over in the sidebars. (And we finally have a Facebook page!) Well, Ol' Groove's straightenning up the place a bit, getting it ready for our THIRD ANNIVERSARY coming up this Wednesday. Why the housekeeping? Well, let's just say we're gonna have a bit of a new look around here. Hopefully it'll make Groove City more fun and functional. It's gonna be far-out and funky--and I sure hope you'll dig it! Just for a taste of what's to come, here's what the new header is gonna look like...

ITEM! Can't get enough Captain America? The flick was far-out (four and a half out of five spangled stars on the Groove-O-Meter), and Ol' Groove's dying to see it for--yes--a third time! To hold us over until the next viewing, here are some more of Jack Kirby's Greatest Captain America hits, from Captain America issues 100-109! Oh, yeah, the words are by Stan Lee! Wah-HOO!

Now That's Heavy, Man: Captain America and the Falcon #183

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Y'know, Ol' Groove's read a lot of comics and a lot of comics reviews, and one thing that honks me off is when a reviewer talks about how sophisticated and deep today's comics are--by comparing them to the "frivolous, childish, cookie-cutter" comics of the 1970s. Man, that burns me up and bums me out. So, I thought I'd combat those misguided ideas in my own non-conscientiously objectionable way by posting proof positive that 1970s comics could be deep...downright heavy, even.

Take Captain America and the Falcon #183 (December 1974) by Steve Englehart and Frank Robbins, f'rinstance. Steve Rogers, after learning the President of the U.S. of A. was behind the biggest anti-American conspiracy in history (this was writer Steve Englehart's way of voicing his opinion on the whole Watergate scandal that was rocking the real world at the time), gave up the mantle of Captain America and became Nomad, the Man Without a Country. Yep, Cap was so disillusioned by what the Marvel Universe's Prez had done that he gave up on the very country he'd been born and bred to defend, and becoming Nomad was his response to that sickening situation. Other folks, however knew that we needed a Captain America, and tried to take his place. One of those folks was a young dude by the name of Roscoe. Problem was, about the time Roscoe took over for Cap, the Red Skull decided to bop back into town. After capturing Roscoe and then learning that he wasn't the real Cap, the Skull went nutso and murdered him, then beat the Falcon to a pulp for good measure. That's when Steve Rogers learned that you can't run from destiny...and that his destiny was to be--well, just read on, baby...

Saturday Super Smack-Down: Dr. Doom vs the Red Skull--On the Moon!

Greetings, fight-fans! Today's battle focuses on the ultimate battle between two of the ultimate evils of the Marvel Universe, Dr. Doom and the Red Skull! In Marvel Super-Villain Team-Up #12 (March, 1977), Dr. Doom sets out to the Skull's base on the moon (here you thought this Dracula-on-the-moon set-up in the new Captain Britain comics was an innovative idea--my, my you youngsters are just not with it!) with the aide of the Shroud--you'll be hearing about him in the future--and Captain America--it's complicated, don't ask-- to put the daddy of all tail-whuppins on the Red Skull, who has dared to threaten to destroy Doom's kingdom of Latveria. Got all'a that? Good, 'cause you really don't need a whole lotta explanation to set up a big brawl between the baddest baddies in comicdom, do ya? First, here's the credits: Story by Bill Mantlo, art by Bob Hall and Don Perlin! Here come the combatants...

In this cornah--at 6' 7" and weighing 415 lbs., wearing gray armor and a green hood...Dr. Victor von Doom!

And the challengah--at 6' 1" and weighing 195 lbs., wearing purple armor and a--er--red skull--the Red Skull!

And here's the bell!


Boy, that Skull is sneaky! A rocket-sled for aerial attacks and stun mines underground! How will even Doom overcome such strategy, fans?

Wow! The Skull should've known Doom would have something up his armored sleeve! If losing his rocket-sled isn't bad enough--

OUCH! That's gonna leave a mark!!

Doom has the Skull on the ropes! He should move in for the kill, but--no, he'd rather taunt than fight! Ya better close in before he gets back on his feet, Doomsy...

For a master strategist, Skull just made a baaaaaaaad mistake! You don't burn Doom on his looks--it only makes him mad!!

Oookay! Maybe the Skull's strategy wasn't so far off the mark, fans! He's got Doom hurt and cornered! Here comes the coup de grace...

That Doom has more lives than a cat--and more gadgets than Tony Stark! The battle is back on!! Hand-to-hand, the battle should belong to Doom...

Yep! The Skull has nowhere near Doom's strength, so it's no surprise when the "hand of Doom" strikes...

Don'tcha just love it when our bashful brawlers explain what they're doing as they do it? That one was for the Department of Redundancy Department!

But, anyway... Ya reckon the Skull has some kind of shovel built into that nutty armor of his?

Guess not! And here's your winnah--DR. DOOM--by a (dare I say it?) landslide! (Ouch!)

See ya next time, brawl buffs!