Marvel-ous Monday: "Fightin' Fools!" by Gerber,Skrenes, and Mooney

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! We're back with the penultimate issue of Omega the Unknown! For OtU #9's "Fightin' Fools!" (April 1977), series creators/regulars Steve Gerber, Mary Skrenes, and Jim Mooney made a dramatic return with an issue that, strangely enough, didn't focus mainly on James-Michael Starling. No jive--former Man-Thing cast member Richard Rory and a new Foolkiller took most of the space that usually belonged to JMS. T'was Omega, himself,  who got the lion's share of the spotlight, with a big street fight and the return of the villainous Blockbuster. And little by little our mysterious, formerly silent hero begins to become just a tad more, though ever so slightly, talkative. Dig it!

Cover art by Gil Kane and Mike Esposito

Marvel-ous Mondays: "A Tug of the Wrench!" by Gerber, Skrenes, Mooney, and Esposito

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! "A Tug of the Wrench!" in Omega the Unknown #6 (October 1976) is another ish loaded with looks at how tough life in the Big Apple could truly be. Both of our heroes, Omega and James-Michael Starling, are exposed to beggars, alcohol, pimps, prostitutes, bullies, and a probable serial killer.This mag was "grim and gritty" before it ever became a thing, and that's part of what made this mag stand out to the few of us who continued buying this most offbeat Marvel mag. Check out what Steve Gerber, Mary Skrenes, Jim Mooney, and Mike Esposito cooked up for Hell's Kitchen...

Cover art by John Romita and Dave Cockrum

Marvel-ous Mondays: "Through the Rat Hole--Into the Cat's Lair!" by Gerber, Skrenes, and Mooney

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Omega the Unknown #5 (August 1977) is another shocker by the team of Steve Gerber, Mary Skrenes, and Jim Mooney. As with the past couple issues, the "main" part of the story, Omega vs. El Gato wasn't the most memorable part of the story. No, Gerber and Skrenes' main focus (and ingeniously so) was on our hero's kinda-sorta-perhaps alter ego, James-Michael Starling and the grim and gritty (years before it came into vogue), all-too-realistic world he lived in. Page 12's attempted branding scene would have been extremely shocking had we not already seen page 11's brutal final panel. And then there's the shocking final page...and I don't mean the actual branding scene...whoa.

Cover art by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia