In 1973, there was a growing segment of comic book fandom made up of people who aspired to enter the field themselves. A number had already crossed that threshold in the later 1960s, but the floodgates were thrown open wide in the early 1970s--for all that the field was in pretty bad shape and getting … Continue reading The Comic Book Guide For The Artist-Writer-Letterer
We've talked a bit here about CHARLTON BULLSEYE, Charlton's last gasp attempt at producing new content by soliciting work gratis from fans and would-be creators. Publication would be the only compensation that such hopefuls would receive--but undaunted, and sensing an opportunity to have their work distributed from coast to coast, the response was overwhelming. Honestly, … Continue reading Brand Echh: Charlton Bullseye #7
AC/Americomics (occasionally known as Paragon Publications) is a long running independent comic book publisher, one that is still releasing new issues even today. Their main stock-in-trade has become reprints of Golden Age characters whose work had lapsed into the public domain, but they do occasionally release wholly original comic book properties. Probably the thing they … Continue reading Brand Echh: Americomics Special #1
E-MAN was a short-lived but well-remembered (and often revived) Charlton title of the early 1970s, representing a last gasp on the part of that firm to establish a presence in the super hero marketplace. E-Man was a bit of a throwback character, crafted in the mold of Plastic Man or Captain Marvel. A super hero … Continue reading Brand Echh: E-Man #6
Charlton had been a player in the comic book marketplace going back to the days of the Golden Age of Comics. They were widely regarded as the shlockiest of publishers, whose paper and printing was markedly inferior to that of the competition. There was some very good work buried among the many Charlton publications, but … Continue reading Brand Echh: Charlton Bullseye #1
We've spoken before about the launch of Captain Atom in the pages of Charlton's SPACE ADVENTURES series at the very beginning of the 1960s. The character failed to catch on at that point, and was eventually pulled from the series. That perhaps should have been the end of things. But the super hero fad just … Continue reading The First New Captain Atom Story
At the beginning of the Silver Age, super heroes were making a comeback. This trend would blossom into a full-on fad mid-decade thanks to the release of the BATMAN television show--positively everybody went super hero crazy there for a year or so. But even before that, there was a sense throughout the industry that costumed … Continue reading Brand Echh: Space Adventures #33
We've talked about CHARLTON PREMIERE in the past. It was Charlton's attempt at a SHOWCASE-style series that would debut a different character or concept every issue. A try-out comic, in other words. No series that appeared in CHARLTON PREMIERE ever graduated into its own book, but a few of the stories are noteworthy in some … Continue reading Brand Echh: Charlton Premiere #3
This was another book that I dug up in my local drugstore's Big Bin of Somewhat-Older Comic Books, books that were reported as having been destroyed but were instead being sold off the back of the truck at five for a dollar--a great bargain for me. I was continuing to explore different avenues in the … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL PREMIERE #25
This obscure issue of Charlton's BLUE BEETLE series--not the version re-conceptualized by Steve Ditko but the earlier, super-powered version, seems like any other throw-away Charlton comic of the era--good for a few moments of entertainment, but not at all memorable for any particular reason. But this issue is noteworthy for being one of the earliest … Continue reading Brand Echh – Blue Beetle #54
The Tom Brevoort Experience 