In the early 1980s at the beginning of the end of their tenure as a publishing house, Charlton came up with a way to produce a book more cheaply. They outsourced the creation of the content to fans and would-be professionals and paid not a penny--publication itself would be the only compensation these creators would … Continue reading Brand Echh – Charlton Bullseye #4
For a short period in the mid-1960s, under the editorship of Dick Giordano, bottom-rung publisher Charlton had a very nice line of up-and-coming super hero comics. It didn't last long--the market dip in the post-BATMAN TV show craze put the kibosh on all sorts of super hero aspirations. In this instance, though, we're going to … Continue reading Brand Echh – Thunderbolt #57
At around this time, the new season of the hit comedy HAPPY DAYS began, with a three-part opening storyline in which the cast went to Hollywood, and the Fonz wound up in a competition to water ski jump over a caged shark in the bay. This episode was the origin of the now-popular term "Jumping … Continue reading BHOC: X-MEN #108
Another book from the latest Modern Comics 3-Bag find was this issue of VENGEANCE SQUAD, a not-terribly-exciting action-adventure series that aspired to the level of a 1970s cop show. But creator Pete Morisi did have a very interesting George-Tuska-influenced art style which was appealing, if stiff. Also, I’m particularly taken with the way that the … Continue reading BHOC: VENGEANCE SQUAD #5
Another quasi-super hero title from the Modern Comics 3-Bag assortment was JUDO MASTER–an odd combination of World War II adventure, real-life martial arts instruction and super heroics. It honestly was a bit of a dull strip–but it had a guy in a costume in it, and so i was interested as a kid. This particular … Continue reading BHOC: JUDOMASTER #93
Another find in the 3-Bags of new Modern Comics that had appeared at my local Two-Guys department store outlet was this issue of E-MAN, the last issue in its short run as it turns out. That painted cover and the way the piece is framed seems to be trying to conceal that this is a … Continue reading BHOC: E-MAN #10
Also available in one of the new Modern Comics 3-Bags was this issue of CAPTAIN ATOM, the issue prior to the one I’d purchased previously. This was a bit of a mixed blessing, in that it meant that I knew exactly how this story turned out and much of what happened in it before I … Continue reading BHOC: CAPTAIN ATOM #83
The first big surprise of the summer came during a routine trip to the Two-Guys department store, where i discovered that a new set of 3-Bags of Modern Comics had been released. Modern Comics were cherry-picked reprints from the Charlton back-catalog. I didn’t quite realize this at the time, I just knew that there was … Continue reading BHOC: BLUE BEETLE #1
One more book from the Modern Comics 3-Bags reprinting vintage Charlton releases, VENGEANCE SQUAD was very much of a kind with a lot of Charlton’s output during the 1970s: it resembled a low-budget television show, it lacked in personality and individuality, and it was a bit shoddy and dull. The key thing that got it … Continue reading BHOC: VENGEANCE SQUAD #6
Another book from the 3-bags of Modern Comics Charlton reprints that I picked up at Two Guys. JUDOMASTER was something of an odd character conception, even by comic book standards. It concerned an American serviceman during World War II who had been taught the fighting skills of judo and who wore a costume emblazoned with … Continue reading BHOC: JUDOMASTER #98
The Tom Brevoort Experience 