E-MAN #4 was another issue of the series that came into my possession sealed within one of the plastic 3-Bags of reissued classic Charlton releases put out by Modern Comics in the late 1970s and sold in discount department stores, supermarkets and the like. There was a feeling of these books being a bit "off-brand" … Continue reading BHOC: E-MAN #4
E-MAN was definitely popular with somebody who was making the selections for what to reprint as part of the Modern Comics 3-Bag offerings that would be distributed through discount department stores and supermarkets. Of the ten-issue run of the series, six of them were reissued by Modern, albeit in a haphazard order. I really think … Continue reading BHOC: E-MAN #3
This first issue of E-MAN was another book among the second batch of releases put out by Modern Comics in plastic 3-Bags that were sold in discount department stores and supermarkets and similar outlets. They were somewhat like off-brand comic books, and they pulled from Charlton releases from more than a decade, cherry-picking the most … Continue reading BHOC: E-MAN #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
Comic books are a petty business, it must be said. And the same freedom to imagine and play that allows for the creativity in conceptualizing new stories about characters who, let's face it, were designed to appeal to children also somehow invites the darker side of itself--the version where grown-ups behave like petulant children on … Continue reading 5BC: Five More Mean Caricatures of Comic Book Creators
In 1973, Charlton took one last late stab in getting a foothold into the super hero market with the publication of E-MAN, a light-hearted and whimsical super hero series about an energy being birthed in a star who came to Earth and became a costumed adventurer. It was a fun title and well-remembered, but it … Continue reading Brand Echh – E-Man #2
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 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
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
The Tom Brevoort Experience 