"Big C" logo, used from Sept. 1967

Bullseye logo, used from Sept./Oct. 1973

Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1946 to 1986, having begun under a different name in 1944. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. Charlton Comics logo http://www. ... Charlton Comics logo http://www. ... Image File history File links CharltonBullseye_logo. ... Image File history File links CharltonBullseye_logo. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... Derby is a town located in New Haven County, Connecticut. ...

A division of Charlton Publications, which published magazines (most notably song-lyric magazines), puzzle books and, briefly, books (under the Monarch and Gold Star imprints), and had its own distribution company (Capital Distribution), Charlton Comics published a wide variety of genres including crime, science fiction, Western, horror, war, and romance comics, as well as funny animal, and superhero series. The company was known for its low-budget practices, often using unpublished material acquired from defunct companies and paying comics creators among the lowest rates in the industry. Charlton Comics were also the last of the American comics to raise their price from ten cents to 12 cents in mid 1962. A genre is any of the traditional divisions of art forms from a single field of activity into various kinds according to criteria particular to that form. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Horror can mean several things: Horror (emotion) Horror fiction Horror film This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... War comics are a genre of comics that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following the Second World War. ... This article refers to the wide variety of writing called romantic. For literature from the European Romantic movement of the 18th and 19th centuries, see Romanticism: Art and Literature. ... Bugs Bunny, a typical funny animal character Funny animal is a cartooning term for the genre of comics and animated cartoons in which the main characters are humanoid or talking animals. ... For other uses, see Superhero (disambiguation). ...

It was also unique among comic book companies in that it controlled all areas of its company, from editorial to printing to distribution, rather than partnering with any outside entities as most other publishers did, and that it did so all under one roof, at its headquarters in Derby.

The company was formed by John Santangelo, Sr and Ed Levy in 1940 as T.W.O. Charles Company, named after the two publishers’ sons, both named Charles, and became Charlton Publications in 1945. The name Charlton Comics first appeared on Marvels of Science #1 (March 1946).

History

Early years

Charlton Publications' first comic books were published under other imprints. Its first title was Yellowjacket, an anthology of superhero and horror stories published beginning September 1944 under the imprint Frank Comunale Publications, with Ed Levy listed as publisher. Next was Zoo Funnies, under the imprint Children Comics Publishing; Jack in the Box, under Frank Comunale; and TNT Comics, under Charles Publishing Co.. Another imprint, Frank Publications, was also used. Yellowjacket was the first super-hero character published by the company that would become Charlton Comics in the mid-1940s. ...

Strange Suspense Stories #75 (June 1965), reprinting the Captain Atom stories from Space Adventures #33, 34 & 36 (1960). Art by Steve Ditko.

Following the adoption of the Charlton Comics name in 1946, the company over the next five years acquired material from freelance editor and comics packager Al Fago (brother of former Timely Comics editor Vincent Fago), Charlton additionally published Merry Comics, Cowboy Western, the Western title Tim McCoy, and Pictorial Love Stories. In 1951, Fago was brought in as in-house editor, and Charlton hired a staff of artists including its future managing editor, Dick Giordano. Others, either on staff or freelance, would eventually include Vince Alascia, Jon D'Agostino, Sam Glanzman, Rocco "Rocke" Mastroserio, Bill Molno, Charles Nicholas, and Sal Trapani. The primary writer was the remarkably prolific Joe Gill. Image File history File linksMetadata StrangeSuspenseStories75. ... Image File history File linksMetadata StrangeSuspenseStories75. ... Stephen Ditko (born 2 November 1927) is a renowned American comic book artist and writer best known as the co-creator of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. ... Editing is the process of preparing language, images, or sound for presentation through correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications. ... Timely Comics is the 1940s comic-book publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. ... Vincenzo Francisco Gennaro Di Fago (born November 28, 1914, Yonkers, New York, United States; died June 13, 2002) was an American comic-book artist and writer who served as interim editor of Timely Comics, the Golden Age predecessor of Marvel Comics, while editor Stan Lee did his World War II... Richard Joseph Dick Giordano (born July 20, 1932) is an American comic book artist and editor best known for introducing Charlton Comics Action Heroes stable of superheroes, and serving as editor of then industry-leader DC Comics. ... Vince Alascia a. ... Sam J. Glanzman (born 1924) is an American comic-book artist, best known for his Charlton Comics series Hercules, about the mythological Greek demigod, and the Fightin Army feature The Lonely War of Willy Schultz, a Vietnam-era serial about a German-American U.S. Army captain during World War... Rocco Rocke Mastroserio (born June 8, 1927, Bari, Italy or Barre, Vermont;[1] died 1968), who sometimes signed his work Rocke M., was an American comic book artist best-known as a penciler and inker for Charlton Comics. ... Charles Nicholas is the pseudonym of three early creators of American comic books. ... Joe Gill was a writer who worked in the comics industry. ...

The company began a wide expansion of its comics line, which would include notoriously gory horror comics, and from 1954-55 acquired a stable of comic-book properties from the defunct Superior Comics, Mainline Publications, St. John Publications, and most significantly, Fawcett Publications, which was shutting down its Fawcett Comics division. Captain Marvel, at the time the subject of a legal battle between Fawcett and DC Comics, was not part of that deal. Fago left in the mid-1950s, and was succeeded by his assistant, Pat Masulli, who remained in the position for 10 years. Mainline Publications was a very short-lived comic book publisher established and owned by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. ... St. ... Fawcett Publications was an American publishing company founded in 1919 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota by Wilford Hamilton Captain Billy Fawcett (1883-1940). ... Whiz Comics #2, the first appearance of Captain Marvel, the companys most popular character. ... This article is about the DC Comics character. ... DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company. ...

Superheroes were a minor part of the company. At the beginning, Charlton's main characters were Yellowjacket, not to be confused with the later Marvel character, and Diana the Huntress. In the mid-1950s, Charlton briefly published a Blue Beetle title with new and reprinted stories, and in 1956, several short-lived titles written by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel, such as Mr. Muscles and Nature Boy (the latter with artist Mastroserio), and the Joe Gill-created Zaza the Mystic. Yellowjacket was the first super-hero character published by the company that would become Charlton Comics in the mid-1940s. ... Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional comic book superheroes. ... Superman is a fictional character and comic book superhero , originally created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian artist Joe Shuster and published by DC Comics. ... Jerome Jerry Siegel a. ... Mr. ... Nature Boy was a short-lived Charlton Comics superhero title of the late 1950s created by Jerry Siegel and drawn by John Buscema and others. ... Zaza the Mystic is a fictional character that appeared in comic books published by Charlton Comics. ...

Silver Age and the '70s

E-Man #4 (Aug. 1974). Cover art by Joe Staton.

The company's most noteworthy period was the Silver Age of comic books, which had begun with DC Comics' successful revival of superheroes in 1956. In 1960, Charlton's science fiction anthology title Space Adventures introduced Captain Atom by Gill and the soon-to-be-legendary co-creator of Marvel Comics' Spider-Man, Steve Ditko. Captain Atom would eventually become a stalwart of the DC stable, as would Blue Beetle, the old Fox Comics superhero revived by Gill and artists Bill Fraccio and Tony Tallarico as a campy, comedic character in Blue Beetle #1 (June 1964). Image File history File links Download high resolution version (400x607, 70 KB) Summary Cover, E-Man #4 (Aug. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (400x607, 70 KB) Summary Cover, E-Man #4 (Aug. ... E-Man is a fictional comic book superhero created by writer Nicola Cuti and artist Joe Staton for Charlton Comics in 1973. ... Joe Staton (born January 19, 1948 in North Carolina), is an American illustrator and writer of comic books. ... Showcase #4 (Oct. ... DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... An anthology, literally a garland or collection of flowers, is a collection of literary works, originally of poems. ... Captain Atom is a fictional comic book superhero. ... This article is about the comic book company. ... Spider-Man swinging around his hometown, New York City. ... Stephen Ditko (born 2 November 1927) is a renowned American comic book artist and writer best known as the co-creator of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. ... Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional comic book superheroes. ... Fox Feature Syndicate (a. ... Bill Fraccio (1920 - c. ... Tony Tallarico was an American comic book artist, usually paired as a team with his often-uncredited penciler Bill Fraccio. ... Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional comic book superheroes. ...

Charlton also had middling success with Son of Vulcan, its answer to Marvel's Thor, in Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds#46 (May 1965). Much less successful was another Space Adventures superhero, Mercury Man, star of two stories in 1962. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Thor (often called The Mighty Thor) is a superhero appearing in the Marvel Comics universe. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

In 1966, prodigal son Ditko returned after his celebrated stint at Marvel, having grown disenchanted with that company and his Spider-Man collaborator, writer-editor Stan Lee. Having the hugely popular Ditko back helped prompt Charlton editor Giordano to introduce the company's "Action Hero" superhero line the following year, with characters including Captain Atom; Ditko's The Question; Gill and artist Pat Boyette's The Peacemaker; Gill and company art director Frank McLaughlin's Judomaster; Pete Morisi's Peter Cannon ... Thunderbolt; and Ditko's new "Ted Kord" version of the Blue Beetle. The company also developed a reputation as a place for new talent to break into comics; examples include Jim Aparo, John Byrne, Dennis O'Neil and Sam Grainger. As well, Charlton in the early 1970s reprinted some of the first manga in America, in Ghost Manor and other titles, and artist Wayne Howard became the industry's first known cover-credited series creator, with the horror-anthology Midnight Tales blurbing "Created by Wayne Howard" on each issue — "a declaration perhaps unique in the industry at the time".^[1] For the fictional character of this name, see Stan Lee (Judge Dredd character). ... The Question is an American comic book superhero. ... Pat Boyette (born July 27, 1923, San Antonio, Texas; died January 14, 2000, Ft. ... The Peacemaker is the name of a series of superheroes originally owned by Charlton Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. ... The term art director, is an overall title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games. ... Frank McLaughlin is an American comic book artist who co-created the character Judomaster; a comic strip illustrator who served as a successor artist on such popular strips as Nancy and Brenda Starr; and an author of books about cartooning and comic art. ... A Charlton Comics super hero created in 1965 by writer Joe Gill & artist Frank McLaughlin in Special War Series #4 Cover. ... Pete A. Morisi (born 1928, Brooklyn, New York City; died 12 October 2003, Staten Island, New York City), who sometimes went by the pseudonym PAM, was an American comic book writer and artist who also spent much of his professional life as a New York City Police Department officer. ... Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt is a fictional character originally owned by Charlton Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. ... Jim Aparo James N. Jim Aparo (1932-July 19, 2005) was a comic book artist best known for his work on various Batman stories for DC Comics. ... For other uses of John Byrne, see John Byrne (disambiguation). ... Dennis Denny ONeil is a comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of books until his retirement. ... Sam Grainger (March 18, 1924 - October 1986) was an American comic book artist best known as a Marvel Comics inker during the 1960s and 1970s periods fans and historians call, respectively, the Silver Age and the Bronze Age of Comic Books. ... This article is about the comics published in East Asian countries. ... Wayne Wright Howard (born 1949) is an African-American comic book artist best known for his 1970s work at Charlton Comics, where he became comics first known cover-credited series creator, with the horror-anthology Midnight Tales blurbing Created by Wayne Howard on each issue — a declaration perhaps unique in...

The Six Million Dollar Man magazine #1 (July 1976). Cover art by Neal Adams

Yet by the end of 1967, Charlton's superhero titles had been cancelled, and licensed properties had become the company's staples, particularly cartoon characters from Hanna-Barbera (The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Top Cat, others) and King Features Syndicate (Flash Gordon), the company luring several such titles away from Gold Key Comics, Charlton also published Bullwinkle and Rocky, based on Jay Ward Productions' The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. During the mid-1970s the company produced comic books based upon the television series Emergency!, The Six Million Dollar Man and its spinoff The Bionic Woman, and Space: 1999, as well as a comic based on teen heartthrob David Cassidy, then starring in the musical sitcom The Partridge Family. Image File history File links Sixmilliondollarman_mag_n1. ... Image File history File links Sixmilliondollarman_mag_n1. ... Neal Adams (born June 6, 1941, Governors Island, Manhattan, New York City) is an American comic book and commercial artist best known for his highly naturalistic style of illustration. ... Cartoon Network Studios, formerly known as Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ... The Flintstones is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. ... The Jetsons is a prime-time animated television series that was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. ... Top Cat (also known for several decades as Boss Cat in the United Kingdom) was a Hanna-Barbera prime-time American animated television series which ran from September 27, 1961 to April 18, 1962 for two series of 30 episodes on the ABC network on Wednesdays and continues to be... King Features 1951 Christmas card King Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers around the world. ... For other uses, see Flash Gordon (disambiguation). ... Gold Key Comics was an imprint of Western Publishing cteated for comic books distributed to newstands. ... Jay Ward Productions is an animated cartoon studio, founded in 1949 by American animator Jay Ward. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ... Emergency! was a popular crime drama/medical television series that was produced by Mark VII Limited (Jack Webbs company) and distributed by Universal Studios. ... The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a cyborg working for the OSI (which was usually said to refer to the Office of Scientific Intelligence, but sometimes was called the Office of Scientific Investigation). ... The Bionic Woman was a television series which spun off from The Six Million Dollar Man. ... Left to right: Barbara Bain, Catherine Schell and Martin Landau from Space:1999s second season. ... This article is about David Cassidy the actor. ... A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... The Partridge Family was an American television sitcom about a widowed mother and her five children living in San Pueblo, a small fictional town in Northern California, originally broadcast on ABC from 1970 to 1974. ...

Charlton in the 1970s also published one black-and-white comics magazine, aimed at older readers: The Six Million Dollar Man #1-7 (July 1976 - Aug. 1977). Retailing for $1, it featured art by Neal Adams' studio, Continuity Associates, as well as some stories by veteran illustrators Jack Sparling and Win Mortimer. Neal Adams (born June 6, 1941, Governors Island, Manhattan, New York City) is an American comic book and commercial artist best known for his highly naturalistic style of illustration. ... John Edmond Jack Sparling (June 21, 1916 - 1997) was a Canadian - American comics artist. ... James Winslow Mortimer (born May 1, 1919, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, died January 11, 1998) is a comic book and comic strip artist best known as one of the major illustrators of the DC Comics superhero Superman. ...

In the mid-'70s, there was a brief resurgence of talent, under the editorship of George Wildman, energized by writer and later editor Nicola Cuti, artist Joe Staton, and the "CPL Gang" — a group of writer/artist comics fans including Byrne, Roger Stern, Bob Layton, and Roger Slifer, who had all worked on the fanzine CPL (Contemporary Pictorial Literature). Charlton began publishing such new titles as E-Man, Midnight Tales, and Doomsday + 1. The CPL Gang also produced an in-house fanzine called Charlton Bullseye which published, among other things, such commissioned but previously unpublished material as the company's last Captain Atom story. Also during this period, most of Charlton's titles began sporting painted covers. By 1978, however, most of these titles had been canceled, and the new talent had moved on to Marvel and DC. Nick Cuti (born as Nicola Cuti on October 29, 1944) is a comic writer, known for his creation of E-Man as well as other contributions to the comics industry. ... Joe Staton (born January 19, 1948 in North Carolina), is an American illustrator and writer of comic books. ... The Hobgoblin character co-created by Stern. ... Bob Layton is a USA comic book artist. ... Roger Slifer comic book writer, best-known for a run on Omega Men in the 1980s. ... E-Man is a fictional comic book superhero created by writer Nicola Cuti and artist Joe Staton for Charlton Comics in 1973. ... Doomsday + 1 was an American post-apocalyptic comic-book series published by Charlton Comics in the 1970s. ... Charton Bullseye is a fanzine published by the CPL Gang. ...

Final years

By the 1980s, Charlton was in decline. The comic-book industry was in a sales slump, struggling to reinvent a profitable distribution and retail system. Charlton's licensed titles lapsed, its aging press was deteriorating towards uselessness, and the company did not have the resources to replace it. There was yet another attempt at new material, with a comic-book version of Charlton Bullseye serving as a new-talent showcase that actively solicited submissions by comic book fans, and an attempt at new Ditko-produced titles. A number of 1970s-era titles were also reprinted under the Modern Comics imprint and sold in bagged sets in department stores (in much the same way Gold Key Comics were published under the Whitman Comics branding around the same time). In 1985, a final attempt at a revival was spearheaded by new editor T.C. Ford with a direct-market Charlton Bullseye Special. But in 1986, Charlton Comics went out of business; Charlton Publications followed suit in 1991, and its building and press were demolished in 1999. The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. ... Charlton Bullseye was the title of a Charlton Comics short-lived showcase comic series published in 1981. ... Big C logo, used from Sept. ... Gold Key Comics was an imprint of Western Publishing cteated for comic books distributed to newstands. ... Charlton Bullseye was the title of a Charlton Comics short-lived showcase comic series published in 1981. ...

Editor Robin Snyder oversaw the sale of some properties to their creators, though the bulk of the rights was purchased by Canadian entrepreneur Roger Broughton. He would produce several reprint titles under the company name of ACG (having also purchased the rights to the old American Comics Group properties), and announced plans to restart Charlton Comics. This had yet to occur as of the mid-2000s, beyond a few reprints. An entrepreneur (a loanword from French introduced and first defined by the Irish economist Richard Cantillon) is a person who operates a new enterprise or venture and assumes some accountability for the inherent risks. ... Roger Broughton is the Montreal-based publisher of Charlton Comics and American Comics Group reprint comics, under several names including Sword in Stone and ACG. His company Sword In Stone Productions purchased Charlton Comics 1986. ... American Comics Group (ACG) was a small publisher during the Golden and Silver Age of comic books that published several well-remembered characters and titles. ...

Charlton's most enduring legacy is its superhero characters, most of which were acquired in 1983 by DC Comics, where Giordano was then managing editor. These "Action Hero" characters were originally going to be used in the landmark Watchmen limited series written by Alan Moore, but DC then chose to save the characters for other uses; Moore instead developed new characters loosely based on them. The Charlton characters were incorporated into DC's main superhero line, where some of them enjoyed renewed popularity, most notably Blue Beetle, Captain Atom and The Question, who had languished in obscurity for years before being reintroduced in DC's epic Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series; Blue Beetle subsequently joined a version of the Justice League of America and played a major role in the events leading up to Infinite Crisis in 2005-2006; The Question played a key role in the subsequent year-long series 52. The team of Charlton characters first planned for Moore's Watchmen became reality in 1999 with the DC limited series L.A.W. DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company. ... For other uses, see Watchman. ... The limited series is a term referring to a comic book series with a set finite number of issues. ... For other persons named Alan Moore, see Alan Moore (disambiguation). ... Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional comic book superheroes. ... Captain Atom is a fictional comic book superhero. ... The Question is an American comic book superhero. ... Crisis on Infinite Earths was a 12-issue comic book limited series (identified as a 12-part maxi-series) and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 in order to simplify their fifty-year-old continuity. ... The Justice League is a DC Comics superhero team. ... Infinite Crisis was a seven-issue limited series of comic books published by DC Comics, beginning in October of 2005. ... 52 is the title of a comic book limited series published by DC Comics, which debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after the conclusion of the seven-issue Infinite Crisis. ... The L.A.W. was a six-issue limited series that ran from September 1999 to February of 2000. ...

Charlton's longest-running character, the funny animal superhero Atomic Mouse, was licensed by the furry comic company Shanda Fantasy Arts in 2001. Bugs Bunny, a typical funny animal character Funny animal is a cartooning term for the genre of comics and animated cartoons in which the main characters are humanoid or talking animals. ... Atomic Mouse is a funny animal superhero created in 1953 by Al Fago for Charlton Comics. ... Some furry fans create and wear costumes of their characters, commonly known as fursuits Furry fandom is a fandom distinguished by its enjoyment of anthropomorphic, often humanoid, animal characters. ... Shanda Fantasy Arts is a comic book publishing company specializing primarily in furry properties. ...

Genres

War comics

During the Silver Age, Charlton, like Marvel and DC, published war comics even as the Vietnam War served as the focal point for the burgeoning anti-war movement. Many titles lasted into the 1980s. Notable titles include Attack!, as well as such similarly titled comics Army Attack, Attack at Sea, and Submarine Attack; Battlefield Action; Fightin' Air Force (and otherwise identical titles for the Army, Marines, and Navy), D-Day, War Heroes (with identicals titles for each of the branches of the service) and World at War. War comics are a genre of comics that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following the Second World War. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... Anti war protest in Melbourne, Australia, 2003 Anti_war is a name that is widely adopted by any social movement or person that seeks to end or oppose a future or current war. ...

Though primarily anthologies of stories about 20th-century warfare, they included a small number of recurring characters and features, including "Shotgun Harker and the Chicken", "The Devil's Brigade", "The Iron Corporal" and "The Lonely War of Capt. Willy Schultz". An anthology, literally a garland or collection of flowers, is a collection of literary works, originally of poems. ... First Cover not first appearance. ... First appearance of the Iron Corporal in Army War Heroes. ... Willy Schultz is a fictional comic-book soldier, a German-American U.S. Army captain during World War II, who after being falsely accused and convicted of murder escapes and blends into the German Army while seeking a way to clear his name and retain his Allied allegiance. ...

References

• Comic Book Artist #9 (Aug. 2000): "The Charlton Comics Story: 1945-1968". Online portions:

• "The Charlton Empire: A Brief History of the Derby, Connecticut Publisher", by Jon B. Cooke & Christopher Irving
• Interviews with Jim Aparo, John Byrne, Joe Staton, and Roger Stern

• Comic Book Artist #12 (March 2001): "The Charlton Comics Story: 1972-1983"
• Don Markstein's Toonopedia: Charlton
• International Catalogue of Superheroes: Charlton
• The Big DataBase of Comic Books: Charlton
• The Connecticut Historical Society: "Charlton Comics: A Brief History"

Comic Book Artist is an American magazine primarily devoted to anecdotal histories of American comic books, with emphasis on comics published between the 1960s and the present-day. ... Comic Book Artist is an American magazine primarily devoted to anecdotal histories of American comic books, with emphasis on comics published between the 1960s and the present-day. ...

External links

• The Gerry Anderson Complete Comic History: Charlton's Space: 1999 magazines and comic books
• WFMU's Beware of the Blog (April 8, 2007): "In Celebration of Crud: The Charlton Comics Story", by Kliph Nesteroff
• Don Markstein's Toonopedia on Charlton Comics
• Charlton Spotlight Magazine, focuses on exploring the history of the Charlton Comics Group

Charlton Spotlight