The Fascinating Story of the Action Heroes, Ghastly Ghosts, and Fun Comics of the “All-in-One” Publisher
The Charlton Comics Story From the Action Heroes to Za Za the Mystic, from Neal Adams to Mike Zeck, The Charlton Companion is the longawaited and definitive history of the famous—and notorious— “all-in-one” publisher of Derby, Connecticut: Charlton Publications [1940–1992], once the third-largest comic book producer in America… and numero uno in the category of oddball comics. Charlton started as a handshake deal made in jail and it endured an epic 1955 flood that engulfed the plant under nearly 18 feet of water. It also published Rhythm and Blues, likely the first U.S. publication devoted entirely to African American music, plus they exploited 1980s heavy metal mania with Hit Parader. And Charlton was also the first national distributor of Hustler magazine. All this and more are revealed in this comprehensive retrospective of the company’s colorful, provocative, and fascinating 50-year history.
The Charlton Companion is written by Jon B. Cooke, the five-time Eisner Award-winning editor of Comic Book Artist and Comic Book Creator magazines, co-editor of The Warren Companion and Kirby100, and author of Eisner Award-nominated The Book of Weirdo. Blue Beetle, The Question, Peacemaker TM & © DC Comics. The Six Million Dollar Man TM & © Universal City Studios, Inc. E-Man, Nova, Michael Mauser TM & © Joe Staton/1First Comics. All others TM & © the respective copyright holder.
ISBN: 978-1-60549-111-0 $43.95 in the U.S.
Cover art by Joe Staton Cover coloring by Matt Webb Charlton Press Building illo by Mitch O’Connell
ISBN-13: 978-1-60549-111-0 54395
9 781605 491110
Printed in China
TwoMorrows Publishing
Raleigh, North Carolina
E-Man, Nova, Michael Mauser TM & © Joe Staton/1First Comics.
Along the way, that partnership forged in county jail launched Charlton Comics, which became Spider-Man co-creator and Dr. Strange creator Steve Ditko’s preferred publishing house and home to Dick Giordano’s Action Heroes—Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, Peacemaker, and The Question—characters that inspired Alan Moore’s Watchmen. This 272-page book includes anecdotes and insight from many freelancers who contributed to Charlton, and it features a magazine index by Frank Motler, as well as essays by Stephen R. Bissette, Roger Hill, and Bill Pearson, among others.
THE CHARLTON COMPANION Written, edited, and designed by Jon B. Cooke Proofreading by Kevin Sharp Published by John Morrow Cover art by Joe Staton • Cover coloring by Matt Webb Consultants Frank Motler • Shaun Clancy • Michael Ambrose • Donnie Pitchford Dick Giordano & Nick Cuti dedication art by Ken Meyer, Jr. • Charlton Press Building art by Mitch O’Connell Various material compiled and written by Christopher Irving Contributions by Stephen R. Bissette • Roger Hill • Will Murray • Bill Pearson • Scott Shaw!
The Charlton Companion is dedicated to Dick Giordano and Nick Cuti, the Nice Guys of Charlton As this book was about to go to press, the author received news of the tragic passing of Michael Ambrose, who died on July 20, 2022, after an extended illness. Our deepest condolences to Mike’s family With enormous gratitude to my TwoMorrows brothers, Roy Thomas and Michael Eury, for their generous help The Charlton Companion © Jon B. Cooke • Editorial package © Jon B. Cooke & TwoMorrows Publishing Charlton Magazine Index ©2022 Frank Motler First Printing: September 2022 • Printed in China • ISBN 978-1-60549-111-0
Published by TwoMorrows Publishing 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, North Carolina 27614 USA www.twomorrows.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION A History of Charlton Comics............ 6
1899–1920s 1930s
CHAPTER ONE The Boy of ’99...................................... 8 The Ties that Bind CHAPTER TWO Santangelo’s Songsheet Shuffle..... 12 Nights (and Days and Nights) at the Roxy; B.S.: Before Santangelo; New York Letter (1930); The Waterbury Woes of Edward G. Levy
1940s
CHAPTER THREE Charlton’s Jailhouse Compact......... 20 Building Charlton, Brick by Brick; Frank Comunale, Publisher; Charlton’s New York Office CHAPTER FOUR The Coming of Charlton Comics..... 26 Comics-Type Charlton Stuff; The Scourge of Sinners; Sheriff Slavin’s Courage Comics; Jacquet, Inc.; Charlton Goes Country; Rudy Palais by Roger Hill............... 33 Artist Spotlight: Clint Harmon........ 35 Losing His Appeal; Of Catholics and Comic Books
1950s
CHAPTER FIVE The Go-Go Fifties............................... 40 The Distribution Racket; Kinowa, Western Scourge; Charlton’s Pulp Fiction; Arrow: The Family Comic Weekly; Charlton Comics’ Haunted Things; Al Fago; Space Western Comics;
The Thing! by S.R. Bissette.............. 52 Rhythm and Blues; Charlton Comics’ Forgotten Artists; The 1954 Revival of the Blue Beetle; Creator Spotlight: Steve Ditko....... 62 CHAPTER SIX American Comic Book Factory....... 64 Furious Equus; Brief Encounter; Gabby… Gabby… Nay; You Can’t Win ’em All; Charlton Makes an Impact; Artist Spotlight: Art Gates............... 71 Never Again; Derby, Conn.: Realm of the Wolf Killer CHAPTER SEVEN The Rising Waters of 1955.............. 76 Writer Spotlight: Joe Gill................. 80
CHAPTER EIGHT Strange Tales of Unusual Comics... 82 Ed Konick Means Business; Post PhotoEngraving; Al & Vince Fago Comics Group; Kurtzman & Company’s Humbug; Playing the Numbers; Valley of the Mall; Artist Spotlight: Bill Molno............. 91 Severin’s Kid; Siegel Heroes & Shuster Ghosts; Giant, Big Book Comics and Other Double-Value Gimmicks; Crime Scene: Derby; Check Out Sid’s Epic Comics; Tales of the Mysterious Traveler; Authority Control; The Risqué Reign of Monarch Books
1960s
CHAPTER NINE The Launch of Captain Atom........ 104 The Other Captains Atom; Captain Atom;
Kaiju Comics by S.R. Bissette....... 108 Charlton’s “Good” Humor?; Artist Spotlight: Ernie Hart............ 111
1970s
CHAPTER TWELVE Charlton’s Cartoon Cavalcade....... 172 Artist Spotlight: Ray Dirgo............ 174 Those Cartoony Guys at Charlton; Cartoonist and the Clown; Getting Happy, Getting Together; Mr. Blondie Bumstead; Crouch in the Clutch; Artist Spotlight: Sanho Kim........... 185 Geronimo Jones; Creator Spotlight: George Wildman......................... 188 CHAPTER THIRTEEN The Plant and the Process............. 190 Popeye Gets the Job Done; Mary Slezak’s Snapshot; Creator Spotlight: Wayne Howard............................ 195
CHAPTER FOURTEEN Charlton Takes Its Next Best Shot... 196 Primetime Primus; E-Man & Nova; Yang;
Monster Mag Mania; The Beatles and the Butterfly; Tony and Team Tallarico; The New Ways of the Old Blue Beetle; Fightin’ 5; Tarzan, the Unauthorized; Gold Star-Crossed; Charles in Charge; Charlton’s Ever-Dependable Art Teams; Sarge Steel/Secret Agent;
Artist Spotlight: Tom Sutton......... 201
Creator Spotlight: Dick Giordano... 124
CHAPTER FIFTEEN Against the Rising Tide................... 214 Spaniards in the Works;
CHAPTER TEN Rise & Fall of the Action Heroes... 126 Son of Vulcan; Captain Atom Redux; Judomaster; A. Machine is Doing the Job; From Fandom They (Mostly) Came…; Sentinels, The New Captain Atom; Nightshade; Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt; The New Blue Beetle; Artist Spotlight: Rocke Mastroserio..................... 141
Haunted Love; Day of the Magnascan 460; Lisa Robinson is With the Band; The Charlton Academy of Comics; Rog 2000; Michael Mauser; Doomsday +1; Friends of Ol’ Charlton
Artist Spotlight: Jack Sparling....... 219 Charlton’s Got Your Handle; Capital’s Hustler Hassle; Charlton’s Modern Age; Kirchner’s Commentary; My Charlton Story by Bill Pearson................................. 227 Arnold Drake’s “Ego-Man”
1980s
The Peacemaker; The Lonely War Stories of Willy Franz; The Question; The Beatles of Britain and the Hermits of Herman; The Charlton Showcase; Edd Ashe’s Hot Rods
CHAPTER SIXTEEN Charlton Comics’ Last Stand......... 234 Heavy Metal Charlton; They Took Aim at Charlton’s Bullseye;
CHAPTER ELEVEN Meet Jonnie Love & the Hippies... 156 Man’s Combat; Scarpelli and Son; Derby Wood; All You Need is War; Packaging Ponytail; The Union Men Down Argentine Way; Never a Cross Word; The Daring and the Different at DC Comics;
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Charlton’s Lasting Legacy.............. 244 The Charlton/Watchmen Connection; The Advent of Charlton Neo; Shelton Ivany: The Heavy Metal King
Charlton Comics Gives You More! by Scott Shaw!........................... 170
References........................................ 262
Artist Spotlight: Mitch O’Connell... 240
1986–Now
Charlton Magazine Index by Frank Motler....................... 250 Acknowledgments/Copyrights...... 270 Thanks................................................ 271
Chapter Four
The Coming of Charlton Comics still would be, at the very least, two years before Charlton’s four-color funnybooks would be running off the Derby printing presses. And even that start proved a slow one, as Charlton pragmatically dipped its cautious toe into the already crowded waters of the comics field. (And maybe skepticism is warranted, too, about the date of that pricey acquisition from Missouri if one believes that many of Charlton’s early comic book titles were printed in Holyoke, given the preponderance of colophons listing the address of Sherman Bowles’ Holyoke Printing Co.—One Appleton St. Still, given the lack of hard data and the fact that the first industrial space Charlton retained in Derby—at 49 Hawkins—had plenty of room for a printing press and loading dock, thus it’s conceivable they printed their own comics.) A vital component of the Charlton equation had already been in place since Santangelo’s illegal songsheet days: distribution. As early as 1936, his operations included as many as ten trucks to distribute the printed material. In the ’40s and decades to come, while never a top player in the field, the arm of Charlton officially named Capital Distribution Co., Inc., would, into the ’80s, prove a significant source of income for the company, by distributing the material of other publishers.
THE CHARLTON WAY Right out of the gate, Charlton Publications scored with their songsheet magazines, soon giving industry leader Song Lyrics, Inc., significant competition and holding its own against that another newcomer to the law-abiding side of the business, D.S. Publishing. With the 1942 launch of Hit Parader, the publisher’s most successful periodical in the magazine game, Charlton’s status was, if not secure, impressive. Santangelo’s jump by mid-decade from outlaw bootlegger and jailbird to legitimate, formidable powerhouse was simply breathtaking. The 1954 profile of John Santangelo mentions an important equipment acquisition that would portend to the company’s future: “A big web newspaper press, used for comic books,” reported New England Printer and Lithographer, “came from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 1942 and turns out 500,000 signatures in 24 hours.”1 Despite that expensive purchase, as best as can be ascertained today, it
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THE FIRST CHARLTON COMIC BOOK The very first Charlton comic book was Yellowjacket Comics, an anthology title lasting ten issues initially published between mid- and late 1944, then put on hiatus, and subsequently restarted in late 1945 for its five remaining issues, lasting until spring 1946. Each issue was the standard 52 pages and starred the titular super-hero, who was fantastically-powered and possessed a supernatural ability to control swarms of bees—and not wasps as the name suggests (see sidebar for more tantalizing facts!). Another featured series is Diana the Huntress (who appeared in every issue, plus an appearance in Zoo Funnies #8), a depiction of the Greek goddess visiting modern-day Earth and fighting Nazis and then criminals, sometimes with fellow Olympians joining in on the fun. Other regular Yellowjacket Comics features included the exploits of lion-tamer Danny King, the “King of the Beasts,” which sported handsome, illustration-like work by Harold DeLay, an aging artist whose final art was published posthumously in Charlton’s Catholic Comics. Then there was the “Harbor Lights” series about crime, war, and sometimes horror found in eight issues of Yellowjacket. “The Filipino Kid,” with protagonist Juan Manito, a guerrilla warrior fighting the Japanese occupiers, was also included in eight issues. “Famous Tales of Terror,“ yet another series that ran for eight episodes, were mostly very short adaptations of Edgar
Photo courtesy of Shaun Clancy.
1940s
Allan Poe stories, and is particularly notable for its story host in #7, named the Ancient Witch, a character that has an uncanny resemblance to the Old Witch, host of Haunt of Fear. The remarkable thing is that the Charlton character predated the far more familiar EC Comics character by a full four years! The numbering of Yellowjacket was carried over to Jack-in-the-Box Comics, which sported the cover notation “Incorporating Yellowjacket Comics” beside the comic book’s logo for all of its six issues (not counting an earlier samenamed one-shot). Strips that continued included Yellowjacket and “King of the Beasts “(#11), plus “Cap’n Grim” (#12). Previous page: Charlton’s first comic book, Yellowjacket Comics #1 [Sept. 1944]. This page: At top (from left) Ed Levy, John Santangelo, and Burt Levey attending a late 1940s Charlton holiday party. Above are various Charlton titles from the 1940s. Inset right is comic strip from Radio Hit Songs #1 [Oct. 1941].
Chapter Four: The Coming of Charlton Comics
Comics-Type Charlton Stuff
Technically, one could say the first comics-type material to appear in a Charlton publication was probably the “Radio Rarities” comic panel by Dooley (seemingly used as filler), two of which appeared as full-pagers in Radio Hit Songs #1 [Oct. 1941]. The syndicated feature also appeared in newspapers in numerous states during that same year and, in 1942, it was utilized to promote local radio stations.
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Chapter Five
The Go-Go Fifties LAST MAN STANDING Having peaked 1945–47, the heyday of the songsheet periodical business was in the magazine industry’s rear-view mirror, and into the new decade, after buying out Song Lyrics, Inc., and demise of D.S., Charlton was last man standing. The Derby publisher was still deriving a neat profit with their six songsheet publications, two which specialized in “hillbilly” and “cowboy”music (later collectively known as country western). And the ’50s transformed the Charlton songsheet mags themselves as, while many pages were still devoted to song lyrics, others increasingly featured profiles and articles that often contained solid writing, insight, and pertinent information instead of just hype. Plus, new genres were being visited, including the music of the much-ignored mainstream Black audience, with Rhythm and Blues and Rock and Roll Songs (serving an entirely new music category) debuting in 1956. By New Year’s Day, 1950, Charlton had, by appearances, all but abandoned its comics line, publishing a mere pair of titles, Cowboy Western Comics and Pictorial Love Stories, the latter a romance series that would be defunct by spring, drowned by the “love glut” on newsstands that very same year. Comics were curtailed despite the fact that, a few years prior, the company had incorporated their Colonial Paper Company, achieving yet another goal in Charlton’s quest to have all publishing operations under one roof. At that stage, the all-in-one designation was figurative, not literal, as Colonial was off-site and much of the editorial work was being done at their satellite Fifth Avenue office, in New York City. And, though it contradicted Santangelo’s vision, the comic division’s work was still being farmed to outside contractors. Soon enough, it would be time to bring it all home to Derby. This page: Above is The Thing! #1 [Feb. 1952], Charlton’s particularly gruesome entry into the then exploding horror comics scene. Right is 1954 pic of John Santangelo and pressman reviewing uncut press sheet.
40
1950s
Photo courtesy of Frank Romano and the Museum of Printing
Chapter Five: The Go-Go Fifties
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Chapter Seven
The Rising Waters of 1955 FIRST CAME CONNIE The torrential downpour had dissipated by the time dawn broke on August 19, 1955, a few hours before the tragedy of “Connecticut’s Black Friday”1 befell denizens of the state’s western section. In fact, a whole litany of meteorological events had been in play weeks prior to that fateful morning, before a “maelstrom of malevolence”2 laid waste to the area. The harbinger was named Connie, a Category 4 hurricane that careened northwest, sparing a direct hit on the New England state, which she just skirted on August 12–13, but up to eight inches of the tempest’s rainfall saturated southwestern Connecticut. And then, as if some awful cosmic joke, Cat 3 cyclone Diane smacked into the same region less than a week later, lashing it with high winds. But the greatest damage was caused by the storm’s drenching rain, which amounted to twice the amount of precipitation Connie had dumped on the state. The Waterbury Republican-American described the cumulative aftermath of the sister storms:
That “funnel” was a terrifying wall of water crashing down the Naugatuck River, inundating Winsted, then Waterbury, then Seymour, a catastrophic cascade roaring towards Derby. Skies were clearing above the riverfront Charlton plant as workers ended their mid-morning break.
THE AUGUST FLOOD While its violence lessened during the surge’s 50-mile southbound journey from Winsted, a town whose Main Street had been reduced to gravel due to the torrent’s onslaught, the rising waters of the Naugatuck were no less life-threatening by the time they engulfed Derby. In an essay written almost a half-century later, then Charlton newcomer Marc Swayze, while misremembering the cause as a dam break, gave a fascinating account of Charlton’s harrowing plight: “[Fellow Charlton artist Rocke Mastroserio] was reporting the conditions as seen from his favorite window. ‘The water is rising into the drive-in movie across the railroad!’ he announced. Afternoon Aug. 19, 1955
Late Morning Aug. 19, 1955
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Photos courtesy of Robert Beerbohm.
Earlier August rains had made Western Connecticut uplands soggy. The continuous rainfall of the 18th and throughout the night into early Friday morning were too much for a sodden land and everything cascaded into the nearest valley. The Naugatuck Valley became a funnel for millions of gallons of water. And they pushed everything aside or took what stood in their way along with them.3
1950s “Then: ‘It’s a foot high on the [drive-in speaker] posts!’ He returned to his drawing momentarily, then again from the window: ‘It’s up on the [speakers]!’… It was chaotic. First the word came to our floor that cars were being moved from the parking lot to higher ground. Then, that windows were being smashed out of them when the keys were unavailable. “When I left the building, which was mostly evacuated by that time, I had to wade through knee-deep water near the loading dock. When a large truck came by, a hand was thrust toward me from the passenger side and I grabbed it. Then I spied [Rocke], wading toward the building. ‘I’m going back to get something to work on over the weekend!’ he shouted.”4 AN EPIC DISASTER The floodwater’s rise can be described as nothing less than Biblical, having crested to a cataclysmic height, completely submerging the factory’s lower level. “In just one hour’s time,” reported Newsdealer magazine, “the flood washed away $300,000 in paper inventory, plates, mats, original comics artwork, together with all other publishing material, and left an engraving plant and several buildings filled with Linotypes [typesetting machines] and printing presses under 18 feet of water and accumulated flood debris.”5 “During” and “after” photographs published in Newsdealer attest to the mind-boggling extent of the historic flooding, as just the tops of the electric power line poles are visible above the water, with the devastation clearly visible in the “after” pic of the same area after flooding subsided. An interior shot of the printing presses look as if a massive explosion had taken place, as if the aftermath of aerial bombing. Newsdealer continued, “Heroic efforts by many of the company’s 400 employees, to remove and save the more than 200 motors used to drive the presses, were futile. The waters rose too fast. Vital office records were all that could be taken from the buildings and those went aloft with the last handful of employees who were evacuated by Army and Navy helicopters.”6 Swayze would later learn that Mastroserio was among those airlifted.
Chapter Seven: The Rising Waters of 1955
HELICOPTER RESCUE The dramatic rooftop rescue was what witnesses remember most clearly about that natural disaster. “When the flood came through,” Charlton general manager Burt Levey said, “we had to get on top of the building because the water was rising, and a helicopter landed on the roof and took us off—that’s how I got out of there! I watched my car float down the river.”7 In-house writer Joe Gill recalled, “The press was entirely underwater, the building was underwater. [Artist] Maurice ‘Reese’ Whitman had to be taken off the roof by helicopter. Cars were washed away.”8 On a bad day for all, folks trapped by rising waters were especially lucky to have Sikorsky Aircraft—top manufacturer of military rescue copters—headquartered a mere ten miles away from Derby. At its Trumbull factory, the Bridgeport Telegram reported, “Several types of helicopters were pressed into service. A majority them were the HSS or Navy S-58 type, which are equipped with motorized hoists which make them ideal for rescue operations.”9 One crew told the paper that they had rescued 41 workers off a factory roof in Derby. Among those, Blanche Fago said, was Al, her managing editor spouse. “My husband was up on the roof, helping people out and getting them on helicopters so they’d be safe.”10 This spread: Clockwise from bottom left: note water level in relation to drive-in movie screen in “during and after” pics taken from atop Charlton; the Aug. 1955 hurricane paths; Hartford Courant headline; and helicopter rescue from factory rooftop.
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Chapter Eight
Strange Tales of Unusual Comics FOREVER GONE We’ll never know precisely what comic books were on the factory floor in various stages of production once the flood waters of Diane hit, but it is safe to say some titles affected were abandoned completely. For instance, Charlie Chan, the 20th Century Fox property, was star of a series for Prize and then sold to Charlton, lasting for four issues between 1955–56. The detective comic book was renamed Za Za the Mystic and, abandoning the Charlie Chan license, the remaining inventory of the Asian police detective’s stories had faces redrawn and the headliner’s name changed to “Louie Lue.” A cover proof has been found for the nonexistent third issue of the firefighter-themed series, Danny Blaze, and evidence suggests that Danger #15 is another Charlton title that went missing because of the natural disaster, as Danger switched its title to Jim Bowie, as revealed in the publisher’s statement of ownership in Jim Bowie #17 [Aug. 1956]. (No hint has been made whether any unpublished Simon and Kirby work was lost; the unused Win A Prize #3 cover remained in Simon’s files and therefore was not destroyed.) This spread: At right is Charlton’s Rock and Roll Songs magazine and, on opposite page, covers to some of the publisher’s more enticing (and weird) offerings from the mid-1950s.
Ed Konick Means Business
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ROCK ’N’ ROLL COMES TO CHARLTON Ever in search of new music niches to exploit, Charlton jumped on the rock ’n’ roll craze sweeping the nation, debuting Rock and Roll Songs [#1, May 1956] through their Onyx Publishing imprint. Don Armstrong pointed out that Charlton continued its usual mix of song lyrics, profiles, photos, and fan features, and some items, “such as the letters-to-the-editor page, supported racial integration,” and “Photos of Black and white fans were sometimes grouped together.”2 He added: In Rock and Roll Songs, jive-laden article titles obscured the more serious content within… includ[ing] an account of how R&R was a gateway to rhythm and blues for white teens… [and] as was the case in other Charlton song-lyric magazines, many of the musician profiles provide rich biographical detail. An article might begin and end with an unashamed blurt of hype, but in between often lay a wellresearched biography including quotes.3
Portrait courtesy of Shaun Clancy.
An important addition to the Charlton Press management was Connecticut native Edward David Konick [b. 1931], who started off as a proofreader the year he graduated Yale, in 1952. Hired in part because his mother was Ed Levy’s first cousin, Ed Konick served as general manager and, after 39 years with the company, he ended up being the secondto-last person to leave Charlton Press when it closed for good in 1991. (The publisher’s secretary was last to turn out the light.) During his remarkable nearly fourdecade span, Konick served in multiple capacities, most prominently as a writer and editor in the music magazine division, though he did edit the Famous Monsters of Filmland knock-offs of the 1960s. But mostly he was devoted to the Ed Konick music publications as song lyrics licensing director. “I was in charge of doing all the licensing and I worked with music publishers,” he told Shaun Clancy. “But, at the same time, I was in charge of Country Song Roundup.”1
1950s
Chapter Eight: Strange Tales of Unusual Comics
83
Chapter Nine
The Launch of Captain Atom
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THE COMING OF CAPTAIN ATOM In 1960,* amid the nation’s nuclear hysteria, came Charlton’s first home-spun and enduring super-hero, Captain Atom, the gung-ho all-American character created by Joe Gill and Steve Ditko. Literally a military officer in the U.S. Air Force, Captain Atom’s origin story, with the presence of an approving (though unnamed) President Dwight D. Eisenhower, evokes the origin story starring another super-captain, quintessential patriotic hero Captain America, whose transformation was approved by an (unnamed) President Franklin D. Roosevelt 19 years prior, in Captain America Comics #1. And as anti-Nazi as the star-spangled Marvel character was in his day, the Charlton newcomer was a rabid anticommunist, hellbent on taking the Soviet menace to task. This U.S. patriot wasn’t the first comic book character whose name suggested the nuclear era. After all, Charlton’s own Atomic Mouse, Atomic Rabbit/Bunny, and Atom the Cat preceded him, and he was actually the third Captain Atom to have appeared in comics by that time, one found in mini-comics (which included Tony Tallarico art) and another south of the equator, in Australia. *Technically 1959, as on the Heritage website, a copy of Space Adventures #33, featuring Captain Atom’s start, includes a newsdealer’s penciled notation of “12/29,” suggesting the character’s newsstand debut was a mere two days before the advent of the 1960s.
Space Adventures #36 panel detail courtesy of Nick Caputo.
PARANOIA IN THE ATOMIC AGE “We will bury you!” Such was the threat to capitalist nations—the United States of America, in particular—hurled by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in late 1956. Whether intended as metaphor or not, the existential fear it would become reality was a preoccupation of the West, and the following year’s development of intercontinental ballistic missiles by the Russians, along with U.S.S.R.’s Sputnik satellite launch, turned the anxiety of the American public into a full-blown panic. At the heart of the national alarm was the atomic bomb, and one federal response was to encourage citizens to, well, bury themselves by building their own fallout shelters, underground living quarters where families would wait out the ill effects of radiation after a nuclear attack. In 1959, to that end, the U.S. Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization published The Family Fallout Shelter, a 32-page booklet of blueprints and instructions for landowners to dig up the backyard and build—and thrive therein—their own subterranean dwelling. Jazzing it up with an illustrated color cover and expanding contents to 68 pages, in 1960, Charlton reprinted the government publication at no cost to itself, sold Family Fallout Shelter for 50¢, and offered discounted copies for bulk sale. The spectacular cover sported an atomic explosion super-imposed by the outlines of a typical American family.
1960s
Chapter Nine: The Launch of Captain Atom
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Chapter Ten
Rise & Fall of the Action Heroes
Above: Art drawn for a fanzine by Steve Ditko featuring his Action Hero characters. Right: One-page Pat Masulli interview, Comic Feature #3. Next page: Dick Giordano Action Heroes cover, Comic Book Artist #9 [Aug. 2000]. Colors by Tom Ziuko.
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A FAN AT HEART In retrospect, what set apart the Action Heroes line—besides the undeniable quality of Ditko’s artwork—was not only Charlton’s irreverent tone and gumption to cite competitors by name in the letters pages, but there permeated a sense that its guiding hand was, at his core, a comic book fan. And, indeed, Giordano was exactly that, as well as a supremely nice guy endowed with the necessary editorial skills. When asked by the author what made him believe he was up to the task— jumping from drawing table to editor’s desk—Giordano replied, “I got along with people. I’m sure you know that, Jon. I’m not sure why, it’s not something that I do consciously, but I know that’s the end result, people and I get along, and that I can depend on people to give me a fair degree of whatever skill level they have, just by asking for it. Because I manage things.”2 Giordano shared his simple editorial philosophy with Mike Friedrich. “I try to get the best people working for me,” he explained, “and then let them do their own thing. I figure that writing is the writer’s bag and the same for an artist. I point them in the direction I want to take, of course, and continue to guide them,
Ditko art courtesy of Roger Hill. Comic Feature #3 image courtesy of Aaron Caplan.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD By mid-decade, a new regime was falling into place at Charlton as the publishing outfit was experiencing a generational shift. John Santangelo decided to relinquish some control to oldest son Charles as the company patriarch focused on new business in the old country. And, with Gold Star Books gone bust, Ed Levy was retiring to pursue his hobbies, plus Burt Levey was contemplating going full-time on real estate ventures. While it appeared Masulli assistant Bill Anderson was set to become managing editor of the comics division, Charles Santangelo opted to take a chance on Dick Giordano, who had been begging for the editorial gig. (Anderson eventually led their line of music mags.) After eight-plus years in the position, Masulli had perhaps grown bored as comics managing editor and, while his term was relatively uneventful, there were a few memorable facets, including the giant monster titles and his enthusiastic shepherding of ill-fated Jungle Tales of Tarzan. Important too was Masulli recognizing that the burgeoning field of comics fandom could be used to Charlton’s benefit by tapping it as a source for talent. Fanzine editors routinely included publishers on their comp lists and Masulli must have been delighted to read the positive notice regarding Jungle Tales of Tarzan shared by fans of both comics and Edgar Rice Burroughs (though probably less thrilled with comic fans’ seemingly endless criticism of Fraccio and Tallarico’s artwork on “Son of Vulcan” and Blue Beetle). The departing comics editor was also impressed with some of the zines themselves, especially Alter Ego, which, in a missive to editor Roy Thomas, Masulli described as “by far the best printed fanzine that there is.” Still, he was not above griping in blatant self-interest: “Fandom is guilty of being only taste-conscious and not sales-conscious… [though] you people can exert more influence and be of more value to the comics industry.”1
1960s
Chapter Ten: Rise & Fall of the Action Heroes
127
Chapter Fourteen
Charlton Takes Its Next Best Shot
Primetime Primus
Joe Staton described his first regular Charlton series: “Primus was a licensed character from Ivan Tors (the producer of Sea Hunt) and it starred Robert Brown (who starred in Here Come the Brides). It was another skin-diver TV show, set in Florida, and there was a lot of international intrigue and stuff. It had a lot of potential, but it was shot so cheaply that there wasn’t a lot on the screen, really. Joe Gill wrote the comic, and he would throw in all kinds of stuff: Lots of spies, drug smuggling… It was before the Code allowed drug stories.”4 Of its seven issues, Primus had only two covers drawn by Staton. The artist said, “Sal liked to do photo-covers, he’d get carried away with them and spend days cutting up photos and making stills, collages. Somebody remarked how Sal would get lost for hours, putting those covers together.”
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had been the editor at Charlton, was being bumped up to magazines, and his assistant, George Wildman, had taken over as the editor of comics. And George was looking for an assistant, and Tony said, ‘Why don’t you apply?’ So I thought, ‘Yeah, sure. The opportunity to be working as an assistant editor at a comic book company? Sure.’ So I called up George Wildman and he offered to interview me in New York City. And I drove down to New York City, and I arrived at the city 20 minutes early for our appointment, and I thought, ‘Oh boy, no problem.’ Well, I got stuck in traffic and the traffic locked me in so that I was moving at about a half-hour to drive one block. So, I arrived [for] the appointment that I was originally 20 minutes early. I wound up being two hours late. George waited for me, interviewed me, and I was hired.”1 For receiving $200 every payday, ten times the weekly salary he’d been getting from Woody, Cuti proved an excellent editor and fine writer, though his duties could be routine. “Myself and another guy by the name of Frank Bravo,” Cuti said, “the two of us were the production department… which meant that when artists would send in completed stories, we would look over the artwork, proofread it, and, if there were any spelling mistakes, we corrected them. And if there were any pieces of artwork that had to be corrected for one reason or another, we would do that.”2 Cuti continued, “At the time, the Comics Code was very strong, and so we would send our artwork to the Comics Code for approval by [administrator] Len Darvin. And then it would come back and they would sometimes ask for changes. It was up to the production department—Frank Bravo and myself—to make all the changes… Mostly, [the Code’s objections] had to do with bikinis being too brief or certain scenes being too frightening for children because we did a lot of horror comics. Or war comics that were a little bit too graphic for kids. And too bloody, or something like that. So we would change that sort of thing… We sent some very angry letters to Len about that, but I have a feeling that Darvin looked upon Marvel Comics as being more for the older kids and Charlton being for the younger kids. And that was the reason we were more heavily censored, I guess.”3 This spread: At left is Primus #1, based on a little-remembered TV series; opposite is Joe Staton’s cover art for Comic Book Artist #12 [Mar. 2001], starring Charlton’s horror hosts and friends.
Sticker image courtesy of Joe Staton. Opposite page coloring by Tom Ziuko.
THE COMING OF CUTI Amidst a rough-and-tumble Brooklyn upbringing, Nicola Cuti [1944–2020], developed a lifelong affection for space opera science fiction. It was after college and while in the U.S. Air Force when Nick Cuti encountered Creepy magazine and subsequently contributed to Warren’s horror mags as writer. After the service, he became an assistant to artistic idol Wallace Wood and, as cartoonist, Cuti created his underground comix character, Moonchild. About coming on board at Charlton, Cuti explained, “Well, what happened was, I had always been connectNick Cuti ed with Warren, right up until its demise. I was working with Woody at the studio and I discovered I really couldn’t live on $20 a week. So, there was an artist who used to come down to the studio to visit by the name of Tony Tallarico. And he was attached to Charlton. And, one day, he came into the studio, and said, ‘Nick, you know, they’re looking for an assistant editor at Charlton.’ Sal Gentile, who
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Chapter Fourteen: Charlton Takes Its Next Best Shot
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