Comic book characters have become big business outside of
their original print form over the past few years. Marvel Comics (or, if you
will, Marvel Studios) has proven that fact with their massively successful
films of characters such as Iron Man, Thor and Spider-Man. While a lot of the
interest may lie in that few of these characters have been portrayed in live
action, it certainly brought a new focus on comic books as a moneymaking
bonanza from both television and movies. Blockbusters like AVENGERS and the
Batman series only solidified that point. Regular comic book fans are not
unaware of the potential of these great creations; they’ve been following some
of them for their entire lives. They have watched larger and larger companies
swallow up their favorite heroes as the income wrought by what may be thought
of as kid entertainment grows enormous. The two largest and oldest comic book
companies, DC and Marvel, are owned by two of the largest entertainment houses
in the country, Time/Warner and Disney, respectively. It makes a comic fan, and
Connecticut resident, what would have been if the state had stayed as big a
part of the comic book business as it once had been.
Once, it could be argued, that Connecticut was a reigning
force in the production of the four-color magazines. (Four-color being a
printing process using three primary colors of cyan, magenta and yellow, with
black added as needed.) Soon after comics started hitting the newsstands in the
late 1930’s, an impressive number of companies in the state jumped aboard this
new cash cow, as the successes of Superman and Batman sparked off a phenomenon.
Many made few, disappearing quickly. A much smaller number survived to make a
heavier mark on fandom, collectors and history, with one being Derby’s own Charlton
Comics.
The Charlton Comics line came about in 1946, a segment of
the Charlton Publications company organized by John Santangelo, Sr. and Ed Levy
around 1940 (previously known as T.W.O. Charles Co.), starting with the popular
“mystery men” styled stories. From their beginning and until the early 1980’s,
Charlton produced, printed and distributed comics from one massive building on
Division Street, a near aberration in the comic book world, as most printing
and distributing was and remains outsourced. Continuing with their belief that
‘in house’ was best, they employed their own drivers and owned their own fleet
of trucks, which is unique in the annals of comic book history.
Charlton produced comic books in nearly every genre: science
fiction, romance, Westerns, humor, TV and movie tie-in, horror and war. Super
hero titles, such as the fondly remembered “Action Heroes” line of the
mid-1960’s, were never a major center of revenue for the company and tended to
be short-lived. The newsstands were extremely crowded at times, and Charlton
sometimes had difficulties getting onto the racks, thereby maintaining sales.
Series would end abruptly and other titles would pick up the sequential numbering
from the previous title as they were excised from the line. So, a series such
as CAPTAIN ATOM never had an issue numbered one, it picked up sequentially from
a previous title and continued from there, then being renamed. Charlton was
essentially, then and now, known for two primary concerns: speed and
efficiency. They wanted their comics produced quickly and cheaply, so they
spent little and kept the presses running 24/7, as an idle press made them
nothing. Strangely enough, though they would never be known for their high rate
of pay, they seemed to always find quality artists who would not only willingly
work for them, but happily and loyally do so. It’s been said that editorial
freedom allowed some of these artists to experiment, trying new techniques or
styles. It may not have been noticed by readers at the time, but it is in
retrospect.
Fans of Charlton Comics are an interesting breed. The
company produced some very oddball comics, few of which are seen as “historically
significant” i.e. the first appearance of Superman, Batman or Spider-Man.
Charlton fans love the search for that rare issue that didn’t see wide
distribution or sales, with a short story by their favorite artist, such as
Steve Ditko or Sal Trapiani. They enjoy the difficulty in discovering high
quality copies, as the comics were known for their lesser grade paper and tend
not to weather the years well. There are fans that collect only the monster
titles or the humor books or certain television titles they enjoy. No matter
what era, what genre, what artist or writer, interest in Charlton seems to grow
every year, even though the comic books were phased out of production at the
plant by 1985, and with hardly any tears.
There are numerous web-based groups that are wholly
Charlton-centric. Some collect every bit of Charlton oriented ephemera created,
photos or news clippings. Some are active discussions with many of the
surviving creators that once worked for Charlton and indeed, still live in
Connecticut. One Facebook group, THE CHARLTON ARROW, has gone one step further
and will be producing comic books by fans and professionals, including some of
the aforementioned former Charlton artists and writers.
THE CHARLTON ARROW began as a tribute fanzine by the
mysterious Fester Faceplant, whose secret identity must be kept or democracy as
we know it may end. The project started “snowballing last summer and a
lot of pros and fans got onboard... 'cause everyone loves Charlton, right?”
says editor/publisher Mort Todd. Initially intended as a black and white
magazine, Mort felt it needed more. “Fest was gonna do a black & white
publication but I felt it deserved the color treatment, so I ended up taking
the publishing reigns, with Fester and Roger McKenzie as co-editors with me.”
THE ARROW will be a 44 page extravaganza of
talent, including well known names as John Byrne, Paul Kupperberg, Joe Staton
and Batton Lash, alongside a host of artists and writers that are aficionados
of Charlton Comics. All of the stories within the issue will include characters
that have lapsed into Public Domain, in all new, exciting adventures. Future
issues of THE ARROW plan to include characters wholly owned by their creators,
as well as unpublished stores from collected Charlton archives.
“Charlton had a pretty unique vibe, more than
many publishers, even the "better" ones,” says Mort. He has a point;
the history of the company alone is a curiosity, not just in the annals of
Connecticut business, but in pop culture. Some of the characters still exist in
print, in some form, at DC Comics. The majority of the “Action Heroes” of the
1960’s were purchased from Charlton in the early 1980’s and integrated into
their worlds. They’ve gone on to appear in comics and animated television shows
since. It’s also well known nerd trivia that these same “Action Heroes” were
the basis for the bestselling story THE WATCHMEN (serialized in comic form at
DC between 1986 and ’87, collected in 1987), which was adapted for the screen
and released in 2009. Charlton continued publishing certain genre comics longer
than many of the other company. They held the rights to print comics on many
different television shows, from Space:1999 to Emergency! to The Partridge
Family, and yes, even Hee Haw. They absorbed titles and characters from defunct
companies, a tradition that continues with comic book houses today. Charlton
Comics seem, even now, to have that feel of the company that just about had
major success in their grasp. You can’t help but want to urge them on, even 30
years after their demise.
THE CHARLTON ARROW, aiming for a bi-monthly
publishing schedule, is a solid way of recalling what was while enjoying good,
solid fun from the unsung characters once of a third-rate, defunct outfit from
Derby. It can be obtained from Mort’s website, http://morttodd.com/charlton.html. Also coming soon from Mort Todd’s ACE Comics is a
collection of Charlton's Classic Hot Rods and Racing Car Comics by Jack Kellar,
shot from the original stats! See http://morttodd.com/hotrods.html
for more information.
THE CHARLTON ARROW, Mort Todd and
others will be part of an NPR radio and print report in the next few days.
Watch for it!
