The History Of Charlton Comics

[@theunknowngamer5477]

I bought EVERY title published for almost eleven years. The variety of art and stories...another world. Thank you. Other than the fanzine, this much history is rare.

[@buttgoomagoo6919]

I worked at Charlton and I can tell you we DID shred the artwork...I asked if I could take some home and was told..sure take it home and dont come back!!! I got the message and didnt ask again and kept working..I'd estimate I shredded 100,000 pages!!

[@Tymbus]

oh...my...god..

[@jackfairy666]

I wonder: if you didn’t tell anybody and just took that original artwork home, what your personal net worth would be today? 🤔🤫🤑💰

[@thomasswafford250]

What was their problem with taking it home if they were going to shred it?

[@MrScroogedmcduck]

They thought it would be resold

[@mrdigit3353]

wow how sad, some art must have been returned though as i have a few originals form charlton artists....gee, thats alot of art for sure

[@rbart75]

I was born and raised down the road from the old Charlton press and I remember one of my friends breaking into one of the abandoned trailers that were behind the building. He said it was filled with rotting books from the company. Their comics weren't great, but they contributed to a rich comic book culture in the Naugatuck Valley.

[@ShinoSarna]

It's sort of funny that the most interesting thing that came out of Charlton, aside from being a way for beginning creators to start out, is when their superhero characters were bought out by DC, resulting in some great stories like Watchmen, Pax Americana and the Blue Beetle comics.

[@johnnyskinwalker4095]

I wish they would have used the actual Charlton characters fro Watchmen. It would have given these characters quite a boost

[@BarryKeller]

Actually, the most interesting things to come out of Charlton were Dick Giordano, Steve Skeates, Denny O'Neil, John Byrne, Don Newton, Jim Aparo, Tom Sutton and the many others i am forgetting.

[@sirmount2636]

Johnny Skinwalker I have mixed feelings. It would have been cool to see Moore’s original vision, but @ the same time we wouldn’t have had any more use of the characters for years. Perhaps they never would have left the Watchmen shadow. But I think Morrison’s Pax Americana was a very good Charlton comic in its own right.

[@dinyardastoor6464]

As someone who's been reading and collecting comics for over five decades (I'm 58 and based in India), it's nice coming across the name Charlton comics after many years. What stands out in memory is the slogan on the top of every page" 'Charlton comics give you more.' (Anybody remember??) Meanwhile, I'd be grateful if anyone who has old issues that don't need which they can can pass on. :)

[@danebarrett237]

When I started making an allowance and buying my own comics, in the very early 60s, I LOVED Charlton! The DCs seemed a little stodgy, and the Marvels Mau have been too "sophisticated", but the Charlton horror and at books with their 7 or 8 page stories were just right! And I had no idea who Dotko was at the time, but I knew that artist was my favorite. When I found Captain Atom, then Blue Beetle, then the Question came along... I was in hog heaven! I always preferred Blue Beetle to Spiderman, and there was no other character to even equate with the Question. Judo Master? sarge Steel? Son of Vulcan? Oh my god! Sam Glansman's Hercules?! That was my childhood.

[@mrdigit3353]

lets dont forget jim aparo, or pat boyette, with his killer gothic horror art style,.....yep good days.

[@lekocafe]

I remember Charlton, Yes, they were cheap but had a weird charm to their comics.

[@vilstef6988]

Weird charm-yes, that's really on the money.

[@electricmastro]

Interesting to learn about a Golden Age company that helped pave the way for the Modern Age of comics through Alan Moore's inspiration with Watchmen!

[@cliffwoodbury5319]

The Charlton Comics Logos R Some Of My Favorites And In My Opinion Some Of The Best Logos, Not Just In Comics, But POverall.

[@jeremycline9542]

I grew up about five miles from the plant and it's a shame it was torn down. And what they built after has already been torn down again. I met a guy who worked on the project and he said they found reams of news print buried in the ground. This video is good timing as Dynamite will be taking another crack at Thunderbolt in January.

[@KardboardKenny]

they had a sleazy feel and as an eight yo, i loved them.

[@daviddykes3026]

And once again, Charlton is recalled without a single mention of one of their more popular lines, Hot Rod comics. It's unreal that those are ALWAYS missed when someone tries to do a history of the Connecticut-based publisher.....

[@apex2000]

You got me curious. What books did they make?

[@kauswekazilimani3736]

This to years late but I'm interested. What's the deal with Hot Rod comics?

[@baronkarza2939]

@@kauswekazilimani3736 basically racecar comics reminds a lot of michel valiant

[@rafaelramirez1507]

I agree David , I remember those like Speed and Gasoline Alley from my uncles Charlton mag collection 👍

[@rafaelramirez1507]

@@kauswekazilimani3736 they were pretty cool ... some folks like combat, romance, western ... my uncle loved racing cars , so one day I was checking out his collection of Hot Rod and I too liked what I saw .... nonetheless Charlton comic books were pretty cool from 1950 thru 1970 , but not like Marvel or D.C.

[@bravo0105]

Love their War comics; still collecting.

[@no_reply9857]

growing up in NYC I bought my comics at the local newsstand (usually besides a subway station) but the charlton comics were only found at my local woolworths. They were usually placed on a stack on a shelf. And once in a while they were packaged in four issue lots in sealed plastic bags. they were a last resort when i needed a comic book fix.

[@SkotNealey]

that explains why i can't find smaller numbered Captain Atom comics. I figured they were just too rare to find at all

[@markmorte]

In New Zealand, 1960's Charlton comics started appearing in corner-stores , milk bars & some newsagents in the 1970's. More often , cheaper than the Marvel, DC & British import comics. I loved the Horror titles, especially Tom Sutton , Steve Dikto etc. Marvel & DC didn't have anything as cool as Joe Stanton & Nicola Cuti's Michael Mauser Gumshoe tales , E-Man was up there with Steve Gerber's Man Thing & Howard the Duck work !

[@unrulysimian3897]

Another great vid. Remember the bagged 3-pacs you could by at various highway chains? They were heavy on the Charletons. I remember reading a buttload of their horror comics. Good stuff.

[@CountryBwoy]

Man! I miss those multi packs!

[@gregggaldo9181]

A buttload?!....dang that's alot!!!...I've got a buttload stack of Charltons next to my bed!!

[@davek5027]

Yeah! I remember those three packs. I loved their horror comics.

[@broomhands8001]

Good horror books

[@rogerwilco4397]

The multipacks is how I got mine. They would wedge one in between two higher grade titles. I loved E-Man, Phantom and sports books. There was a certain charm to the books... corny dialogue, off color printing and the feel of the cheap pages.

[@esean1]

I saw some familiar covers! One of my sisters had the first issue of PARTRIDGE FAMILY. I had the first - and several subsequent issues of - SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN. I had a couple PHANTOM comics with early Jim Aparo art! Most notably, I somehow snagged that debut issue of CAPATAIN ATOM and still have it!

[@stevenschaller1672]

I grew up reading the horror,sci fi,and war titles in the 70's and 80's! Absolutely loved them!the newer alterna line of comics is reminiscent of these.but in a much higher overall quality!

[@jeffreese1828]

Charlton has always meant one thing to me ..... DITKO ! Over the years his output with them was prolific and Ditko , being old school , gave good work despite the low pay . The lack of editors looking over shoulder was what he liked . If you like Ditko it is worth grabbing up some of these old horror titles for some gems and also , occasionally, some inspired work by other artists , as well . Though , in the main , a large part of the product does look cheap and rushed. Good vid , thanks

[@lostonwallace1396]

Good overview of Charlton's history, but I'm sure you meant Joe Staton, and not "Joe Stanton." (as noted at 9:23 point in the video)

[@Graham-ce2yk]

Something that was missed from this overview is that it was not just new artists/writers that got a chance through Charlton's rather blase editorial policies, some artists on the way out also had their last stand's through Charlton, with the classic example being Joe Shuster who's last legit work was in some of Charlton's crime comics before he got involved with the people behind 'Nights of Horror'. Will we see a similar examination of Gold Key at some point?

[@MysteryProductsLtd]

Brilliant. Thanks. A wry smile played across his grizzled lips as the futuristic teleplay cast an eerie glow upon his leering face, deep in the night in his shoebox apartment.

[@oddish3022]

In another reality they are as big as DC

[@V2011F]

Bigger and purchased them instead.

[@TheChrisHype]

“If I can’t have this artwork, then NOBODY WILL!!!” ...what the actual hell?

[@geoffshaw346]

Charleton was a part of my childhood in the same way American Int'l movies were.That one cover for GORGO #3 became my favorite of all time.

[@rafaelramirez1507]

Geoff , I love your comment 👍👍

[@macsnafu]

Charlton comics weren't always the best comics, but they were usually a lot of fun, anyway. And then there were those Modern reprints of Charlton comics that you didn't talk about, which was my first introduction to E-Man, Doomsday +1, and others.

[@jayguero2123]

This was an extremely informative (and sometimes humorous) video. Great work! Keep it up.

[@davidhadler1]

Thanks for doing this. I've always wondered about Charlton, particularly given its place as an early publisher of Ditko's work - especially The Question. Out of curiosity, what were you're sources for this video? I'd be interested in reading up on Charlton in more detail. Thanks again for your always interesting work!

[@xdshepard37]

You are always putting out some of the best content on KZbin. Shep

[@realrocksavage]

I loved Charlton's Horror, Sci-Fi & superhero comix. I also liked their "TV" comics!

[@chrishoare5652]

GREAT story, thanks for posting !!

[@dougsidesyndicate6887]

Hey, I am really enjoying your videos on comics history...just a quick question...the theme music is torturing me! It seems like a Brian Eno song but I can’t quite place it! Can you identify it for me so I can sleep peacefully again? :)

[@daviddykes3026]

Seriously, why is there not 1 single mention of "Hot Rods & Racing Cars" "Grand Prix" "World of Wheels" etc? Charlton was the most prolific publisher of "Hot Rod" comics in history. Why are these titles always omitted in any historical pieces on Charlton? As a resident of Connecticut, and a major collector of Charlton stuff, I'd like to know if anyone has an answer to this?

[@danebarrett237]

Don't know the answer, but I remember buying and reading them!

[@daviddykes3026]

It's just sad that the Charlton Hot Rod & Racing titles are always missed. I 'm sure glad I have my collection - the artwork in the issues of the 50s & 60s is often MUCH better than what Marvel & DC was producing!

[@danebarrett237]

Dukes... TJIS is what I've always said! You can fault the paper quality and the production values, but some of the art and stories were top notch! Glansmsn, Aparo, Morisi, DITKO!! Bland yeah, some of the hot rod stuff was amazing!

[@rafaelramirez1507]

I agree David

[@mrdigit3353]

jack keller, the artist behind many of their hot rod titles, was later on a long run with kid colt, rawhide kid,.....great style, real gritty feel......i liked those alot as a kid

[@williamolsen20]

I had the DC remake of "The Question", and that was a great series. I wish they would use that character more, it was a very good story line.

[@vilstef6988]

My favorite Charlton staffers are Giordano, Ditko and Aparo. I have a Canadian edition of The Phantom from the 1960s which on the copyright notice which says the printing was done by Charlton.

[@geoffbrenneman9757]

Totally agree but i would add fran matera who worked with giordano

[@scottanderson8167]

This actually sounds like a great place to work. Write the story you want to write, get beer money immediately. You wouldn’t get rich but what a cool side gig to have.

[@rogerwilco4397]

I liked Charlton BECAUSE of the sleaze factor! Whenever I would get a Charlton, hidden in the middle of a sealed 3 pack, I'd be overjoyed... E-Man, Phantom, and sports comics were my favorite ones.

[@shoresean1237]

Great on everything - except...I thought Peter Cannon was the model for Ozymandias, and DC did publish Cannon for a time.

[@homanism6438]

well Charlton Comic was Inspired Alan Moore to create Watchmen

[@Pat4HUMANITY]

OH, the unrealized potential of the Peacemaker character especially (and with what DC has done to the character it NEVER will be realized)! This character could have been a combination of Batman, James Bond, and quite a bit more: a truly prestigious, and high class superhero. Instead DC has now turned a potentially great character into yet another borderline psychotic antihero, and ruining a one-of-a-kind costume, *sigh*.

[@baronkarza2939]

on the bright side valiant ninjak fits the bill of james bond meet batman

[@klishin9440]

AlanMoore have said many times than many comics publishers at that time were just mafia .

[@gregggaldo9181]

AWESOME video!!....great production!!....I am a huge Charlton fan...still read the Horror /Scary comics....especially Ditko!!!..and the artist PA III (does anyone here know whom I am referring to..PA III ?).

[@stevenbutlerstudios]

Gregg Galdo - it's PAM- (initials for Pete A. Morisi)- he couldn't sign his real name because he was a police officer by day and moonlighted at night as a comic book illustrator. He was afraid he would have been fired if it was found out he had a second job. Morisi is best known as the creator of Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt, also for Charlton-

[@gregorblack5557]

Hit Ptrader was super cool in the 90s for heavy metal music. js

[@cessnaace]

In the 60s and 70s, when I was a kid, I preferred the comics of Charlton and Gold Key.

[@jenniferdonlin6627]

Sometimes, the narrator calls the company "Carlton," instead of "Charlton."

[@mikehensel5565]

He also is mispronouncing Joe Staton's name... He says "Stan-ton"... there's no N in his name... it should be pronounced "Stay-ton", I believe...

[@carlgibson285]

Regarding the Charlton superhero characters - before they were sold to DC, Charlton allowed AC Comics to borrow the characters and feature them in their Sentinels Of Justice comic. However, only one issue featuring the Charlton heroes was released before DC bought the characters, so subsequent issues of the series saw the Charlton heroes replaced by AC's own characters such as Captain Paragon.

[@jayguero2123]

6:25 the way this line is delivered in such a monotone deadpan way is so funny to me. I’m not sure why. This part of the company’s history almost sounds like a mockumentary waiting to be made.

[@perpieta]

I read DC and Marvel, but I occasionally bought a Charlton romance comic or two from a neighborhood bodega. IIRC none of my neighborhood candy stores carried Charltons.

[@adamcoxworthy9373]

Even if DC wasn't willing to let Alan Moore break their new toys, I think they still saw the Charlton characters as somewhat disposable, or at least not as precious and in need of protection as their other IPs. Captain Atom and the Question were completely reimagined in their own series, Blue Beetle was made over into a comedic character in JLI, and Nightshade, Punch and Jewelee were sent to the Suicide Squad, were John Ostrander presumably could have killed them if he'd wanted to. I really like the Charlton characters because of the risks DC was willing to take with them, and the original Nightshade stories are pretty fun too.

[@cyclone927]

I love this types of videos, you got a new sub!!!

[@impudentdomain]

As a kid I liked a lot of the Charlton comics.

[@cliffwoodbury5319]

There are several stories of comic companies that had fires that destroyed their work, and that is sad, but destroying your own product is obsurd!!

[@Demonstryke13]

Great video, really enjoyed it!!!

[@edwchase]

One other notable exception was E-Man. E-Man was not purchased by DC and I think remains the property of Nicola Cuti and Joe Stanton. It has been published by a few other publishers, most notably First Comics, but it has always been created by Cuti and Stanton.

[@nomadnametab]

by and large, charlton was rather less than up to standards set by dc and marvel. but their Iron Corporal was amazingly first rate. the authenticity and adult nature of the series are remarkable. the writer got the australian personality, the culture , and their army in ww2 down really well. i always thought the writer had to have been australian. i was surprised he wasn't.

[@RSEFX]

Good mini-documentary. A lot of information packed into a short time (without---thankfully---the usual hysterical, hyper-speed delivery that has become such a cliche of these sorts of on-line videos). I'd be very interested to see someone do a doc exploring the whys and wherefores of that era of really amateurish, almost child-drawn "art" that prevailed in their space and horror/ mystery comics in the late 50's and mid-60's.. Who were these artists, and did they ever develop into real artists of some quality? The work was so out of step with everything else going on at the time it has always puzzled me.)

[@JACKJOYAdeadlygraphicstudio]

Nice job

[@asrexproductions]

I can't adequately express how much I wish there was still a comic book company that almost exclusively published horror, romance, western, war, and crime comics. Screw you, Comics Code. 😞

[@vilstef6988]

Seduction of the Innocent was not a novel, it was a non-fiction book.

[@pulsarstargrave256]

@Gene Miller\That's a matter of OPINION!

[@psalms519]

peace could you do a video on every Comic publishing company video that no longer exist today?

[@_Peremalfait]

I was a mostly Marvel kid, and a sometimes DC. Charlton comics were always not quite as good. The artwork and even the lettering seemed cheaper, and it bugged me that the artists were usually not identified. I do remember liking E-Man, which seemed a cut above their usual fare.

[@emsleywyatt3400]

The numbering thing. They might have used a higher number because it would give tie impression of an established title.

[@danielmccormick700]

The copyright rules that Charlton didn't follow is an interesting topic. I can't find the source, but I'd read that in the sixties, Norman Maurer Productions failed to properly mark their copyright on a series of color cartoons for the 3 Stooges, which if true meant that their cartoons were inadvertently released into the public domain. (If anyone can locate a source confirming or disproving this, I'd appreciate it.)

[@homanism6438]

Perhaps only Peacemaker and Judomaster who made his debut in Live Action, i hope all Charlton characters will make their debut in Peacemaker seriea

[@Rangersly]

About the reputation of having ties to organized crime, didn't the two main founders met while they were in prison?

[@broomhands8001]

That's what the video said

[@cliffwoodbury5319]

I don't know why a company wouldn't organize their printed books. I would have opened up a museum becuase i'm sure that in Connecticut one of those cities would want anything to get people to come to their cities.

[@markdibuo3756]

Peacemaker is now a member of the suicide squad in the comics to promote the upcoming movie.

[@sladest72]

I always thought Charleton comics war titles were cool...especially the stories involving Vietnam...at a time were DC&Marvel were just skirting it. I feel those stories were done by Vets and/Or done by folks that tried to represent.

[@hydrolito]

Gorgo and Konga were both movies before comics so copywrites might belong to company or companies that made the movies.

[@cliffwoodbury5319]

The books art look good to me!!

[@donaldsmith6814]

Didn't Roy Thomas sell his first work to Charlton?

[@Lightstrikers]

So what did they really publish if comics were just fillers to keep the printers running? Comics was the less of their concerns but became their most notable and lasting impact?

[@johnglue1744]

Hahahaha "Ashamed of My Baby" .

[@arthurtripp6922]

WAS PAYMENT OF 3.00 A PAGE TRYING TO BREAKING INTO BUSINESS.

[@jeffpearljam1976]

They were the cannon films of comics

[@stupendoushorrendous8258]

Anyone else find it funny that Charlton sounds a lot like charlatan?

[@mrdigit3353]

i liked the adventure and horror stuff best i guess,......didnt like too much their war, romance or westerns, the line was usually too faint for that crummy paper on those, whereas the horror/scifi, adventure used bolder lines/more shadows that i liked better. fave artists boyette, aparo, morisi, sutton, and of course you gotta include ditko too.

[@matthewronsson]

Gee, these early artists at Charlton weren't getting a minimum, let alone 'living' wage but look at the opportunity it provided for tough times and those starting out. It had its place just based on that. If they'd thought of comics as a market unto itself, instead of an incidental by product they could have been in a 'Big 3" of comics, joining Marvel and National.

[@jamesziegler2763]

interesting

[@stevenlennon12]

Paul Stanley narrates

[@deliusmyth5063]

By "ambivalence" do you not mean "apathy"?

[@pablom.g-m]

Fuck yeah!

[@taker68]

One wonders how such a cheap and low tier company got so many licensed properties. The Big 2 weren't interested or ask for too much money? So many cartoon shows or sci-fi TV shows had Charlton comics. The Lost in Space series famously seemed nothing like the TV show.

[@alancarnell2747]

Yeah. Charlton existed. It was kinda just there. The only ones I ever bought off the rack were Space: 1999 and maybe a few Six Million Dollar Man. Picked up some Doomsday +1 later for the Byrne art. As a side note: John Byrne did some early work on Space: 1999 and the actual show had a writer/producer named Johnny Byrne. No relation.

[@vilstef6988]

Using the visuals for Metropolis on the vid is pretty amusing. DC and Marvel, the aristocracy, Charlton, the proles living underground.

[@twtfilmproductionthenametw1791]

Sooo coool😊

[@rexmundi3108]

I remember as a kid thinking "this is...crap". These were the comic books "my aunt would buy me" kind of thing: I never actually bought one myself. Interesting to see why they were so bad. (and this was in the "good" 70s run, although I mostly remember the reprints. I had the John Byrne issues. Still do. Nearly mint, lol or as mint as highly acidic cheap newsprint can be.)

[@matchesmalone9759]

haha wtf is that video of the working class dudes in the beginning? reminds me of the 1984 apple commercial for some reason

[@kleinjahr]

It's from Metropolis. Probably the first major scifi movie. Made in the 20s therefore BW and silent. Here it is, kzbin.info?search_query=metropolis+full+movie

[@Bonzulac]

Audio's a little hot.

[@ComicExcitement]

😃👍

[@gonk4509]

Ignore this comment. I’m just posting a bookmark. 8:15

[@markcullen2015]

it's pronounced "jordano" not "g-ordana". Redo the video with the correct pronunciation haha

[@michaelolz]

Disgraceful company from start to finish.

[@rickytoddbotelho9555]

I think I requested this. Where's my refund.