The Adventures Of Charlie Droople!

Here's a link to an absolutely nifty story by Steve Skeates and Jim Aparo titled "The Best of All Possible Worlds" from The Many Ghosts of Dr.Grave #5.


This story plays off a clever rift in the fourth wall, and pokes a wee bit of fun at all of us comic book-obsessed fans.

This story is a fave of Fred Hembeck. (It's his website where the story is featured.) Hembeck referenced it twice in his tributes to Charlton Comics in the pages of the sadly defunct Comic Book Artist.



In issue #9 we get this keen overview of the Charlton universe of the 60's and if you look closely you'll find Charlie, his girlfriend Dorothy and a most peculiar officer of the law. (Third row, fourth panel.)



In issue #12, Hembeck follows up with a more detailed analysis of the story.

Fun stuff from a lively and fertile time in comics in the little town named Derby.

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Alter Ego's Action Heroics!

Here's a cover for an upcoming issue of Twomorrow's Alter Ego. It's due out this December and it focuses on the late Dick Giordano, best remembered in the Silver Age as the father of the "Action Heroes" at Charlton before jumping to DC and bringing much of his stable of talent with him. Here's a link to the solicitation.

It's a wonderful cover. Here are the sources for the Charlton images.

Steve Ditko
Pete Morisi
Steve Ditko
Dick Giordano
Steve Ditko
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A Bunch Of Quitters!

Curt Swan & George Klein
George Tuska & Mike Esposito
Ross Andru & Dick Giordano
John Romita
Carmine Infantino & Joe Giella
Nick Cardy
George Perez & Joe Sinnott
Irv Novick
Dave Gibbons
John Buscema & John Tartaglione
Neal Adams
Tim Burgard
John Romita
Here's a gallery featuring a baker's dozen covers with heroes who have had it. Of course all of them thought the better of it, and gave it another chance, but on these covers at least, they are just a bunch of quitters.

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Long Live The King!

When the name Jack Kirby is mentioned, the first image that flashes into my noggin is the awesome wraparound cover for the portfolio above. I never saw this portfolio, only the ads for it, and sadly I never ordered it.

I did get hold of the facsimile from Twomorrows some years ago, with its added material. Here's a wonderfully random link to great scans of the original in all its glory. (And source of my images here.) Here's another link for a golden look at the portfolio.

Today as is noted many times on many sites across the net, is Jack "King" Kirby's birthday. He'd have been 94 years old.

Thanks Jack.


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Blue Beetle - The Lost Comic!

Blue Beetle was utterly transformed by Steve Ditko into a sleek modern hero who became, as all Ditko heroes do eventually if not initially, a vehicle for Ditko's distinctive politics.


The series ran five issues, with a sixth scheduled and advertised in the back the final December 1967 issue of Judomaster. The collapse of the "Action Hero" line stopped that though.


That sixth issue of Blue Beetle would have to wait several more years before finally seeing print, in the pages of 1974's double issue of CPL Gang's special edition Charlton Portfolio.


Here is that story in its entirety.



















This story was reprinted in Action Heroes Archive Volume 2.


Ironically you can find Blue Beetle's very first appearances freshly posted at Mr.Door Tree's fantastic website Golden Age Comic Book Stories at this very link.

One final thing on this aborted project. All the other comics on that classic Charlton ad did get published.

Rocke Mastroserio
Jose Delbo
Rocke Mastroserio
Jack Keller
Ernesto R. Garcia
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