In the final days of Charlton Comics, they revived a number of their vintage titles to give it one more go on the newsstands. One title which received this new lease on life was the 1950's Tales of the Mysterious Traveler which originally ran for thirteen issues from 1956 to 1959. It's most famous today because it showcased a healthy dose of Steve Ditko art.
When Charlton revived the title in 1985 for two issues, the first, continuing the old numbering at fourteen, featured a cover derived from an old Ditko cover for the series and featured the title character, the Mysterious Traveler.
The second issue of the brief revival, the fifteenth and final issue though offered up something a bit different. While the features inside the comic were all Ditko, the cover itself was an attractive but inscrutable image by the great Alex Nino. How and why the boys at Charlton came to have access to a Nino piece is anyone's guess.
It's a gem in a very unusual and unexpected setting to say the least.
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One of the best pieces of Nino art I've ever seen!
ReplyDeleteAnd he has so much excellent stuff out there. Nino is one of those really underrated talents.
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This issue also contained the 10 page Ditko story "Deadly Shadow", which, as far as I know, has never been reprinted.
ReplyDeleteYep. I've got this issue around here somewhere, but it would be behemoth work to dig it out.
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The Nino image is great. As for the unreprinted Ditko story, wonder why it hasn't been reprinted? Maybe someone could mention it to Robin Snyder and he could pass along a request to reprint "Deadly Shadow" to Ditko.
DeleteAnyway, Charlton forever!