Fifty years ago this month was the beginning of the end of the famed "Action Heroes" of Charlton Comics. Many of the runs finished up with others only hanging around for a stray single issue. Captain Atom, the flagship title of the company which had spearheaded the return of superheroes at the company when his Cold War adventures by Joe Gill and Steve Ditko were reprinted. The series had been a tour de force for artist Ditko this time with him taking on the plotting in a formal way. While Dave Kaler was given the writer's credit, he and most others in the know suggest this was pretty much a fig leaf. Blue Beetle, Ditko's other revival would have one more issue, but that would be nearly a full calendar year away. Judomaster by Frank McLaughlin met its end as well and while DC has picked up the character they have never reprinted these vintage stories. The second issue of Hercules marked the beginning of a new phase for Charlton, away from traditional superheroes and a turn to pure adventure. Certainly the high quality of the series suggested that while superheroes were out of vogue, Charlton had little intention of leaving the market. That's also suggested by Ghostly Tales, a title which would spearhead the company's next big phase, a focus on horror and creepy comics. Along with war and romance, the company had always been a place to go to for genre comic entertainment and in a world increasingly dominated by superheroes that would be a successful niche for them for a good many years to come.
Next time we say farewell to the Action Heroes properly and to this feature as the Golden Derby tips its lid one final time.
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These are fun. Especially Ditko.
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