The Charlton Reptilicus!

Reptilicus was the least successful of Charlton's monster trio, likely because the monster is the least identifiable of the three monsters. It's just an animal, large and often ferocious, but still difficult to get any sense of what Reptilicus is thinking. Also, Reptilicus never was graced with the artistic power of Steve Ditko, instead had to deal with the competent but less exciting duo of Charles Nicholas and Nick Alascia. And besides that, there are only technically two issue of "Reptilicus", because Charlton lost the rights to the name. 

Sid Pink was not happy with the sexual elements added to the novelization of the movie story published under Charlton's Monarch brand. He pulled the rights I assume, and Charlton was left with only two comics titled Reptilicus. 

The first issue featured a great Rocke Mastroserio cover while the second featured the artwork of Dick Giordano with the Nicholas and Alascia combo still on board between the covers. Reptilicus revives and threatens areas of Africa in the sequel. As far as I can tell Joe Gill wrote all the issues of the run. 

With the third issue the title of the comic is changed to Reptisaurus and the artwork is by Bill Molno. Sal Gentile and Nick Alascia supply a less than satisfactory cover. Reptisaurus is red where Reptilicus was green and gets a mate and a family. But don't wait to see what happens as continuity on this comic is pretty much nonexistent with each issue seeming to start from scratch. 

The artwork is then taken over by the team of Joe Sinnott and Vince Colletta and their work here is even less impressive than it was on Gorgo. Part of that is that Reptisaurus is hard to draw in any way which allows the reader to get a sense of his feelings. The rendition by the team makes him quite comical in places. 

Eventually like all the other monster series, the art team of Bill Montes and Ernie Bache take on the book toward the end of its run and they redesign the monster quite a bit, making him much less like the original Reptilicus. This is not a bad idea and we get some decent storytelling in the final issues of the original run. 

Following the cancellation of the original run after a meager eight issues we are treated to a special edition which puts a wrap on the character sort of.

Reptilicus the movie is a guilty pleasure of mine and I watch it on the regular, and I was pleased to finally get to read all the Reptilicus/Reptisaurus comics despite the meager quality. I am always curious and like a bad movie, even bad comics can be entertaining in their own way if you adjust your expectations. 

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Ditko Classic Covers - Gorgo #11!

Gorgo #13 was published in 1963. You can read the issue at this link. This cover is derived from images from inside the comic book. 

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Ditko Classic Covers - Gorgo #4!

Gorgo #4 was published in 1961. You can read the issue at this link. 

This cover was derived from the splash page of the debut issue. The interior art on this issue was by Charles Nicholas and Nick Alascia. 

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Ditko Classic Covers - Gorgo #3!

Gorgo #3 was published in 1961. You can read the issue at this link. This is an original cover by Ditko showcasing Gorgo under the control of a Commie scientist. 

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Ditko Classic Covers - Gorgo #2!

Gorgo #2 was published in 1961. You can read the issue at this link. This is an original cover by Ditko, an iconic image of Gorgo's mother demolishing the United Nations Building. 

Here the cover art is used for Fright Monsters magazine cover. This fun magazine was supposedly discovered after many decades in the hidden basement beneath a store in Derby, Connecticut, the home of the defunct Charlton Comics brand. Great back-story yarn for this retro Druktenis 2020 publication. 

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Monarch's Gorgo!

The Monarch Books (a Charlton brand) novelization of the Gorgo saga by Carson Bingham (the pen name of Bruce Cassiday) is much different from the movie. The story is told from the point of view of Sam Slade and his partnership with Joe Ryan is much more tempestuous than in the film. They first joined forces in the Korean War and later as gun runners for the Cuban revolution. Both are rough and tumble, but Joe is much more imposing and dangerous than in the film. The biggest change is the addition of Moira, the sister of Sean, the kid from the film. We get some exceedingly sexy scenes between her and Sam as he is smitten immediately. (She has a very difficult time keeping her clothes on.) She's presented early in the book almost as a mystical figure, mysterious and strangely aloof. But the description of their lovemaking is very salacious in the spirit of that era. I'd imagine more than a few kids had eye-popping moments as they awaited the monster to emerge. The attack on Nara Island by Gorgo's mother is much more impressive in the novel though there is a limitation to the descriptions of the destruction of London as we are hampered by seeing only through Sam's eyes. 

To read the novel version of the story by Carson Bingham check out this link to the Internet Archive. 

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Ditko's Monsters - Gorgo!

This YOe Books collection brings together all of the Joe Gill and Steve Ditko stories about the giant monster Gorgo. Gorgo stories were produced by other talents in the Charlton stable, but it's only the Ditko material which is on display here (for the most part).

Likewise, both monsters are getting the collected treatment from YOe Books and IDW Publishing. The Konga collection, which is even larger  that the pretty hefty Gorgo book, is due to arrive in a few months.  The stories by the ever-ready scripter Joe Gill are solid and as illustrated by Steve Ditko, give the reader a incredible but entertaining thrill ride as the monster Gorgo, almost presented as a stranger-in-a-strange-land, deals with the wide world.

It's a lot of Gorgo to read, and truth told not all of the stories are gems. But they are all a hoot, an echo from a time when comics were such plain unabashed fun, that stuff like this could be published without apology or qualm.

All of the Ditko Gorgo stories are here, as well as all the covers he produced for the series. Also showcased is some really great info on the classic movie and how the comics were an integral part of the marketing of the flick. Great Gorgo lore for any fan of the movie indeed.

Here's a cover gallery. Enjoy! The debut cover is by Dick Giordano if I'm any judge.

This final cover is by Bill Montes and Ernie Bache. These artists did a gaggle of Gorgo stories themselves and they did the cover here for an issue featuring Steve Ditko material inside. (It might be heresy in a post celebrating the great Ditko's art, but I actually prefer the Montes and Bache version to Ditko's.  Sadly, I doubt we ever see a collection of those stories, but there's always hope.)

Monsters are at their most fantastic when they are giant. More Charlton giant monster goodness tomorrow. 

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The Charlton Gorgo

Gorgo was Charlton's other monster comic. Like Konga it began as an adaptation of a movie, then transformed into an ongoing series. It was a tougher go than Konga because the monsters were less identifiable and lacked an ability to show much emotion if any, unlike Konga. They couldn't be humanized in the same way. Also, the comic lacked the talent of Steve Ditko after the first several issues. Ditko illustrated Joe Gill's scripts at first but stepped away when the comic was first picked up by the Charles Nicholas and Vince Alascia team then by Joe Sinnott and Vince Colletta. The latter duo produced several issues of the run early on and most all of them are poor even by Charlton's rather lax standards. Later Ditko returns for several issues before handing the comic over to Bill Montes and Ernie Bache, the same team that took over Konga after Ditko's departure. If anything, the Montes and Bache version of the great monsters was successful at finally giving the monsters some character. 

One aspect of the Gorgo saga which makes it difficult for the comic is that there are two monsters -- Gorgo and Gorgo's Mother. It reminds me of the monster Grendel from Beowulf who also had a more powerful and deadly mother. Having to work in both monsters is difficult given the space allowances in a comic tale, and often Gorgo's mom just sleeps for most of a story. The stories are strongest when just Gorgo is the focus. Like Konga, we are often presented with human lovers who find one another amidst the conflicts which Gorgo's presence generates. Gorgo battles aliens (two separate invasions from Venus for instance) and Commies. He and his mom find lots of other monsters above and below the sea to fight as well. Reptilicus (or as he's renamed Reptisaurus) even makes a guest appearance in the Gorgo comic run, showing the only instance of continuity inside the Charlton monsterverse. 

Here's a cover gallery of the complete run of the comic. 

Gorgo's Revenge is a strange comic, in which Gorgo is associated with the dragons of myth. This story is drawn by Charles Nicholas and Nick Alascia. 

The two issues of The Return of Gorgo were both illustrated by Steve Ditko though as usual he only creates one cover. Many of the covers in the main series and otherwise were created by Dick Giordano. This series seems to be a continuation of Gorgo's Revenge. 

The Gorgo comic saga is well captured in these two volumes which reproduce the stories from scans of the comics. Some of those scans are pretty meager, but it's still nice to have all the issues at hand. 

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