Hands Of Steel!

Here is a delightful drawing of Judomaster and Tiger (along with the Smiling Skull and Blue Beetle as well) by Frank McLaughlin, the creator of the "Scarlet Smasher". He produced this gem for the Charlton Neo folks. It was printed in The Charlton Arrow #2.

The image combines elements of two of McLauglin's finest covers for Judomaster, as well a dandy cover image from Steve Ditko. 

Here is a gem of an image from 1987. Frank McLaughlin's Judomaster seems contented in this scene alongside Dick Giordano's Sarge Steel. The duo is a small part of a panorama of DC superstars from many original sources as can be seen in the fantastic poster below.

I'm lucky to have a reprint of this mighty image in The DC Vault: A Museum-A-Book which came a few years back. There's a true who's who of industry giants (both fictional and real) in this delightful image.

This month is all about Judomaster and Sarge Steel, two characters who are closely linked in the heyday of the Charlton Action-Heroes. 

But don't worry Ditko fans, as he will be getting some attention as well, as we take a look at his brief but impactful tenure at DC in the late 60's. 

Rip Off

The Peacemaker - The Golden Pharoah!

The Peacemaker #6 was never published. The Action-Hero line folded, its architect Dick Giordano move on over to DC, and Charlton returned to its focus on genre comics like ghosts, romance, and war.

But the Peacemaker story for issue #6 was written by Joe Gill and fully illustrated by Pat Boyette with Dick Giordano credited as editor. And those completed pages have been floating around the internet for several years. Here are those pages. Enjoy the "final" issue of Peacemaker.

 

And that wraps up the Peacemaker saga as it might've been at Charlton Comics. That we have this story in any form is a real treat. The artwork by Boyette looks especially crisp and you can really detect where the presses at Charlton somewhat muddied his work.


These reports have been a real joy to put together. They make me really read the stories closely with a real attention to detail. I'll have some comments to make on DC's handling of the character soon.

Rip Off

Teen-Age Love Confessions - Volume Two!

Teen-Age Love Confessions Volume Two is the second of two tomes from Charlton Neo showcasing cover art from Charlton's wide array of romance comics. Most all of these are from the early 1960's and offer up a pageant of emotions, including jealousy, resentment, anger, frustration, but most of all love, both true and otherwise. There was a time when comics like this were wildly popular.  Most of these covers are by Dick Giordano or Vince Colletta, two men closely associated with the genre. Other art is supplied by Charles Nicholas, Sal Gentile, and Joe Sinnott. The covers are presented in black and white in the Charlton Neo volume but below is the whole kaboodle in glorious color. In addition to the covers the volume contains small essays about the genre at Charlton.  Enjoy again! 

 

Happy Valentine's Day! Even more romance coming your way tomorrow. 

Rip Off