Dr. Graves - A Charlton Classic!

Pat Boyette & Rocke Mastroserio

Tom Christopher

Rocke Mastroserio
One of the eras of Charlton collecting I like is the short burst of activity in the company's final throes during 1985 and 1986. These books aren't very expensive, but they can be hard to find.

Some of the gems from this time are three issues of Dr.Graves, which picked up the numbering of The Many Ghosts of Dr.Graves one of Charlton's most successful ghost books. These three reprint issues from 1985 and 1986 reprint a wide range of material from several issues of the old series. There is art by Steve Ditko, Pat Boyette, Sanho Kim, Don Perlin, and Ernie Bache. One story even features Boyette inks on Ditko pencils.

Much of the debut issue gets reprinted. Some of Doc's earliest adventures from the pages of Ghostly Tales are also sprinkled through these three comics, featuring great artwork by Ernie Bache.

Steve Ditko

Perhaps the best story is "The Ultimate Evil" by Steve Skeates and Steve Ditko which pits Dr.Graves against a magical threat to the whole of Earth. It evokes those classic Marvel Dr.Strange stories but shows off Ditko's more muscular style of the period. Any story that showcases the complete destruction of Earth as part of the prologue has got some real beans.

This Charlton revival sputtered out after a few months. But editor John Wren with the help of Robin Snyder and Steve Ditko among others gave it a yeoman's try. Artist Tom Christopher even produces a new cover for issue #74. But it was to no avail.

On a fun note, take a look how they blended Pat Boyette's cover for issue #1 with Rocke Mastroserio's artwork lifted from issue #4 for the cover of #73.

Pat Boyette

Rocke Mastroserio
And here's Rocke's original cover for issue #7 which got flipped for later use on #75.

Rocke Mastroserio
Dr. Graves - The Ghost Fighter debuted in a story by Ernie Bache from Ghostly Tales #55. 

Ernie Bache
With the passing of these final Charltons, the company was dissolved and the assets sold off. Soon the storied printing plant would become a parking lot.

All we have now are the comics, which linger like the very ghosts Dr. Graves battled so valiantly.

And finally, here are some early Dr. Graves covers by Steve Ditko. Number sixteen was my first issue of the series. 

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Clipping A Few Dedd Heads!

Rocke Mastroserio

When Charlton bailed out of the superhero genre in the late 60's, they dived into the ghost one. Thunderbolt (which had been Son of Vulcan which had been Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds) became Ghostly Tales, a comic hosted by Mr. L. Dedd. He's just about my favorite horror host for a comic, his cackling approach perfect pitch for the Charlton-style ghost story. Below are a bunch of versions of Mr. Dedd taken from sundry comics, each by a different artist.
Steve Ditko
Jim Aparo
Pat Boyette
Wayne Howard
Tom Sutton
Wes Crum
Rocke Mastroserio was the first artist to render Mr. Dedd and he did the first several covers before guys like Pat Boyette, Steve Ditko, Jim Aparo, and others tried their hand at him. It's Mastroserio's version that I still find the best. Some artists make him too noble looking, only Rocke made him appear as wretched as he should look.


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Son Of Vulcan - The Diamond Dancers!

Son of Vulcan Volume Two, Number 49 is dated November 1965. This comic continues the numbering of Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds. The editor in chief and creator of Son of Vulcan is Pat Masulli. The script is by Joe Gill. The interior artwork is by the reliable team of Bill Fraccio and Tony Tallarico. The cover art is by Bill Fraccio and the inks are by Rocke Mastroserio. (The Grand Comic Book Database attributes these inks to Tallarico, but I disagree.) Here's a link to see what else was on the newsstands when this Son of Vulcan comic first appeared.


"The Diamond Dancers" begins in the big city where Dr.Kong, arch-enemy of Son of Vulcan is inspecting some diamonds at the Diamond Exchange. He then heads over to the theater where under the name of "Changchin" he is appearing in a play titled "A Chinese Folly". There he removes his large ring which is actually a camera and orders a young lady to develop the film.

Meanwhile Johnny Mann is interviewing the head of the Exchange and asks him if he thinks the two billion dollars worth of jewels are in threat of robbery and is assured such a thing is impossible.

Dr.Kong gets into his costume and heads to the stage while Johnny decides to take in a show. He recognizes his old enemy despite the costume and make-up and changes into Son of Vulcan, this time sporting a somewhat more elaborate costume. (More on that later.)

The Story then shifts back in time to the end of last issue when Mars was under attack by sea creatures. He escapes that threat and then finds large stores of diamonds in the Arctic. He decides to use this wealth to assume the identity of Warren Masters, and heads to the city and the diamond exchange. He finds himself outside the performance of "A Chinese Folly" at the same time that Son of Vulcan is demanding to see Dr.Kong.


Son of Vulcan confronts Dr.Kong and the two battle, Kong using his enormous electric sword and SoV using an axe. Son of Vulcan is struck down by Kong as Mars/Masters appears. The two villains talks and decide to work together to defeat their common foe. To that end they find a great pile driver at a local building site and using a steel beam drive the invulnerable Son of Vulcan deep into the Earth, creating a prison for him.

"The Magic Wand" is a one-page text piece telling the story of a television show and its special effects guru Burt Carsons. Carsons was contracted to create effects for a new show called "The Magic Wand", particularly a way to seemingly explode boulders and he does so by creating a "magic wand" powered by electricity which is immensely powerful and which is then used by its creator to take over the world.

Part II "The Living Tomb" begins as Son of Vulcan calls out to his adopted father Vulcan for help but it turns out that Vulcan and Venus have been forbidden by Jupiter to help SoV since his activities had forced Jupiter to banish Mars. Nonetheless Vulcan sends a fireball to help and it ignites a seam of coal in the ground around SoV and this allows him to explosively escape the trap.


Son of Vulcan then seeks out Dr.Kong and changes to Johnny Mann to do so. Meanwhile the two villains are working together to break into the Diamond Exchange, which shares a wall with the theater and while Kong uses fireworks to create a distraction on stage, Mars/Masters uses a bazooka to break through. Johnny Mann confronts Kong but must change to Son of Vulcan to escape his sword which then breaks on SoV's mighty shield.

Mars/Masters then appears and uses gas to subdue Son of Vulcan. Then he and Dr.Kong gather the diamonds and repair the wall, being careful to put Son of Vulcan within so he will get the blame. But the villains fall out as Mars wants Kong to pay for his crimes, but Kong is too clever and captures the god in a booby-trapped chair.



In Olympus Vulcan sends the real King Midas to assist Son of Vulcan by changing the Diamond Exchange wall to softer gold which SoV can break through easily.


He confronts Mars/Masters and learns that Dr.Kong is seeking to escape by boat. Flying to the docks, he finds the ship and learns that Kong is not yet aboard. He then goes underwater, finds Kong's one-man submarine and disables it. As Kong sinks to the bottom, Son of Vulcan returns the stolen diamonds and when he returns to the theater finds Mars gone but threatening to return.

"Enemies of the Deep" is a three-page comic story featuring dangerous sea creatures such as the hammerhead shark, the sea leopard, the killer whale, and the moray eel. The story features art by Frank McLaughlin.


This is hugely fun, if hugely goofy issue. The way the two villains with their immense abilities work so mightily to steal some paltry diamonds is mildly hilarious. Son of Vulcan seems to completely stumble across the plot, and this story to a greater degree than earlier one seems utterly dependent upon coincidence to work.


The new look of Son of Vulcan is the handiwork of a young Dave Cockrum, who would be very famous later for revising the look of DC's Legion of Superheroes and later Marvel's X-Men. This new armor is more detailed, but I'm not sure myself if it's a stronger design. The added details seem I think to detract from the basic shape, and make the whole thing a bit muddy. But if because of the perceived dreary costume or whatever, clearly the series was lagging in sales, and this was an attempt to salvage it. Cockrum gets no mention inside the issue, but they did give him billing of his work on the cover itself, possibly since covers typically go to press last.

This penultimate issue of Son of Vulcan is a hoot, but with only a single Charlton episode remaining things look grim for our hero.


This story was reprinted by Alan Class in Uncanny Tales #87.

To read the complete comic book follow this link.   

A little more to come.

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Nature Boy!

Nature Boy by Jerry Siegel and John Buscema debuted in 1956. It took over the series numbering of firefighting Danny Blaze and ran for three issues before surrendering the series to the Li'l Rascal Twins. Nature Boy is Dave Crandall, a young boy who was lost at sea and found by a multitude of gods who granted the youngster a raft of powers just by invoking their names. He was returned to his comfortable home with his parents and grew to young manhood where he used his abilities to master nature to fight crime and injustice. In the first issue he battles a dictator of a supposed "Utopia" and helps combat the devastation of a flood. We get a brief glimpse of Nature Man when an adult Dave Crandall wanders the land helping out folks who need it. Blue Beetle also appears in the debut issue in story drawn by Rocke Mastroserio. 

To read this issue follow this link. 

In the second issue in stories written by Joe Gill and drawn by Rocke Mastroserio Nature Boy fights to bring peace to the world by attempting to contain worldwide aggression and confronts corporate powers who are bringing starvation to regions of the United States which should be generating lush harvests. Later he stops an air invasion and rids natives on a remote island of their oppressive leader. Nature Boy seems to have an endless array of powers but mostly he uses weather effects and lightning to get his way. There is also a story about Pecos Bill by Bob Powell. 

To read this issue follow this link. 

Siegel and Buscema return for the third and final installment of the short series. In this one, adorned by one of comicdom's most outlandish yet memorable covers, we get our hero saving the town of Centerville from an invader from Jupiter and he goes on a journey across the globe and confronts evil in the Sahara. Later he battles for justice in the Khyber Pass and finally helps a youngster when kidnappers invade. We get a one-page glimpse of Nature Girl who fights to save an elephant from a hunter. Siegel seemed to want to evoke the Marvel Family with this series, and if it had been given time, we might've seen an origin for Nature Girl. But it was not to be as this wraps up the run of Nature Boy. 

To read this issue follow this link. 

 

Nature Boy was brought to the attention of modern readers as he's given an entry in The League of Regrettable Superheroes by Jon Morris. 

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Sarge Steel - The Terrible Talon!

Sarge Steel #8 is dated March-April 1966. Pat Masull [sic] is listed as the creator, and clearly this is Pat Masulli's name misspelled which is stunning given he's the Executive Editor of Charlton at this time. Joe Gill is again scripting and Jon D'Agostino supplies the letters. Bill Montes and Ernie Bache return for the art chores. The cover for this issue is by Rocke Mastroserio.

File #108 "Case of the Terrible Talon" begins with Part I "The Talon Takes Sarge Steel". After a symbolic splash showing Sarge shooting at a mechanical talon, the story opens on a West German street where Professor Froelig is kidnapped. In Dusseldorf two men discuss the crime and attribute it to The Talon, a criminal mastermind terrorizing Germany. That evening a group of West German businessmen and other important types gather to plan a response and agree that they need Sarge Steel to take on the Talon. A waiter overhears this decision. We cut to Sarge as he heads out to take on this assignment and Bessie gives him a big kiss before he goes. In the taxi on the way to the airport he is met by a U.S. agent who tells him he's on his own. In the air on the way to West Germany Sarge finds a mysterious talon symbol in the bottom of his coffee cup, an ominous sign indeed. After landing he is met by Herr Wolffhundt who takes him to a cafe where the waitress pulls a gun and other men show up using a stun gun to knock out Steel and kidnap Wolffhundt. They leave a message on Steel's chest saying "Leave Germany or Die!". Sarge recovers and gets a car but as he leaves a beautiful redhead climbs into the passenger seat and presents herself as a West German agent. At that point a helicopter appears overhead.

"Tank Trouble" is a one-page text story about two WWII veterans, one American and one German who meet at an agricultural show and realize they know one another. They led men into battle during the war against one another and after the German leader had the advantage a clever tactic by the American resulted in a defeat forcing the German officer to flee Nazi German or be killed. He made contact with American forces and surrendered.

Part II is titled "The Faceless Man" and begins with Sarge's car being picked up by a giant electric magnet suspended from a helicopter. The car and Sarge and the German agent Gerta are taken to the Talon's headquarters in the mountains of East Germany. There Sarge meets the masked Talon and is shown the scale of Talon's operation. After attacking an armored agent though Sarge is again hit with the stun gun. He awakes strapped into a high-tech device dubbed the "Hypno Chair" which is used to gather information from him and defeat his free will. Sarge seems to succumb but when he is released he attacks Talon and knocks out his savage dog with his steel fist. He uses a device called the "Wailing Wallet" which emits tear gas to help him free Gerta and the pair take their unconscious Talon out of the headquarters as his men follow. Sarge then takes one of his shoes and throws it, and since that shoe is actually a delayed time bomb it explodes and allows them to escape in Sarge's Mercedes-Benz. That car is rigged with cannons on the front which they use to escape the Talon's compound.

Part III is titled "Trial of a Terrorist" and begins with Sarge and Gerta in the Mercedes under fire from Talon's men. Sarge uses rear canons to stop pursuit. The helicopter appears overhead and begins firing radar-controlled rockets at Sarge's car, but then a Messerschmitt Rocket Fighter appears disabling the helicopter and allowing Gerta and Sarge and the prisoner to escape. They drive through the East German border and deliver Talon to stand trial. As the trial begins the Talon, still masked, faces witnesses. Then word comes that his forces are coming to free him and a counter attack is ordered. A man wearing a rocketpack is stopped by Sarge and then a great metal claw snags him and pulls him into the air but Sarge is able to use his own weapon to disable the helicopter that has captured him. Taking the rocketpack Sarge flies clear as the helicopter crashes. Then in a sudden turn of events, Sarge suggests they let Talon go free but spread the story that he betrayed his own men making him forever a fugitive from his own people. Talon is sent packing as Sarge taunts the now helpless terrorist.

"Blue Four Top Secret" is a three-page feature drawn by Rocke Mastroserio in which the gimmicks and devices featured in the main Sarge Steel story are described in further detail. Shown and described are the "Wail Wallet", "The Shoe", "The Stun Gun", "The Hypno Chair", and a full-page on the Talon-copter the enemy agents used.

This is issue is fully devoted to the high-tech environment of the Bond-like super-spy world. Gone utterly is the noir atmosphere of previous issues. This is reinforced as again the first-person narration is absent. Sarge is here completely dependent on gimmicks and gadgets to fight the enemy who likewise use a host of machines to wage battle. The helicopter is very like the helicopter in You Only Live Twice though even more high-tech. The hypno chair scene reminded me of Goldfinger and the Mercedes-Benz was just another version of Bond's Astin-Martin. Clearly the attempt is made, as is evident on the cover to play the super-spy angle to the hilt. It's a fun issue, but not quite as emotionally compelling as earlier installments of the series.

This is the last issue of the series to be titled "Sarge Steel" but that's not the end of Sarge yet.

You can read the complete comic book at this link. 

More Sarge Steel to come.

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