Discussing the minutiae of comic book collecting.
Discussing the minutiae of comic book collecting.
Hot Rod Comics #1, Fawcett Publications, November 1951. This week’s Undervalued Spotlight came to me as I noticed myself checking out comics from a long forgotten genre while I was looking for worthy covers for my Covered 365 project. I…
Romantic Story #105, Charlton Comics, June 1968 – Artist: Jose Luis Garcia Lopez. Ohh so that’s how you get a girl to marry you! Yikes. This cover has obviously been cloaked the anonymity provided by Charlton Romance comics. House of…
Teen Age Love #82 – Charlton Comics, February 1972 – Artist: Torre Riposo. I can honestly say Day 81 is the 1st day that I had difficulty picking a cover. I didn’t want to cheat and pick Ghost Rider because…
The Phantom #67 – Charlton Comics, October 1975 – Artist: Don Newton. The Phantom #67 started a beutiful little run of painted covers, I always loved this one by the great Don Newton
Six Million Dollar Man #1, Charlton Comics, June 1976. I’ve always thought American popular culture transitioned in 1976, before – it was all denim, sunshine, split ends and 15 minute drum solos, after – it was all polyester, bad lighting,…
Space Adventures #44, Charlton Comics, (February 1962) You’d have to go back to the infamous April Fool’s Day post of last year to find a Charlton comic featured on the Spotlight, and I didn’t even mean that one! Still, it’s…
Love Diary #36, Charlton Comics, January 1965 This is a bit of a coup for the Undervalued Spotlight. I believe I’ve found a yet undiscovered prototype. I’m not sure you could even call it a prototype, to me it looks…
In the mid 1950s the U.S. Senate forced comic book publishers to adhere to the guidelines of a Comic Code Authority. The ‘Code’ was brought in to protect America’s youth from what was then deemed disturbingly graphic and blatantly sexual…
For Lovers Only #78, Charlton Comics, April 1975 You can’t press love nor can you assign it a grade, and as much as you’d like to you can’t “Buy it Now” either. If you’re making an offer then it’s simply not…
Blue Beetle #1, Charlton Comics, June 1967 Steve Ditko is one of the true giants of comic books. Ditko’s two major contributions, co-created with Stan Lee, were Dr. Strange and the Amazing Spiderman. In subsequent interviews Ditko has downplayed Lee’s…
Go-Go #1, Charlton Comics, June 1966 Go-Go was a 1960s Charlton comic book series that lasted 9 issues. The title tried to cash in on the pop culture explosion of the time with each issue featuring pin ups and tidbits…
Charlton Comics took a run at the Blue Beetle title (issues #50 – 54) by displacing their long running Unusual Tales title (#1-49) but found the super hero racket crowded and tough. They switched back to the horror/mystery format with Ghostly Tales #55, a move that...
Charlton’s super hero dreams ended in the late 1960s with the cancellation of all their hero titles (Captain Atom, The Question, Peacemaker etc.). The company leaned heavily on licensed titles like The Flintstones and Jetsons to supplement their stable of War and Romance titles