The early 80s was a very interesting time in the life of Charlton Comics. They had emerged from the reprint-only era and were trying to bring new ideas and new creators into the industry, much as they did in the mid-70s. I love the way this covers tries to fool you into thinking that a Stormtrooper shows up in this issue. Inside, the armour is actually yellow. This book leads off with Ditko reprint from 1975. It's a so-so story about rats - nothing inspired but good for a quick Ditko fix. The next story is a pretty cool wordless tales (hence the 'make up your own dialogue' blurb on the cover). It actually work quite well as a silent feature. I've never heard of Daniel E. Carroll but he had promise. I'm thinking that this was left over inventory from the cancelled Charlton Bullseye series. Same goes for the final story - another fun tale, this one involving mistreated androids who finally see the light. Not many 'ghosts' in this issue - but it ended up being a very entertaining read.
Friday, January 09, 2009
Charlton Notebook: Ghost Manor #70
The early 80s was a very interesting time in the life of Charlton Comics. They had emerged from the reprint-only era and were trying to bring new ideas and new creators into the industry, much as they did in the mid-70s. I love the way this covers tries to fool you into thinking that a Stormtrooper shows up in this issue. Inside, the armour is actually yellow. This book leads off with Ditko reprint from 1975. It's a so-so story about rats - nothing inspired but good for a quick Ditko fix. The next story is a pretty cool wordless tales (hence the 'make up your own dialogue' blurb on the cover). It actually work quite well as a silent feature. I've never heard of Daniel E. Carroll but he had promise. I'm thinking that this was left over inventory from the cancelled Charlton Bullseye series. Same goes for the final story - another fun tale, this one involving mistreated androids who finally see the light. Not many 'ghosts' in this issue - but it ended up being a very entertaining read.
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3 comments:
It was an odd find, since most of the leftover Bullseye inventory stuff Charlton published was in 'Scary Tales'!
J.A.P.
Jeremy - I can't say with certainty that this is Bullseye inventory, but it just has that certain feel - and it doesn't really fit well within Ghost Manor (much as those Scary Tales stories weren't actually 'Scary').
I was really excited with Charlton when they started coming out with new material in the early '80s. Charlton Bullseye had some genuinely interesting material in it. Alas, this revival seemed even smaller and shorter than the mid-70s stretch.
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