Joe Gill

Treasured Stories: “Dragstrip Paved With Gold” (1968)

gasp656 Comments

« Alcohol is for drinking, gas is for cleaning parts, and nitro is for racing! » — Don Garlits

At this time each year, Montréal is beset by its own plague of greedy locusts: it’s Formule 1 Grand Prix time! While our fair city offers other crowd-pleasing events (for instance le Festival international de jazz de Montréal and le Festival Juste pour rire / Just for Laughs), the most glaring distinction between the Grand Prix and the others is that it essentially draws just one type of visitor, a Las Vegas/Florida Spring Break/Nascar sort of randy, aggressive, would-be Alpha Male yob. Imagine hosting the Republican National Convention year upon year, and at eardrum-tormenting sonic levels. Time and time again, the newspapers run the same stories about rampant prostitution and criminal exploitation and how the event only benefits bar, hotel, restaurant and cab operators and variegated pimps… and shafts everyone else. The usual one-percenter bait-and-switch appeal to everyday avarice, it never fails.

Oddly enough, despite my distaste for racing culture proper, I’m paradoxically quite fond of hot rod comics. I was as surprised as anyone when I chanced, several years past, to read an odd issue of Drag n’ Wheels that had come into my possession decades earlier in the midst of an assorted lot (this was no. 46, April 1971)… and greatly enjoyed it. Gripping stuff, as it turned out!

Now, there’s no question that the number one driver of Charlton Comics’ hot-rod line* was Jack Keller (1922-2003), a Golden Age artist who found his true niche with car comics. Around 1967, he was offered an exclusive contract with Marvel to work on their western titles, but Keller declined in order to focus on his Charlton account, where he could write, pencil, ink and letter his own stuff… without having to redraw anything. Moreover, he claimed to favour horsepower over horses.

Keller’s car stories are often a delight, full of knowing detail, clever humour and plenty of thrills. However, if Keller had produced the entire line on his own (as he did, in fact, when it was whittled down to a pair of titles in its final years), the growing bleakness in his work could have become wearying. Drawing from his direct involvement in the racing scene, Keller packed his stories with pompous asses, dangerous egomaniacs, slimy backstabbers, sociopathic glory hogs, and other representatives of a bloodthirsty, mean-spirited mob.

Charlton’s main writer, Joe Gill, filled out the rest of the book, aided by a rotating crew of artists, among them Don Perlin, the tireless Charles Nicholas ‘n’ Vince Alascia duo, Tony Tallarico, Bill Montes, Dick Giordano, Bill Molno, et al.

But in the line’s peak years (1964-1969, also an aesthetic apogee in automotive design), the number two illustrator in Charlton’s racing stable was Edd Ashe (1908-1986), another journeyman from the Golden Age of comics.

Here, at last, are some actual comics. Dragstrip Paved With Gold appeared in Hot Rods and Racing Cars no. 90 (June 1968, Charlton Comics), and was written by Joe Gill, pencilled by Edd Ashe, and inked by the mysterious and likely pseudonymous T. Roots.

AsheDragstrip01AAsheDragstrip02AAsheDragstrip03AAsheDragstrip04AAsheDragstrip05AAsheDragstrip06A

It might be easy to miss some of the more unusual nuances of Gill’s tale. When faced with the daily task of coming up with material grounded in genres with a limited number of available plots (say, romance, war, horror, hot rods, sports), Gill kept the plot basic and tidy, but enriched his stories with unusual characterization, pertinent technical details, vernacular and jargon… and sometimes moral values quite at odds with the prevailing societal mores. In this story for instance, note that the ladies in Terry and Jim’s lives provide the voices of reason, prodding them gently away from blind ambition, excessive materialism and showboating and toward self-preservation and enlightened self-respect. Dead men can’t keep up with the Joneses… or rather ahead, in this case.

WhoThereLogotype

As a bonus, I’ve compiled a complete-as-far-as-I-know bibliography of Mr. Ashe’s contributions to Charlton hot rod comics (1964-1969); wherever available**, follow the links to read the issue on comicbookplus.com!

Hot Rod Racers 1 : Local Champ / The Compact Cavaliers / Back-Road Champ
Hot Rod Racers 2: The Avenger / Joe’s Jalopy / The Driver, not the Car
Hot Rod Racers 10: Quarter King
Hot Rod Racers 11: Fast Loser
Hot Rod Racers 12: Wrecks to Riches
Hot Rod Racers 13: The Spoiler
Hot Rod Racers 14: The Day the Creampuff Won
Hot Rod Racers 15: You Never Know!

Grand Prix 16: Bossin’ the Turns
Grand Prix 17: Twins’ Trouble / Constant Loser
Grand Prix 18: Gentleman Driver
Grand Prix 19: The Eagles Scream
Grand Prix 20: For Money or Marbles
Grand Prix 21: The Town Wreckers

Drag-Strip Hotrodders 2: Tamed Tiger / Falcon Flyer / Little Eliminator
Drag-Strip Hotrodders 3: English Cousin / 1320 in 13.20 / S/S King
Drag-Strip Hotrodders 5: Great Moments in Racing History: “Rods Across the Sea”
Drag-Strip Hotrodders 10: The Furious 40! / 200 Plus!
Drag-Strip Hotrodders 11: Match Champ
Drag-Strip Hotrodders 12: I’m a Lemon (A Car’s Own Story)
Drag-Strip Hotrodders 13: Speed in All Seasons
Drag-Strip Hotrodders 14: Playin’ the Role!
Drag-Strip Hotrodders 15: “Mighty Mustang”
Drag-Strip Hotrodders 16: Speed at Any Price

World of Wheels 17: Modified Madness
World of Wheels 18: The Astro Rod
World of Wheels 19: “Speedy”
World of Wheels 20: Beast From the East
World of Wheels 21: The Rat Pack
World of Wheels 23: The Wild Ones (Parents)
World of Wheels 27: The Sissy Wagon
World of Wheels 28: Home Town Driver / Lemon at Le Mans (Vince Colletta inks)

Hot Rods and Racing Cars 70: Nightmare at Le Mans
Hot Rods and Racing Cars 72: Farmboy at Le Mans
Hot Rods and Racing Cars 73: Outlaw Hot-Rod / 300 MPH Flying Jet / The Novice / Hold It!
Hot Rods and Racing Cars 74: Final Test (Colletta inks)
Hot Rods and Racing Cars 75: Great Moment in Racing History: “Race to the Sky”
Hot Rods and Racing Cars 78: Great Moment in Racing History: Sebring ’65
Hot Rods and Racing Cars 79: Mille Miglia of 1952
Hot Rods and Racing Cars 80: Great Moment in Racing History: The Vanderbuilt Cup Race of 1937
Hot Rods and Racing Cars 83: The Digyard Demon
Hot Rods and Racing Cars 85: Fast and Furious
Hot Rods and Racing Cars 86: Backyard Grand Prix
Hot Rods and Racing Cars 87: The Pigeon / Just a Country Boy
Hot Rods and Racing Cars 88: Wild Willie & the Black Baron
Hot Rods and Racing Cars 89: The Mighty Midgets
Hot Rods and Racing Cars 90: Dragstrip Paved With Gold
Hot Rods and Racing Cars 91: Piston Head
Hot Rods and Racing Cars 92: Dirt Track Digger
Hot Rods and Racing Cars 93: Tomboy Tornado
Hot Rods and Racing Cars 94: A Friendly Little Car
Hot Rods and Racing Cars 99: The New Breed

Teenage Hotrodders 15: Great Moment in Racing History: The World 600
Teenage Hotrodders 16: Great Moment in Racing History: The Detroit Special
Teenage Hotrodders 17: Great Moment in Racing History: Le Mans 24 Hour Race 1959
Teenage Hotrodders 21: His Big Dream
Teenage Hotrodders 23: Flying Failure

Top Eliminator 25: The Pigeon
Top Eliminator 27: RedLight Express / Mad for Matches
Top Eliminator 28: Blow-Up
Top Eliminator 29: Scarface and the Get Away Gasser

Drag ‘n’ Wheels 32: Weird Willy’s Wild Wagen
Drag ‘n’ Wheels 33: Smoked In
Drag ‘n’ Wheels 34: Wastin’ Time
Drag ‘n’ Wheels 35: The Firecracker 500

– RG

*These were Hot Rods and Racing Cars (1951-1973); Speed Demons (1957-58); Dragstrip Hotrodders / World of Wheels (1963-1970); Teenage Hotrodders / Top Eliminator / Drag ‘n’ Wheels (1963-1973); Hot Rod Racers / Grand Prix (1964-1970); and Surf ‘n’ Wheels (1969-1970).

**Until they wised up sometime in 1968, Charlton didn’t bother to copyright their publications; therefore, they wound up in the Public domain.

Hot Streak: Steve Ditko’s Ghostly Haunts

gasp652 Comments

« There’s no room for professional jealousy around the graveyard, chums… life is too short, as they say… but what comes after that short life may stretch into all eternity! »

I could carry on endlessly (or so it would seem) on any number of obscure topics, but it’s healthy, every once in a while, to take a deep breath, empty one’s mind of its flotsam and jetsam, and reach for an old favourite.

I hadn’t yet written anything about Steve Ditko‘s passing, as I figured it would get lost in the mad shuffle of tributes. That base was well-covered. Still, while I’d known all along the day would come, it was hard to imagine a world without that reclusive genius, likely my very first artistic inspiration.

I didn’t see much of Ditko’s 60s Marvel work until the late 70s pocket book reprints (the period equivalent of watching a movie on one’s cellphone), but the Charlton ghost books grabbed me at a tender age. And so…

As my candidate for Steve Ditko’s finest cover run, at any company, I submit issues 22-27 and 29-30 (curse you for the interruption, Joe Staton!), from January 1972 to March 1973, final year of Ditko’s peak period, imho.

ghostlyhaunts22a
Ghostly Haunts no. 22 (Jan. 1972), an excellently-balanced all-around winner, with the whimsical “Wh-Who’s in Th-There?” (w: Joe Gill p: Charles Nicholas i: Vince Alascia), “Witch’s Brew“, a taste of creepy suburbia with a whiff of Rosemary’s Baby brimstone (w: Joe Gill, p/i Pat Boyette) and our headliner, “The Night of the Lonely Man!” by Gill and Ditko. Read the whole pamphlet here, folks.
ghostlyhaunts23a
Ghostly Haunts no. 23 (Mar. 1972), offers two Gill-Ditko stories: “Treasure of the Tomb” and the cover-featured “Return Visit!“… and I’d be hard-pressed to pick the superior entry. The reader wins. Ah, you cast the deciding vote: read them both here.
ghostlyhaunts24a
Ghostly Tales no. 24 (Apr. 1972), another strong issue, thanks to Gill and Boyette’s “The Other One!” and of course Ditko illustrating “A Man Who Was Here“, Joe Gill’s parable about a Tennessee mountain man displaced, but not entirely, by the construction of a modern superhighway. Read the entire issue here, ladies and gentlemen.
ghostlyhaunts25a
« The butler’s a real monster! » Ghostly Tales no. 25 (June 1972) is where Mr. Ditko demonstrates his unmatched virtuosity in the delicate task of incorporating several elements of a tale without winding up with the dog’s breakfast. Compositional alchemy of the highest order! The cover tale aside, Joe Gill’s wonderfully-titled “What Will Lance Surprise Us with This Time?“, illustrated by Fred Himes, is loads of fun. Read “I’ll Never Leave You!” here.
ghostlyhaunts26a
Roger C. Feeney, Indian Affairs bureaucrat from Washington, DC, appears to have stumbled onto the wrong sacred Hopi cave. Uh-oh, Roger, it appears you’ve been noticed by… something. This is Ghostly Haunts no. 26 (Aug. 1972). Beyond the classy Ditko cover, it’s just an okay issue.
ghostlyhaunts27a
« Why does it happen each year? Citizens of Trappton don’t know it, but it always begins right here… at an unmarked grave… » Presumably bearing no direct relation to the 1967 Michael Winner- Orson Welles – Oliver Reed film, “I’ll Never Forget What’s-His-Name“, the Gill-Ditko cover story is a classic, the tale of a forgotten man, Bertram Crumm, who merely wanted his existence recognized by the town that spurned him during his lifetime.
It’s too bad Charlton only occasionally featured mystery host Dr. Graves in active (rather than narrative) roles, because when they did, the results were pretty gripping. Unusually, Graves guests outside his own book and in Winnie’s, and we find ourselves with a classic on our hands. This is Ghostly Haunts no. 27 (Nov. 1972). Read the Gill-Ditko story here, but don’t miss the fabulously oddball “The Mine’s All Mine!” by Gill and Stan Asch, featured right here.
ghostlyhaunts29a
« Maybe I’m going mad! I keep imagining I hear his voice! » Ghostly Haunts no. 29 (Jan. 1973) features a striking (gold) exercise in fearful symmetry announcing the Joe Gill – Ditko saga of two untrustworthy acolytes in the Canadian North. Check out “Partners!” here.
ghostlyhaunts30
« Ugh! It’s really hideous! Is it a self-portrait of the real you?»  We put the finishing touches on our tour of Steve Ditko covers from 1971-72 with Ghostly Haunts no. 30‘s “Fear Has Three Dimensions” (Mar. 1973). Despite a theme right in Ditko’s wheelhouse, none of his art appears within; the cover feature is handled by Wally Wood disciple Wayne Howard, and the other tales are deftly told by Fred Himes and Warren Sattler.

That just about wraps it up. For further reading on the topic, I recommend you check out Ben Herman’s perspective on some of these very stories, and on Ditko’s spooky Charlton work of the 70s in general.

« Poor Agatha Wilson still has screaming fits! »

-RG

Hallowe’en Countdown II, Day 29

gasp653 Comments

« Here it is, Halloween again, and all the ghouls, goblins and other beasties are coming out of their secret lairs to frighten little kiddies… who are also emerging in weird, wild costumes to frighten the grown-ups, the stay-at-homes who hand over candy or whatever ransom is demanded in the traditional Halloween challenge! » — Joe Gill, « Trick or Treat »

It was the early 1980s, and DC’s mystery books, in decline since the mid-70s, were running their final mile. They’d hardly ever risen to greatness, writing-wise, and the visuals had, for too long, borne far more of their share of the pact. And when you switch art directors from Nick Cardy to Vince Colletta, it’s got to hurt *bad*. By 1980, the strongest stylists had moved on, replaced for the most part by bland youngsters champing at the bit to move on to superhero work. The farm league, basically.

So the vultures were circling. In the midst of all the bad or lazy decisions, the most heartening exception was the frequent use of Joe Kubert‘s all-but-boundless skills on the covers. I suspect they gave him free rein… it certainly appears that way. Technical skill, thematic originality, « mysterioso », even a deftly humorous touch… it’s all there. Bravo.

Ghosts108AKubert285HOMAUnexpected204AGhosts105AUnexpected214AGhosts111AUnexpected215A

As even most comics fans of the period might be surprised that the mystery books were still around, I think it safe to assume that these pieces may be unfamiliar even to devoted Kubert fans. Enjoy!

– RG

Hallowe’en Countdown II, Day 4

gasp652 Comments

« Ape is real spooked, guys! He’s always imaginin’ he sees someone in there! »

Here we have an evocative Steve Ditko cover, solid evidence of his tremendous design chops, from Charlton’s Ghost Manor (no. 7, second series, October 1972). A collaboration between Joe Gill and Ditko, « The Monsters Ride at Night » is an elegant bit of storytelling legerdemain, a fairly basic yarn that retains its mystery past the conclusion and whose deliciously dusty mood lingers in the mind. Well, in mine, at any rate. Back in the late ’70s, I traded a copy of Amazing Spider-Man 121 (acquired at a garage sale in a two-for-five-cents deal) for this one. I know I came out ahead in the deal*.

Ghost-Manor7A

Again, I had every intention of providing the whole spooky shebang right here, but seeing as how I was preceded in this particular enthusiasm by a sinister confrère, it seems unnecessary. Just dim the light, settle in, point your browser to Destination Nightmare, pour yourself a noggin of your preferred poison, and savour this fine vintage.

Ghost-Manor7WhoIsA

I’m particularly fond of the mid-tale interlude, where our esteemed host, Mr. Bones, seizes the occasion to poke around the cobwebs a bit, a narrative game that the Gill-Ditko duo excelled at. DC and Warren’s hosts (with the obvious exception of Vampirella) never got to play such an active rôle in their respective recitals.

Oh, and since we’re on the topic of early 70s Charlton ghost books, here’s one I picked up just this afternoon, in the 50 cents box of the local comic book shop in Wolfsville, NS. It clearly had been through such hardships, I couldn’t resist giving it a home.

GhostlyTales86Beater.jpg
This is (or used to be) Ghostly Tales no. 86 (June, 1971), featuring three Joe Gill tales: « Return to Die » (illustrated by Pete Morisi), « Ghost Town » (illustrated by Pat Boyette), and « Someone Else Is Here! » (illustrated by Steve Ditko.) If books could speak…

-RG

*I had an extra copy, what do I care?

Warren Sattler’s Travels With El Chivito

gasp657 Comments

« They’re drinkin’ red-eye, playin’ stud poker, and havin’ a high old time! I’ll just hang around awhile… »

In the mid-1970s, thanks to Pat Boyette’s connections in Texas, Charlton Publications found themselves able to affordably produce painted covers, a development that several members of their iconoclastic stable of artists took full and glorious advantage of. Tom Sutton, Don Newton and Boyette were naturals, but Warren Sattler often gets unfairly sidelined from that esteemed lot… perhaps because he rarely worked for Charlton’s ghost books. Each of his cover paintings was produced for the publisher’s western / martial art adventure series, Yang, House of Yang, and Billy the Kid. And he alone worked in that most unforgiving of media, watercolours, wherein, unlike oils or acrylics, one requires unerring confidence and dexterity if you’re aiming to come up with anything above a muddy mess.

Today, Mr. Sattler (born September 7, 1934, in Meriden, Connecticut, where he resides to this day) celebrates his eighty-fourth birthday. Let’s wish him all the best!

Over the years, I’ve become quite enthused with Charlton’s long-running Billy the Kid series (1957-1983!), which featured over the years the artwork of such luminaries as John Severin, Maurice Whitman, Rocco “Rocke” Mastroserio, José Delbo and of course Mr. Sattler. As far as I know, Joe Gill just about wrote the entire series, which is one of its chief pleasures: over a hundred issues of consistent characterization of young Bill Bonney as a peace-loving, unprejudiced champion of the underdog whom his amigos in Old México fondly nicknamed « El Chivito ». I know, hardly the real-life Bill Bonney, but what could one expect under the Comics Code Authority‘s heavy thumb?

Several of Mr. Sattler’s cover paintings have, thank goodness, survived destruction. They have to be viewed in person to be fully appreciated. For the nonce, we’ll make do with mere digital reproductions.

BTK112ORIG_A
For his first painted comic book cover (or second, Yang no. 7 appeared that same month), I believe Mr. Sattler got the proportions slightly wrong, so the cover art was cropped fairly tight horizontally, which still made for a striking, action-packed cover, but since we’ve got the original…
BTK113A
Two Billy adventures appear in this one: the cover-featured “The Good Life” and “The Spoilers!”
BTK114ORIG_A
This one was featured as the cover of Billy the Kid no. 114 (Oct. 1975), illustrating Gill and Sattler’s “Killers in the Shadows!”
BTK115A
I’m sure Billy would be admiring the lovely light of dusk if he wasn’t being ambushed. Such a splendid and unusual (for comics) palette!
BTK116ORIG_A
The printed version of this painting, which appeared on the cover of Billy the Kid no. 116 (Feb. 1976), lost quite a bit of its subtlety in translation, so I’m happy to show you the original. I love that bit of yellow in the clouds, echoed in the bushwhacker’s shirt. For the first time, a solo Sattler Billy the Kid tale, “The Treasure”.

BTK117A

BTK118A
Beautiful composition, and an effective and economical way to convey height and distance. Note the cattle horns in the artist’s signature.
BTK119A
This one’s mood and palette bring to mind the work of Doug Wildey. A good thing, you understand. Excellent use of the « dry brush » technique for texture.
BTK120A
After several issues’ absence from the insides, Mr. Sattler reunites with Joe Gill on “Three for the Money!”
BTK121A
One final painted cover before Charlton rode off into the sunset…. for the first time.

 

SattlerBillyA
Mr. Sattler, a true prince of a man, created this piece especially for me a few years ago… without any request on my part! But you can bet I’ll always be grateful for this touching act of generosity and kindness.

As El Chivito’s many friends across the border would surely say, « ¡Que cumplas muchos más! », and thanks for everything!

-RG

Treasured Stories: “The Night Dancer!” (1972)

gasp656 Comments

« If i should sleep with a lady called death… » – E.E. Cummings

This time out, I’ve plucked a delicate story that’s resonated with me since our first encounter… somehow, the tragic plight of a lonely, vulnerable old man touched me deeply, even if I couldn’t have been more than ten years old when first I read it.

In the intervening years, witnessing the rise of elder abuse, the growing fragility of my own parents, and the sometimes desperate loneliness of acquaintances, old friends and strangers alike, Joe Gill and Don Perlin‘s The Night Dancer! (Ghostly Tales no. 99, Nov. 1972, Charlton) has steadily gained in poignancy. Its spirit, theme and mood remind me of some very fine tales by Joseph Payne Brennan*, who conveyed all too convincingly the quiet desperation of a near-destitute life lived with scant hope or companionship.

On a more cheerful note, it happens that (okay, it’s no accident) ‘Dauntless’ Don Perlin celebrates his eighty-ninth anniversary on this very day. While he’s most appreciated for his runs on Werewolf By Night, Ghost Rider, Moon Knight (his co-creation with writer Doug Moench) and The Defenders at Marvel Comics, I steadfastly cling to the notion that his finest efforts were brought to bear on hot rod and ghostly yarns for Charlton at the dawn of the 1970s. Judging by the results, I’d venture that he’s especially inspired by adventures set in the American Southwestern desert country. I’ll return to this topic in due time and present my case.

Without further tarrying ‘n’ foot dragging, meet our hapless protagonist, Cecil Durant… and his tormentors and benefactors.

PerlinDancer01APerlinDancer02APerlinDancer03APerlinDancer04APerlinDancer05APerlinDancer06APerlinDancer07APerlinDancer08A

While Mr. Perlin never became a superstar (and I suspect it never was his goal), the longevity of his career is easily explained: solid craft, excellent storytelling skills, a clean, unfussy line, and of course that supreme asset: reliability. Incidentally, co-credited Howard Perlin was Don’s young son, who was helping dad out around the studio that day.

Yom hu’ledet sameach, Mr. Perlin… and many happy returns!

– RG

*particularly The Way to the Attic (1967) and Mrs. Clendon’s Place (1984)

Pat Boyette — Hillbilly Makes Good*

gasp655 Comments

« That young fella must be the college kid who’s going to work for my paper! Those two prairie wolves will pick him clean… it’ll be an excellent lesson to him, I reckon! » — Max Cogswell, editor-publisher of The Boothill Gazette

Today marks what would have been the ninety-fifth birthday of suave Texan Renaissance man Aaron P. “Pat” Boyette (July 27, 1923 – January 14, 2000). The Golden-voiced Mr. Boyette was in turn actor, radio announcer, cinematic auteur and of course a far-beyond-fine painter and cartoonist. Ah, and if anything could speak more eloquently of his worth as a human being, he was best man at Gus Arriola‘s wedding.

PatBoyettePortraitA
Didn’t I say he was suave?

Now, I could have focussed on any number of his remarkable projects: his 1966-67 run on The Peacemaker (« A man who loves peace so much that he is willing to fight for it! »), his tour-de-force fill-ins on DC’s Blackhawk (issues 242-43, from 1968), his lavishly-detailed work for Warren Magazines (1968-72), his brilliant, but admittedly controversial, run on The Phantom at Charlton (1970-73), his far-better-than-its-source adaptation of Hanna Barbera’s Korg 70,000 B.C., his intense The Tarantula for Atlas-Seaboard (with Michael Fleisher, 1975), his fun revival of Spencer Spook for ACE Comics in the 1980s, or any of his moody work for Charlton’s ghostly anthologies… but I won’t, at least not this time.

Instead, if you’ll bear with me, we’ll take a gander at a fine, fine backup series he co-created with Joe Gill for the pages of Charlton’s long-running Billy the Kid. Mr. Young of the Boothill Gazette (BTK 88, Dec. 1971, to BTK 110, Dec. 1974). Abel Young, bereft of sharp-shooting or pugilistic skills, is a true hero: a fool, an idealist, a stubborn cuss who acts nobly even when he’s scared spitless. His is a charming strip, full of graceful humour and humanity.

Here, then, is my selection: the series’ thirteenth episode, originally published in Billy the Kid no. 100 (March, 1973, Charlton).

BoyetteBoothill01ABoyetteBoothill02ABoyetteBoothill03ABoyetteBoothill04ABoyetteBoothill05ABoyetteBoothill06ABoyetteBoothill07A

Happy birthday, Mr. Boyette. The world needs more gentlemen of your ilk.

-RG

*so proclaimed the headline of a Boyette profile published in Creepy no. 33 (June 1970, Warren).

Treasured Stories: “The Mine’s All Mine” (1972)

gasp651 Comment

« That’s funny… I didn’t leave the lantern lit… wonder if anybody’s in there? »

In 1972, Golden Age journeyman cartoonist Stanley Josephs Aschmeier (1912-1992) wrapped up his career in comics with a single tale for Charlton, a publisher he’d briefly worked for two decades prior*, pre-Code. Yet earlier, at DC, he’d had a hand in creating Johnny Thunder and Thunderbolt (1939) and Dr. Mid-Nite (1941), the original sight-impaired costumed hero.

While Aschmeier’s already-manic drawing style hadn’t changed much in the intervening years, the industry certainly had, which made him a man well out of time. Still, as with his peer, sudoriparous Rudy Palais‘ final work for Charlton, the nervous energy and artistic freedom yielded something unusual and charming. While this sort of semi-primitive outsider approach decidedly isn’t for everyone, it’s a breath of fresh air. I found it unsettling and baffling when I first encountered it all those years ago, and it hasn’t lost its jolt, unlike many fan favourites I could name.

Without further preamble, here’s Joe Gill and Stan Asch (his abridged nom de plume)’s tale, from Ghostly Haunts no. 27 (Nov. 1972, Charlton.)

MineAllMine01A

MineAllMine02A
By this point, Aschmeier had evolved (or devolved) a highly stylized, woodcut-like approach. Bizarre as it may be, it sure works for me. That’s one of my favourite things about Charlton: leave your “house style” at the door!

MineAllMine03AMineAllMine04A

MineAllMine05A
Note Aschmeier’s interesting depiction of a revenant, quite unlike Steve Ditko’s lime green, vaporous wraiths or Pat Boyette’s rotting cotton shamblers. Pete Eklund’s shade is more akin to a dancing flame, an electric apparition.

MineAllMine06A

MineAllMine07A
Here’s a guy who *really* gets it!
That final panel is one of the most unhinged I’ve had the pleasure of encountering.

As for the story, it’s the soul of the thing: to my mind, what made writer Joe Gill’s work special was his common-sense response to the meagre number of available plots: when the mood struck him, he focused on ambiance, tone and character, as he does here.

I love that our protagonist, Harve Davis, is so shiftless, so insignificant, that the reader can’t even be bothered to hate him: throughout the story, we witness his well-earned unpopularity, and what a shabby and piteous creature he is. He murdered the only man who gave him the time of day, and he was too dense and self-absorbed to be anything but resentful of it. I do feel that the tale’s very construction supports this view: it opens on the commission of his crime, and the aftermath is a fateful tumble of dominos.

NanaA
And yes, the story is narrated by Winnie the Witch, the Nana Mouskouri of the ghostly storyteller set. Many have noted the resemblance.

*For stylistic comparison, take a gander at a 1944 Mr. Terrific tale by Mr. Aschmeier, and some of his crime comics work from Lawbreakers Suspense Stories no. 14 (Sept. 1953, Charlton), featuring three Aschmeier-illustrated pieces, Flight!, The Green Light and The Face in the Glass. Enjoy!

– RG

Treasured stories: “Abide With Me” (1975)

gasp652 Comments

« She stared at Douglas… at this man she had judged to be an ideal mate… yet he had this very fatal flaw. »

Even to the occasional reader of mystery or ghost comic books from the late 60s to early 80s, the absurdly narrow range of plot variations must have been glaringly obvious. Same goes for any genre, of course…

For instance, at DC, mainstays Jack Oleck and Carl Wessler drove the same hoary scenarios into the old sod with numbing insistence (editor Joe Orlando‘s insistence, presumably): the greedy nephew murdering his rich, elderly uncle, the avaricious white explorer / big game hunter / mercenary purloining the sacred idol and incurring its terrible vengeance, the bank robber on the lam getting his ironic comeuppance, satanists vs werewolves vs vampires vs witches and so on… Still, the occasional inspired yarn did crop up, often to the outraged bafflement of readers.

On the other hand, Charlton was the field’s top producer of ghost stories, wisely keeping away from Marvel and DC’s spandex preserve. While one hears (correctly) about artistic laisser-faire attracting maverick stylists, Charlton’s ace in the hole, and the backbone of its comics line, was the remarkably prolific and versatile writer Joe Gill (1919-2006). Unlike his counterparts at DC, Warren, and most famously EC Comics before them, Gill rarely resorted to the O. Henry “twist” ending. An overplayed strength becomes a weakness, and so the “sting in the tail” soon was anything but. Having to write most of Charlton’s line, Gill could afford to experiment and improvise. Fact is, he pretty much had to. In my view, Gill’s work stands out from most of his peers’ in that it seems nourished by high and extensive erudition. When a Gill character discusses business deals or the combustion engine, it’s not just hot air and a family-size tub of Fluff.

Here’s a favourite of mine, a tale scripted by Gill and illustrated by Sururi Gümen (1920-2000). It appeared in Ghost Manor no. 23 (May, 1975, Charlton). The nearest it skirts a ghost story is when Regina says « I… I’ve heard that people who die unhappily haunt the place where they die! »

Abide1AAbide2AAbide3AAbide4AAbide5AAbide6AAbide7A

I love how Abide With Me carves out its own niche between romance and horror without calling upon any of these genres’ habitual devices. It’s like a well-played game of chess, a philosophic two-character play, a gravesite deliberation. Hope you’ve enjoyed it too!

– RG

Farewell to David Cassidy, pop star… and Charlton Comics hero

gasp652 Comments

« One of these days, some driver will run me off the road… just because his chick recognizes me! »

You may have heard the news… sorry to be the bearer of sad tidings if you haven’t. David Cassidy, who rose to fame as The Partridge Family tv show’s Keith Partridge in 1970, has passed away on November 21, 2017, at the age of 67. If this makes you want to pull out your old PF records and read some comics while grieving your lost innocence, let me help you with a word of warning: Charlton published two separate series based on the exploits of the acclaimed teen idol and his boob tube kith and kin, and they’re hardly in the same league. The Partridge Family (21 issues, March 1971 – November 1973), was utter dreck, the handiwork of infamous photo tracer and corner cutter Don Sherwood. The other, David Cassidy (14 issues, February 1972 – September 1973), was an altogether racier breed of cat, thanks to the lush artwork of the truly underrated Turkish-born master Sururi Gümen (1920-2000), who toiled anonymously for many years on the long-running Kerry Drake comic strip (there’s a special pit in hell reserved for folks like Alfred Andriola), but also produced some very fine work for Charlton. More on that later!

DavidCassidy4A
David Cassidy no. 4 (June 1972, Charlton Comics.)
DC3-25A
A sample from This Was Paradise from David Cassidy no. 3 (May 1972, Charlton Comics), presumably written by Joe Gill and definitely illustrated by Sururi Gümen. According to his son, illustrator-filmmaker-actor Murad, «… it was Charlton – and David Cassidy comics – that sent my sister to college.»
GumenCassidy03A
A moody one from David Meets His No. 1 Fan!, the other story from David Cassidy no. 3 (May 1972, Charlton Comics), also scripted by Joe Gill and illustrated by Sururi Gümen.

A full set of Mr. Cassidy’s solo book (including no. 3) are generously and conveniently available gratis for your mourning purposes: https://movieandtelevisioncomics.wordpress.com/2015/07/06/david-cassidy/

– RG