WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) - It was an idea born behind bars. A white-collar crook and a petty copyright thief forged a publishing partnership that for decades delighted kids nationwide with four-color adventures of superheroes, cowboys and soldiers.
Now the Internet has given the grown-up fans of Charlton Comics the opportunity to revive the venerable brand, more than 30 years after it published its last comic book from its expansive plant in Derby.
“My first comic ever, my dad purchased for me, was a Charlton comic off the newsstand in 1976,” said Shaun Clancy of Kirkland, Wash., member of a Facebook group for devoted to Charlton fans.
“Even at a young age, I was aware that they were a cheaper product, especially its paper,” he said. “It had an atmosphere to it, like they couldn’t afford any better. But the content was strong enough for me to continue buying it.”
Clancy’s childhood observations on Charlton’s quality were pretty much accurate. While a “Superman” or “Spider-Man” comic book from industry leaders DC Comics or Marvel Comics would have a slick cover and clean, white pages, a typical Charlton comic had a dull cover and its pages were more sepia than white. Even fresh off the presses, it looked old.
“Charlton was like the B-movie company of the comics,” Ridgefield-based comics historian Ron Goulart said. “In other words, Marvel and DC would be MGM and Paramount, and Charlton would be probably Monogram.”
That’s because, even as a prolific comic book publisher with dozens of titles, Charlton’s ex-con founders apparently could care less about their comic book line.
“The first day I was working there, they sent me to the storeroom to tear up pages of original artwork because they needed it for the scrap paper,” said Frank McLaughlin of Stratford, who worked at Charlton for years before moving on to draw Superman books for DC Comics.
McLaughlin said founders John Santangelo and Edward Levy took advantage of the comic book craze of the 1940s only as a way to keep their presses profitable.
“It was as long as they had the presses going, they could produce comics to keep the presses busy,” he said. “They had music magazines and Real West magazines and puzzle books and like that. Comics was really not a prime interest there for them.”
Santangelo and Levy met in jail in the late 1930s. An Italian immigrant, Santangelo had been imprisoned for copyright infringement after unwittingly violating copyright law by publishing the lyrics of popular songs of the day.
When he met Levy, a former attorney sentenced for a white collar crime (Clancy said it was connected with the corruption scandal that brought down Waterbury Mayor T. Frank Hayes), the two decided that when they were released they would legally publish song lyrics, and call the company Charlton, because each had a son named Charles.
That’s all according to the college text “The Power of Comics: History, Form & Culture,” which has a section focusing on Charlton’s history.
“There was something kind of charming about them; even as a kid I realized that they were almost like a throwback to an earlier age of comics,” said Randy Duncan, a communications professor at Henderson State University in Arkansas, and co-author of the book.
“It’s hard to articulate the appeal,” Duncan said in a recent phone interview. “But as an adolescent with limited money to spend, there was something about those which just drew me to them, so I bought a lot of Charlton Comics when I was looking on the spinner rack.”
In its heyday, Charlton published dozens of titles in pretty much every genre, all from its plant on Pershing Drive in Derby.
There were war comics like “Attack” and “Battlefield Action,” police procedurals like “Badge of Justice” and “Rookie Cop,” romances like “Brides in Love” and “First Kiss,” juvenile funny animal titles like “Jack in the Box” and “Pudgy Pig,” science fiction and horror books like “Out of this World” and “This Magazine Is Haunted,” Westerns like “Kid Montana” and “Maverick Marshal,” and entire series devoted to submarines, racing cars, jungle stories, superheroes, and adaptations of TV shows and movies.
“In those days, we hardcore fans bought everything, and Charlton was a guilty, cheesy pleasure,” said Paul Kupperberg of Fairfield, a popular comic book writer currently scripting “Archie” comics, who sold his first story to Charlton.
“It was the low-rent district of comics, but we loved them because some really great artists were turning out incredible work for incredibly low rates,” he said. “There was a certain charm about the company, something a lot of fans connected with for a variety of reasons.”
Now, those fans can connect again.
The Facebook group did more than bring together fans. Soon, aging Charlton artists and writers were drawn into the fold, and there was some chatter about resurrecting the brand.
The result was “Charlton Arrow,” a 44-page comic book to be published in March, featuring new artwork and stories from creators like Kupperberg.
“We were able to discuss the original stories we read as a child,” Clancy said. “It touched these original creators; it was their idea to re-launch this whole venture.”
Clancy, an armchair comics historian, served as an adviser, he said.
Charlton published its last comic book in the mid-1980s and its factory was demolished, its titles considered archaic as fans sought edgier stories from both mainstream and independent publishers.
In fact, Charlton inspired one of the industry’s edgiest mainstream comic book series - Alan Moore’s DC Comics epic “The Watchmen.” It was originally proposed to feature old Charlton superhero characters, but was later developed with new characters inspired by those in the Charlton line.
Clancy said he hopes the new “Charlton Arrow” may become a regular periodical, if only to serve as a venue for an older generation to pick up their pencils and pens again.
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Information from: Republican-American, https://www.rep-am.com
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