Charlton Comics Archives

The Thing #11 (Charlton, 1953).
Charlton Comics' title The Thing is named after the horror host who was used as a framework to introduce the stories in the series While this title is best known for containing work by Steve Ditko, The Thing #11 (which does not include any Ditko material) maintains the high standards for Pre-Code Horror that fans[...]
Unusual Tales #14 (Charlton, 1958)
If you're a fan of Steve Ditko's iconic Marvel characters, then you'll definitely want to check out his earlier work for Charlton Comics Unusual Tales #14 is a great example of the type of fantasy and horror material he was producing in the late 1950s Unusual Tales #14 (Charlton, 1958) CGC FN+ 6.5 Cream to[...]
Space Adventures #33 featuring the first appearance of Captain Atom, Charlton Comics 1959.
Sounds like a lot of Marvel superhero origins in general, and the creation story of the Incredible Hulk in particular.  But over a year before Marvel would use variations on this theme repeatedly, creators Steve Ditko and Joe Gill would use it to excellent effect in Space Adventures #33, cover-dated March 1960 from Charlton Comics[...]
Konga (1960) and Gorgo (1961), Charlton Comics.
Based on a Ray Bradbury short, the Beast was an atomic radiation-created giant monster film that directly inspired Godzilla the next year.  Lourié would go onto become a critically acclaimed director, production designer, and art director, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects on the 1959 film Krakatoa, East of Java. Konga[...]
Peacemaker introduced in Fightin' Five #40, 1966 Charlton Comics.
The character has risen from his humble beginnings as a backup story in obscure special ops / paramilitary action comic Fightin' Five from publisher Charlton Comics, to inspiration for the Watchmen character The Comedian, and ultimately to Warner Bros tv and movie star There's a copy of Peacemaker's first appearance in Fightin' 5 #40 CGC[...]
Space Adventures #33 featuring the first appearance of Captain Atom, Charlton Comics 1959.
Sounds like a lot of Marvel superhero origins in general, and the creation story of the Incredible Hulk in particular.  But over a year before Marvel would use variations on this theme repeatedly, creators Steve Ditko and Joe Gill would use it to excellent effect in Space Adventures #33, cover-dated March 1960 from Charlton Comics[...]
Peacemaker introduced in Fightin' Five #40, 1966 Charlton Comics.
The character has risen from his humble beginnings as a backup story in obscure special ops / paramilitary action comic Fightin' Five from publisher Charlton Comics, to inspiration for the Watchmen character The Comedian, and ultimately to Warner Bros tv and movie star There's a copy of Peacemaker's first appearance in Fightin' 5 #40 CGC[...]
The Charlton Arrow – A Tribute To Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics was a publisher based out of Connecticut that closed it's doors over 30-years ago It was part of a larger publishing company that printed their own magazines and started doing comics to keep the presses running They were never as big as Marvel or DC and were notorious for shoddy printing standards. DC acquired[...]
What Were They Thinking? – Doctor Spectro
He was created to fight Captain Atom in issue #79 back when Charlton Comics owned the series The issue was written by Joe Gill and drawn by Steve Ditko… which explains the rainbow colored sleeves and legs I love Ditko's art, but he really could have gone with the 8 color crayola box over the[...]