The great Jim Aparo, got his first big break with Charlton Comics and did stand-out work on The Phantom which garnered him praise throughout the industry. Now for the first time all of Aparo's Phantom stories and covers are collected in one volume which focuses on this great artist's outstanding work on The Ghost Who Walks. In addition to containing his complete work on the character, seven stories in all, this volume also contains Aparo covers for stories created by other artists as well. To top it all off there are extensive selections of Aparo's original art on the feature as well as a detailed essay and documentary materials. Don't miss it!
The late 1960s comic book adventures of The Phantom return in full, glorious color! Hermes Press is collecting all 74 issues of The Phantom comic books which ran from 1962-1977, and this volume begins the Charlton years. Volume One of The Charlton Years picks up with The Phantom #30, that publisher’s first issue, and features all The Phantom stories from nine complete comic books. Volume One of The Charlton years highlights art by Jim Aparo and stories by Dick Wood. The Charlton comic book version of the grand-daddy of costumed heroes, The Ghost Who Walks, is available again, digitally remastered to look better than the original books.
Describes and lists the values of popular collectible comics and graphic novels issued from the 1950s to today, providing tips on buying, collecting, selling, grading, and caring for comics and including a section on related toys and rings.
A perfect companion to CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, this is a definitive history of the DC Universe based on the consequences of that epic tale. Narrated by Harbinger, a central figure in the Crisis storyline, the reader is brought through the new history of the world and its heroes. Featuring virtually every character in the DC Universe, including Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, and the Flash, this tale takes us from the dawn of creation to the end of recorded history and lays the foundation for adventures to come.Featuring spectacular artwork by George Pérez, illustrator of FINAL CRISIS: LEGION OF THREE WORLDS, this trip through the DC Universe is not to be missed.
Explore over eighty years of Batman history in this updated official edition featuring a wealth of new content, including a new chapter on acclaimed feature film The Batman. Filled with exclusive insert items that further deepen the reading experience, this updated edition of Batman: The Definitive History of the Dark Knight in Comics, Film, and Beyond is the ultimate exploration of a true legend whose impact on our culture has no limits.
From the Golden Age of the 1940s, through the Silver Age of the '60s, up until the early '80s--the end of the Bronze Age. Included are the earliest series, like American Comics Group's Adventures into the Unknown and Prize Comics' Frankenstein, and the controversial and gory comics of the '40s, such as EC's infamous and influential Tales from the Crypt. The resurgence of monster-horror titles during the '60s is explored, along with the return of horror anthologies like Dell Comics' Ghost Stories and Charlton's Ghostly Tales from the Haunted House. The explosion of horror titles following the relaxation of the comics code in the '70s is fully documented with chapters on Marvel's prodigious output--The Tomb of Dracula, Werewolf by Night and others--DC's anthologies--Witching Hour and Ghosts--and titles such as Swamp Thing, as well as the notable contributions of firms like Gold Key and Atlas. This book examines how horror comics exploited everyday terrors, and often reflected societal attitudes toward women and people who were different.
Hero Worship! 1000 Comic Books You Must Read is an unforgettable journey through 70 years of comic books. Arranged by decade, this book introduces you to 1000 of the best comic books ever published and the amazing writers and artists who created them. • See Superman from his debut as a sarcastic champion of the people, thumbing his nose at authority, to his current standing as a respected citizen of the world • Experience the tragic moment when Peter Parker and a generation of Spider-Man fans learned that "with great power, there must also come great responsibility" • Meet classic characters such as Archie and his Riverdale High friends, Uncle Scrooge McDuck, Little Lulu, Sgt. Rock, the kid cowboys of Boys' Ranch, and more. • Enjoy gorgeous full-color photos of each comic book, as well as key details including the title, writer, artist, publisher, copyright information, and entertaining commentary. 1000 Comic Books You Must Read is sure to entertain and inform with groundbreaking material about comics being published today as well as classics from the past.
Probably the best known of all Phantom comics in the U.S.A., this series of 73 colour comics was published between Nov 1962 and Jan 1977, under three different publishers. The series began under the Gold Key label, published by K.K.Publications as a quarterly 12c comic. With issue #11 in 1965, the series changed to a bi-monthly. In 1966, the release schedule returned to a quarterly basis, and only lasted two more issues before the first change of publisher occurred. In total, there were 17 Phantom comics with the Gold Key label. All sported beautiful painted covers by George Wilson. Three of these covers are reported to have been painted by another unknown artist (#5, #12, #13). Most of the stories were adaptations of original Lee Falk newspaper strip stories, with new artwork by Bill Lignante. King Features Syndicate became the new publisher of The Phantom comics, releasing their first issue in September 1966 under the King Comics label. They continued the numbering sequence from the Gold Key series, labelling this issue #18. It was published as a 12c bi-monthly until issue #23 in mid-1967 when it changed to a monthly schedule. Issue #28 was the last to be published under the King Comics label (cover price 15c), only 6 issues into the monthly schedule. Of the 11 Phantom comics published by King, all but one of the stories were illustrated by Bill Lignante. The first two issues contained adaptations of older Lee Falk stories, and thereafter, the stories were original. Issue #25 contained a story entitled The Cold Fire Worshippers which was reprinted from the Italian comics series American Adventures published by Fratelli Spada, and drawn by Senio Pratesi. The cover artwork on the first three of these comics were by Bill Lignante, while all others appear to have been lifted directly from panels of Sy Barry's newspaper strips. The reigns of The Phantom comic were picked up again over a year later (February 1969), by Charlton Press using the Charlton Comics label. They continued with the same numbering sequence but skipped #29 and began with #30. This first issue featured uncredited artwork, but the covers and all but two of the stories in the next year of bi-monthly issues were by Jim Aparo. Issue #33 was the first to contain a story by Pat Boyette, and Bill Lignante was brought back to illustrate his last Phantom story which appeared in #35. From issue #39 onwards (August 1970), the cover and story artwork was exclusively by Pat Boyette. With only a handful of exceptions, each issue then contained three 7-page stories. The art and stories during this period can best be described as woeful. Despite a considerable volume of negative feedback from readers, Charlton persisted with Pat Boyette until #59 in December 1973. The declining sales must have struck a nerve with Charlton (who'd changed their name to Charlton Publications after #56), and the comic was revived six months later in #60 as The New Phantom. In their search for new artists and writers, Charlton first relied on stories from the Italian publisher Fratelli Spada, before introducing us to the work of Don Sherwood and ... more notably ... Don Newton. In total, Don Newton contributed six beautifully illustrated 22-page stories (#67, #68, #70, #71, #73, #74) complete with painted cover artwork, plus the cover for #69. Sales improved, but not enough to save the flagging title. The last issue of The Phantom comic was #74, in January 1977. A complete index of the individual stories in each issue of Charlton Comics is available HERE. An analysis of the circulation data and the cover price builds an interesting picture of how this series eventually failed. Cover price for the series commenced at 12c, and was raised to 15c from #34, 20c from #46, 25c from #60, and finally 30c from #70 -- this was common for all American comics at the time. At the same time, the number of comics being printed was gradually falling, but at a lesser rate than the number that were being sold. This graph shows what happened. By 1976, the paid circulation was less than 40%, compared with a peak of 65% in 1965. Not even the brilliant efforts of Don Newton were enough to save the title ... the damage had already been done. Simply put, the editors at Charlton were too slow to make the necessary corrections. The Phantom was subsequently absent from American newsstands, at least in comic book form, for the next 10 years. Issue Publisher Date #1 - #17 Gold Key Comics Nov 1962 - Jul 1966 #18 - #28 King Comics Sep 1966 - Dec 1967 #30 - #74 Charlton Comics Feb 1969 - Jan 1977
