Friday, March 13, 2015
Expedition
Charlton Premiere was a short-lived series from the late 60's, totaling five issues in all, with a jumbled mix of war and sci-fi stories, as well as a couple of issues starring superheroes. Featuring artists like Jim Aparo, Pat Boyette, and Steve Ditko, (to name just a few), the final issue of the series thankfully conjured up an anthology styled horror theme, complete with 3 different weirdo hosts introducing a collection of unfortunately sad, and rather unremarkable tales about time traveling neanderthals, invisible men, and a history-changing "presence." Todays expedition into the unlikely realm of "somewhat entertaining" horror adventure, is the best of the bunch-- just don't forget the bug spray! From the May 1968 issue of Charlton Premiere #4.
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ReplyDeleteI've always been sentimental about Charlton horror comics, even though I think I owned exactly ONE of them early on. Somehow that was enough to do it.
ReplyDelete"Jim Fowley" - was Jim Fowler well-known enough when this was written for that to be a joke name? I'm sure his friend Marlin Perkins was. And of course comedians got a lot of mileage out of the way Marlin supposedly made Jim do all the dangerous stuff on their show WILD KINGDOM.
Howdy,
ReplyDeleteI thought the art for this was too good to be Mastroserio, so I looked it up. The art for this one is Pat Boyette. Check here for the info.
https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=234081
Brian Riedel
Good catch, Brian! I read the GCD entry wrong... per GCD, Rocco did the cover and the intro page (which I didn't scan.) Thanks!
ReplyDeleteIt was a different take on the monster-in-the-remote-part-of-Africa genre, nice twist ending too.
ReplyDeleteThe writing was above average what one would expect from a comic book, "He would do anything for money...As long as it isn't honest" though 'wasn't honest' would have made more sense.
The African idol image in the foreground as the jeep is traveling along is impressive. Though it has nothing to do with the tale it is an extra bit of art that adds character to the tale.
"I'm a white hunter" almost has to be deliberately funny. Forgetting whether or not it's touchy in a cultural way, it's just not the kind of phrase someone uses about HIMSELF. It's a third person kind of description.
ReplyDeleteYes, the "I'm a white hunter" line is funny, though not deliberately I think.
ReplyDeleteAnd "Bel(l)a von Drak" is definitely one of the most ambiguous hosts I've ever seen... with a name like that, could have act in "The Rocky Horror". I like the guy who looks like Vincent Price on the cover.
Yeah I like this story enough, just wish the rest of the issue wasn't so ho-hum... oh well
ReplyDeleteI don't know what to think about this one. The twist is good -- but then the host endlessly prattles on about the radiation in the cave. This is 67, we've seen more than enough movies about radiation making things big/small. It's almost as if it's written down the audience, which really isn't necessary.
ReplyDeleteThe ad is great. "Educational." You certainly got an education if you spent your money on that!