Charlton VS Mighty MLJ
Showing posts with label Sideline Sundays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sideline Sundays. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Site Table of Contents: Charlton vs MLJ Style!

Steeler Sundays                                             
Sideline Sundays
 Team-Up Tuesdays 
Friday Fiends
 Battling Blondes
 Dueling Ditko

Hero Profiles
 Licensed Legends:

Marvel Mondays

Yellowjacket Webnesdays
Miscellaneous Postings:
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Sunday, August 1, 2010

Sideline Sundays: Charlton vs... Fawcett?


Beginning this week, our site is going to shift focus to include another displaced publisher of classic comics, the defunct Fawcett Comics and their find stable of classic characters that have sat on the sidelines for years with only brief revivals sprinkled throughout! As DC Comics assigned these character and those from Charlton on adjacent Earths before they were merged into one mega-Earth, we will be considering the astounding parallels derived from these under-appreciated worlds. And we'll also consider how MLJ stacks up to the Marvel Family and friends.

This will be considered in three weekly features: Marvel Mondays (focusing on the Marvel immediate and extended Family), World's Wickedest Wednesdays (focusing on the bad guys in each universe) and wrapping up with Fawcett Fridays (focusing on other heroes in Earth-Shazam).

See you tomorrow!
Posted by Doppelgänger at 6:50 AM 2 comments
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Sunday, July 18, 2010

Sideline Sundays: Noble Novices and Numbering

There was always something almost natural when it came to Archie's gang fitting into a world with superheroes. After all, if a group of teenagers can survive for decades un-aged by the ravages of time, certainly the physics defying feats of meta-humans is not so far fetched?


 






















And speaking of revisiting heroes, that's exactly what Charlton Comics has done through the years, with somewhat mind boggling results as to the actual first issues of several of its mildly successful superhero brands.














For consider  yourself a young comic book collection who picked up Captain Atom #78 and and Blue Beetle #18, and you feverishly look for earlier issues! Not a chance! Somehow, this gimmick was believed by by the Dudes in Derby Connecticut to be the means to circumvent costs entailed in first issues!

Our thoughts exactly, Might Man! Kinda sucks all the joy of buying comics! Never fear, after awhile they learned from this and by the 70's Charlton was on the straight and narrow of comic book publishing etiquette.


And we now return you to your lazy summer weekend to relax and enjoy a good issue of Zap Comics #111. We know it does the trick for Superguy!
Posted by Doppelgänger at 12:00 AM 1 comments
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Sunday, June 20, 2010

Sideline Sundays: Non-Legionaire Kids and Lads

Sidekicks have since the very beginning of comics been a mainstay. And the stronger the sidekick, the more apt they are to pull their own weight. Such was the case with an intentional sidekick, and a lad who would later be reintroduced as one. We present Kid Muscles and Golden Lad!








Kip Muscles changed his first name, and THAT was his origin along with training next to a master bodybuilder.















Tommy Preston's origin was  bit more complicated, but not by much. He found a golden heart made from the Aztecs and stolen by a Spaniard. And somehow from that gold ornament he gained great strength and flight!

While Kid Muscles was a continual partner of Mister Muscles, appearing in his two tales from the mid 1950's, Golden Lad operated solo for 5 issues in the mid 1940's before being brought back in Charlton Bullseye #10 wherein he met Thunder Bunny. He teamed up with the latter twice, assisting him in tracking down the Hermit... a villain that kept heroes like the Lad in stasis for decades to keep them out of criminals' hair.
Posted by Doppelgänger at 12:00 AM 0 comments
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Sunday, May 30, 2010

Sideline Sundays: Two Swell Duos of the 1800's

MLJ's Blaine Whitney aka the Wizard wasn't the first incarnation of this persona. He was preceded by several generations of Whitneys... two in particular from the time of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. It is the latter we focus on today as the first of our pair of dynamic duos during the roaring 1800's, along with sidekick Tommy the 1st Super-Boy!

In this initial outing, Blaine is consulted by the upper crust of American society including President Madison and assumes and alias to board a ship bound for war. And of his first meeting with Tommy, as well as the then Wizard's scientific genius, creating a sophisticated (for its time) glider that aided his cross country journey. This issue laid further ground work on a heroic legacy. Novel for its time and a concept that would return.


A contemporary of Blaines (a few decades removed) over at Charlton was weapons dealer Clay Boone, a master of said armaments that donned a domino mask and shiny costume to become Gunmaster, accompanied eventually by Bob Tellub, who was inspired by his name and his mentor into reversing the last name and become Bullet...his sidekick!

In the following pictures we see Clay and Bob in action, one of their state of the art weapons that seemed ahead of its day (because it was!), Clay's civilian identity and then the subsequent result of his arms-dealer ways as he tracks down a murderer, with the hero being a local!


And so concludes our prelude to the sideline careers of two modern day heroes who would take over these champion's strips, the 1940's Wizard and the 1960's Judomaster (operating himself in the 1940's), heirs to "mastery" of their own form of fighting fiendish foes fearlessly!
Posted by Doppelgänger at 10:22 AM 1 comments
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Sunday, May 23, 2010

Sideline Sundays: Captain Marvel Wannabees

Let it never be said that Captain Marvel, the hero who graced the pages of Fawcett Comics in the 1940s and 1950s, was not influential in the hero genre. While he eventually phased out of existence for a couple decades, due to alleged similarities he had with a certain Man of Steel no not that one or the other one) and the threat of legal action from a Distinct Competitor, there was some merit to  the argument that his own publisher should have gone after MLJ and later Charlton for copyright infringement.

MLJ's version of the Big Red Cheese (as Cap was known by his foes) was himself all dressed up in a predominantly red costume, with some blue trappings instead of yellow. Red Rube was more than a homage, he was and out and out rip off. Just consider, for example, the superpower delivery mechanism used to effect their transformations!


Seems that Steel Sterling ain't to happy about another character edging him out of his own title, at least on the covered. Alas we never seen a match between these two "Supermen" to see which was top dog. Still, the fact that you may never have heard of Reuben Reuben (no...that was REALLY his real name!) seems to indicate who ultimately won.

In the mid-50's, Charlton tried their own variation on Cap with a bit more of a twist. Nature Boy had a penchant for blue and yellow, although on at least one cover David Crandall's heroic alias sported an inverted red and blue look from Rube (bare legged instead of Rube's bare chested look).
The parallels between one another and Cap don't stop there. Each were separated from parents (Rube left an orphan, and Nat left at sea).












Both lads loved a nice day basking in nature. Until trouble found them.




Each inherited superhuman abilities from a crowd of ancient heroes. However, while Red Rube's abilities, which he gained after saying "Hey Rube" were mostly physical (i.e. strength,durability, speed) and a smart noggin; Nature Boys gifts, which were derived from calling upon one of the "Kings" that bequeathed him his powers, were energy related (i.e. cold, heat, lighting, water, etc).

Oh and they were each a pair of blowhards. I mean literally. As in creating massive gusts of air pockets that projected them into battle.


And after their inaugural comicbook runs, Red Rube in Zip Comics #39-47, (starting in 1943) and Nature Boy in his self-titled book #3-5 (starting in 1956). There was a feature in Charlton Bullseye v1 #1 about Nature Boy, and what it conjectured what it would be like to have him meet Captain Atom. And there was a reprint by another publisher of one of Nature Boy's outings decades later by another publisher altogether. Yet for these two, they would remain on the comicbook sidelines forevermore, no doubt due to their unoriginality. Except in lame blogs.
Posted by Doppelgänger at 2:36 PM 1 comments
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Sunday, May 16, 2010

Sideline Sundays: Six Million Dollar Man Tech!

From the rare to the obscure, we introduce to licensed legends of a different flavor from the Phantom and the Shadow, although they each have more in common then we care to admit. Charlton picked the more widely known television property to publish, while Mighty/MLJ's successor Archie Adventure Series produced a series based on a failed toy line.


Everyone in the 1970's knew Steve Austin (no no, not that wrestler!). Former Vietnam vet, former astronaut turned test pilot turned crash test dummy. Fear not for his shattered right arm, left eye and both legs would be retrofitted with technology that cost upwards of... you guessed it... six million dollars! And then, a legend was born that Charlton could not resist!


A disclaimer before we introduce Archie's bionic bad boys... to introduce this tripe in the same breath as a TV classic is sacrilege. However, we are an equal opportunity blog and feel obligated to show the other side of the coin. With that in mind we present... ManTech Robot Warriors. From the neck down, they're robots set in a future era with only human heads.


6,000,000 had fame in 1973, in fact he was a cultural icon. However, his comic book series lasted only seven meager issues. While it had a different dynamic and feel that revisited the original novelization of his story and less of the television series' influence, it didn't sell well. Probably due to Charlton's terrible distribution network at this time. He was vastly powered up with laser eye and other upgrades in his new body. Still all the essential elements were there, including faithful boss and friend Oscar Goldman. And one other element carried over...


Back over at Archie, let's dissect the ManTech men a bit more. Scientist Jaxon Goode on the planet Mekka finds three ancient travelers in an equally outdated vessel with futuristic technology. Merging men with machine, he introduces the world to Man Tech: composed of Lasertech, Aquatech, Solartech. Of course, his arch foe the Tyranik creates his 100% robot forces to combat our heroic horde. And did Doc Ock ever get a commission for infringement of copyright from Octobot? I think now! Oh and the actual toy line had interchangeable heads... ho hum.


 Oh yes... back to 6,000,000... how could we have forgotten our big human hunk of change? Well, like the show, he soon dragged a poor unsuspecting gal into his life of gears and diodes. The above picture (not from Charlton but so dang cute) shows Jaime Summers aka the Bionic Woman, a product of Dr Rudy Wells as was Austin. Her five issue run was not as well remembered, however, and there were no direct crossovers. Not even Maximillion - Bionic Dog - had a chance to shine in this short period (well we still had Robby the Robot-Dog).



Towards the end of ManTech's series, the three cyborgs return to Earth only to find it a waste due to corporate greed. They resolve to continue to protect their adoptive world from the same sadistic view towards the environment due to ongoing warfare. This was among the first comics that actually introduced the thought of environmental degradation that now is commonly acknowledged. While this series was more impressive than the toys it spawned from, it didn't have the staying power to last the cancellation of Archie's Adventure Series line. At least it wasn't alone.

And still there are several more licensed properties that both publisher's had tackled over the years, some more successful some less so. Soon...
Posted by Doppelgänger at 12:00 AM 3 comments
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Sunday, April 25, 2010

Sideline Sundays: E-nimals Week - The Other Action Heroes

Our focus for "E"-nimals week are Jaguar and E-Man. Huh? What do THESE two have in common. Surprisingly....oodles... which we'll get to tomorrow. For now, let's see some of the characters who are on the periphery of our heroic pair's adventures. See, are red-clad raiders were never all that sociable with the hero set, at least not at first. Still, the pair had some interactions with the Action Heroes.


From this initial outing alongside fellow members of the Terrific Three, Mister Justice and Steel Sterling, it is quite evident that he doesn't have to much respect for Justice and is very defensive of the Man of Steel. Maybe that's why this triumphant triad didn't last nor worked together again (until decades later, with scores of other heroes against a legion of larcenists). While in his solo tales jag seems amiable enough with fellow scientists and damsels in distress, with fellow "Type A" adventurers he didn't seem to play nice. This is evident when he next joins a super-set.


No that's not Jaguar all nice and close with the Web, that's just the weird way he carries his fly-less friend to an assemblage of the Mighty Crusaders. The Web ended up being Jaguar's brother-in-law, since he married Jag's sister Rose. She wasn't partial to Web risking his life in his colorful alias, but didn't seem to care much about brother Ralph prancing around in his feline fashions. And if his mama thought that John "the Web" Raymond" was a double-daring nut, imagine what she would have thought of her own flesh and blood doing far more dangerous stunts... battling wild beast and deadly aliens! We see where Jag got his feisty nature!

While another team mate (and Web's close confidant Doc Reeves) felt some tension between Jaguar and himself, Darkling sensed the animal avenger had the noblest spirit of any man she had ever met in all her dimensional traveling. He felt more at home with the animal kingdom.


In the above picture we see a melding of various Charlton Action Heroes, perhaps the only appearance he ever had with his fellow action aces. Note the impression he made on Blue Beetle, and the one Captain Atom made on him. Alas, in the publishing universe of Charlton, very rarely did any of its characters "play friendly" with one another, especially with E-Man who arrived several years after his fellow heroes (aside from Yang) had already left for comic book limbo. The did operate simultaneously for a brief period in the early to mid 1970s during the Charlton Bullseye's run.


On one other occasion, Mr. Alec Tronn aka E-Man was shown alongside Captain Atom (off panel) and the Blue Beetle (well his Bug, anyway). Okay, they WERE parade floats... but still that cements some acknowledgment that these characters played in the same fictional sandbox. And for Charlton, this was about as good as it got on most occasions!  Unlike Jaguar, E-Man generally had a friendly nature to all whom he met, yet he still preferred operating (with one or two notable exceptions, considered in a couple days) solo. Maybe that was due to being a disembodied sentient manifestation of energy floating through space for aeons? Could be, guess we'd have to ask him when we see him.

That's all for the outer ring of our duo's universe, so to speak. Tomorrow we get into the nitty gritty on what makes these two tick and why they are so unique. We'd love to see more published about each of them at some point in the future!
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Sunday, April 18, 2010

Sideline Sundays: Brave Blue Boys Battle

One was the latest in a line of heroes brave,
the other was the first of heroes who save.
The first gained strength from a serum he made,
the second is strong from a serum another gave.
Candidate #1 wore a durable costume of blue,
candidate #2 wore a chain mail costume of blue.

And so we look back on two heroes that, at one time during the golden age of comics, left their mark and then faded into obscurity. They have been resurrected, quite literally and fictionally, but neither are household names. On the surface,both are quite different... deep down their similarities are astoundingly parallel given they were each created in 1939. For the Blue Beetle it was Fox Publishing then Charlton Comics picked up his rights; for the Wizard it was MLJ Comics then Mighty and Archie.





Blaine Whitney was heir-apparent to a legacy as a mental wizard, of sorts, harnessing his amazing cranium capacity to invent stunning inventions that were vital during the critical days of World War II. Deciding to follow the heroic legends of his forefathers, themselves Wizards operating in their own eras for the benefit of humanity, Whitney became the Wizard and invented an invulnerable costume while devising a formula called F22X that granted him super strength. Dan Garrett, however, was a mere beat cop who wanted to do more for his fellow man, and turned to his local pharmacist who himself was a mental genius, Dr. Franz, who developed Vitamin 2X which grants super-strength. Dan also obtained a chain mail garb which granted him a measure of protection, even a level of invulnerability .



Both heroes decided to follow the standard operating protocol of the day. The Wizard adopted a young boy named Roy Rossman and granted him the title of "Super-Boy", although apparently the boy wasn't granted a similar invulnerable suit nor strength formula...so Roy was super on his  own. Blue Beetle was aided by a young boy named Sparky aka Sparkington J. Northrup, although the lad's costumed career was rather brief as he later served as a regular garbed hero and role model for orphans in Europe. Neither were all that memorable themselves.



Later appearances of both blue bombardiers indicated that other powers were either inherent in their formulas or from other means. Included in this was the ability to fly and seemingly know where danger lurks and be ever present to combat it. While Wizard was building upon the successes of his ancestors using the same alias in past decades, upcoming decades would see the appearance of two more Blue Beetles after the original mysteriously vanished in the mid-1950's during a brief revival.




In the early 1980's  Blue Beetle returned with his memories of his former career restored to him by mysterious cosmic entities. No longer a police officer but now and FBI agent, Dan quickly revealed to the world that he hadn't lost a step. The Wizard took a bit longer, as a villainous alleged version denigrated his reputation in the mid 1960's. By the turn of a new century, the Wizard proved instrumental in assisting the Mighty Crusaders, with him he just joined, in a key victory against a cadre of their foes. Now they are sitting on the sidelines awaiting revival once more by the right writer.

Two men in blue, with a will that was true.
Their strength was in their might, they never let evil out of their sight.
They may be forgotten at this time, but they are remembered in this rhyme! :)
Posted by Doppelgänger at 12:00 AM 0 comments
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