The Midnight Philosopher Day!

Wayne Howard was born on today's date in 1949. He was a potent artist for Charlton Comics in the early 70's on their ghost books even launching Midnight Tales where he corralled the best of Charlton's young talent to contribute.  Howard was one of many artists who began as an assistant to Wally Wood, something which can be seen readily in Howard's style. 

Wayne Howard is one of those eccentric talents who tapped into something special. An acolyte of Wally Wood, there's no denying Howard's debt to the work of Wood. He was an assistant to the great man himself for a time. But then he went and took that "Woodesque" approach and carved out his own niche.

At Charlton he found a place he could thrive. His earliest work has a really full-bodied character to it. In later years his work became a bit flatter in its way, losing some of the vitality of the early days. But he never lost the charm that infused his characters. They always had distinct qualities that enlivened them.

Howard found some small success as an inker for the Big Two, but his work is mostly found at Charlton where he even created his own title, the reasonably successful Midnight Tales. For eighteen glorious issues he oversaw a ghostly book like few others. Talents like Joe Staton and Don Newton contributed regularly and along with Howard gave this book its own distinctive flavor. But what set this book apart were the tremendous gags used for the detailed covers. They are one-offs and not necessarily connected to any particular story inside the book.

Here the beautiful niece of Professor Coffin, the lovely Arachne. She was the eye-catching hostess of Midnight Tales alongside her academic uncle Professor Cyrus Coffin, the Midnight Philosopher. This tempting double-spread poster was included in the fifth issue of Wayne Howard's Charlton tour de force. I found it here.

Wayne Howard passed away in 2007, too young. He'd left comics behind and avoided talking about them. But those of us who are his fans will never forget them. Here's what Mark Evanier had to say about this talent. Here's a link to a site where you can read some of those great stories.

 

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Favorite Comic Artist Countdown #53 - Wayne Howard!

Wayne Howard was a comics fan who got to do what he wanted to do, create comics, and he did it quite well. Finding a niche at Charlton Comics, Howard brought an updated dazzle to old-style horror tales in th EC vein for Warren and Charlton. His adoration for Wally Wood is evident,but somehow Howard took that inspiration and gave his work his own personal twist. He inked some fine stories for Marvel and would've had a grand career just doing those finishes. But he is best remembered by me as the mastermind behind Midnight Tales, a creative ghost book which featured some of Charlton's best new talent and had the offbeat gimmick of making all the stories linked, at least thematically. Howard's ironic covers featuring Professor Coffin and his alluring niece Arachne always get a chuckle from me. Howard had the distinction of being the rare African-American talent in a field which had not been all that rich in that area until modern times. He died much too young, there was much more for him to do.

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Dojo Classics - Charlton 's E-Man #7

E-Man Volume 3, Number 7 is dated March, 1975 and was published by Charlton Publications Inc. The editor is George Wildman. Joe Staton painted the cover.

"TV Man" was written by Nicola "Nick" Cuti with art by Joe Staton and colors by Wendy Fiore. The story begins in a night club where Nova Kane is dancing in all her glory. After the show she turns down an invitation from Rosie Redd and her father (the Toyman from last issue) to go on a date with Alec Tronn to a philosophy lecture. When Rosie leaves the E-Man poster on Nova's dressing room wall turns into E-Man himself. When they go to retrieve the poster he took down to make his surprise entrance he and Nova are both shocked to find a note which reads "You are doomed to die Ms.Kane. Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper". The prank shakes Nova up, but she is eager to get on with her date with E-Man. As they walk down the street, E-Man undergoes a transformation becoming Mr.Edward Hyde but with a difference, specifically a hatchet formed from his hand. He cuts Nova as she flees and as she screams he changes back with no seeming memory of the event. Nova punches him.

The scene shifts to a rooftop where a hooded super-villain type dials up another television show to use to transform E-Man as he has done all evening. The next horror film the mysterious villain finds is The Brain Eater from Planet X and with that dialed in he beams at E-Man who transforms into the TV monster and again threatens Nova. But the villain is not done with his fun yet and stops before she is hurt. The villain then goes back to his meager apartment and proclaims his revenge some more.

Part II "The Duel" picks up the story about a week later and E-Man has been missing. Michael "Mickey" Mauser a private detective is walking down the street and not looking for our hero because no one is paying him to do so. At his office the villain who dubs himself "TV" says that Mauser must find E-Man and bring him to Rockefeller Plaza the next day, and he gets Mauser to comply by making him an offer he cannot refuse.

The scene shifts to Xanadu University and specifically the library where Nova expresses her wish to find E-Man to her friend Arachne. (Arachne is the niece of Professor Cyrus Coffin who also makes a cameo and together they are the hosts of Charlton's Midnight Tales.) Juno of the Entropy Twins appears and announces to Nova that her partner Michael is the mysterious villain and he is using his scientific know-how to gain revenge on E-Man for making it so that Juno and Michael cannot be in one another's presence. She agrees to take Nova to the showdown.

At Rockefeller Plaza Mauser leaves E-Man, who seems to have found with little difficulty, and "TV" or Michael unleashes his weapon which transforms E-Man into a version of the giant ape Konga. E-Konga goes on a quick rampage and finds Nova and snatches her up in his giant hand. He then does what all giant apes do and climbs to the top of the Empire State Building where jets appear in the sky to defeat the threat. But Juno is able from a distance to finally reason with the distraught Michael and at the last moment he snaps off his TV beam and E-Man changes back just as the jets began firing into nothing. Everyone now safe E-Man accepts Michael's apology and announces he will change the couple back the way they were before so they can be together again.

"E-Mail" offers up three letters of comment, all positive. One wishes to announce an E-Man fan club, another talks about getting his most recent copy at a comics convention, and Bob Rodi, the third writer and veteran LoC man praises the comic and hopes the title reaches the stature of Superman and Spider-Man.


Rog-2000 shows up again in the tale "Withering Heights" written by Nicola Cuti and drawn by John Byrne. The story begins as Rog is lost in the country and his cab (which must be called the "Enterprise"...check out that license plate) runs out of gas. He walks up to a rundown hotel where he asks the beautiful girl named Zenia for some gas. While there he meets two smug guests, a man named Dinsmore and a woman named Boombat. After getting some gas Rog hears a noise and rushes into the hotel and he and Zenia discover that old lady Boombat has been attacked and they see her being dragged into her closet but no trace can be found after. Next they find old man Dinsmoore in the same shape. Rog agrees to stay the night but soon finds himself under attack by a huge transparent blob which he uses his borrowed gas to burn as well as the rest of the hotel. As the hotel crumbles to the ground Rog wonders out loud by Zenia had never been attacked as she begins to transform becoming transparent and announces that her Daddy would never attack his child. Rog realizes he's in trouble.

To read this story in its original form see this groovy link.



The E-Man story was reprinted by First Comics in 1985 and the Rog-2000 story was reprinted by Pacific Comics in 1982. The E-Man story was most recently reprinted in E-Man - The Early Years.

This is a solid issue of E-Man and calls back some dandy characters from early in the series. It's a clever story that takes full advantage of E-Man's peculiar nature to create some wild visuals of him in monster forms. It was very neat to see Michael Mauser back, his role small but crucial. One criticism possibly is that Michael's return to sanity was a bit abrupt and difficult to swallow, but it works in the E-Man universe of niceness just barely.

The Rog-2000 story was a nice little romp with Byrne offering some properly gothic touches. Putting the gleaming Rog in the old dump of a hotel created some real contrasts in tone which served the story exceedingly well. We all know that Rog will prevail in the end, though we don't see it. This willingness to trust the audience's instincts about how these types of stories work is key.

Wayne Howard

Two other things that helped make this a fanboy object of desire are the knowing nods to other Charlton publications. For the first time we learn that Nova attends or at least uses the library at Xanadu University, home of "The Midnight Philosopher" Professor Coffin and the lovely Arachne. Wayne Howard's Midnight Tales was running at this same time and often featured work by Nick Cuti and Joe Staton. This hint of a larger Charlton universe was cleverly done here without drawing such attention that if you didn't know it bothered you.

Steve Ditko

Also vintage Charlton and movie character Konga gets a callback. Now admittedly the Konga as drawn by Joe Staton is not all that much like the classic giant ape from Charlton's old comics nor the movie they're inspired by, but it's enough for me that the name gets used. Cool beans.

Next time we find E-Man and Nova in a full-blown full-length epic and some big big changes are coming for the lovely Ms.Kane.

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Dojo Classics - Charlton's E-Man #3

E-Man Volume 2 Number 3 is dated June 1974. The six-month gap between this issue and the last was the result of a paper shortage which seriously crimped production for Charlton in early 1974. This was a time of shortages as the United States was still feeling the effects of the 1973 Oil Embargo and the "Energy Crisis" was something that affected all aspects of society. As it turns out the story for issue three, "The Energy Crisis" was suggested by George Wildman the editor and the original story already produced was delayed until issue four. As a result this story features a more mature art style by Joe Staton who supplies the cover too. This is a landmark issue in other ways as well. More later.

"The Energy Crisis" is written by Nicola "Nick" Cuti and drawn by Joe Staton. It begins in New York City during an energy crunch when the entire town is suffering a brown out. Things are tough all over, and even the Gala Theater where Nova Kane performs as an exotic dancer is suffering. This is pointed out by fellow dancer Rosie Redd to the studious Nova as she changes. The two girls decide to walk to the hospital together where E-Man, Nova's boyfriend is helping during the power crunch. They are assaulted by a mugger but Nova is able to fend him off with her battery-laden purse. But Rosie disappears into the wall of a warehouse before Nova's eyes. She rushes to E-Man for help but he's too busy helping the city stay safe during the crisis. As he rushes off to a fire she decides to get help in the form of a private detective.

She uses a flyer to find the rundown office of Michael Mauser who quickly tells Nova she mustn't call him "Mickey". The grubby P.I. is cleaning his gun, a Mauser of course, while Nova explains Rosie disappearance. Mauser and Nova got to the scene of the disappearance and find suspicious tracks and a sign for the town of "Boarsville" the home of Samuel Boar an oil magnate of some reputation. They head to Boarsville but are waylaid on the road by a mysterious ray and both are captured but not before Nova is able to phone E-Man who uses the open phone line to trace Nova's call to the area just outside of Boarsville.

In Part II "The Battery" E-Man is just outside Boarsville and goes to the inn of one Mrs.Clover where he checks in. He see suspicious activity outside, specifically a truck being loaded with human-sized cannisters and he follows the trail in the phone lines once again. Mrs.Clover reports on his absence to Samuel Boar. There is a break in the line and E-Man is cast to the ground where a mysterious figure in leather jacket and an ominous helmet absorbs the Energy Man right into itself. This robotic servant called The Battery takes E-Man to Samuel Boar who it seems has solved his personal energy crisis by kidnapping people and using them as batteries until they run dry at which point he replenishes his supply. He puts E-Man in a chamber identical to ones which contain both Nova and Mauser but E-Man converts to energy and escapes. The Battery hunts him down in the Boar mansion and but is tripped up by E-Man disguised as a rug and is damaged in the fall. Boar is swiftly arrested and matters are put as right as they can be.

The story ends some time late with Nova paying Mauser for his time and nixing his idea that E-Man might be a good private detective. She doesn't want Mauser's cynicism corrupting E-Man's lovable nature. Mauser calls Nova a "tough broad" which doesn't go over well as the story closes.

There is one final panel with E-Man sitting in a bucolic setting surround by flora an fauna making a plea to readers to be mindful about resources and to "Save the Earth".

To read this story in its original form check out this groovy link.

"E-Mail" offers up three letters of comment, all complimentary about the new E-Man comic. One writer makes the common mistake of thinking "Nicola" is a woman's name and gives team props for having that perspective. He is put right.


"The Dragon Killer" is written by Nicola Cuti and drawn by Wayne Howard. This story stars Travis a time-traveling hero. The tale begins with a young Travis saying farewell to his two time-traveling parents who leave him in the care of his computer steed, the time machine named "Anachrom". They do not return and Anachrom takes on the care of the boy named Travis teaching him and caring for him through time.

As an adult Travis travels to the time of the dinosaurs and finds much to his surprise other time travelers, a man and his daughter who use much more primitive time-traveling equipment. This machinery accidentally sends a Tyrannosaurus Rex through a time warp. Travis follows on Anachrom and they find themselves in the Middle Ages where they find a fallen and deceased knight. Adapting the knight's armor for his own purposes Travis seeks out the T-Rex or "Dragon" which is threatening a maiden and slays the beast. The princess thanks him and takes him to her father's castle but indicates they need not hurry.

To read this story in its original form check out this groovy link.



This story has been reprinted under the Modern Comics imprint in 1978 and later in 1985 by First Comics and most recently in E-Man - The Early Years.

As I read this story of one man's greed brought low and made of service to his fellow citizens, I hope that we find a means to deal with the issues that confront us today.

The Travis story is hoot, a bright bit of sci-fi fluff in stark contrast to the more glum E-Man story up front.

Next time a return to fantasy and the missing E-Man #3 turns up finally.

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The Charlton Neo Comic Book Guide!

The folks at Charlton Neo recently (in the last few years) published a most cherished reprint of Charlton ephemera, The Comic Book Guide for the Artist - Writer - Letterer from 1973. Put together by Nick Cuti under the gentle editorial hand of the late great George Wildman, this fun little book featured a very informative how-to lesson for aspiring fans who wanted to enter the comic book business. (And admit, we all did.) It was a freebie for any fan who subscribed.

It was an interesting time for such a guide, with new talents sprouting up all over at both the "Big Two" and elsewhere as the original veterans of the comic book format were either retiring by choice or being forced out to make way for newer talent which was at once more in touch with new audiences and cheaper.  The little book is nifty and I recommend a copy to any Joe Staton or Tom Sutton fan. Sutton does the cover of what appears to be a self-portrait of an artist hard at work. Staton's work is featured throughout, especially his stuff on E-Man as exemplars of what is being discussed. Also on hand are bits of art by Steve Ditko, Wayne Howard, Sanho Kim and Cuti himself. Here is a look at the book in all its Bronze Age glory. Enjoy!





































See you next time.

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