Charlton Comics

Charlton Comics Type Print media publisher Status Defunct Founder(s) John Santangelo, Sr. Ed Levy Founded 1945 Defunct 1985 Head- quarters Derby, Connecticut, United States Parent company Charlton Publications Succeeded by Avalon Comics, Charlton Media Group

Charlton Comics was a Connecticut-based American comic book publishing company that operated from 1945 until 1985, when aging equipment, poor sales, and general turmoil in the comics industry forced them to go out of business. The rights to their comics were sold back to their creators, to DC Comics, and to Canadian entrepreneur Roger Broughton, who reprinted many of Charlton's old titles, alongside others purchased from other defunct comics producers under the name "Avalon Comics".

Though Charlton published original comics, they were also famous for their producing of comics based on popular movies and TV shows — including Gorgo, Konga, and Reptilicus — often continuing their stories beyond their source material. The first of these was Gorgo, which ran from 1961 to 1965 and lasted 23 issues. A spin-off miniseries entitled Gorgo's Revenge debuted in the middle of its run in 1963, lasting only three issues and being retitled The Return of Gorgo after issue #1. Also beginning in 1961 and ending in 1965 was Konga, which lasted 24 issues (the last of which was retitled Fantastic Giants and included a Gorgo co-feature story) and had a three-issue spin-off miniseries of its own titled The Return of Konga in 1964; it, too, received a name change after issue #1, becoming Konga's Revenge. Konga's Revenge #3 was later reprinted as a one-shot in 1968.

Selected publications

• Gorgo (1961-1965) [23 issues]
• Konga (1961-1965) [24 issues; retitled Fantastic Giants with issue #24]
• Reptisaurus the Terrible (1961-1962) [8 issues; titled Reptilicus until issue #3]
• Reptisaurus Special Edition (1963) [one-shot]
• The Return of Gorgo (1963) [3 issues; first issue titled Gorgo's Revenge]
• Konga's Revenge (1964) [3 issues; first issue titled The Return of Konga]
• Fightin' 5 #41 (1967)
• Konga's Revenge (1968) [one-shot; reprint of Konga's Revenge #3]

Trivia

• A sea monster who appears near-identical to Gorgo is featured in the 41st issue of Charlton Comics' Fightin' 5 from 1967, entitled "Monster from the Abyss." The series debuted in 1959 under the title Space Wars, becoming Fightin' Five with issue #28 in 1964 and Fightin' 5 with issue #40. The titular monster possessed Gorgo's trademark ears, though they were absent from the comic's cover. The story was written by Joe Gill, who wrote the entirety of both Gorgo and The Return of Gorgo, and featured art by Bill Montes and Ernie Bache, who illustrated several issues of Gorgo.

See also

• Marvel Comics
• Dark Horse
• IDW Publishing
• BOOM! Studios
• Dynamite Entertainment
• Legendary Comics

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