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A staggering 40 years ago (my senses spin at the realisation) I bought First Comics 7-issue series of Charlton's E-Man, originally published in 10 bi-monthly mags back in the '70s. I remember my father buying me Charlton's first issue in an 'atmospheric' (dingy if you prefer) newsagent's around the corner from Glasgow's famous Barrowland market ('The Barras'), and me reading it on the bus on the way home. (This would perhaps have been near the end of '73 or sometime in '74.) I think I may've got #2 from a shop in my home town sometime later, but I never saw any subsequent issues (that I recall) until the reprint series in 1985.
As far as I remember, the 7 reprint issues didn't contain the original Charlton back-up strips (not at hand to check), which included The Knight, Killjoy (by Ditko), Travis In The Dragon Killer, Liberty Belle (Ditko again), and Rog 2000 (Byrne). Rog had first appeared in a fanzine called CPL and his strip in E-Man #6 marked John Byrne's professional debut and first work published in colour. The mag lasted for two years, from 1973 to '75, and it's strange to think I was yet a mere schoolboy when it first came out, and a working lad when it finished - even though I was unaware of its schedule or lifespan at the time.
And now, 40 years later, I've only gone and bought the original 10 comics in one go (at a bargain price), even though I obtained a replacement for my '73 first ish a number of years back, meaning I now have two copies of that premiere issue. (It's always handy to have a spare.) So why lumber you with this information you may be wondering. Obviously, I'm paving the way for this E-Man cover gallery, necessitating a certain amount of preamble beforehand (well, preamble would be out-of-place afterwards). So enough waffle from me, as I unleash 10 cataclysmic covers (and a Nova 'pin-up') from yesteryear just for you.
Was E-Man one of your favourite comicbook characters back in the day? Then be sure to share your reflective reminiscences in our potentially captivating comments section. (It needs you!) Oh, and here's another question for you. Pretty as these pics are, do you think speech balloons on all 10 covers (and not just #s 2 & 3) would've made them more interesting to potential buyers or are they better with none?
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(Note how the UK price almost doubles in two years - from 6p, 7p, 8p, to 10p in just 7 issues. Interestingly, the UK price on #s 3 & 4 - printed on the covers under the 8p stickers - is only 6p.) I've also just noticed there's a 6 month gap between the 2nd and 3rd numbers, which perhaps explains why I recall only the first two issues (and #2 only vaguely, if I had it at all - think I did).
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17 comments:
A few hours and no comments? Okay, I'll leave one. That Nova sure has some bod!
Thanks for the memories. I read them the first time around and found them delightful and different from darker stories that were appearing elsewhere. The humor was a reminder of Plastic Man stories of the 50's.
Now I'll have to see if I can find my copies.
I last read the main stories in the '85 reprints by First Comics, T47, but they had Michael Mauser back-up stories, not the original tales, which I've just read. The Ditko strip, Killjoy, is a boring slog as he's channelling his Ayn Rand viewpoint in an attempt at parody. Yawn.
Charlton's E-Man is one of my all time favourites characters and comics. Just fun stories with some nice back-up tales including John Byrne's excellent Rog 2000.
You still got any of your original issues, McS, or replacements? I'm pleased as punch to have the originals, around 50 years after buying my first #1. It's almost like I've gone back in time to the '70s.
I think I still have all my original Charlton E-Man comic . I missed issue 1 and bought that after the series ended. I still have a few of the First, Comic etc E-Mans in the loft.
I bought the first 5 issues of First's new series (still got 'em), then I never saw it again. Got the 7 issue reprint series as well. I bought the first couple of the newest and last 'revival' of the character a few years back - think they're on the blog, but not 100% sure.
Just to mention the price creep stamped on successive issues. As time slowly passed the 1971 conversion to decimal coinage, 5p lost it's association with being a shilling and six new pence had people associate it with the 6d coin. Just adding a new penny now and again didn't seem too much until you referred back to the pounds, shillings and pence value. I remember post decimalization as being the biggest boost to inflation I had ever experienced. I remember Royal Mint saying they were withdrawing the 6p coin as it was too small to handle then a few years later shrinking the 5p coin (a shilling value/twice the value) to the size of a 6d coin.
In food prices, items went up by 10p at a time when a 2 shilling increase would have been unacceptable to the public.
I left the UK in 1974 and when a year latter I returned on a visit I couldn't believe the rise in UK prices.
Strange thing is that the old shilling coin was still in circulation for years afterwards and was interchangeable with the 5p coin of the same size. However, it was really inflation by stealth, though our 'masters' denied that any 'slight' (their word, not mine) price rise was insignificant and merely to round things off. We knew better though, eh?
The US cover price went from 20 to 25 cents the UK one from 6 to 10p a lot more than 25% and they were still importing the unsold US comics as bulk/ballast not airmail!
Yeah, I'd noticed the US price went up by 5c with #3, T47, even though the UK price under the 8p sticker was 6p. However, the T&P stamp on #2 was 7p when the US price was still 20c. Do you get the impression they were making it up as they went along?
I never read E-Man, but remember seeing it in the place where I bought comics. Wish I had picked it up.
Also, thanks Kid….because you are the ONLY person who ever comments on my blues blog, and you don’t even like the blues. 😉
I'm re-reading the main tales at the moment, G, and much enjoying them. (Read the back-up tales the other day.)
I like some blues music, but not all of it (not as much as you anyway), but that probably applies to most music I like. Even with my favourite artistes, I probably don't like everything they've done.
Thanks for commenting on Crivens - always welcome - and apologies for not commenting on your blog more often.
Have you received your free stamps yet, Kid, and if so what kind are they?
Yes, I received them a couple or so days ago, CJ - two books of four First Class stamps (totalling eight). They were just ordinary stamps, not Christmas ones.
Do they still have the late Queen's head on them or Charles's head?
Still got Queenie's head, CJ. Hope they're not due to expire before I can use them.
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