The PopCult Bookshelf

u783jl0hha1tohst7vdzOver the past couple of years I’ve written at length about the Charlton Neo movement, a revival of an important, but obscure, piece of comic book history. Charlton was the perennial “also ran” of comics. Never a contender for the top spot in the industry (or even the top three), Charlton made up for their low pay, iffy distribution and downright peculiar printing by offering veteran comics creators creative freedom, and also by allowing talented amateurs like Jim Aparo, Don Newton, John Byrne, Bob Layton, Roy Thomas, Denny O’Neil, Joe Staton, Mike Zeck and others the chance to turn pro and go on to legendary careers in comics.

The story of Charlton Publishing and its founders is an entertaining, convoluted and under-told tale that involves prison time, tangles with the music industry, epic flooding, big-time licensing deals, brushes with fame, reputed mob-ties and shoestring budgets.

Now a crowd-funding effort is under way to raise money to produce the definitive documentary on Charlton Comics. Charlton Comics : The Movie is in production, and the producers are trying to raise money to make this the best possible oral history of one of the most interesting comic book companies that ever was.

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rydeeo5orxj2b4kao0jcOn the IndieGogo page, they write: “The captivating story of Charlton starts with a prologue, and that’s the story of one of its co-founders, John Santangelo. We can’t give you spoilers, but in the age of TMZ and tabloids, Charlton fits right in. It’s positively scandalous! ”

There are nine days left in the campaign, and they’re far from meeting their goal, but they are determined to finish the movie whether they do or not. It’ll just take longer if they don’t raise more money. This promises to be one of the most fun comic book documentaries you’ll ever get the chance to see. I’m kicking in as soon as I post this to PopCult. I hope you’ll consider donating, too. The rewards are great and the project is well worth supporting. Just follow the link in the widget below…