Atomic Kommie Comics: Joe Gill

Showing posts with label Joe Gill. Show all posts

Thursday, April 30, 2026

Reading Room SPACE WARS "Strange World"

A never-reprinted short story that could've been produced as an episode of the original Twilight Zone...

...from Charlton's Space War #22 (1963).

Was this a longer tale edited down to only three pages?

It certainly feels like it, since there are many unanswered questions like...

If these people are Tibetan, why are they dressed like the Flintstones...and why do they speak English?
How would they know anything about the Earth-Uranus War?
And why is it we have no idea how only Heffner survived?
Pencils by Dick Giordano, inks by Vince Colletta.
The writer is unknown, but the Grand Comics Database postulates Joe Gill as the most likely candidate.

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Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Reading Room OUT OF THIS WORLD "The World Awaits"

We know Steve Ditko as the co-creator of The Amazing Spider-Man...

...but he was equally-adept at visualizing insects as well as arachnids!
(Yes, there is a difference!)

This lovely Ditko-rendered story from Charlton's Out of This World #12 (1959) would really have benefited from some Stan Lee-esque scripting rather than Joe Gill's stilted prose, which renders the ending rather...dull.

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Thursday, March 19, 2026

Reading Room UNUSUAL TALES "Look into the Future"

One of Charlton Comics' defining traits was...

...using montages of interior art as their covers.

Usually, the cover would utilize several different stories' art, but in this case, they played up the final story in the issue!

A morality play in a sci-fi/fantasy context.

Rod Serling was a master of this concept, as he displayed weekly on the original Twilight Zone.
This never-reprinted story from Charlton's Unusual Tales #27 (1961) illustrated by Steve Ditko (and probably written by Charlton mainstay Joe Gill) follows the concept to a "T", within the limitations established by the Comics Code Authority.
If it had been done pre-Code, Simms would've come to a horrific (and graphic) end...

Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Reading Room UNUSUAL TALES "Edge of Fear"

Will Those Using Artificial Intelligence Do So with Intelligence and Ethics?

This story from Charlton's Unusual Tales #10 (1958) offers one take on the matter!

Writer Joe Gill and artist Steve Ditko told a fascinating tale about AI-augmented human intelligence over a half century ago that seems to be unfolding today...with vastly different results!

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Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Monday Mecha Madness (Continued) SPACE ADVENTURES "Imitation People" Conclusion

Though it doesn't look like a love story...
...that's what this cover-featured tale from Charlton's Space Adventures V2N4 (1968) most definitely is!
We Have Already Seen...

Scientist Warren Simms' human-looking robots populate Earth II, a planetoid on the edge of the Solar System that serves as a first line of defense against alien incursions.

Simms' robots are programmed to mimic human behavior and emotions...but some of them (his aide Clarissa, particularly) seem to be transcending their programming!

While meeting with Earth's Grand Council to acquire additional funding and resources, Clarissa makes a startling revelation...