I’m Going Ape Over … Super Gorillas vs the All-American Victory Legion

Charlton Comics. You run across this publisher’s books at every flea market, boot sale, and antiques mall. And while they were never as big as DC or Marvel, Charlton published quite a few fun comics from 1944 to 1985. Charlton produced comics from a slew of genres including crime, science fiction, westerns, horror, war, romance and of course, super-heroes. They even had their own distribution company which distributed their own comics as well as comics from other publishers such as many of the original Captain Canuck issues.

During the Silver Age, Charlton had its highest level of notoriety with characters such as Captain Atom, a revamped Blue Beetle, Son of Vulcan, Thunderbolt, Judomaster, and The Question. Later on Joe Staton’s E-Man found a home at Charlton. So you can probably surmise that there were many kids that grew up reading Charlton comics. This created a serious fan base that lamented the company’s demise in 1985. One such fan is Mort Todd who has brought together many former Charlton creators to produce new comics, like the Charlton Arrow anthology, under the Charlton Neo banner.

So what does all this have to do with evil super-gorillas battling superheroes? I am glad you asked. The All-American Victory Legion is based on characters from Centaur Comics, a publisher that closed its doors in 1942. In 2010, Alan Kupperberg was commissioned by a fan to create stories based on these public domain characters. Done as if these Golden Age heroes were in the middle of a Silver Age revival the stories were found among Alan’s files after his death in 2015. Alan’s brother, Paul Kupperberg has taken up the editorial mantle and is helping to get Super Gorillas vs the All-American Victory Legion to print.

The All-American Victory Legion is the greatest super-hero team that no one has heard of featuring Amazing Man, Blue Lady, Mystic Arrow, Dark Spider, and Lightning. These stalwarts of truth and justice battle an evil group of kidnapping gorillas including the infamous Nazi, The Green Gorilla, all while the heroes search for the missing Mayor LaGuardia.

Alan’s art is suitably retro and any fan of early Silver Age comics will be sure to get a real kick out of this book. While trying to create this retro vibe Alan’s writing does an excellent job not falling into camp and satire. Super Gorillas vs the All-American Victory Legion #1 is a 40 page squarebound comic book and will not be available in stores, only through mail order directly through Charlton Neo at http://morttodd.com/aavl.html and from Amazon at http://amzn.to/2qwJb5t.

Issue: All-American Victory Legion #1 | Publisher: Charlton Neo
Writer: Alan Kupperberg | Artist: Alan Kupperberg
Letterer: Alan Kupperberg | Editors: Paul Kupperberg & Mort Todd
Price: $7.99 – 40 pages

About Author

Martin Boruta

Martin Boruta has been reading comic books and graphic novels for 50+ years (he reads books without pictures too, just sayin’). A lifelong fan of Captain Canuck, Martin is the curator of The Unofficial Yet Definitive Captain Canuck Comicography website. Since 2016, Martin has been reviewing comic books and highlighting great new Kickstarter projects at First Comics News. Martin’s writting has also been featured in Sequential Magazine. For over two-hundred episodes, Martin enjoyed teaming up with his pals and sharing hosting duties on The Hey Kids Comics Radio Show broadcast on Trent Radio 92.7 CFFF FM in lovely Peterborough, ON Canada, and still available at The Hey Kids Comics Radio Show website. Martin is a founding member of the Canadian Comic Book Alliance. In his various adventures, Martin has demonstrated an innate ability to spell “Erik Larsen” incorrectly.

Martin’s “day job” is owner of Shaw Computer Systems Inc., an Information Technology consultancy firm in Peterborough, ON, specializing in Managed Services for small to mid-sized businesses since 1980.

In the past, Martin served in the Canadian Armed Forces Reserve as a member of the Cadet Instructors List (Cadre), reaching the Queen’s Commissioned rank of Captain, was awarded a Baronship of Sealand, and was ordained as a Reverend in the Universal Life Church while watching an episode of Monster Garage.

See author's posts