Charlton Arrow Volume 2 #1

Charlton Arrow #1 Volume 2 by Nicola Cuti
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Charlton Arrow Volume 2 #1 contains stories featuring E-Man, Mr. Mixit, Colonel Whiteshroud, Deathwatch, and Edison Corliss, done in the spirit of the Charlton Comics of the silver and bronze age of comics.

I bought this not long after it came out after seeing it hyped on twitter. It languished inside the end table next to the couch until I unearthed it earlier today.

Charlton Comics Group was the rogue comic book company of the '60s, '70s, and early '80s. Lots of creators got their starts there and other, more established creators honed their skills on titles like Captain Atom, Blue Beetle, and various other Charlton titles. Eventually, the company went tits up and DC acquired the assets around the time Crisis on Infinite Earths dropped.

Gone but not forgotten, Mort Todd and others have revived the Charlton name and got the Charlton Arrow going. This volume contains some standalone tales, as well as the beginnings of longer tales featuring E-Man and Mr. Mixit.

Joe Staton's art on E-Man makes me wish I would have been digging through back issue bins for E-Man years ago. While I knew him from a stint on Green Lantern, I really like Joe Staton's art in the E-Man installment, although it was mostly setup for a longer tale.

Mr. Mixit is why I originally picked up the book and, no surprise, wound up being my favorite feature. Barry Baxter gets super powers from a magical spinner rack of silver age comics. What's not to like? Mr. Mixit is a fusion of many Steve Ditko creations, namely Spider-Man, Blue Beetle, The Creeper, Captain Atom, Speedball, and probably others. A showdown is brewing with the Dream Weaver and now I definitely have to grab the next installments.

The stories featuring Colonel Whiteshroud, Deathwatch, and Edison Corliss all share the early Bronze Age feel of E-Man and Mr. Mixit. The writing and art of the various features feel like the best of the Bronze Age, from the horror of Deathwatch to the bombastic fun of Mr Mixit.

Charlton Arrow feels like a glimpse into the forgotten past. I'm on board for the duration. 4 out of 5 stars.

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