Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Remembering Don Newton and "The Phantom of 1776"

If he hadn't passed away in 1984, Don Newton would have turned 74 tomorrow. For those of you who don't remember him, Don was one of the absolute best artists of the Groovy Age, breaking in during the late 60s doing superlative art for a number of fanzines. Between 1974 and 1984, Don's pencils graced tons of strips for Charlton and DC, as well as a bit of work for Marvel here and there. Those who remember him still debate what his best work was (I don't think he ever turned out anything but the best, myself). Was it the Phantom? Batman? Aquaman? The New Gods? Shazam? For Ol' Groove's money, Newton was awe-inspiring on his Batman strips, but most of those came post-Groovy Age. And while his Groovy Age work on Aquaman, the New Gods, and Shazam was jaw-droppingly beautiful, it was his work on the Phantom (issues 67-68, 70-74) that really turns me on!

I could spend a lot of time delving into the life story of the uber-talented Mr. Newton, but there's a dy-no-mite website devoted to all things Don, so I'll just recommend that you visit that site if you're interested in learning more about a top-notch artist who left us far too soon. My goal is to allow his work to blow your mind, baby! In order to do that, place your peepers on what just may be Don Newton's masterpiece, from final issue of Charlton Comics' the Phantom, #74 (October, 1975): "The Phantom of 1776"!
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6 comments:

  1. Scott MNovember 11, 2008 at 11:13 AM

    One of the best stories of the 70s, for sure.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousNovember 12, 2008 at 8:11 PM

    I love a good Phantom story, which this was. Seeing the previous Phantoms are always interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousDecember 1, 2008 at 1:51 PM

    We love and miss you Dad!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousJune 27, 2016 at 10:49 AM

      This is for Tony and Christi Newton. I stumble onto a bunch of your families scrapbooks owned by your dad Don and your grandmother or great grandmother. I think you would want them. Email me at freiwald@cableone.net so we can talk. Steve

      Delete
  4. The Groovy AgentDecember 1, 2008 at 2:01 PM

    That just made my day! Thanks for coming by, Tony and Christy. I'm honored.

    ReplyDelete
  5. -3-March 13, 2018 at 1:08 PM

    Thanks for this piece. I've been gathering a bunch of Don's art from the old fanzines for a piece on him, but i had no clue that these issues of The Phantom existed.
    I'll be on the hunt now.
    Thanks again!

    ReplyDelete

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Special thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics and Grand Comics Database for being such fantastic resources for covers, dates, creator info, etc. Thou art treasures true!


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