The Grooviest Covers of All Time: Mike Zeck's Chilling Charlton Covers

Dig it, Groove-ophiles! When we think of the Groovy Age art of Magnificent Mike Zeck, we most often think of Master of Kung Fu (and post-Groovy Age Captain America, Punisher, and Secret Wars). Like many other super-stars of the late 20th Century (John Byrne, Joe Staton, Jim Aparo, and Don Newton, to name a few), some of Mighty Mike's earliest professional color comics work rolled off the printing presses at Charlton Comics in Derby, Connecticut. Here are the scary and stunning covers he produced from 1975 to 1977. Not nearly enough of 'em, but t'was about quality--not quantity! Enjoy!

Happy Halloween 2017!

Trick or treat, Groove-ophiles! Well, actually, you don't have to go door to door--Ol' Groove's got your Halloween goodies right here! All you have to do is keep on scrollin', baby!

Let's kick things off with a short shocker from Atlas/Seaboard's Tales of Evil #2 (December 1974)! Let's tiptoe through the graveyard with Russ Jones (as Jack Younger) and Jerry Grandenetti as we go on a "Stake Out!"

Now let's lighten the mood with a sweet little tale featuring Wendy the Good Little Witch in "The Awful Ingredient" from Spooky Haunted House #2 (September 1972)...

Halloween is all about creepy things--so here's a treat from Charlton's Creepy Things #1 (April 1975)! Let's follow Tom Sutton down "The Well!"

And for our big treat of the day, how 'bout we go on an Adventure (Comics #438, December 1974) with Michael Fleischer, Ernie Chua (Chan), and Jim Aparo as..."The Spectre Haunts the Museum of Fear!"

Whew! Hope you're not too stuffed and your teeth aren't rotted from all these groovy goodies, Groove-ophiles! Happy Halloween!

The Boys from Derby: "Slimes, Slogs,and Glumps" by Cuti and Sutton

Let's go back to July 1975, Groove-ophiles! Spin that Supernatural Spinner Rack and BOOM! Creepy Things #2 is staring out at you with that in-freakin'-credible Tom Sutton cover! The cover story is easy to find--it's in the back of the mag...yep! It's illustrated by Sutton! And on top of that it's written by Nick Cuti! Whoops! There goes another quarter! Cue Jim Stafford's "Spiders and Snakes" and read on!

The Boys from Derby: "The Grass Is Always Greener" by Pellowski and Vosburg

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Here's a charmingly wacky fear-fable from Creepy Things #3 (September 1975)! "The Grass Is Always Greener" was written by Mike Pellowski and illustrated by Mike (Starfire) Vosburg! T'was the cover story--and what a cover Tom Sutton provided for that particular ish (my scans are from the Modern Comics reprint, you'll note)!

 If you'd like to see what the charming and generous Mr. V. is up to these days, check out his blog, his website, and (if you haven't already) track down his Mad Mummy series (available via Comixology)! You'll be sooooooo glad ya did!