Joe Gill (1919–2006)

Prior to the creation of Spider-Man and Dr. Strange, Steve Ditko established a reputation as an artist of monster comics. Perhaps his two most famous contributions derived from the creative and financially disastrous 1961 UK films Gorgo and Konga. Charlton Comics obtained the rights to both properties and assigned writer [a:Joe Gill|563248|Joe Gill|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png] and artist Ditko as the primary creative teams. The show more monsters proved moderately popular with Gorgo lasting 26 issues in three different series and Konga 27 in three. Craig Yoe recently collected these adventures in two massive hardback volumes from IDW: [b:Steve Ditko's Monsters, Vol. 1: Gorgo|16231267|Steve Ditko's Monsters, Vol. 1 Gorgo|Joe Gill|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1355921876s/16231267.jpg|22223322] and Steve Ditko's Monsters Volume 2: Konga. Given my predilection for [b:apes|15705732|The Apes of Wrath|Richard Klaw|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1374774129s/15705732.jpg|21368726], the latter attracted my attention.

The massive volume collects all of Ditko's Konga tales, which play much better than the dreadful Michael Gough-fronted movie. The highly-regarded Gough's career survived the encounter as he went on to well-remembered roles in Doctor Who, The Avengers, and most famously in the US as Alfred in Tim Burton's Batman films.

The uneven Ditko art flashes some true signs of brilliance especially in regards to storytelling and Konga's emotional state. The underrated Gill expertly relies on Ditko's abilities, rarely relating the ape's feelings through captions. As the stories progress, the synergy between the pair increases as does the quality of Ditko's work. Unlike most Charlton titles of the time, Konga enjoyed a continuity between issues. Sadly, probably due the vagaries of newsstand and the perceived youth of the readership, Ditko and Gill felt the need to spend 2-4 pages per issue recapping events. show less

Believing the character had fallen into public domain, Charlton Comics published Jungle Tales of Tarzan in 1964. The four issues, written by Joe Gill with the first three drawn by Sam Glanzman and the final by Bill Montes and Ernie Bache, adapted short stories from the Burroughs collection of the same name. The series proved very popular, often outselling the authorized, Gold Key comics, but after four issues, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. forced its cancellation and demanded all the issues show more pulped. The excellent Glanzman art delivered a less mature and more savage version of Tarzan than previous incarnations. Sadly the amateurish Montes/Bache work mar an otherwise outstanding series.

After acquiring Charlton's properties in 1986, Roger Broughton wanted to collect the never-before-reprinted comic and began a quest to find Glanzman and the original art. After several delays and missteps, his wishes came to fruition this year with The Unauthorized Tarzan. Broughton recounts the whole intriguing tale in the foreword and historical essays in this volume. He also reveals the secrets behind the unpublished Gill-Glanzman daily strip, complete with the first week's finished strips. show less

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