SCOTT SHAW! SATURDAYS…
By SCOTT SHAW!
The first time I saw Tom Sutton’s work was in the pages of Jim Warren’s Eerie #11 and Creepy #17 magazines and even better (to my tastes) in Marvel’s Not Brand Echh #3, all in 1967. I was in high school at the time, and I loved his cartoony style. His other early comics gigs were backup stories for Marvel’s Western titles, Kid Colt Outlaw, and The Rawhide Kid, ones I weren’t following at the time, although Tom continued to work for Warren, adding Vampirella and Famous Monsters of Filmland to his resume. Reading his comedic art in the rest of the issues of Not Brand Echh really impressed me. However, his best – and creepiest – was yet to come.
Charlton’s comics were unusual, to say the least. The company owned its own printing press, which needed to be running 24 hours a day. Therefore, Charlton’s editors weren’t particularly picky about the creative quality of their writers’ and artists’ material. Their comics were also often poorly distributed. But there was an appealing aspect for some of Charlton’s best-known writers and artists: Their work wasn’t micromanaged, which led to some of their best material ever. That included Steve Ditko, John Byrne, Joe Staton, Sam Glanzman, Don Newton… and Tom Sutton, who went waaay beyond the average spooky stuff for genuinely horrifying situations with women in danger… or worse!
Here are 13 Charlton covers from the ’70s, with some of Tom’s most twisted illustrations, each of which proves that one freaky picture is worth a thousand chills!
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For over half a century, SCOTT SHAW! has been a pro cartoonist/writer/designer of comic books, animation, advertising and toys. He is also a historian of all forms of cartooning. Scott has worked on many underground comix and mainstream comic books, including: Fear and Laughter (Kitchen Sink); Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie); Simpsons Comics (Bongo); Weird Tales of the Ramones (Rhino); and his co-creation with Roy Thomas, Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew! (DC).
Scott also worked on numerous animated cartoons, including producing/directing John Candy’s Camp Candy (NBC/DIC/Saban); Martin Short’s The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley (NBC/Hanna-Barbera Productions); Garfield and Friends (CBS/Film Roman); and the Emmy-winning Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies (CBS/Marvel Productions), among many others. As senior art director for the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency, Scott worked on dozens of commercials for Post Pebbles cereals with the Flintstones. He also designed a line of Hanna-Barbera action figures for McFarlane Toys.
Scott was one of the comics fans who organized the first San Diego Comic-Con, where he has become known for performing his hilarious Oddball Comics Live! slide shows.
Need funny cartoons for any and all media? Click here! Scott does commissions!
