This issue of E-Man just also happened to be a book I was recommended last week to read when I was bored. Thanks again to my love of comic book grab bags, I happened to have an issue on hand and what an issue to have. This book, published by Modern Comics in 1977, reprints the very first issue by Charlton Comics in 1973 and is the brainchild of Nicola Cuti and Joe Staton.
E-Man is an energy being that survived a supernova. In his quest for intelligent life, he comes across a space ship filled with a hostile entity. When the energy being discovers this hostile has intentions to destroy our planet, he assumes the form of a human. With help from a stripper with a heart of gold and ice in her veins, our hero becomes E-Man, with the power to convert matter into energy and vice versa.
E-Man was quite good for a short-lived book from the 70s. Charlton was the publishing company that could but sadly it just never managed to overtake the big two publishers and eventually was swallowed up by DC by the 1980s. This book is proof of the talent and quality that Charlton was able to get their hands on- if only they could have had the bankroll of a Marvel Comics. A very good feature with great art but a very abrupt ending as if parts of the finale were edited for time or space.
The backup feature is called 'The Knight', a superspy for the international espionage agency C.H.E.S.S. The Knight is a rogue who gets in fights and follows the beat of his own drum. If he wasn't such a damn fine agent, the agency's high-ups, codenamed King and Queen, would have had him arrested or kicked out years ago.
In this tale, the Knight, along with agents codenamed Rook and Bishop, infiltrate a company that makes rocket boosters in hopes of seeking out a mole. But to their chagrin, the entire organization is filled with double-agents! Now, the trio must destroy the plant, saving humanity and hopefully themselves in the process.
If the story of the Knight sounds familiar to a DC title called Checkmate- I don't think you are that far off the mark. Checkmate has operatives codenamed White Knight, Black King, Black Rook, White Queen, etc... It's also a super secret intelligence community, only they employ super heroes. Also, Checkmate was co-created by Paul Kuppenberg, a longtime contributor to Charlton who went to DC shortly after the company bought out the Charlton catalog. I really don't think this is a coincidence. But that's okay. This issue was like reading a rough draft of Checkmate, a series which I really like and am on the hunt for both complete series.
If you can get your hands on a Charlton E-Man, expect to shell out some big bucks. But Modern Reprints dot bargain bins and are peppered throughout grab bags nationwide. (I have a total of 3 E-Man books thanks to grab bags.) A welcome addition to my collection, I cannot wait to read more and find more E-Man. You can also find E-Man series published by Comico and First Comics in the dollar bins and I hear they are very good titles as well.
Worth Consuming
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
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