The CPL Gang was a group of
comic book enthusiasts who published a number of
fanzines in the mid-1970s, including
Contemporary Pictorial Literature (
CPL) and
Charlton Bullseye. Founded by
Roger Stern and
Bob Layton, the CPL Gang eventually included
Roger Slifer, Duffy Vohland,
Tony Isabella,
Don Maitz,
Michael Uslan,
Steven Grant, and John Byrne, all of whom later became comics professionals.
[Siegel, Howard P. "John Byrne and the C.P.L. Gang", BEM #35 (NMP, Apr. 1982), pp. 24–25.]
History
CPL
Layton and Stern began publishing the CPL
fanzine out of Layton's
Indianapolis apartment.
Stern recalls that "
CPL started out as Bob's sale catalog. Bob was drawing the covers and including little reviews written by some of his customers".
By issue #5, CPL "... turned into a small 'zine with a catalog insert, and Stern started writing short articles for it. He eventually became an editor of sorts".
CPL rapidly became a popular fan publication, and led to Layton and Stern forming an alliance with Charlton Comics to produce and publish a one-shot called Charlton Portfolio (actually CPL #9/10) in 1974, which included the unpublished sixth issue of Blue Beetle vol. 5 (1967 series).
Twelve issues of CPL were published. An issue #13 was promised, but was never published.
Charlton Bullseye
The success of
Charlton Portfolio convinced Charlton of the merits of a "fan" publication. During the mid-1970s, both Marvel and DC were publishing in-house fan publications (
F.O.O.M. and
The Amazing World of DC Comics respectively), and Charlton wished to make inroads into the superhero market, as well as "establish a fan presence".
Charlton gave Layton and Stern "access to unpublished material from their vaults by the likes of Steve Ditko, Jeff Jones and a host of others"
Professional springboard
Layton's association with Charlton (and the company's production manager Bill Pearson) in turn led to him becoming acquainted with the legendary
Wally Wood, with whom he apprenticed.
["All-Star Comments", All-Star Comics #66 (May/June 1977).] This apprenticeship led to work for Charlton (on anthology titles, but not working from the Charlton offices),
Marvel Comics and
DC Comics, while still publishing fanzines.
Along with Bill Pearson's Wonderful Publishing Company, the CPL Gang co-published issue #10 of the
Wally Wood-founded
witzend comics anthology in 1976.
By 1976, Layton, Stern, and most of the other members were full-fledged comics professionals, and the CPL Gang disbanded to pursue their burgeoning careers.
Titles published
-
Contemporary Pictorial Literature ( CPL) #1–12 (c. 1973–1975)
-
Charlton Bullseye #1–5 (1975–1976)
-
Heroes, Inc. Presents Cannon #2 (Wally Wood, 1976)
-
witzend #10 (co-published with Bill Pearson's Wonderful Publishing Company, 1976)
External links
