Captain Atom #85

Name: Captain Atom #85
Brand: Charlton
Availability: InStock

Mar 1967 · Charlton · 0.12 USD

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★ 1st appearance — Jewelee★ 1st appearance — Punch

About this Issue

Captain Atom #85 (March 1967) holds a firm place in Silver Age history as the debut of Punch and Jewelee, a carnivalesque villain duo created by Steve Ditko and writer David Kaler whose dark whimsy set them apart from Charlton's usual threats and earned them a long afterlife at DC Comics — including a recurring role in the Suicide Squad. The issue also marks the third installment of Ted Kord's Blue Beetle backup feature, one of the key proving grounds in which Ditko was actively rebuilding Charlton's 'Action Hero' line into something with genuine continuity and character texture. Together with Nightshade, The Ghost (Alec Rois), and Allen Adam, the cast assembled here captures the full richness of the Charlton universe at its most ambitious — a body of work that would later inspire the archetypes behind Watchmen's Dr. Manhattan, Nite Owl, and Silk Spectre.

Contains 2 stories

Strings of Punch and Jewlee [sic]

18 pp · Superhero

In "Strings of Punch and Jewlee [sic]," the bizarre duo of Punch and Jewelee unleash a wave of alien-powered chaos, seizing both Alec Rois and Captain Atom with a mysterious box of otherworldly gadgets. With the city in peril and its heroes trapped, Nightshade must unravel the mystery of the devices before the villains’ scheme reaches its crescendo.

Fights a Submarine

7 pp · Superhero

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (VG) $11

CGC 9.8 · 3 in census $2,438*

CGC 9.6 · 3 in census $760

CGC 9.4 · 7 in census $366

CGC 9.2 · 10 in census $232

CGC 9.0 · 6 in census $136

CGC 8.5 · 6 in census $105*

Show all 17 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 7 in census $85

CGC 7.5 · 4 in census $64*

CGC 7.0 · 10 in census $51

CGC 6.5 · 6 in census $45*

CGC 6.0 · 4 in census $40*

CGC 5.5 · 3 in census $32*

CGC 5.0 · 5 in census $32

CGC 4.5 · 2 in census $25*

CGC 4.0 · 3 in census $25

CGC 3.5 none in existence

CGC 3.0 · 1 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

This exact issue on ebay

CGC 9 $499 1 listing CGC 8.5 $190 1 listing

CGC 8 ▾ $248 2 listings

CGC 8 $247.5 CGC 8 $247.5

CGC 7 $79 1 listing Raw — VF $31.99 1 listing Raw — VERY FINE $74.99 1 listing Raw — FN+ $42.5 1 listing Raw — FINE $34.99 1 listing Raw — FN $50 1 listing Raw — VG+ $59.99 1 listing Raw — VERY GOOD $40 1 listing

Raw / ungraded ▾ $4.42–$150 10 listings

Raw / ungraded $4.42 Raw / ungraded $19.4 Raw / ungraded $19.95 Raw / ungraded $29.95 Raw / ungraded $30 Raw / ungraded $40 Raw / ungraded $45 Raw / ungraded $66.93 Signed $125 Raw / ungraded $150

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History

By early 1967, editor Dick Giordano had positioned the Charlton 'Action Hero' line as a deliberate attempt to compete with Marvel's character-driven storytelling, and Ditko — who had recently departed Marvel — was the creative engine of that experiment, plotting and penciling the Captain Atom lead story while scripter David Kaler (a fan-turned-professional) provided the dialogue. Inker Rocco Mastroserio handled the Captain Atom portion, while Ditko solo-inked the Blue Beetle backup, and the issue was produced under Charlton's notoriously lean conditions. Charlton later reprinted issues #83–85 under the Modern Comics imprint in the late 1970s, produced specifically for sale in comic three-packs, before the entire run was given a prestige hardcover home in DC's Action Heroes Archives Vol. 2.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Punch and Jewelee (real name of Punch given as Clyde Phillips in this issue), a pair of carnival-themed villains created by Steve Ditko and David Kaler; the lead story is titled 'Strings of Punch and Jewlee' — with Jewelee's name misspelled in the story title itself.
Punch and Jewelee's origin: former Coney Island puppeteers who discovered a cache of alien high-tech weaponry on a beach, adapted the Punch-and-Judy motif to their criminal identities, and set up a secret underground lab using Jewelee's hypnotic gems to coerce a realtor.
The Captain Atom lead story was plotted and penciled by Steve Ditko, inked by Rocco Mastroserio, and scripted by David Kaler; Dick Giordano served as editor.
The Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) backup story — the third in the series that began in Captain Atom #83 (November 1966) — was fully handled by Ditko (story concept, pencils, and inks), making it one of his most autonomous credited works of the period.
Nightshade (Eve Eden), who had debuted only two issues earlier in Captain Atom #82 (September 1966), plays an active co-starring role, including a scene where she uses her shadow powers to bypass an electric fence around Punch and Jewelee's lab.
The Ghost (Alec Rois) appears as a secondary antagonist; his name was spelled 'Alec Nois' in his own first appearance — the correction to 'Rois' visible in this issue has been flagged as a continuity note in the DC Database.
After Charlton's line ended, the issue was reprinted under the Modern Comics imprint in the late 1970s (part of a three-pack with #83 and #84), and later collected in full color in DC's hardcover Action Heroes Archives Vol. 2 (collecting Captain Atom #83–89 alongside Blue Beetle and The Question material).
Punch next appeared in Crisis on Infinite Earths #9 (DC, 1985), while Jewelee returned as early as Captain Atom #89 (Charlton, 1967), after which both characters were folded into the DC Universe and eventually became recurring Suicide Squad figures.