Monster Hunters #1

History

The series was conceived and principally written by Nicola Cuti, the E-Man co-creator who was then among Charlton's most active editorial talents, with managing editor George Wildman overseeing production under publisher John Santangelo Jr. The framing sequence introducing Colonel Whiteshroud and the Monster Hunters Club — the connective tissue that distinguished the series from a generic anthology — was drawn by Joe Staton, Cuti's frequent E-Man collaborator, while the remaining stories in the debut issue were handled by Wayne Howard, Rich Larson, and Pete Morosi. The cover painting was executed in gouache by Don Newton, though the attribution was disputed for decades; the Grand Comics Database credits Newton based on research by Nick Caputo, noting it was previously credited to Tom Sutton. Modern Comics later reprinted the first two issues of Monster Hunters as part of three-pack bagged sets sold in department stores, giving the debut issue a second circulation beyond the newsstand.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of Colonel Whiteshroud, a British Army veteran and president of the Monster Hunters Club, created by writer Nicola Cuti and artist Joe Staton; Whiteshroud appeared as host in all 18 issues of the series.
• The issue also features Countess Von Bludd, a vampire character who appears alongside Whiteshroud in the framing sequence; per Grand Comics Database, based on job numbers this is likely her second appearance, with Scary Tales #1 (published the same on-sale date) having the earlier job number.
• Cover is a painted gouache work by Don Newton — one of his earliest professional cover paintings — depicting a scene from the interior story 'Hoax'; the cover was previously mis-credited to Tom Sutton before researcher Nick Caputo established Newton's authorship.
• Four interior stories: 'Colonel Whiteshroud and the Monster Hunters Club' (framing sequence, Cuti/Staton); 'The Boar's Head Beast' (Cuti/Howard); 'The Long Sleep' (Pellowski/Larson); 'The Sea — Its Givings…and Takings!' (Molloy/Morosi); and 'Hoax' (Cuti/Howard).
• The series ran 18 issues from August 1975 to February 1979, published bi-monthly, and was managed by editor George Wildman with John Santangelo Jr. as publisher.
• Modern Comics reprinted the contents of Monster Hunters #1 in a separate edition distributed via bagged three-packs in department stores, alongside a reprint of issue #2.
• Later issues of the series featured work by Steve Ditko, Tom Sutton, Mike Zeck, and Don Perlin — several of whom went on to major careers at Marvel and DC — but the debut issue's creative team was anchored entirely by Charlton's in-house stable.
• The series experienced a publishing hiatus between issues #9 and #10, and beginning with issue #13 began incorporating reprints from other Charlton horror titles.

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