The CPL Gang was a group of

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

enthusiasts who published a number of

fanzines A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

in the mid-1970s, including ''Contemporary Pictorial Literature'' (''CPL'') and '' Charlton Bullseye''. Founded by

Roger Stern Roger Stern (born September 17, 1950) is an American comic book author and novelist. Biography Early career In the early 1970s, Stern and Bob Layton published the fanzine ''CPL'' (''Contemporary Pictorial Literature''), one of the first platfo ...

and

Bob Layton Bob Layton (born September 25, 1953) is an American comic book artist, writer, and editor. He is best known for his work on Marvel Comics titles such as ''Iron Man (comic book), Iron Man'' and ''Hercules (Marvel Comics), Hercules'', and for co-fo ...

, the CPL Gang eventually included Roger Slifer, Duffy Vohland,

Tony Isabella Jenny Blake Isabella (born December 22, 1951), who writes under the names Tony Isabella and Jenny Blake, is an Americans, American comic book writer, editor, actor, artist and critic. She is the creator of Marvel Comics superhero Bill Foster (com ...

, Don Maitz, Michael Uslan, Steven Grant, and John Byrne, all of whom later became comics professionals.

History

''CPL''

Layton and Stern began publishing the CPL

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

out of Layton's

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

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

tern Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae, subfamily Sterninae, that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated in eleven genera in a subgroup of the family Laridae, which also ...

started writing short articles for it. eeventually became an editor of sorts". ''CPL'' featured a mix of articles, interviews, columns, art, and comics strips. In addition to CPL Gang members, contributors included established industry professionals like

Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz , ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day vers ...

Alex Toth Alexander Toth (; June 25, 1928 – May 27, 2006) was an American cartoonist active from the 1940s through the 1980s. Toth's work began in the American comic book industry, but he is also known for his animation designs for Hanna-Barbera through ...

Paul Gulacy Paul Gulacy (; born August 15, 1953) is an American comics artist best known for his work for DC Comics and Marvel Comics, and for drawing one of the first graphic novels, Eclipse Enterprises' 1978 '' Sabre: Slow Fade of an Endangered Species'' ...

, Mike Vosburg, Dan Adkins, P. Craig Russell, and Joe Sinnott. Rog-2000, the John Byrne-created ''CPL'' "mascot", went on to become a character in the

Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic-book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T. W. O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line (comics), line was a divi ...

universe. ''CPL'' rapidly became a popular fan publication, and led to Layton and Stern forming an alliance with

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 Stephen John Ditko. Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular ac ...

, Jeff Jones and a host of others" for use in '' Charlton Bullseye'', which published five issues from 1975–1976.

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 Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as ''Weird Science (comic), Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', an ...

, with whom he apprenticed."All-Star Comments", ''

All-Star Comics ''All Star Comics'' is an American comic book series from All-American Publications, one of three companies that merged with National Periodical Publications to form the modern-day DC Comics. While the series' cover-logo trademark reads ''All St ...

'' #66 (May/June 1977). This apprenticeship led to work for Charlton (on anthology titles, but not working from the Charlton offices),

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

and

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

, while still publishing fanzines. Along with Bill Pearson's Wonderful Publishing Company, the CPL Gang co-published issue #10 of the

-founded ''

witzend ''witzend'', published on an irregular schedule spanning decades, is an underground comix, underground comic showcasing contributions by comic book professionals, leading illustrators and new artists. ''witzend'' was launched in 1966 by the wri ...

'' 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) * ''

'' #10 (co-published with Bill Pearson's Wonderful Publishing Company, 1976)

References

{{reflist

External links

Contemporary Pictorial Literature (CPL): A Look Back

BobLayton.com

Fanzines American artist groups and collectives Charlton Comics Comics by John Byrne (comics) Comics by Roger Stern