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PREVIEWSWORLD EXCLUSIVE: Classic Comics Press — An Interview With Charles Pelto

As the persons in charge of re-assembling complete archives of daily strips, the editors of some of our most beloved comics collections serve as archaeologists, art conservationists, historians, and designers. PREVIEWSworld has taken the time to ask some of the industry’s leading talents to tell us about the process of restoring classic strips, and perhaps illuminate the production process for some of their favorite projects. This interview focuses on Charles Pelto, the Publisher of Classic Comics Press.


PREVIEWSworld (PW): Please introduce yourself, and tell us a little bit about the company you work for.

Classic_Comics_newmaryCharles Pelto (CP): My name is Charles Pelto, I am the owner/publisher/editor/designer/chief bottle washer of Classic Comics Press. I started the company in 2005 essentially to just reprint the complete run of Leonard Starr’s Mary Perkins On Stage and enjoyed the process so much I’ve branched out into additional titles  - The Heart of Juliet Jones, Big Ben Bolt, and the upcoming Jose Luis’ Salinas The Cisco Kid

(PW): What was your favorite project, and what drew you to the artist or the characters? 

(CP): My favorite project? It has to be the [Leonard Starr Mary Perkins] On Stage books. I started reading the strip when I was six years old and read it well into my twenties. Perhaps the only comic strip I read consistently throughout it’s 22-year run. To my mind, Leonard Starr’s rank’s with the Caniff, Raymond, Crane, as one of the best comic strip artists. The artwork and staging is impeccable, and he’s got to be the best writer hand’s down  when it comes to the continuity strip.

(PW): What was your role in getting your favorite project ready for eager readers?  How many staff members do you tend to have on your team?

(CP): I wanted to see On Stage again. And I wanted others to see it as well. I was lucky enough to locate Leonard Starr’s archivist – James Gauthier, and was receiving binders from Jim containing a years worth of Sunday’s and dailies. I started re-reading the comic strip from the beginning (Feb 10, 1957) and by the time I got to around the mid-sixties was determined to do what I could to bring back such a wonderful comic strip. I obtained the rights to reprint the strip from Tribune Media Services, and the rest, as they say, is history.

As to staff, I have no staff. It’s me with the help of a few designer friends who help on with the covers. I do all the scanning, page design, shipping, etc.

Jul-Jones-V1

(PW): Many daily strips’ original art was sold, destroyed or lost.  What sources were available when you were collecting art for your favorite project?

(CP): With On Stage, I was lucky, Jim and Leonard spent years rebuilding Leonard’s set of production proofs. At this point maybe 10-15% of what I’ve reprinted so far (currently at Volume 8) is from newspaper clippings, the rest is from Production Proofs or original art. And with Big Ben Bolt and The Heart of Juliet Jones I’ve been lucky enough to be given access to the King Features Proof Collection at MSU.  

Big-Ben-Bolt-V1

(PW): Depending on art sources, the original image quality may have been greatly degraded.  How does your production team go about retouching the art?

(CP): A lot of tedious work! When you’re dealing with newspaper clippings that are sometimes 50 years and older and there’s no other source you just do what has to be done. But it’s surprising what you can do with a decent scanner and tools like PhotoShop. I’ve spent hours strengthening dialog and getting rid of what I call ‘digital dust’ those little flecks of white you sometimes see in all of our books. You do the best you can while, at the same time, not doing too much so you don’t alter what the original artist intended.

(PW): How long did the first volume of this series take you, from the green light on the project until it went to press?  What takes the longest?  Were there any unexpected roadblocks as you pulled together the oldest material?

Classic-Comic-Press-On-Stag

(CP): Volume 1 of Mary Perkins On Stage took about a year from original idea to completed project, mostly because at the time I wasn’t all that sure about what I was doing. I made lots of mistakes but learned quickly and can now do a complete book in about 3 months, faster if I didn’t have a day job. Scanning itself can take a very long time, and then there’s cleanup, placement, and putting together the rest of the book.

(PW): How does your company select titles for this kind of treatment?

(CP): I’m reprinting what I like, and what I think needs to be seen again.  I happened to grow up during a time when the continuity strip was slowly replaced by today’s crop of funnies and was a fan of a number of strips from the 50’s to 70’s – On Stage, Juliet Jones, Secret Agent Corrigan, Dateline: Danger, Dan Flagg, Star Hawks and the like and I’d love to see all of them reprinted in some fashion.

(PW): What upcoming titles are in the works for your editorial team?

(CP): Currently I’m working on On Stage Volumes 9 and 10, with 9 slated for Fall of 2011, and 10 scheduled for Spring of 2012. I’m also working on the first volume Jose Luis Salinas’ The Cisco Kid which I hope to publish this summer. Cisco has been a bit of a challenge due to the mix of source material, a scattering of proofs, original art, and newspaper clippings, but I’ve been working on the first volume for a little over a year now and I’m very pleased with the results.

(PW): Thank you again for your time and effort here today and all your work preserving comics treasures!

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Look for the John Cullen Murphy's Big Ben Bolt Dailies Volume 1: 1950-1952 TP and Stan Drake's The Heart Of Juliet Jones Volume 1: 1953-1955 TP from Classic Comics Press on page 255 in the April 2011 issue of PREVIEWS!

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