Long-time comics publisher
Charlton Comics went out of business in 1985. Most of Charlton's superhero characters had been acquired in 1983 by
DC Comics, and Broughton's company
Sword in Stone Productions purchased the reprint rights to the remaining Charlton Comics properties in 1986. Broughton produced several reprint titles under the company name of
Avalon Communications and its imprint
America's Comics Group (ACG), Broughton having also purchased the rights to the defunct
American Comics Group properties. Broughton at first concentrated on syndicating material worldwide, while publishing a few comics titles in America, including the 1999
ACG Classix imprint
Pulp Comics, which primarily reprinted the early 1940s syndicated newspaper strip,
The Shadow, based on the popular
Street and Smith Shadow pulp novels and famous radio show character. Charlton material appeared in Europe, Asia, and South Africa. Many children's titles were reprinted by
Harvey Comics. == Merger ==