Treasure Chest (comics)
- This is an article about the comic book series. For other uses, see Treasure Chest (disambiguation)
| Treasure Chest of Fun & Fact | |
|---|---|
| 250x450px
Treasure Chest vol. 12, #12 (Feb. 14, 1957).
Cover artist unknown |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | George A. Pflaum |
| Schedule | biweekly during school year, monthly during summer |
| Publication date | 1946 - 1972 |
| Number of issues | 496[1] plus 12 summer issues[2] |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Various |
| Artist(s) | Various |
Treasure Chest (full name for most of its run: Treasure Chest of Fun & Fact) was a Catholic-oriented comic book series created by Dayton, Ohio publisher George A. Pflaum and distributed in parochial schools from 1946 to 1972.
Its inspirational stories of sports and folk heroes, saints, school kids, Catholic living, history, science and similar topics were drawn by artists that included such prominent figures as EC's Reed Crandall, Graham Ingels and Joe Orlando, Marvel Comics' Joe Sinnott, and DC Comics' Murphy Anderson and Jim Mooney. Other features included literary adaptations and such typical comics fare as funny animal humor strips.
Contents
Publication history
Created by Dayton, Ohio, publisher George A. Pflaum[3] and debuting March 12, 1946, as Treasure Chest of Fun & Facts,[4] Treasure Chest was distributed in parochial schools and published biweekly throughout the school year until the 1960s, when it became monthly and doubled the number of pages. It was available solely by student subscription, and delivered in bulk to classrooms. Initially, the covers were of the same paper stock as the interiors; comic books' more typical slick covers were added in 1948. Six-issue summer editions were published in 1966 and 1967.[2]
Beginning with Vol. 4, #1 (Sept. 7, 1948), the title changed to Treasure Chest of Fun & Fact, with the final word now singular.[5] A source notes that with Vol. 23, #1 (Sept 7, 1967), the title changed a final time, exchanging the ampersand for "and",[6] although Vol. 21 No. 1 issue dated September 9, 1965 and featuring "The Champ is Back" as the cover story uses the ampersand in place of the word "and". Many very early issues were cover-titled simply Treasure Chest without the otherwise ubiquitous subhead.[7]
Sometime during the 1960s, Treasure Chest began to be published by T.S. Dennison. The final issue was that of July 1972.[8]
Pflaum also published the magazines Junior Catholic Messenger, Our Little Messenger, and Young Catholic Messenger.[9]
Features and contributors
A long-running series, "Chuck White" (later "Chuck White & His Friends"), created by Capt. Frank Moss, featured the son of a mixed marriage, Catholic and Protestant, and even in its early days casually depicted such relatively daring concepts as racially integrated friendships. Series contributors after Moss included writer Max Pine and comic strip artists Frank Borth and, in the 1960s, Fran Matera.[10]
A nonfiction historical feature about the Soviet Union, "This Godless Communism", drawn by Reed Crandall, debuted in vol. 17, #2 (Sept. 28, 1961) and appeared in every second issue through #20.[11][12]
Others who worked on Treasure Chest included writer-editor Bob Wischmeyer, writers Ruth Barton, Frances E. Crandall, Helen L. Gillum, Arch Ward, and Barry Reese, and artists or writer-artists Bernard Baily, James O. Christiansen, Ed Hunter, E.A. Jurist (possibly comic-book writer Ed Jurist), Jim Mooney, Clara Elsene Peck, Bob Powell, Sid Quinn, and Ozella Welch.
References
- ↑ Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact at the Grand Comics Database
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Treasure Chest Summer Edition at the Grand Comics Database
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Note: List of contributors is not comprehensive.
- ↑ Treasure Chest of Fun & Facts Vol. 1, No. 1. March 12, 1946 at WRLC Libraries. Archived from the original on May 3, 2012.
- ↑ 1948 issues at WRLC Libraries
- ↑ Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact #v23#1 [427] at the Grand Comics Database
- ↑ For example, Treasure Chest Vol. 2, No. 9. December 24, 1946, and Vol. 2, No. 19. May 13, 1947.
- ↑ Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original November 8, 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-04.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Treasure Chest (comics). |
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Further reading
- Alter Ego #26, July 2003: Interview with Joe Sinnott
