Holiday Reading Room TREASURE CHEST "Father Kiernan Tells About Christmas Customs in Other Lands"

Here's a rarely-seen Christmas piece...

...from the little-known (and never-reprinted) comic series Treasure Chest, only available by subscription in Catholic schools.

The Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact was a comic published bi-weekly during the school year (September thru June) and distributed to Catholic churches and schools from 1946 to 1966, featuring wholesome stories about historical, scientific, and sports subjects, adaptations of famous fictional works, and a number of original series.

Many Golden and Silver Age creators contributed work to the title including Joe Sinnott, Reed Crandall, Jim Mooney, Graham Ingels, Bernard Bailey, Bob Powell, Fran Matera, and Frank Borth.

It became a year-round bi-weekly from 1966 to 1968, then reverting to school-year-only until it's cancellation in 1972.

This particular story, written by George S Foley and illustrated by an unknown artist appeared in Vol 2 #9 (Dec. 24, 1946).

Monday Madness TREASURE CHEST "1976: Pettigrew For President"

In 1964, Treasure Chest, an educational comic distributed only to Catholic schools...

...published a multi-part serial about how Presidential elections occurred, using the then-future Bicentennial year's elections as the example!

Their Teacher's Edition described the storyline's premise...

...while leaving out specific plot points!

The story begins innocuously-enough...

...with a candidate who sounds similar to the then-recently assassinated John F Kennedy!

He's a war hero who already held political office, and a Catholic in good standing!

"A man like that in the White House...never!"

Considering JFK had been killed less than a year before this saw print, it was pretty daring for the publishers to show something like this to schoolkids!

But this potential Prez shows that, even without the Secret Service, he's not helpless!

What did the would-be assassin mean by "your kind"?

Considering this was a Catholic-oriented periodical, and fear of a "papist" being the most powerful man in America was used against Kennedy during the election in 1960, it's not unreasonable that Pettigrew's religion might be the reason he was targeted!

Overcoming numerous obstacles, Pettigrew reaches the stage of the last debate before his party's convention, where he easily handles his opponents...

Is the "war hero" about to be exposed as a fraud...on national television?

(BTW, the reason he lost his voice was laryngitis due to a cold!)

Wow!

 "Swift boating" decades before it was tried on John Kerry!

Despite dirty tricks, slander, and assassination attempts, Pettigrew perseveres...

Written by Treasure Chest Editor Berry Reece and illustrated by legendary Marvel artist Joe Sinnott, this never-reprinted 10-issue serial (Treasure Chest V19N11 to V19N20) is considered one of the title's high points.

I've presented only excerpts here because the story runs over 50 pages spread over 10 chapters, and, since Pettigrew isn't revealed until the last page of the last chapter, I didn't believe most of the audience would hang on, even if I posted a chapter per day!

For those who do want to read the entire mini-series at one shot, just click HERE!

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Holiday Reading Room TREASURE CHEST "A Christmas Carol"

There have been numerous comic adaptations of this Dickens classic tale...

...but this version is probably the shortest I've ever seen!

The Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact was a comic published bi-weekly during the school year (September thru June) and distributed to Catholic churches and schools from 1946 to 1972, featuring wholesome stories about historical, scientific, and sports subjects, adaptations of famous fictional works, and a number of original series.
(Click HERE to read "Kidnapped by a Spaceship", one of the sci-fi series that appeared in the book.)

Many well-known Golden and Silver Age creators contributed work to the title including Joe Sinnott, Reed Crandall, Jim Mooney, Graham Ingels, Bernard Bailey, Bob Powell, Fran Matera, and Frank Borth,

It became a year-round bi-weekly from 1966 to '68 (mailing summertime copies to kids' homes), reverting in '69 to school year-only until it's cancellation in 1972.

This adaptation appeared in Vol 2 #9 (Dec. 24, 1946).

I believe the artist is Mabel Olsen, whose signature is visible in the next-to-last panel of the last page.

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Reading Room KIDNAPPED BY A SPACE SHIP "Part 8 - Race with Death"

When Last We Left Our Stranded Heroes...

...to be blunt, they were about to die, either covered in lava, or hurled into the void when the alien world they're on is hit by a wandering planet!

This never-reprinted tale by writer Frances Crandall and artist Fran Matera from Treasure Chest V14N18 (1959) winds up the the serialized storyline.

Though these characters never reappeared, Treasure Chest continued to do sci-fi/fantasy serials until the book was cancelled in 1972...after publishing over 500 issues!

Reading Room KIDNAPPED BY A SPACE SHIP "Part 7 - A Mountain Explodes!"

Trapped on an alien world, a group of humans and their alien allies fight to survive...

...fighting savages and the clock as a rogue planet hurtles towards them!

Ah, the classic Daffy Duck "Scarlet Pumpernickel" trope; when you're stuck for a climax to your story, unleash a volcano, even if it's totally-unrelated to anything else in the story!

This tale from Treasure Chest V14N17 (1959) is the penultimate chapter in the serialized storyline, so writer Frances Crandall and artist Fran Matera decided to "go for broke"!

Reading Room KIDNAPPED BY A SPACE SHIP "Part 6 - Laughing Death"

In the year 1970, two 'tweens and two adults ended up on an alien world...

...where both scientifically-advanced inhabitants and savages co-exist!

Out of the frying pan and into the fire...but science will provide an answer!

This tale from Treasure Chest V14N16 (1959) feels like a chapter from an old movie serial, moving from one peril to the next.
Note that the comic was a bi-weekly, so the readers had to wait two weeks, unlike movie audiences who only had a week between serial chapters at their local theatre!

Writer Frances Crandall followed the accepted concepts of space travel postulated by scientist Werner Von Braun and, illustrated by Chesley Bonestell in various books and magazines like Conquest of Space, and popularized in numerous 1950s movies like Destination Moon and Angry Red Planet!

Artist Fran Matera was also the art director/art editor for Treasure Chest, but is best known for his long run on the Steve Roper and Mike Nomad newspaper strip.

Reading Room KIDNAPPED BY A SPACE SHIP "Part 5 - Into New Peril"

Journey back to 1970, when two 'tweens and two adults were...

...and transported to another world.

Ever get the feeling we're about to go from "space opera" to "horse opera"?

This tale from Treasure Chest V14N15 (1959) introduces other aliens, but they're apparently extremely-primitive!

Next Monday, we'll see if the writer and artist follow the then-standard Western story motif of "explorers/settlers meet noble savages and make friends", or if they go off on a different tangent!

Writer Frances Crandall followed the accepted concepts of space travel postulated by scientist Wener Von Braun and, illustrated by Chesley Bonestell in various books and magazines like Conquest of Space, and popularized in numerous 1950s movies like Destination Moon and Angry Red Planet!

Artist Fran Matera was also the art director/art editor for Treasure Chest, but is best known for his long run on the Steve Roper and Mike Nomad newspaper strip.