Captain's Library & Theatre SUSPENSE "Graveyard Ghouls!"

The Mysterious Traveller Wasn't the Only Radio or TV Series Matt Baker Adapted to Comic Books...

...as this graphic version of the CBS Suspense radio anthology series episode "Body Snatchers" demonstrates!

Adapted from an episode written by noted mystery writer John Dickson Carr and broadcast on November 24, 1942, this tale was adapted by an unknown writer, penciled by Matt Baker and inked by Frank Giusto appeared in Timely's Suspense #1 (1949).
The first two issues of Suspense adapted stories from the radio/TV series, but as of the third issue, it became a typical horror comic of the era, running for another twenty-seven issues until it was cancelled at the height of the anti-comic "Seduction of the Innocent" mania in 1953.
On a lighter note, and as a kool bonus, we're offering the radio show episode the comic is based on for you to listen to by clicking HERE!
You'll hear that the basic story is intact, and much of the dialogue is the same, but the structure of the radio tale is different!
It was re-arranged to suit the needs of visual storytelling when it was illustrated seven years later.

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Captain's Library TALES OF THE MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER "Man Alone"

Though his radio show had been off the air for several years...

...the name-value of the Mysterious Traveler had enough cachet to keep this comic book series going for years after!

Although the Mysterious Traveler would literally stand right next to people throughout the story, the other characters never interacted with him.

He never had an origin, and we never learned who (or what) he was!
This story from #12 (1959) began Matt Baker's too-brief run on the title...because it was cancelled with the next issue!
But within that short span, Matt did five stories.

Captain's Library: Christmas Comics: CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT "Sergeant Twilight Writhes Again"

Captain Midnight enjoys celebrating the holidays, whether it's Thanksgiving or Christmas...

...in one of the last comic book stories based on the radio show's format.

The comic book began to diverge from the radio show about the time this never-reprinted story, illustrated by Jack Binder, appeared in Fawcett's Captain Midnight #4 (1943).

Ichabod Mudd, who was Midnight's primary aide in all his media incarnations was already being altered with the addition of the comic-relief "Sgt Twilight" identity.
Cap himself would soon abandon the modified military flight suit seen in this story and adopt a skintight ensemble with built-in glider wings.
(It had the same color scheme, so many thought the new ensemble was just the old outfit with wings attached.)

Merry Christmas

and

Happy New Year!

Captain's Halloween Library & Theatre ARCH OBOLER'S LIGHTS OUT "Come to the Bank"

Halloween is here, ghoul friends and boy fiends...

...so let's tell another tawdry, terrifying tale utilizing both your eyes and ears together in a way you normally don't do!

Control-Click on this LINK to hear (and read along) this audio adventure, first broadcast on November 17, 1942!

Illustrated by Charles Bolland, this never-reprinted adaptation of a Lights Out radio episode appeared in S&S's Super-Magician Comics V3N9 (1945).

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Captain's Halloween Library & Theatre ARCH OBOLER"S LIGHTS OUT "Bio" & "Meteor Man"

A couple of Halloweens ago, we presented the comic version of the classic radio anthology series Inner Sanctum...

...now we present another classic scary series from the Golden Age of Radio in comics form...Lights Out!

But first, a brief bio about the show's creator/writer...

Before you begin tonight's terrifying tale on the next page, control-click HERE to pull up a new tab with the audio for the episode the comic is based on, "Meteor Man" from December 22, 1942, then read along...

There's no record of the writer/adaptor or artist(s) for this never-reprinted tale from S&S's Super-Magician Comics V3N6 (1944), though it looks like the work of Will Eisner's or Bob Powell's studios.

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Captain's Holiday Library: CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT "Adventure of the Tokyo Turkey"

NOTE: Contains racial stereotypes common to WWII fiction.

May be NSFW.

 Unlike Christmas-themed stories, there are very few comics tales set on Thanksgiving.

This tale from Fawcett's Captain Midnight #3 (1942) was written by Joe Millard and illustrated by Jack Binder.

In the 1940s-50s, one of the biggest pop cult phenomena was Captain Midnight!

Books, Comics, Movies, Radio, TV...He was EVERYWHERE!

Created for radio in 1938, the patriotic aviator ran the Secret Squadron, what we today would call a "black ops" team, supported by the government, but functioning outside of cumbersome legalities in dealing with spies, saboteurs, and (after the war) criminals!

Trivia note: the Secret Squadron originally used the code "SS" on their messages, decoders, and uniform patches, but changed it to "SQ" after World War II began to avoid reference to the notorious Nazi SS stormtroopers!

Captain Midnight replaced Little Orphan Annie as the flagship radio show for Ovaltine, carrying on the tradition of issuing mail-in collectible premiums in return for Ovaltine labels and jar seals, taking it to far greater levels than any other radio series in history!
The phrase "Captain Midnight Decoder" became synonymous with mail-in premiums.
(In the short story from Jean Shepherd's In God We Trust; All Others Pay Cash! used as the basis for the classic Yuletide movie A Christmas Story, Ralphie receives a Captain Midnight Decoder, not a Little Orphan Annie one!)

The show ran Monday thru Friday in 15-minute segments, with ongoing storylines running for several months at a time, ending each episode with a cliffhanger and a coded message which required a Captain Midnight Decoder to translate.

A series of Big Little Books, a newspaper comic strip, and two different comic book series quickly followed, as well as a 15-chapter movie serial.

The radio show ended with a bang in 1949, as Cap's archenemy Ivan Shark (an evil aviator) was killed in the final episode!
Talk about "closure"!

Ovaltine revived Cap (but not Ivan Shark) in 1954 in a weekly TV series with a heavier science fiction emphasis.

The Captain was now a civilian adventurer operating out of a mountaintop base in the SouthWest US, battling criminals and the occasional Commie spy.

Though only 39 episodes were produced, the show reran continuously in syndication until the mid-1960s.

Trivia: the syndicated version was retitled Jet Jackson: Flying Commando because Ovaltine owned the "Captain Midnight" trademark and didn't sponsor the reruns!

It became notorious for the fact that every time anyone (male, female or child) spoke the name "Captain Midnight", the new name "Jet Jackson" was dubbed over it by one middle-aged male voice actor! (Apparently, none of the original cast were available!)

Ovaltine continued to use "Captain Midnight" on advertising and occasional tie-in premiums until the late 1990s, when they finally abandoned the trademark.

Since then, he's only been around as part of old radio show collections on cd or mp3...until now!

Recently, both Dark Horse Comics and Moonstone Books revived Captain Midnight in NEW comics and prose stories!

Captain Midnight's already been part of our collection with six different vintage designs including five classic covers and his stylish logo on a variety of items including t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, messenger bags, and other tchochkes, for over a decade!

As unique graduation, birthday or Father's Day gifts for collectors of pop culture kitch, you can't go wrong with one of these klassy and kool kollectibles!

For something REALLY special, why not combine one of our Captain Midnight collectibles with one of Moonstone's new Captain Midnight books as a gift set?

A FREE holiday gift to our loyal fans: downloadable mp3s of the Captain Midnight radio show!
BONUS FREE gift: downloadable episode of the Captain Midnight tv show!
(And you don't even have to send us an Ovaltine label!)