TONY’S BACK PAGES: TREASURE CHEST

From Comics Buyer’s Guide #1691:

Remember a few issues back when I mentioned I wished that I still
had the issues of Treasure Chest I bought while a student at Sts.
Philip and James School in Cleveland, Ohio?  Imagine my delight and
surprised when I subsequently received a box of old Treasure Chest
comics from a CBG reader.  This generous guy has amassed a complete
set of the title and bound them in hardcover columns.  He sent me -
no strings attached - duplicates he’d acquired during that process.
Is any wonder I love comics fans?

Treasure Chest Vol. 19, No. 11 [January 30, 1964] is easily one of
my favorite issues from my years collecting the title.  Its cover
feature was the opening chapter of “Pettigrew For President,” a 10-
chapter serial about the fictitious campaign of a New York governor
to be the Democratic Party candidate for President.  It was written
by Barry Reese and drawn so expertly by the great Joe Sinnott that
young Tony never noticed Pettigrew was never shown clearly until
the final chapter’s big reveal...that he was the first black man to
run for President of the United States. 

This issue had lots of other good stuff in it as well.  There was
the opening chapter of a new “The Champ” serial by Frank Moss with
art by Frank Borth.  The hero of this adventure/humor series was a
young man, wide of girth and short of height, who would nonetheless
always manage to best those who took him lightly.

In the pages of Treasure Chest, “Chuck White” grew from a juvenile
delinquent to a fine young man.  His serials were a mainstay of the
comic and, in this issue, writer Max Pine and artist Fran Matera
started him on a new adventure in New York City.  I wonder if Chuck
ever met Governor Pettigrew during his stay.

Other features in this issue included a short biography of Amelia
Earhart drawn by Reed Crandall from a script by Helen Gillum; the
homey “Floogles” in a prose story; an animated mouse-narrated fact
feature on movie-making; crafts with “Patsy Planner”; and a single-
page gag starring the turban-topped Ali.  That’s 36 pages of cover-
to-cover fun, all in color for a dime, and a very fond memory of my
1960s childhood.

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One final note for today, which happens to be the 28th anniversary
of the day Barb and I were married.  I’m not going to indulge in a
litany of the wonderful moments of our life together or offer any
life lessons on the ups and downs we’ve shared to keep our marriage
strong.  I’ll just share this with you:

I am happier and more content than I have ever been in my life and
I owe much of that to Barb. I love my darling bride and I expect to
keep loving her for the next 28 years and then some.

I’ll be back on Monday with more stuff.

© 2012 Tony Isabella