The Funnies #57
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThe Funnies #57 (July 1941) holds a firm place in Golden Age history as the first comic book appearance of Captain Midnight, a patriotic aviator-hero who had already built a devoted national following through his radio serial since 1938. Translating a top-rated radio property into comics was an early proof-of-concept that cross-media franchising could work in the comic book medium, anticipating decades of radio-to-comics and TV-to-comics adaptations. The issue also introduced the character's signature nemesis, Ivan Shark, establishing the central hero-villain dynamic that would carry the franchise through films, newspaper strips, and a long-running Fawcett standalone series. As one of the final issues before The Funnies was rechristened New Funnies in 1942, this issue sits at a significant editorial crossroads in Dell's Golden Age publishing history.
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The Funnies (1936 series) was packaged by pioneering editor-publisher Max Gaines and editor Sheldon Mayer for Dell, originally reprinting NEA-syndicate newspaper strips such as Alley Oop and Captain Easy, before transitioning to original content after Gaines departed for All-American Publications in 1939. By 1941, with Western Printing and Lithographing having taken over production duties, the book was running entirely original features. The Captain Midnight content in #57 was drawn by Dan Gormley, a Dell regular who began his career with the company that same year illustrating the character; the scripts remain uncredited in standard indexes. The Wander Company — Ovaltine's parent and the radio show's sponsor — held copyright over the Captain Midnight character, as reflected in the indicia of subsequent Dell Captain Midnight appearances.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First comic book appearance of Captain Midnight (Captain Jim 'Red' Albright), a World War I aviator and leader of the Secret Squadron — the character's debut in any print comics format.
- Also marks the first comic book introduction of the series' primary villain, Ivan Shark, a ruthless criminal mastermind who served as Captain Midnight's recurring nemesis across the radio show and comics alike.
- The story is credited on the GCD as an introduction and origin of Captain Midnight, with supporting characters including Fury (Ivan Shark's daughter), Chuck Ramsay, and Steve Donavan also appearing.
- Art on the Captain Midnight feature is by Dan Gormley (signed), who would continue illustrating the character across subsequent Dell appearances; Gormley's work here launched his long association with Dell Publishing.
- Published July 1941 by Dell; cover price 10 cents. The series ran 64 issues total (October 1936 – May 1942) before being retitled New Funnies to showcase Walter Lantz characters.
- Captain Midnight's radio origins: the character was created by Wilfred G. Moore and Robert M. Burtt for the Skelly Oil Company in 1938, later sponsored nationally by Ovaltine (The Wander Company), which retained copyright over the franchise.
- Dell published follow-up Captain Midnight stories in The Funnies #59 and #61–63, then Popular Comics #76–78 (June–August 1942), before Fawcett launched a dedicated standalone Captain Midnight Comics series in September 1942, running 67 issues through 1948.
- The Dell-era Captain Midnight stories — including the debut in #57 — were later reprinted by Dark Horse Comics in Captain Midnight Archives Volume 1: Captain Midnight Battles the Nazis (December 2013), making the character's comic origins accessible to modern readers.
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Reprinted in Four Color #13 (1942)
Key issues in The Funnies
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