Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: Captain Future, golden age, Ned Pines

A Gamma Ray-Powered Captain Future in Startling Comics #1, at Auction

After debuting a Captain Future pulp, publisher Ned Pines launched a completely different Captain Future in Startling Comics #1.

Captain Future, the lead character of the debut of Startling Comics, might be one of the most confusing characters in Golden Age comic book history.  The pulp character of that name (and from the same publisher, Ned Pines' Standard Magazines group) was, according to legend, created by Standard Magazines editors Mort Weisinger and Leo Margulies during 1939's 1st World Science Fiction Convention. But between that moment and the time that he hit Startling Comics #1 the next year, Captain Future would take some odd turns on his way to the comic book page.  The debut of one of the cornerstones of Ned Pines' comic book empire, there's a Startling Comics #1 (Better Publications, 1940) CBCS GD/VG 3.0 Off-white to white pages up for auction in the 2023 February 23 The Thrillingly Exciting Heroes of Nedor Comics Showcase Auction #40219 at Heritage Auctions.

As we've recently noted, writer Edmond Hamilton's first story from the pulp Captain Future v1 #1 was adapted for comics with the main character's name changed to Major Mars in Exciting Comics #1.  Major Mars never appeared again, and a completely different character using the Captain Future name was launched in Startling Comics #1.  While the character's change in comic books has never been definitively explained, there are some clues that suggest the reason behind this move.  In the December, 1941 issue of Writer's Digest, Standard Magazines editor Oscar J. Friend wrote a round-up of the current state of science fiction in which he noted that in the Captain Future title, they only accepted freelance submissions for the backup stories which did not feature the title character.  He elaborated that the feature stories of the title, meaning the actual Captain Future stories, were written [by Edmond Hamilton] "under contract."  It can further be noted that of the Captain Future pulp stories that Standard published 1939-1951, only three of them were not written by Hamilton.  This all might suggest that Weisinger and Margulies created the Captain Future name and a very basic concept, but that Hamilton developed and controlled the bulk of the associated characters, concepts, and background via his contract.  This may have left Pines with control over the name his editors had created but forced him to use that name with a different character for the comic book.

The comic book version of the character was a scientist named Dr. Andrew Bryant, working for the Pacific Electrical Corporation. In a desperate attempt to justify his expensive experiments to corporate management, he combined infrared rays with gamma rays, resulting in an accident that bombards him with radiation, giving him an incredible range of superpowers, including super strength, flight, and the ability to shoot energy bolts from his hands.

Notably, the Startling Comics version of Captain Future adopted the slogan "The Man of Tomorrow" before the pulp version did. This was likely inspired by the Futurama exhibit of the New York World's Fair and that exhibit's slogan, "The World of Tomorrow" (which itself was also used as the title of a backup feature in the Captain Future pulp). A fascinating coincidence, considering that the cover of an issue of Startling Comics years later would likely become the inspiration for the Futurama animated series robot character Bender.

Versatile writer/artist Kin Platt was the initial artist of Startling Comics' Captain Future and may have also been the writer and creator of this version of the character.  Platt was also the creator of Supermouse for Standard's Coo Coo Comics, and that character would go on to become the longest-running feature of the Pines comic book empire.  Platt contributed work to a wide variety of publishers during the Golden Age, including Marvel/Timely, Standard/Better/Nedor, Fawcett Publications, and MLJ.  He took over the long-running Mr. and Mrs. newspaper comic strip 1947-1963.  Platt did extensive writing work for TV animation during the 1960s, including for The Jetsons, The Flintstones, and Jonny Quest.  The 1961 novel The Blue Man may be Platt's best-known work of science fiction.

The comic book version of Captain Future would appear in Startling Comics #1-40, plus several issues of America's Best Comics.  There are 34 entries for Startling Comics #1 on the CGC census, and three entries on the CBCS census.  A comic book key worthy of more attention, there's a Startling Comics #1 (Better Publications, 1940) CBCS GD/VG 3.0 Off-white to white pages up for auction in the 2023 February 23 The Thrillingly Exciting Heroes of Nedor Comics Showcase Auction #40219 at Heritage Auctions. For prospective bidders who are new to Heritage Auctions, it is recommended to check out their FAQ on the bidding process and related matters.

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