In 2018, a tiny footnote in comics history was achieved. The Catholic University of America finally completed its collection of the entire run of Treasure Chest comics. This story would not make it to any news source and would garner little fanfare. But to Catholics who love comics, it’s worth noting. One cannot consider the history of Catholic comics without considering Treasure Chest. I’ll tell you about my experience with the series.
It must have been in 2005 when I discovered Treasure Chest comics. Being a cheapness inspired defacto luddite, I had avoided having internet access in my home. But I moved into a renovated tobacco factory apartment with my new bride and internet was included with rent. I couldn’t resist. Amongst my endless searches, I stumbled upon a plethora of Catholic comics on the Catholic University website. “Treasure Chest Comics of Fun and Fact,” they were called.
Treasure Chest comics was a comics series that ran from the late 1940s to the early 1970s. They were sold, mainly, in Catholic parochial schools on a subscription basis.. A kid would ask/nag his or her mom to pony up some cash and they would have a subscription for the school year. Comics were big, at the time, and Holy Mother Church was going to do her best to baptize the medium.
Featured stories were lives of the saints, tales of historical figures and scientific informational comics. A series called Chuck White, about a boy who eventually becomes Catholic and brings his family along, had a serial installment in almost every issue.
Treasure chest was similar to the comics of that age. They were, largely, text driven with the illustrations not adding too much to the story. Most efforts could range from inspiring to mediocre. But that was true of almost all of the comics of that age. After all, the idea of comics as an art form, in those days, was largely confined to Will Eisner’s party conversations. Most comics companies were like any other business. They were designed to make money. Treasure chest was almost the same. But, one hopes that they were after riches in Heaven, instead of the currency of this world.
Treasure Chest washed away in the zeitgeist of the early 1970s. Research as to why this was has always left me wanting. One thing was for sure, those were revolutionary times. My guess is that Treasure Chest was swept away along with so many other things in those days. Revolution was “blowin’ in the wind” and Treasure Chest blew right along with it.
Since those days, there has been no comparable Catholic comic series to pick up the torch. We can always speculate as to why. Perhaps the audience is not there. Perhaps too many Catholics do not care about their faith. Perhaps the investment outweighs the reward.
But people still are making Catholic comics and they are not too hard to find. An added benefit to this is that many of the artists and writers making these comics can take their time perfecting their craft, thus, producing a finer finished product. Also, more artists believe comics are art and treat the medium like an art form. Maybe we are not too far away from someone producing a Catholic comic, that everyone can point to and say “This is the comic book equivalent to the Pieta.” I mean, if Our Lord can raise people from the dead, he is certainly capable of giving us great cartoonists. Here’s hoping we see it in our lifetime.
George Tautkus
George Tautkus is an artist, known for his "Lives of the Saints" comic series. His work can be found at: www.tautkusstudio.com.