Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Magazine Cover Comics: The Treasure Hunters
Here is a somewhat different series of American Weekly magazine covers. The Treasure Hunters, with art by Henry Raleigh and verses by Carolyn Wells is not so odd as to omit the romantic angle (a must!) but the lovey-dovey stuff is a perfunctory part of the story. No, here the tale is about a pair of frenetic young socialites engaging in a scavenger hunt.They vie against their Lost Generation buddies to unravel a set of clues, leading to what they've been promised is a fabulous treasure. The treasure turns out to be that our protagonists discover their love for each other. All together now -- "awwwww".
I think Carolyn Wells probably should have dropped the versification here, and stuck to prose. Trying to read the doggerel for clues and solutions is a bit of a trial. Luckily there are some seriously pretty pictures to look at, provided by top illustrator Henry Raleigh. This is, as far as I know, the only newspaper cover series Raleigh did.
The Treasure Hunters appeared on American Weekly magazine covers from April 11 to May 9 1926, then took a short hiatus, and finished up the tale from June 13 to June 26.
Thanks to Cole Johnson for the scan.
Labels: Magazine Cover Comics
