Captain Midnight first appeared on the Captain Midnight radio show in 1938 from Skelly Oil Company. Dell Comics continued the adventures of the old time radio drama version of Captain Midnight. Here, he was a World War I flying ace and leader of the US Military’s elite “Secret Squadron.” He had earned the nickname Captain Midnight after returning from a mission at the stroke of 12. Captain Midnight battled injustice and villains such as Ivan Shark. In the Fawcett version of the character, Captain Midnight, a.k.a. Captain Albright, was a genius inventor who had a secret lab located somewhere in Nevada. He wore a skintight suit with a “Gliderchute” (similar to a wingsuit) attached to the sides, which allowed him to glide like a flying squirrel. He used other gadgets such as his “Swing-Spring”, a projecting swing-line, “Blackout Bomb”, and “Doom-Beam Torch”. He fought Nazis such as Baron Von Gatz and Japanese agents such as Black Mikado. After the war, he fought criminals, communists, and alien invaders, such as Jagga the Space Raider and Xog, King of Saturn. He was assisted by his sidekick Sergeant Twilight. He teamed up with Spy Smasher against Yellow Hawk. Notes: The US copyright office has no record of the radio show being renewed. However, radio show copyright laws vary from state to state and the law in Illinois (where the serial debuted) is rather vague, so it’s difficult to know the copyright status. Other publishers have freely used the character with no legal repercussions. As of 2022, a trademark on the name is owned by Dark House Comics, so its status as at least an orphan work is certain.
Description Captain Midnight first appeared on the Captain Midnight radio show in 1938 from Skelly Oil Company. Dell Comics continued the adventures of the old time radio drama version of Captain Midnight. Here, he was a World War I flying ace and leader of the US Military’s elite “Secret Squadron.” He had earned the nickname Captain Midnight after returning from a mission at the stroke of 12. Captain Midnight battled injustice and villains such as Ivan Shark. In the Fawcett version of the character, Captain Midnight, a.k.a. Captain Albright, was a genius inventor who had a secret lab located somewhere in Nevada. He wore a skintight suit with a “Gliderchute” (similar to a wingsuit) attached to the sides, which allowed him to glide like a flying squirrel. He used other gadgets such as his “Swing-Spring”, a projecting swing-line, “Blackout Bomb”, and “Doom-Beam Torch”. He fought Nazis such as Baron Von Gatz and Japanese agents such as Black Mikado. After the war, he fought criminals, communists, and alien invaders, such as Jagga the Space Raider and Xog, King of Saturn. He was assisted by his sidekick Sergeant Twilight. He teamed up with Spy Smasher against Yellow Hawk. Notes: The US copyright office has no record of the radio show being renewed. However, radio show copyright laws vary from state to state and the law in Illinois (where the serial debuted) is rather vague, so it’s difficult to know the copyright status. Other publishers have freely used the character with no legal repercussions. As of 2022, a trademark on the name is owned by Dark House Comics, so its status as at least an orphan work is certain.
