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[Hex Enduction Hour]

Hello everyone.  When I was a boy in the 1970s, I sent away for a comic advertised in a comic I owned (most likely a Marvel or DC title.)  What I received were multiple copies of about six issues of a black & white comic.  If memory serves correctly, the dimensions were 4.25" x 5.5"

The premise dealt with a time-traveling adventurer who may have been called Malachi (possibly bald with a goatee?)  Edit: the character had adventures stories ranging from the old west, Roman times, and sci-fi. The comic had religious overtones and possibly quoted the bible. I was instructed to give away the other copies and 'spread the word' so to speak. 

Does anyone have knowledge of this comic?  I'd love to see them again.  Thanks in advance.
~HEH

[crashryan]

It sounds like these may have been some of the Jack Chick religious tracts. For many years Chick ground out dozens of  these booklets, which were circulated by believers, left in public places (I found a bunch of them on the ground at the Rose Parade), etc. They were comic-format stories pushing a super-fundamentalist view of Christianity, with lots of conspiracy theories, anti-Catholicism, and antisemitism mixed in. Here is a Wikipedia bio of Chick:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Chick

Chick Publications are still around, and they have a website displaying some of their wares. I will not link to it because I think his stuff is hateful trash. The only thing that makes me think the books you received weren't Chick tracts is that you're unsure if they were religiously-themed. Chick left no doubt what he was talking about. All the other factors in your description, including the preoccupation with Malachi, fit his profile.

[Hex Enduction Hour]

Hi CrashRyan,

That's a keen observation - I didn't occur to me that the comic I'm describing sounds a lot like a Chic tract. This isn't the first time I've inquired online about the mystery comic and ruling out Chic tracts should have been in my prior descriptions. I used to own the entire Chic tract collection, but eventually sold them off on eBay sometime in the 2000s.

Another aspect of the comic I remember was that the characters were long and gaunt and a lot like Jack Katz's people in his comic, The First Kingdom.

Thanks again for your assistance.


Thanks for your reply

It sounds like these may have been some of the Jack Chick religious tracts. For many years Chick ground out dozens of  these booklets, which were circulated by believers, left in public places (I found a bunch of them on the ground at the Rose Parade), etc. They were comic-format stories pushing a super-fundamentalist view of Christianity, with lots of conspiracy theories, anti-Catholicism, and antisemitism mixed in. Here is a Wikipedia bio of Chick:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Chick

Chick Publications are still around, and they have a website displaying some of their wares. I will not link to it because I think his stuff is hateful trash. The only thing that makes me think the books you received weren't Chick tracts is that you're unsure if they were religiously-themed. Chick left no doubt what he was talking about. All the other factors in your description, including the preoccupation with Malachi, fit his profile.

[The Australian Panther]

Crash said,

Chick Publications are still around, and they have a website displaying some of their wares. I will not link to it because I think his stuff is hateful trash. 

I count myself an active Christian, Crash, and I absolutely agree with you. But, I would say, I know his stuff is hateful trash! 

[paw broon]

Last year I started an article on religious comics and thought it would be clever to use 2 creators from opposite sides of the Christian publications.  Dudley D Watkins and Jack Chick.  Watkins was a sincere, caring person a committed Christian who was also a bit of a genius as far as comics are concerned.  Having researched Chick and his awful publications, I gave up, as I didn't want to sully Watkins' memory using him on the same page as Mr. Nasty.