The Twilight Zone in Four Colors

The first Twilight Zone comic book

Four Color #1173 (1960)

Cover artist unknown

A Look at The Twilight Zone Comic Books

   

        From the inception of the original television series through today, The Twilight Zone has been featured in books, radio, film, theater, magazines, a theme park ride, board games, soundtrack albums, toys, and novelty items ranging from T-shirts to posters. It has inspired documentary films and been released numerous times on home video packages from VHS tapes to Blu-ray discs. It has been imitated and parodied and has been the subject of numerous books, articles, and online resources. It should come as no surprise that The Twilight Zone has also been adapted multiple times for the comic book format, as three ongoing series of traditional comic books, a little-known literacy education book, and a line of graphic novels from an American college of art and design. The Twilight Zone in comic book form displayed its own trends and illustrated the versatility with which the show lent itself to an alternative visual format.

 

The first Gold Key issue (Nov, 1962)

Cover art: George Wilson

            By the early 1960s, science fiction had moved from the pulps and paperbacks into an established genre on television, evolving from early programs aimed primarily at children (Buck Rogers, Space Patrol) to pioneering anthology series (Tales of Tomorrow, Science Fiction Theatre). Comic book publishers began to consider science fiction television programs for their line of titles, particularly in the wake of the fear created around the crime and horror comics of the 1950s. Science fiction and fantasy material was seen as less-controversial subjects which could perhaps reach the same audience. There was reasoning that if it was broadcast on American television then it was okay for comic books. As a result, the 1960s saw a sharp rise in science fiction and fantasy television series adapted for comic books, ranging from The Twilight Zone to Boris Karloff’s Thriller to The Outer Limits, Star Trek, and many more too numerous to list here.

            In 1960, around the time of production on the second season of The Twilight Zone, Western Publishing licensed the rights to create a Twilight Zone comic book. The title was published by Dell (Western and Dell had worked closely together as packager and distributor, respectively, since the 1930s) for its Four Color series, a rotating anthology frequently used to gauge a title’s potential as an ongoing series. The comic would not directly adapt episodes of the television series but instead presented new tales of mystery and imagination, although there were inevitably instances of the comic book covering the same ground as original series. Portions of Rod Serling's introductions from episodes of the show were also occasionally used. Most stories featured an illustrated Rod Serling delivering his typically pithy opening and closing narrations.

A typical Rod Serling hosting panel from issue #18

Art: Nevio Zeccara

          In 1962, four issues after The Twilight Zone comic began its irregular run under the Dell imprint (two for Four Color, two as a regular title), Dell and Western Publishing dissolved their partnership. Western partnered with a new distributor and continued to issue many of their licensed titles under a newly created comics imprint, Gold Key. It is under the Gold Key imprint that The Twilight Zone remained for the bulk of its run. Gold Key Comics became a haven in the 1960's and into the 1980's for fantasy, science fiction, and horror properties with titles including Boris Karloff's Tales of Mystery, Grimm's Ghost Stories, and The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor. Later in its run, The Twilight Zone comic also began to appear under Western's imprint of Whitman during a time when Western battled the shifting dynamics of newsstand distribution. Whitman publications were typically found in markets such as grocery stores, pharmacies, and department stores. Certain later issues of The Twilight Zone were released under both the Gold Key and Whitman imprints in differing distribution patterns.  

Issue #73 (Whitman)

Cover art: George Wilson, reprinted from issue #40

             The initial Dell comic was incorporated into an existing series (continuing from the Dell Four Color series) and therefore numbered in a preexisting pattern. The Dell comic lasted two additional issues before the move to Gold Key, in which the series began with new numbering, from issue #1 (1962) to issue #91 (1979). An all-reprint issue #92 was released nearly three years later, in 1982, with a cover by Frank Bolle recreating George Wilson's cover for the first issue. 

             Each issue typically featured between 2-4 illustrated stories as well as a short text story (required to maintain access to second class postage). The first eight issues of the Gold Key comic featured a pin-up reproduction of the front cover illustration on the back cover, sans logo and text. George Wilson contributed many of the eye-catching covers. Other notable artists who worked on the book during its long run include Reed Crandall, George Evans, Al Williamson, Joe Orlando, Alex Toth, Jerry Robinson, Mike Roy, Angelo Torres, Frank Miller (in his professional debut), Russ Jones, Bob Jenny, Mike Vosburg, Walter Simonson, and Alex Niño. Several stories in issues from the early 1970's were written by Len Wein, creator of Wolverine and (with artist Bernie Wrightson) Swamp Thing. The first incarnation of The Twilight Zone comic folded in June of 1979, 15 years of (almost) uninterrupted publication beyond the end of the show upon which it was based. The first series of Twilight Zone comic books have not, as of this writing, been collected in a permanent format, despite being part of a line of comics which have seen a resurgence of interest in recent years. Several other Gold Key titles have been restored and reprinted in archive editions. It is long past time for The Twilight Zone to receive the same treatment. 

            1979 saw the appearance of a little-known volume titled Stories from the Twilight Zone: A Skylark Illustrated Book. Published by Bantam Books and designed for reading education, this volume featured comic style adaptations of the contents from Rod Serling's 1960 Bantam book, Stories from the Twilight Zone. The stories, “The Mighty Casey,” “Escape Clause,” “Walking Distance,” “The Fever,” “Where Is Everybody?” and “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street,” were adapted by Horace J. Elias and illustrated by Carl Pfeufer.

            The Twilight Zone returned to comics a little more than a decade later when the first issue of a second incarnation was released by NOW Comics, issue-dated November of 1990. The new book was decidedly different from its predecessor. The second series of Twilight Zone comic books were a natural off-shoot of another boom in science fiction and fantasy films and television programs adapted for comics. 

 

NOW series issue #1 (1990)

Cover art: Bill Sienkiewicz

NOW Comics was founded in late 1985 by Anthony Caputo during a rise in the industry wide trend toward independent publishing. Though NOW began as a sole proprietorship, Caputo was soon bought out and the company began growing at an increasing rate, becoming one of the top five producers of comic books in America by 1990. Much of NOW's success came from their line of licensed properties, including titles such as The Real Ghostbusters, Fright Night, The Green Hornet, Married. . . with Children, The Original Astro Boy, Speed Racer, Mr. T and the T Force, Terminator: The Burning Earth, and The Twilight Zone. 

        Rod Serling was noticeably absent from the NOW comic book series, which capitalized on the demand for more mature fantasy and horror content. Variant covers and special issues were common and included a double-sized "science fiction" issue, a 3-D issue, an "all computer" issue, and a double-sized annual issue. The most notable issue is the series debut featuring Harlan Ellison's "Crazy as a Soup Sandwich," illustrated by Neal Adams. Ellison, who served for a time as Creative Consultant on the revival The Twilight Zone television series, provided an essay preceding the story detailing his experiences working on the show. "Crazy as a Soup Sandwich" was produced as an episode for the third season of the revival Twilight Zone television series, directed by Paul Lynch from Ellison's script, broadcast April 1, 1989. The prose version of the story was published in the Spring, 1989 issue of Pulphouse magazine and collected in Ellison's Slippage (1997). Interestingly, that first issue comprised the entirety of the first volume of the series. Due to a change in ownership of NOW Comics, the series was placed on hold for a year. When it returned, the first issue was reprinted with slightly different contents. It originally contained a back-up story, "Wish Book," written by Don Glut and illustrated by John Stangeland. When the issue was reprinted, it dropped "Wish Book" and added a prose story by Ellison, "Darkness Upon the Face of the Deep," along with a new cover by Neal Adams.

        The NOW series ceased publication in August of 1993. Like many of the NOW titles, The Twilight Zone series has not been reissued in a collected edition.

Cover art: Rich Ellis

        Rod Serling's scripts for The Twilight Zone were adapted into a series of graphic novels in 2008 and 2009 by Walker & Company in conjunction with the Rod Serling Trust overseen by Carol Serling. Serling's scripts were adapted by art instructor Marc Kneece and art duties were handled by the student artists from the Savannah College of Art and Design, including Dove McHargue, Rebekah Isaacs, Robert Grabe, Rich Ellis, Anthony Spay, and Chris Lie. Each volume included an introductory essay and a biographical essay on Rod Serling.

Dynamite series issue #1
Cover art: Francesco Francavilla

        The third and most recent incarnation of The Twilight Zone in comic book form arrived in December of 2013 with The Twilight Zone #1 from Dynamite Entertainment. The format this time was a long-form series written by J. Michael Straczynski, who'd previously contributed significantly to the 1985 revival Twilight Zone television series, out of which he produced the 1989 book Tales from the New Twilight Zone. The main series continued for twelve issues until February of 2015. A second limited series, The Twilight Zone: Shadow and Substance, appeared in 2015 and another, The Twilight Zone: The Shadow (a crossover series with the pulp hero) appeared in 2016. Like the NOW series, Dynamite released a number of single issue specials, including a 2014 Annual and the one-shots The Twilight Zone: Lost Tales and The Twilight Zone: 1959. The series concluded with the publication of the latter in 2016. The Dynamite series has been collected in a series of trade editions.

         A final publication of interest is the 2019 graphic novel biography The Twilight Man: Rod Serling and the Birth of Television by writer and artist Koren Shadmi, published by Life Drawn. This excellent illustrated biography follows Rod Serling from his days as a paratrooper to his early success in television through The Twilight Zone and Night Gallery and on to his untimely death. Serling's life is presented in a refreshingly direct manner, blemishes and all, as well as in a highly engaging visual style that manages to slot a great amount of information into a relatively small space. It comes recommended.

Cover art: Koren Shadmi

         It is unlikely that we have seen the end of The Twilight Zone in comic book form. It is a tribute to Rod Serling and the original series that each new generation rediscovers the show and re-imagines it in an interesting and unique way.

For a sampling of the Gold Key Twilight Zone comics, go here. 

The Twilight Zone comic books:

1.) Dell Four Color Comics #1173, #1288

2.) The Twilight Zone (Dell Comics), 2 issues (1962)

3.) The Twilight Zone (Gold Key/Whitman) 92 issues (#1-92), November, 1962-June, 1979; 1982. 

4.) Mystery Comics Digest (Gold Key reprint series) #3,6,9,12,15,18,21,24

5.) Dan Curtis Giveaway Comics #3 (Gold Key, 1974; mini-comics used as bubble gum premiums).

6.) The Twilight Zone (Gold Key, 1976; mini-comic, sold in packs)

7.) Stories from The Twilight Zone: A Skylark Illustrated Book by Rod Serling, stories adapted by Horace J. Elias and illustrated by Carl Pfeufer (Bantam Books, 1979)

8.) The Twilight Zone (NOW Comics) Series 1: Nov, 1990 (1 issue; reprinted Oct, 1991), Series 2: 11 issues (Nov, 1991-Sept, 1992), Series 3: 4 issues (May-August, 1993). One shots (all 1993): Annual, Science Fiction Special, 3-D special.

9.) The Twilight Zone graphic novels (Walker & Co.); 1. “Walking Distance” 2. "The After Hours" 3. “The Odyssey of Flight 33” 4. “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” 5. “The Midnight Sun” 6. “Deaths-head Revisited” 7. “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?” 8. “The Big, Tall Wish”

10.) The Twilight Zone (Dynamite Entertainment) Series 1: 12 issues (Dec, 2013-Feb, 2015; collected in 3 volumes as The Way Out (#1-5), The Way In (#4-8), The Way Back (#9-12)), Series 2: Shadow and Sustance, 4 issues (2015), Series 3: The Twilight Zone: The Shadow, 4 issues (2016). One-shots: 2014 Annual, The Twilight Zone: Lost Tales (2004), The Twilight Zone: 1959 (2016)

11.) The Twilight Man: Rod Serling and the Birth of Television by Koren Shadmi (Life Drawn, 2019).

Grateful acknowledgement to The Grand Comics Database (comics.org) and Sequential Ellison (sequentialellison.com) for information used in the text.

-JP