Halloween Dynamite

This issue of Dynamite is a find from a while back. Amazingly, it's one I didn't have from my childhood days of reading Dynamite.

I suspect it being the September issue, I'd missed out on the opportunity to order it from my school's Scholastic Flyer since we started classes in September after Labor Day.  I missed all summer issues until I started subscribing to Dynamite through the mail.

Though this is a September issue, I found a lot of Halloween content which I've provided below, but I also included some of the standard Dynamite fare just so you can get a feel for a typical issue. Enjoy!

"The Dynamite Duo" was Dynamite's in-house superhero team.  It was drawn by various artists to lesser or greater results through their run.  While visiting a carnival, teenagers Pam and Bill Harris win twin rings which grant them the power of "Dawnstar" and "Nightglider", which from memory is strength, flight and some psychokinetic powers.  Written by Jane and Bob "R.L." Stine and drawn by such comic notables as Chic Stone and other not so notables as the generic "Bob Kubert School of Art", it had a long-lasting run in Dynamite.

"McKinley!" Contrary to what I said yesterday, "McKinley!" may be be my new exclamation of astonishment and surprise.

Count Morbida was one of my favorite features in Dynamite. It was like having Halloween all year long.

And of course I always loved the Halloween costume and Creature Feature articles. I longed to have a Halloween costume as elaborate as these.  I never did.  It was usually a slapdash last minute design of available materials.

More Count Morbida (answer key at end).

The following pages come from other Dynamite's in my collection. Consider them a Halloween bonus treat.

I found those Ben Cooper "Hairy & Scary" masks at a sale a few years ago and blogged them in a previous Countdown post.

Cortlandt Hull (mistakenly called "Cortland" in the above article) is still around as is his "Witches' Dungeon" though it has moved from Bristol, Connecticut to its current location in Plainville, Connecticut.

A recent (2018) interview with Cortlandt Hull.

One other thing you could always rely on in Dynamite was spooky stories, usually penned by Margaret Ronan.  Margaret Ronan wrote a vast quantity of "strange but true" books, normally collected stories; the kind of books I loved as a kid and which eventually lead to my guilty pleasure of watching paranormal shows as an adult.  I couldn't find any biographical information on Margaret Ronan. It's possible it was a pen name and used by a variety of Scholastic writers.

I remember being so excited to read this "Dynamite Dares!" article.  The idea of spending the night in a haunted house fascinated me, even though ultimately it did disappoint me since they hadn't witnessed anything.

Along with Count Morbida, "Bummers" was a feature I turned to before reading any articles. This time it's Halloween Bummers.  Somehow, I missed this one when I posted a Halloween Bummers collection a few years ago.

I hope you can see all the detail in this drawing. It's glorious.

These "Creepy Pocket Creatures" remind me of the "Peeping Skeleton" I previously posted.  Feel free to print and cut out your own Creepy Pocket Creature for this Halloween.

Dex over at "AEIOU and Sometimes Why" has his own memories of Dynamite which he shared today.  We coordinated a double dose of Halloween Dynamite this season. Jump on over there and check it out.