Jack Chick:  The Comic Crusader

If you live in a big city, you may have come across a mysterious comic booklet, one that may have appeared to spring up out of nowhere.  Maybe you found it in an old phone booth, or possibly at the grocery store.  You may have even found one sitting on top of your favorite gas pump.  That’s how I found mine.  They are usually in all black and white, and they tell the story of some lost soul who can’t stop sinning, but these books, through the power of comics, tell the reader how to find Jesus and save themselves from eternal damnation.  I know this sounds very specific, but it is true:  There is an invisible infrastructure of people who buy these little booklets and leave them all around the city for people to find.  They all started with a guy named Jack Chick who made it his mission to save humanity from itself.  While this is a noble cause, not everyone sees it that way.  This week I talk to Kurt Kuersteiner, about the origin of Chick Tracts, how they became so involved with conspiracies, and why it seems like there just might be a higher power tipping the scales in Jack’s favor.

*BONUS*  Meeting Jack Chick

I continue my conversation with Kurt, as we talk about the time he met the elusive entity known as Jack Chick.  He goal was to uncover the identity of the mysterious third artist for Chick Publications, which he did end up doing.  Plus we talk about the main artist, the extremely talented Fred Carter and how his and Jack’s relationship paralleled Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

Haunted Houses, Horror Host, & Monster Cards

Kurt Kuersteiner is a mini master of horror:  He runs one of the largest haunted houses in Florida called “The Terror of Tallahassee”, he is the founder of Monster Wax, a unique trading card company that specializes in horror themed card sets, and he wrote the book on famous horror hosts of old time radio.  He is back on the show just in time for Halloween to discuss all of his terrifying endeavors.  We talk about his time in a spooky old plantation house, how his show Mystery Playhouse became a huge attraction, and how his love of barbed wire fits into it all.