Tom Corbett is the main character in a series of ''Tom Corbett—Space Cadet'' stories that were depicted in

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

, books,

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

s, and other media in the 1950s. The stories followed the adventures of Corbett, Astro, and Roger Manning (originally; later, T.J. Thistle), cadets at the Space Academy as they train to become members of the Solar Guard. The action takes place at the Academy in classrooms and

bunkroom A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

s, aboard their training ship the rocket cruiser ''Polaris'', and on alien worlds, both within the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...

and in orbit around nearby stars.

Origin

Joseph Greene of

Grosset & Dunlap Grosset & Dunlap is a New York City-based publishing house founded in 1898. The company was purchased by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1982 and today is part of Penguin Random House through its subsidiary Penguin Group. In recent years, through the P ...

developed ''Tom Corbett, Space Cadet'', inspired by the

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein ( ; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific acc ...

novel ''

Space Cadet ''Space Cadet'' is a 1948 science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein about Matt Dodson, who joins the Interplanetary Patrol to help preserve peace in the Solar System. The story translates the standard military academy story into outer space ...

'' (1948) but based on his own prior work. Greene had submitted a radio script for "Tom Ranger" and the "Space Cadets" on January 16, 1946, but it remained unperformed when Heinlein's novel was published. Greene then reworked his radio script into a script for a daily newspaper adventure strip, which was never produced.

Television

The character appeared in the TV-series '' Tom Corbett, Space Cadet'' (1950–1955).

In other media

Books

The books from 1952–1956 were published by

, written by unknown authors under the pseudonym Carey Rockwell, with Willy Ley as technical advisor. #''Stand By For Mars'' (1952) #''Danger in Deep Space'' (1953) #''On the Trail of the Space Pirates'' (1953) #''The Space Pioneers'' (1953) #''The Revolt on Venus'' (1954) #''Treachery in Outer Space'' (1954) #''Sabotage in Space'' (1955) #''The Robot Rocket'' (1956) In 1953 a slim children's book titled ''Tom Corbett's Wonder Book of Space'' (or ''Tom Corbett: A Trip to the Moon'') was written by Marcia Martin and published by Wonder Books.

Comic strip

The ''Tom Corbett — Space Cadet''

, drawn in

Milton Caniff Milton Arthur Paul Caniff (; February 28, 1907 – April 3, 1988) was an American cartoonist known for the ''Terry and the Pirates'' and ''Steve Canyon'' comic strips. Biography Caniff was born in Hillsboro, Ohio. He was an Eagle Scout and a re ...

style by Ray Bailey, ran Sunday and daily in American newspapers, from September 9, 1951 to September 6, 1953.

Paul S. Newman Paul S. Newman (April 29, 1924 – May 30, 1999) was an American writer of comic books, comic strips, and books, whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s. Credited in the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' as the most prolific comic-book writ ...

scripted through February 8, 1953. The strips from September 9, 1951 to July 31, 1952 were republished by Eternity Comics as five issues of ''The Original Tom Corbett, Space Cadet''.

Comic books

The original Tom Corbett series was published by

Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...

beginning in their ''

Four Color ''Four Color'', also known as ''Four Color Comics'' and ''Dell Four Color'', is an American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962. The title is a reference to the four basic colors used when printing comic ...

'' series, which was used to try out new story lines on the public to obtain feedback. After three tryout issues, Corbett moved to a standalone title which began numbering at #4. Corbett was also featured in a 1953 issue of ''Boys and Girls March of Comics'', published by the K.K. Publications imprint of

Western Publishing Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was an American company founded in 1907 in Racine, Wisconsin, best known for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also ...

, with which Dell was partnered. As the popularity of the television series waned, Dell stopped producing the comic book at #11 in 1954, and the series was taken up in 1955 by

Prize Comics A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

for three issues. All eleven Dell issues were reprinted in black and white by the UK based

World Distributors World Distributors (known colloquially as "Pembertons") was a British publisher and distributor of magazines and comic books. The company was known for repackaging American comics and producing comic book annuals based on licensed properties. Fo ...

, with some cover rearrangements and material omissions. The Dell standalone issues were re-released digitally—albeit not in publication order—by Bluewater Comics as ''Tom Corbett: Space Cadet Classics'' in 2014–2015. In 2017, PS Artbooks released two volumes as part of their "Pre-Code Classics" line, collecting the first seven Dell issues in volume one, and the remaining four Dell issues along with the three Prize issues in volume two. There were two four-issue manga-style ''Tom Corbett, Space Cadet'' mini-series released by

Eternity Comics Eternity Comics was an American comic book publisher active from 1986 to 1994, first as an independent publisher, then as an imprint of Malibu Comics. Eternity published creator-owned comics of an offbeat, independent flavor, as well as some lice ...

in the 1990, eventually followed by two four-issue ''Tom Corbett: Space Cadet'' mini-series released by Bluewater Comics in 2009 and 2012–2013. Dell Comics (February 1952–September–November 1954) *''Dell 4-Color'' #378 "Titan Sabotage" *''Dell 4-Color'' #400 "Space Pirates" *''Dell 4-Color'' #421 "Colonists of Space Colony Io" *''Tom Corbett, Space Cadet'' #4 "Lost Race of Asorians" *''Tom Corbett, Space Cadet'' #5 "The Smugglers of the Moon" *''Tom Corbett, Space Cadet'' #6 "Blue Men of Tara" *''Tom Corbett, Space Cadet'' #7 "The Space Traitor" *''Tom Corbett, Space Cadet'' #8 "Spaceship Graveyard" *''Tom Corbett, Space Cadet'' #9 "The World of Deep Waters" *''Tom Corbett, Space Cadet'' #10 "Asteroid Treasure Hunt" *''Tom Corbett, Space Cadet'' #11 "The Forbidden Planet" K.K. Publications *''Boys and Girls March of Comics'' (1953), #102 "Slavers of Space" World Distributors *''Tom Corbett, Space Cadet'' (1953–1954) #1–11 Prize Comics (May 1955–October 1955) *''Tom Corbett, Space Cadet'' v2 #1 :* "The Spaceship of Doom" :* "Octopus Tree" :* "The Spaceways of Peril" *''Tom Corbett, Space Cadet'' v2 #2 :* "The Outlaws of Uranus" :* "The Invaders" :* "Wolf Planet" *''Tom Corbett, Space Cadet'' v2 #3 :* "Dangerous Cargo" :* "The Drifter" :* "The Craters of Mercury" Eternity Comics 1990 * ''Tom Corbett, Space Cadet - Book One'' * ''Tom Corbett, Space Cadet - Book Two'' * ''The Original Tom Corbett, Space Cadet'' Bluewater Comics'' * ''Tom Corbett: Space Cadet'' v1 (2009), #1–4 * ''Tom Corbett: Space Cadet'' v2 (2012–2013), #1–4 "Danger in Deep Space" * ''Tom Corbett: Space Cadet Classics'' (2014–2015), #1–8 PS Artbooks * ''Tom Corbett, Space Cadet'' v1 * ''Tom Corbett, Space Cadet'' v2

Radio

The cast for the radio program was the same as for the television series. It ran from January 1-June 26, 1952, as a half-hour show twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday. Each story line would start on Tuesday and end on Thursday. Many of the radio episodes were based on television episodes. A radio version produced in Australia used local actors. The radio drama company The Colonial Radio Theatre on the Air produced two "radio dramatization" audio versions of BlueWater/Tidalwave titles, ''Tom Corbett Space Cadet'' (2012), and ''Tom Corbett Space Cadet: Danger in Deep Space'' (2013).

Music

There was also a musical recording, "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, Song and March" in 1951 ("Space Cadet Song” b/w an instrumental version called "Space Cadet March"). These were performed by the “Space Cadet Marching Band and Chorus” (in reality, studio musicians directed by Columbia Records executive

Mitch Miller Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor ...

) and released on Simon & Schuster’s Golden Records kiddie label."Tom Corbett Space Cadet Song and March"
item on '' Etsy.com''. Songs and records were (c) Rockhill Radio Inc. Made in the US by The Sandpiper Press, distributed by Simon & Schuster.

Toys and tie-ins

There was a ''Tom Corbett—Space Cadet''

View-Master View-Master is the trademark name of a line of special-format stereoscopes and corresponding View-Master "reels", which are thin cardboard disks containing seven Stereoscopic 3-D pairs of small transparent color photographs on film.Mary Ann & Wo ...

packet containing three reels. Its three-dimensional photographs were brilliantly colored but were taken of sculptures of the characters and models of the spacecraft and props. The story was of finding on the moon a miniature pyramid made by unknown aliens, which led to a clue on Mars, and finally to fighting interplanetary crooks in the asteroid belt. There were also several coloring books; a flashlight; a punch-out book; a costume for children; a lunch box; a pocket watch; a Space Academy

playset Playsets, or play sets, are themed collections of similar toys designed to work together to enact some action or event. The most common toy playsets involve plastic figures, accessories, and possibly buildings or scenery, purchased together in a co ...

with plastic figures; a set of rubber molds for making plaster-of-Paris figures, furniture and vehicles, made by Marx toys; a Little Golden Book; and a Little Golden Record of the Space Academy song ("From the rocket fields of the academy / to the far flung stars of outer space / we are space cadets training to be / ready for dangers we may face"). Two other records presented ''Space Cadet'' adventures, starring the original TV/radio cast: "Tom Corbett Space Cadet at Space Academy" and "Rescue in Space: Tom Corbett, Space Cadet". The back of boxes of Kellogg's

Pep Cereal Pep was a brand of whole-wheat breakfast cereal produced by the Kellogg Company, and introduced in 1923, which became the first to be fortified with vitamins B and D in 1938. Pep was a long-running rival to Wheaties, and also the sponsor of Mut ...

featured cardboard cutouts of a space cadet cap, gauntlets, and a ray gun, and the cereal company made a direct tie-in with the product Kellogg's Pep: The Solar Cereal. Kellogg also published a "Tom Corbett Space Cadet News", Vol. 1 #1, a 23x15 inch newspaper, folded in half, 4 pages. The show was the subject of a parody, "Lawrence Fechtenberger, Interstellar Officer Candidate", a serial that made several appearances on programs of

Bob and Ray Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname) *Bob (dog), a dog that received the Dickin Medal for bravery in World War II *Bob the ...

References

Bibliography

* David Weinstein
''The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television''
(Philadelphia:

Temple University Press Temple University Press is a university press founded in 1969 that is part of Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). It is one of thirteen publishers to participate in the Knowledge Unlatched pilot, a global library consortium approach ...

, 2004) * Alex McNeil, ''Total Television'', Fourth edition (New York:

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

, 1980) * Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows'', Third edition (New York:

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major American book publisher that is a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Ballantine was founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. Ballantine was acquired by Random House in ...

, 1964)

External links

The Solar Guard Website
(information about the books) * * *

at seriesbooks.info * * *

* ttp://thethunderchild.com/RadioDrama/TomCorbett/FrankieThomas.html Frankie Thomas Tribute at ''The Thunder Child'' web magazinebr>"The Original Space Cadet" by Frank Kuznik, ''Air and Space'', April-May 1995Details and Cover Gallery of the Dell ''Tom Corbet'' series

Tom Corbett Space Cadet at Old Time Radio OutlawsIllustrations from the 1950s book series
{{Authority control 1951 comics debuts 1953 comics endings 1952 comics debuts 1954 comics endings 1955 comics debuts 1955 comics endings 1990 comics debuts 1990 comics endings Book series introduced in 1952 Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Fictional military captains Tom Corbett, Space Cadet

Tom Corbett Thomas Wingett Corbett Jr. (born June 17, 1949) is an American politician, lobbyist, and former prosecutor who served as the 46th governor of Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he was also attorney general of Pen ...

Fictional astronauts Tom Corbett, Space Cadet

Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Tom Corbett, Space Cadet 1952 radio programme endings Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Dell Comics titles