by Matman
When I was a young reader I was instantly hooked into comic books because both my father and grandfather collected. One of the books that both of them enjoyed was BORIS KARLOFF'S TALES OF MYSTERY, from Gold Key. For me this was a great series to read because it was scary stuff... but it wasn't horrifying or the stuff of nightmares. For me this was as scary as I would read!
TALES OF MYSTERY was an anthology series that debuted in April 1963 and lasted until February of 1980. Published by Gold Key (and later reprinted by Whitman) and was born out of the serieS BORIS KARLOFF THRILLER, the comics were a big seller for the publisher that was publishing everything at the time. The series wasn't written by karloff, but he appeared at the beginning and end of each to story to set up and then deliver the closing remarks.
At the time Boris Karloff was a big name in films, appearing in hundreds of films including FRANKENSTEIN as the monster, so naturally his 'image' fit perfectly as the framing device for these comics. I remember (and still have) many of my father and grandpa's originals as well as the Whitman reprints I would later pick up (like # 67 shown above, my first) and am finishing a pile i picked up in a (GASP) 50 cent bin!
These books are incredible reads and showcase some incredible art and amazing stories and were the blueprints for later horror comics like HOUSE OF MYSTERY and UNEXPECTED!
These stories have been reprinted in collections from Dark Horse books and can be found at your local comic shop... or Amazon!
When I was a young reader I was instantly hooked into comic books because both my father and grandfather collected. One of the books that both of them enjoyed was BORIS KARLOFF'S TALES OF MYSTERY, from Gold Key. For me this was a great series to read because it was scary stuff... but it wasn't horrifying or the stuff of nightmares. For me this was as scary as I would read!
TALES OF MYSTERY was an anthology series that debuted in April 1963 and lasted until February of 1980. Published by Gold Key (and later reprinted by Whitman) and was born out of the serieS BORIS KARLOFF THRILLER, the comics were a big seller for the publisher that was publishing everything at the time. The series wasn't written by karloff, but he appeared at the beginning and end of each to story to set up and then deliver the closing remarks.
At the time Boris Karloff was a big name in films, appearing in hundreds of films including FRANKENSTEIN as the monster, so naturally his 'image' fit perfectly as the framing device for these comics. I remember (and still have) many of my father and grandpa's originals as well as the Whitman reprints I would later pick up (like # 67 shown above, my first) and am finishing a pile i picked up in a (GASP) 50 cent bin!
These books are incredible reads and showcase some incredible art and amazing stories and were the blueprints for later horror comics like HOUSE OF MYSTERY and UNEXPECTED!
These stories have been reprinted in collections from Dark Horse books and can be found at your local comic shop... or Amazon!
RSS Feed
