Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery Archives, Vol. 1

Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #1

by Boris Karloff, Alex Toth, Joe Orlando

Collects Boris Karloff Thriller (1962 Gold Key) #1-2 and Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery (1962-1980 Gold Key) #3-4. Features a new introduction by Boris Karloff's daughter Sara Karloff.

A circus performer terrorized by mysterious powers from beyond. A jade idol of a monkey that carries a curse on a South Pacific island drives a man to the brink of madness. An art gallery haunted by paintings that come to life at night. A dictator who sees enemies around every corner, but who can't see the threat right before his eyes. For nearly twenty years, the comic-book series Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery wove stories of intrigue, suspense, and macabre drama. Hosted by renowned actor Boris Karloff, the comic featured contributions from some of comics history's most well-known creators: Alex Toth, Joe Orlando (EC Comics artist and editor), Mike Sekowsky (Justice League of America artist), Frank Thorne, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Arnold Drake, Len Wein (co-creator of Swamp Thing and Wolverine), Al Williamson, Jerry Robinson (creator of the Joker), Dan Spiegle, and many others.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Horror, Comics, Supernatural, Fiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published May 20, 2009

About the author

Boris Karloff was an English actor who emigrated to Canada in the 1910s. He is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the 1931 film Frankenstein, 1935 film Bride of Frankenstein, and 1939 film Son of Frankenstein. His popularity following Frankenstein in the early 1930s was such that for a brief time he was billed simply as "Karloff" or, on some movie posters, "Karloff the Uncanny".

Reviews

[Egghead · Rating 3 out of 5]

Guy who resembles
Boris Karloff (squint) opens
mild uncanny yarns

[Garth · Rating 3 out of 5]

2023 - 365 Days of Horror

Contains issues 1-4

Issue 1: The first two issues were published as Boris Karloff Thriller (same as his 60’s TV show) and we’re 84 pages. A combo of illustrated stories, urban legends and myths with (at least in the first issue) a “true” text story. In this issue it was the story of journalist Ed Sampson who dreamt of the explosion of Krakatoa in 1883 before it happened and caused his story to be erroneously published. Did this really happen? There is no copy of The Boston Globe (the paper Sampson worked for) that proves it nor any other surviving evidence. Interesting story, true or not. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Issue 2: Enjoyed the two text stories, more urban legends that I had grown up reading. Sort of like Nimoy’s In Search Of… Another ⭐️⭐️⭐️ outing.

Issue 3: First of the regular sized issues. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for this issue solely based on one of the true stories; The Secret of Oak Island. I mentioned In Search Of… last issue. That show was where I first heard of Oak Island, back in the 70’s, and it still fascinates me today. There was also a story on St. Germain, another legend I first learned of on ISO. Methinks Nimoy may have been a fan of Tales of Mystery.

Issue 4: No fun In Search Of… moments. No urban legend stories at all this issue. Interesting text story on computers that everyone should read but lack of “true” stories an a story of a man summoning and killing extinct animals just to impress a hunting club, earn this one ⭐️⭐️.

Overall rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is good as well; again short stories but it was ok.

[Michele Heile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic stories that align with the TV series Thriller. Fun and easy to read mysteries. Cool illustrations. These are a part of Boris Karloff, whom we adore. We plan on collecting all volumes.

[Chowhound88 (a.k.a. Ralph) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved all the short mysteries.

[Kris Shaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat tame but always charming collection of Gold Key reprints. The artwork and writing are below the quality of EC but are worth preserving in this format for posterity.

[1544940 Wegner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Old school horror storytelling. This was an enjoyable thought coasting read. Most of the suspense endings were predictable. The art orchestrated the stories in such a way you experienced the terror and suspense as the characters in the story. This brought back the good memories of reading horror comics in my youth. Recommend this to an audience that enjoys an easy escape and enjoyed TV shows such as Dark Shadows and Twilight Zone. Most likely to read the follow up volume two soon.