Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery, #23
Published: September 1968
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Issue Contents:
Hell, Book, and Candle (1)
"The master storyteller at his chilling best!"
Storyline
Candle in hand, Boris Karloff beckons you to be "Thrilled" by this issue.
Characters
- Boris Karloff (photograph)
Story Notes
The iconically crossing "Thriller sticks" that heralded the different "acts" of a "Boris Karloff Presents Thriller" TV episode, depicted for the only time in color, almost appear to hem Boris Karloff into his nightmare environment.
Intelsat III Satellite
"Like the Early Birds, these satellites will hang thousands of miles above the Earth."
Characters
- Cheerios Kid
Story Notes
Facts about the Intelsat III communications satellite - and some words on behalf of Cheerios breakfast cereal. Color ad on inside front cover.
Past and Present Danger
"Mardi Gras time in New Orleans!"
Storyline
In New Orleans for the Mardi Gras, Beth Lawrence finds the hotels are full. A chance meeting with Peter Norville leads to a strange experience.
Characters
- Boris Karloff (host)
- Beth Lawrence
- Peter Norville
- hotel clerk
- Peter's mother
- Lucifer (dalmatian)
- various Mardi Gras revelers
- police officer
Credits
- Pencils: Giovanni Ticci
- Inks: Alberto Giolitti
- Letters: Ben Oda
Story Notes
Story rebranded as *"Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery"* for this reprinting. The original printing had no actual feature logo. New pencils identification by Alberto Becattini (December 2010). Page 4, panel 3 shows some familiar faces: What is clearly a Donald Duck balloon in the upper right corner and, at the far left, a costumed reveler dressed as Napoleon - but who (as this story dates from 1962) presages the look of actor Jonathan Harris as Doctor Zachary Smith from the TV series Lost in Space (1965-1968). Read more, and see the panel in question, at [https://tiahblog.blogspot.com/2020/10/adventures-in-comic-boxing-boris.html][1] [1]: https://tiahblog.blogspot.com/2020/10/adventures-in-comic-boxing-boris.html
Burn, Witch, Burn
"A violent thunderstorm, a car racing through the night, and a lonely road near Salem, Mass!"
Storyline
When their getaway car breaks down, two bank robbers decide to hole up in an isolated old house... belonging to a witch.
Characters
- Boris Karloff (host)
- Duke (bank robber)
- Joe (bank robber)
- Abigail Whiteside, Mephisto (Abigail's black cat)
- two state troopers
Credits
- Pencils: Don Heck
- Inks: Mike Peppe
- Letters: Ben Oda
Gold Key Comics Club News
"How do you doodle?"
Characters
- King Kong
Story Notes
Requests for reader-submitted doodles and drawings. Blurbs on Gold Key's adaptation of King Kong, and the upcoming "UFO Flying Saucers". There are four Gold Key Comics Club pages, comprising the centerfold.
Reader's Page Airplanes
"Our readers (that's you) are proving every day what talented artists they are."
Story Notes
Reader-submitted drawings of airplanes.
Reader's Page Inventions
"Our readers (that's you) are proving every day what talented artists they are."
Story Notes
Reader-submitted wacky inventions.
Jokes On You
"Why is a dog’s tail like the center of a tree?"
Storyline
Jokes and riddles submitted by readers.
Characters
- Gold Key Kid
The Crystal Ball
"Our next THRILLER takes us to the Latin Quarter of Paris in the days of liberation!"
Storyline
French Underground Resistance members, Houdon (a thief) and Old Cambert (a fortune-telling charlatan), have exposed a nest of Nazi collaborators, who have left behind a trove of currency and pearls after their arrest. Cambert's crystal ball "informs him" of the abandoned treasure, and they raid the quarters of the collaborators to take the riches as a "reward" for their actions. Houdon frames Old Cambert as a Nazi collaborator to keep the entire treasure for himself. The fortune teller is arrested and imprisoned, vowing his revenge on Houdon declaring "My crystal ball will seek you out!"
Characters
- Boris Karloff (host)
- Houdon (thief)
- Old Cambert (charlatan)
- various Paris police
Credits
- Pencils: Ray Bailey
- Inks: Ray Bailey
- Letters: Ben Oda
Story Notes
Story rebranded as "Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery" for this reprinting. The original printing had no actual feature logo.
The Dream
"The year 1919 in a Polish village, a girl dreams of her betrothed --- lost in the Great War..."
Storyline
Myrna has recurring nightmares of Stanislaus, her betrothed, trapped in a ruined castle, despite the official records listing him as having been killed in World War I.
Characters
- Myrna
- Stanislaus
- Polish officials
- Polish villagers
Story Notes
Not officially a Boris Karloff story. Boris Karloff does not appear as host. Remade as a four-page Twilight Zone story titled *"Once Upon a Dream"* in The Twilight Zone (Western, 1962 Series) #17 (September 1966). https://www.comics.org/issue/20343/#149162
Dinosauria Ornitholestes
"Side by side with the giant flesh-eating dinosaurs were smaller reptilian hunters."
Story Notes
Illustrated text article on the Ornitholestes. © 1968, Western Publishing Company, Inc.
King Kong
Featuring Gold Key Comics; King Kong
"Giant of the jungle now featured in a giant new comic book"
Characters
- King Kong
Story Notes
Gold Key house ad for King Kong. On sale June 6, 1968. Cover price 25 cents. On final interior page of the comic.
Boys, Girls, Men, Women
"If you need extra money & you know just 10 people…"
Story Notes
Ad for selling Christmas cards for Wallace Brown, Inc. Color ad on inside back cover.
Do You Need Extra Money?
"It costs you nothing to try"
Story Notes
Ad for selling Christmas cards and stationery for the Cheerful Card Company. Color ad on back cover.