Polar Bear Return to Polar Blair's Den Menu Page

Western Publishing:
Ripley's Believe it or Not! True Ghost Stories

Back to "Comic Books: Western Publishing" Main Page

About This Series
Issues
Pictures



About This Series:

    This is one of the coolest comic series ever!  Based on the "Ripley's Believe it or Not!" cartoon panel, this series is different than what you'd expect.  First of all, it's in color.  Most importantly, it's NOT in cartoon panel form.  These are traditional comic book stories.  Each story is based on a true-life, documented ghost story.  This series had an amazing 94-issue run.  It could have gone on much longer, but I think the fact that Gold Key, itself, was nearing its end as a publisher.  This series is as entertaining as it is educational.  It could be used to teach history.  I think it's always neat when non-fiction can be made fun.

Issues:

#12:  February, 1969.  Stories include:  "The Strangling Oak", "Death's Spectral Hand", "The Ghostly Horseman", and "The Headless Ghost of Halley Hollow".

    The Strangling Oak- A dead man buried inside a tree strangles passersby.

    Death's Spectral Hand- The evil premonitions that haunted John Wilkes Booth from childhood until his assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

    The Ghostly Horseman- A beautiful indentured servant is dragged to death by her master's horse.  The ghost of she and the horse haunt the area and torment the cruel master until his death at age 90.

    The Headless Ghost of Halley Hollow- A married couple give a headless ghost peace by burying his skull with the rest of his body.

#18:  February, 1970.  Stories include:  "The Headless Huntsman", "Ghost's Vendetta", "Spectral Warriors", and "The Devil's Violin".  The last story is an account of the famous violinist Nicolo Paganini, his life-long association with Satanism, and his uncanny talent for playing the violin.

#30:  December, 1971. 
Stories include:  "The Devil's Midget", "Beloved Phantom", "Army of the Vanished", and "Death Tolls the Bell".

The Devil's Midget- A midget con artist, who disguises herself as a little girl in her crimes, is betrayed by her woman partner.  Her ghost takes revenge from the grave.

Beloved Phantom- A rampaging horse is shot to death.  The boy who loves him, who saw him die, continues to say that he sees Phantom and feeds him.  The ghost's horse is actually seen by others.  The boy grows gravely ill and dies.  Then his ghost is seen riding the ghost of Phantom.

Army of the Vanished- A man hiking in the Alps is about to die a cold death until the ghost soldiers of Hannibal's centuries-dead army rescue him and take him back to civilization.

Death Tolls the Bell- A man who killed his wife hides the body in a buoy.  But her ghost rises from the skeleton and haunts him and other passersby until she has her revenge.  The man, scared by his wife's ghost, ultimately writes a note of confession before throwing himself off a cliff.  After he dies, the ghost no longer bothers the town.

#35:  September, 1972. 
Stories include:  "From the Tomb", "The Spectre of Saigon", "Welcome Ashore", and "The Smoke of Death".

From the Tomb- An evil count, killed by his rival lover of a peasant girl, haunts the girl until he possesses her treasured heart-shaped locket.

The Spectre of Saigon- During the Vietnam War, the ghost of a giant soldier statue saves soldiers and villagers alike from impending attacks by the North Vietnamese.

Welcome Ashore- The ghost of a woman searches for her husband on French ships that land in Nova Scotia.

The Smoke of Death- The son of a Hawaiian tribal chief is killed by another tribe.  His ghost visits his father, and the chief exacts his revenge on the tribe per his son's instructions.

#94:  February, 1980.  Last issue!  Stories include:  "A Circle of 9 Stones", "Who is Smoking?", "Portrait of a Ghost", "When the Trumpet Sounds".  What surprises me is that there is no announcement of this being the last issue, which makes me think that the creators didn't even know the series was going to be cancelled.  The series should have ended with a roar!  At least double-sized, or with some special article on Robert Ripley.  Something.  A great issue, but certainly not a special issue.

Pictures: