Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery Complete

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 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 artist and editor), Mike Sekowsky ( artist), Frank Thorne, José Luis García-López, Arnold Drake, Len Wein (co-creator of and ), Al Williamson, Jerry Robinson (creator of the ), Dan Spiegle, and many others. --

I grew up on , together with and the early and (if you think that tells you something about my age you'd be surprised). The comics series was first published in October 1, 1962 by Gold Key Comics as , a comic book version of the then popular and critically-acclaimed TV anthology series of the same name aired by NBC from 1960-1962 and hosted by renowned horror actor William Henry Pratt, aka Boris Karloff. The show featured host Boris Karloff introducing a mix of macabre horror tales and suspense thrillers. Karloff lent his face and character to the comics series that likewise mirrored the format of the TV show; the comics was also an anthology for the same subjects. Thriller ran for only two issues, then Gold Key changed the title to after the TV series ended. The comic book series itself lasted for 97 issues until the 1980's--issue #97 was released February 1, 1980--long after not only the end of but also the death of Karloff himself. It was announced in 2009 that Dark Horse comics had acquired the rights to the archives and will issue reprints and hardcover selections. As a matter of fact the solicitation above is from the first such hardcover published May 13, 2009 that featured 31 stories in a compilation. The collection is divided into 14 RAR archive packs. For those who might be interested in the covers and the respective dates of publication of all 97 issues, they can be found . I have to mention here that an old (not referring to age but to the period he's been a member of Avaxhome) super-poster, ekenciz, whose contributions I have always liked and downloaded, managed to post 11 issues here last January 28, 2006. That post led me to look for the complete series, and here it is, all 97 issues. My appreciation, too, to the patient and tireless scanners and original uploaders.


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