NBIM Day 24: Ripley's Believe It or Not! (1974) #49

Memo to self: Despite appearances to the contrary, offering campsite coffee to ghosts is actually
NOT that bad of an idea.

As I pulled Ripley's Believe It or Not! #49 from my dusty old longbox, and thumbed through it on my way downstairs, I considered that it might be better to save it for October (Halloween, duh!). But recognizing that there is more than enough ghoully goodness to recommend; Gold Key comics are, after all, a gold mine of creepy, and relatively all ages titles of the macabre in addition to Ripley's: Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery, Spine Tingling Tales and others. Upon further review, however, I noticed that despite the cover, there is very little truly creepy about this book...

This anthology of suspense/mystery series tales, carries the subtitle "True Ghost Stories," and features traditional comic book stories "The Witch is Dead," "The Battle is Over," "Secret of the Stones," and "The Healing Hands." There is also a one-page text feature "Dead Men Do Tell Tales." The stories as a whole are fairly pedestrian, with little tie-in to the Ripley's brand, except the superficial title.

While the first two stories are set in faraway historical periods, both the third tale,"The Secret of the Stones," and the fourth, "The Healing Hands" are set in a fairly modern setting. All four also deal with primarily friendly ghosts who return not to haunt or terrorize, but rather to aid the living. In each story, the protagonist is saved from death in a variety of ways which allow each to wrapped up neatly with out a twist or scare.

If "all ages" means safe for young children to read, then this is your ticket, though I suspect most children would close this book abut two pages in. As an adult reader, an appreciator of comic books and the tales they tell, I found Ripley's Believe It or Not! #49 to be an entertaining enough read which I'm glad I did not save for the terrors of All Hallows Eve--that would have only courted disappointment.

With a cover price $0.25, you are likely to pay just a touch more. I found Ripley's Believe It or Not! #49 online for anywhere from $1-3, and in your local comic shop, that is if you can scare up a copy.

NBIM, Day 5: The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu (1974)

Yes, Stan Lee Presents The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1 IS as groovy as it looks!

Today's National Back Issue Month selection is a most unusual "comic book", a point which is evident just from the size of it. A "Special Album Edition" is much more than just a regular ol' comic. The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu Issue #1 is a collection of both adventure stories featuring Marvel Comics martial arts characters Iron Fist and Shang Chi, and also essays and photographs. Melding several popular media of the mid-1970s, the magazine sized black-and-white rotates comic book action with Martial Arts celebrity photography and film analysis, with a hint of Eastern spirituality mixed in.

From "Chapter 2: Sons of the Tiger!" Story by Chris Claremont (Uncanny X-Men)
and art by Herb Trimpe (Incredible Hulk).

The comic book portions are serviceably produced by some "before they were famous" creators such as Herb Trimpe, Doug Moench, and Chris Claremont. The stories follow similar themes as the Kung Fu movies they seek to mirror, and the black, white and grey artwork evokes an additional level of nostalgia. The only shortcoming is one based on my own personal bias about comic books featuring Martial Arts practitioners: no matter how dynamic the artwork, the static nature of the paper always seems to result in something missing from the action. The type of rabid action in those types of films feels flat when presented in the 2D, still, comic book format.

The photographs reflect the influence of the eras television (Kung Fu starring Keith Carradine) and film (Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon) on the development of the comic book characters who were clearly modeled on the actors. Ironically, this comic is an excellent example of an exploitation product cashing in on what was itself exploitative. That of course does not assure that it is entertaining, and Deadly Hands is nothing if not engaging: you are not very likely to see the deification of stereotypical performances by Caucasian men as Asians (Boris Karloff as Fu Manchu?) in a modern issue of People magazine anytime soon.

Even with a 1974 cover price of $1, Deadly Hands can still be purchased for $4 online. While Special Edition Albums were all the rage back in the 1970s, they are much less common now, and as a result, may be priced slightly higher at speciality shops.



When is the last time your comic book had a Martial Arts tournament recap (with photos)?