As we approach Halloween, it's only right that we turn our attentions to the great Boris Karloff - an actor synonymous with horror in movies, television... and even comic books!
Below is BORIS KARLOFF THRILLER # 1 (Gold Key Comics, Cover Date: October, 1962) and based upon the THRILLER television series pictured above.
And this is BORIS KARLOFF TALES OF MYSTERY # 23 (Gold Key Comics, Cover Date: September, 1968), the long-running title that succeeded BORIS KARLOFF THRILLER once the TV series was cancelled. How long did it run? Therein lies a "kinda-eerie tale" that I wrote about HERE!
BORIS KARLOFF TALES OF MYSTERY # 23 reprinted the magnificent photo cover and most of its interior stories from BORIS KARLOFF THRILLER # 1.
Like Rod Serling and Alfred Hitchcock, back in the days of my sainted sixties, Boris Karloff's anthology drama/horror TV series featured a great many famous and "would-soon-be-famous" guest stars performing in its episodes each week.
William Shatner, Robert Vaughn, Alan Napier, Russell Johnson, Richard Anderson, Cloris Leachman, James Gregory, Richard Kiel, Marlo Thomas, Jeanette Nolan, Marion Ross, Natalie Schafer, Victor Buono, Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York (in separate episodes), John Carradine, Mary Tyler Moore, and so on...
And, if you're as insanely fannish for that period of television (and comics) as I am, you might even find yourself reading an issue BORIS KARLOFF TALES OF MYSTERY or Gold Key's TWILIGHT ZONE series and imagine the 1960s-era actors who might be "playing the roles" alongside the story intros and outros of Four-Color-Karloff-and-Serling - and "hearing all their voices" as you read! ...Aw go on... Admit it! I do it often! ...But, I digress.
A Four-Color-Karloff outro!
BORIS KARLOFF TALES OF MYSTERY # 23 had two single-panel cameo "guest stars" that didn't require a similar imaginative effort from me! Alas, they were silent, so no "voices" got to kick-in - in fact one of 'em wasn't even real!
...But, there they were nonetheless - one such cameo is absolutely indisputable, and the other I'll "defend to the death", because I'm such a crazy '60s fan!
The story "Past and Present Danger" involves a young woman's first trip to New Orleans in time for (...you guessed it) Mardi Gras, and her encounter with a handsome, charming stranger who, while just as "charming" as advertised, also leaves both our protagonist and the reader feeling just a tad... uneasy.
Here's a page from that story...
(Click to Enlarge)
In keeping with my aforementioned imagining the 1960s-era actors who might be "playing the roles", I envision these two as Martin Milner and Yvonne Craig, and "hear" their voices as I read the story. It's an added dimension of fun that only serves to enhance the comics-reading experience. Try it sometime.
But, to those two single-panel cameo "guest stars" that I promised, take a gander at this...
One's easy to spot, the other's not!
There's no denying the presence of DONALD DUCK, even if only as a festive balloon!
Yeah, I know Gold Key published the DONALD DUCK comic book at the time, but still... How'd they get away with this?
The issue of Gold Key's DONALD DUCK (#120) that was already on-sale when BORIS KARLOFF TALES OF MYSTERY # 23 was released. (...note the cover price increase over that one month)
So, on one far side of the panel, we have Donald Duck, but who do we have on the opposite far side?
Look closely now...
GO ON... TELL ME IT'S NOT!
"Odd! I have the strangest feeling that I've just been to Mardi Gras, back on Earth! ...And, with Martin Milner and Yvonne Craig, of all people! ...Bah! Must be some alien trick!"
And so we kick off our run-up to Halloween with Boris Karloff and some unusual guest stars!
We hope to "carry-on with Karloff" and his wonderful "Tales of Mystery" between now and then but, for now, keep watching the sides of those panels... You never know WHO you might find!
