Boris and Mike.
Now, several times over the years I’ve held the original 80-page Boris Karloff Thriller #1 from 1962, and I don’t know why I never kept a copy for myself. Wotta cover that thing had.
This new reprint, on the shelves of your better stores or even mine this week is not a complete “facsimile edition” as is popular with all the kids these days. It’s a 36-page sampler of stories from the original two issue run of this title, cleanly printed on nice white paper. The stories are…well, typical of horror/mystery stories of the period, with nice art and not-too-scary plots. No credits for the stories, unfortunately…they weren’t in the original, but there was enough editorial space in this new reprint to have added them in. Art by Mike Sekowsky and George Evans in here!
Comics writer Mike W. Barr has had some serious health issues and equally serious medical bills, and can use some help. Please contribute to his GoFundMe if you can.
The New Gold Key Comics should have had a Michael Jackson variant cover for that Boris Karloff Thriller no. 1.
In all seriousness, that looks pretty cool, and I have tracked down some episodes of Boris Karloff Thriller on YouTube which have all been great.
Does anybody know what other licensed properties the New Gold Key Comics has access to and/or will the company be releasing addition titles?
It would also be worth knowing if the New Gold Key Comics has access to Magnus Robot Fighter, Turok, Solar, Dr. Spektor, etc. –either to reprint material or for completely new stories. Maybe Dynamite Comics still has those characters licensed, but it would be nice to know.
I chatted with original Golden Key Comics writer Don Glut at the LA Vintage Paperback Show the other weekend; he created Dr. Spektor and is very interested in writing additional Dr. Spektor stories if the New Gold Key Comics (or Dynamite Comics?) would contact him.
Personally, one critique I have with some of the Dynamite Comics reboots of the Gold Key characters over the last decade or so is that they have diverged far afield from the original concepts.
So, if the New Gold Key Comics does have access to those classic characters, I think it would be cool to go retro instead. Glut could write a Dr. Spektor one-shot–or a limited series set in the ’70s–as the original series was. The great Filipino artist Jesse Santos, who drew all of the original Dr. Spektor stories, is no longer with us, but imagine hiring one or more of the equally great Filipino artists Alex Nino, Tony Dezuniga, or Nestor Redondo to illustrates a Dr. Spektor story. I could also see Steve Rude being perfect for a Magnus one-shot or limited series, as his style was highly influenced by the great Russ Manning. Or how about hiring Sal Buscema to draw a Turok story?
Again, if the New Gold Key Comics has access to these characters, even an 80-Page Giant anthology issue which features new stories, but done in a retro style, could be very cool. In addition to Magnus, Turok, Solar, and Dr. Spektor, the 80 -Page Giant could include stories featuring Daggar, and Tragg & the Sky Gods (both of which Glut could also write, as he created those characters), Samson, and The Owl (who was originally a Dell superhero during the Golden Age).
So since there’s a new EC line, now new Gold Key comics, maybe someone can revive the Whitman label and seal three random comics in a loose bag for $10. What mystery comic is in the middle? Just one way to find out!
Hey Mike, I wanted to thank you for this post from 21 years ago. I finally managed to track down a copy of this poster, and by bizarre happenstance, it arrived today, on the literal anniversary of the post.
https://www.progressiveruin.com/2004/03/27/wanted-grant-morrison-for-crimes-against-reason/
That Karloff cover really is gorgeous. I kind of want it now.
@Joe G.: Thanks for the link back to the Morrison poster. I’d never seen it before. Very Candlemaker!
“Thanks for the link back to the Morrison poster. I’d never seen it before. Very Candlemaker!”
It sure is. It also feels like a riff on the comic shorthand of a light bulb for an idea and is clearly referencing the most famous photo of Jim Morrison. All of which is why I’ve wanted the darn thing for so long.
Yay Sekowsky! Most of the stuff I’ve seen of his, excepting the JLA stuff, has been right up my alley. His style is a little wonky, but something about it really appeals to me.
@Joe Gualtieri
Nice score!
@Lou Reed Richards
My take on Sekowsky, at least by the 1960s, is that his layouts and panel compositions are generally solid, but, unfortunately, depending on who was inking him, the final rendered pages could end up looking wonky oftentimes–especially if Bernard Sachs was the inker (which was often the case on JLA stories). But if Sid Greene or Murphy Anderson or a highly skilled embellisher was inking the Sekowsky art it could end up looking much better–ad is the case on done of the JLA covers.
Neat!
“The New Gold Key Comics should have had a Michael Jackson variant cover for that Boris Karloff Thriller no. 1.”
Team-up Boris with Vincent Price, since he did narration at the start of the song/video.
“The terror of… THE THRILLER!”
@ Snark Shark
Boris, Vincent, Michael–and a Bela Lugosi cameo would work!
@Snark Shark
And special guest star: Zody the Mod Rob!
“IT WAS THE MASH! IT WAS THE MONSTER MASH!”