Mystery Comics Digest Number 4: Ripley's Believe It or Not!

 Interesting cover art, a desperate man throwing a flaming torch at a giant chained man, with horns, while hooded men lurk in the background. "Wierd Eerie! Authentic!"

The table of contents.
This is a good publication. As I had mentioned previously, the same artist is featured in the Digest. Here, the artist creates a lot of detail in his art, and this makes for better comics. "The Shadow Men", "Death Comes Knocking", "The Red Knight of Germany", "Proof of a Ghost", "The Fated Plane" and (I *think*) "Hounds of Death" are all his work.
Another artist is featured as well. This one doesn't have the detail of the first, his panels are more open in that regard, but nevertheless the stories are good; "The Vampires"; "Phantom Hands of Vengeance"; "The Mummy's Hand"; and "The Flaming Scar" and "The Phantom Visitor".
The cover art refers to a text story, "The Fiend of Beachy Head", about a 16th century curse. Beachy Head is a dramatic looking cliff area of England with a reputation as a suicide spot over the ages, with the unfortunates hurling themselves off the cliffs.
http://www.beachyhead.org.uk/uploads/pics/home06_01.jpg
There are also several of the Ripley's Believe it or Not! single page cartoons.
The "Doctor Spector" artist also makes an appearance with several stories; "A Macabre Mystery - The Hug of Death"; "Midnight Mysteries - A Tree Grows in Transylvania"; "Tales of The Macabre - Where There's Smoke There's Fear".
The standout stories are mostly from the first artist. "Death Comes Knocking" is about a Filipino ghost story and tradition where three ghosts knock on the door of the dying. A very good tale. I also really liked the art and story of the Red Baron in World War One, "The Red Knight of Germany". The other standout is from the second featured artist, "The Flaming Scar". Interesting story.

The First Book?

The first book to consider is an outsider of sorts. While strictly speaking it is not part of the 26 Mystery Comics Digest, it is of the same format in many ways.
Here's the dramatic cover:

It is listed as "Boris Karloff Story Digest Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 1, June 1970.Produced by Periodicals Department of Golden Press. Authorized Edition. Printed in the U.S.A. Published four times a year by Western Publishing Company, Inc. Copyright @ 1970, by Boris Karloff.

Here's a picture of the contents:

 The book is a series of stories with a couple of single tone orange/red tinted drawings to illustrate a certain scene or two. The first story, "The Black Pearl" is about the finding of a cursed pearl, and how the hero must return it to the ocean bed, with the help of a jeweller who reveals the true nature of this evil find.
Next is "Restless Hands", an unusual first person narrative about a sculptor whose talent brings life to his creations. Unfortunately, his talented hands were as another being he could not control, and he ends up suffering for their deeds.
"The Strange Fate of E. Neadle" is a story about a grave robber in England, who is scared into confessing by the ghosts he disturbed. It has a rather dramatic and gruesome ending.
"Cry Wolf" is another first person narrative. The narrator is rescued from a hunting trip near Seattle by a doctor, and soon a strange transformation takes him over.
"Voyage of No Return". This is the story about a cursed ship's captain, who was the cruel sole survivor of a wreck. He is accused of killing his surviving crew in order to save himself. He stands before a board of inquiry, but is let off as there were no witnesses. Then a mysterious stranger appears and signs him as captain of a new ship.
(This story later appears in Mystery Comics Digest).
"The Well of Fear" A newspaperman is drawn to Cairo by a friend who has found an opening to Hell.
"Vengeance of The Castle Creature".A man is hired to rebuild a ruined Scottish castle.
"The Iron Mask". A man in New Orleans impersonates a famous magician, and meets him unexpectedly.
"The Quill Pen".A very short story about the consequences of using a famous person's pen.
"Old Jeb's Bitter Secret".An old sailing vessel refuses to be scrapped until it's dark secret is revealed.
"Escape into Fear".An army deserter finds justice in the past.
Overall, the stories aren't bad, but I bought the comic online expecting, well, comics. Certainly unusual, but as you may know, the short stories did carry over into the Mystery Comics Digest line, and some were quite good.

A couple of illustrations, typical of the issue. The first is from "The Strange Fate of E. Neadle", and the second is from "Escape Into Fear".