''Mystery Comics Digest'' was one of three
digest size
Digest size is a magazine size, smaller than a conventional or "journal size" magazine but larger than a standard paperback book, approximately , but can also be and , similar to the size of a DVD case. These sizes have evolved from the printin ...
comics published by
Gold Key Comics
Gold Key Comics was originally an imprint of American company Western Publishing, created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated this way from 1962 to 1984. Currently, Gold Key Comics is owned b ...
in the early 1970s. The other two were ''
Golden Comics Digest'' and ''
Walt Disney Comics Digest
''Walt Disney Comics Digest'' was one of three digest size comics published by Gold Key Comics in the early 1970s. The other two were '' Mystery Comics Digest'' and '' Golden Comics Digest''. It was the first digest-sized regular Disney comic publi ...
''.
''Mystery Comics Digest'' was published for 26 issues, from 1972 to 1975. All reprinted stories from three of Gold Key's mystery/suspense/fantasy/science fiction anthologies: ''
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' fe ...
'', ''
Boris Karloff's Tales of Mystery'', and ''
Twilight Zone'', in a three-issue rotation. Each issue highlighted the title it was reprinted from on the cover.
Issue focus:
* ''Believe It or Not!''- #1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25
* ''Boris Karloff''- #2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26
* ''Twilight Zone''- #3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24
In addition to reprints, each issue had several original works. Some of these would introduce characters who appeared in
Don Glut's titles at Gold Key:
Dagar,
Doctor Spektor, and
Tragg.
Tragg appeared in issues #3 and 9 before getting his own title.
Doctor Spektor appeared in issues #5, 10–12, and 21 before getting his own title.
Duroc/Durak, who would assist
Dagar, appeared in issues #7, 14, 15. Dagar's foe, Xorkon, appeared first in #14. The first two Duroc stories were originally intended to feature Dagar.
[Rutledge, Charles]
Donald F. Glut interview
. Sword & Sorcery (Pitch Black Books). Accessed Aug. 31, 2011.
Also, several of the creatures that Dr. Spektor fought appeared here first, including Ra-ka-tep the mummy (#1), Count Wulfstein the werewolf (#2), Simbar the werelion (#3), Baron Tibor the vampire (#4), and the Lurker in the Swamp (#7).
Notes
References
*
*
External links
Gold Key Comics titles
Comic book digests
Defunct American comics
Fantasy comics
Mystery comics
1972 comics debuts
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