[MarkWarner]

I have been listening to quite a lot of OTR (old time radio) recently, mostly stuff from our site. One of my favorites are the One Minute Ripley's Believe It Or Not. Which as we have over 400 of them is a good thing https://comicbookplus.com?cid=2805

Unfortunately, we can not match quite that number of comics, in fact we have just 3 which I think are all that exist in the public domain.

Ripley's Believe It Or Not Magazine #1 can be found at https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=25817, and the story we are concentrating on is the first one "A Vision Saved Two Ships".

[crashryan]

I thought I would hate this comic but it proved to be fun.

"A Vision Saved Two Ships" boasts nice art by Howard Nostrand. I like how Nostrand and the other artists in the book use grained paper for halftone effects, the way newspaper artists like Ripley did. This technique can give a three-dimensional look to comic art, and I'm surprised it wasn't used more often--it was easier and cheaper than Zipatone or Craftint paper. The story held my interest though its title is misleading. The vision saves only the woman on the second ship. The ship itself sinks and the rest of its crew is dead.

I can't shake the feeling that this story was resurrected in one of Gold Key's "Believe It or Not" comics, illustrated by Wallace Wood. However I no longer have my Gold Keys so I can't check.

I don't recognize the artist of "History Was Changed in a Chess Game," but he looks pretty good. I didn't go to the trouble of fact-checking this. Most likely it's been melodramatized a bit.

"The Bomb that Bounced Back" offers nice Bob Powell art. I seem to see some other inker than Powell. Again the grained-paper effects look good. Again the story is interesting. I have trouble believing the slow-leak business. But who knows? Stranger things have happened--believe it or not.

Some of the fillers, like the optical illusions and the dog stories, don't amount to much. The text features, like "Factless Facts," are written in a breathless, almost hysterical style that clashes with the mundane nature of most of the "facts." I looked up Kuda Bux and discovered that he was famous for a blindfolded-seeing act and later performed on TV and at Hollywood's Magic Castle.

Africa was always good for Ripley's Believe It or Not features. I'll bet he was bummed out when the continent became "westernized."

As always I read the ads. It is funny to see, among the multitude of kid-oriented advertisements, an offer for a Chrome Restorer. "Wow, Dad, look at this! A way to repair the chrome on our Chevy!"

To sum up, this is no great piece of literature but it's entertaining and well-drawn and worth the read.

[narfstar]

I really liked the art but the story was pretty lacking. I much prefer those little one panel factoids that Ripley was famous for.

[Captain Audio]

Read the first story. Liked it but I doubt theres any historical fact behind it. Not every thing in Ripleys is actually true. Usually when an obscure and unavailable source is given as proof its just for allaying natural skepticism. Unfortunately we see that far too often in what passes for journalism these days.
I did enjoy the artwork. I always liked line drawings of sailing ships. In such a small scale no real detail work is possible, but the drawings are perhaps a bit the more artistic for that.

[Mazzucchelli]

I was quite excited about this week

[Drusilla lives!]

I recall JVJ remarking somewhere about an artist he'd nicknamed "Ace Baker" (some fellow over at Ace comics whose artwork mimicked and was sometimes confused with that of Matt Baker).  Well, here in the "Vision That Saved Two Ships" we have Harvey Davis (aka Howard Nostrand).  It's a decent effort on his part, but I've seen him do Jack better on some of his Witches Tales stories.  But then, although interesting, the story itself was a bit thin in my opinion, so he really didn't have much to illustrate. 

As for its validity?... As the title states, you can believe it or not! 

And I'm in agreement with those old Batongtu tribesmen, all newly appointed leaders should be slapped in the face 600 times before taking office. 

[paw broon]

I have to confess to never having read a Ripley's in my puff.  It was in no way a title that appealed to me, so I started on this comic with some trepidation.  And it was justified.  Harvey claim this more exiting than fiction, and, while that is sometimes the case in life, it was not here.  While I understand these stories, if true, are grossly simplified, itmit of interest to compare a biography of Paine, born in England, with the note at the end of the story.  Paine was a supporter of the French revolution, promoted deism and argued against organised religion and Christian religion in particular.
By far the most enjoyable bits in this comic for me were the ads - the Dubble Bubble was fun and the house ads for other Harvey comics were so nostalgic.
But  to cover feature the bloke walking on hot coals and finding it was an unillustrated text piece must have been seriously disappointing for anyone who bought the comic.
The art was pretty good throughout.  The war story could almost be a condensed version of a Commando comics story, apart from this being many years previous. 

[MarkWarner]

The cover of this really makes me what to see what inside. In a way I don't care if it's bunkum or actual stone cold fact, or indeed a bit of both. As long as the claims are outlandish and bizarre that will be good enough for me!

I have now finished our main story "A Vision Saved Two Ships". So, was I disappointed! NO! NO WAY! It smashes straight into the bunkum charts at #1. It was excellent ... sea captains ... visions ... 1,400 miles travelled ... all verifiable!

The one page Factless Facts was fun enough. So far so good on this book! The bases images on the next page were interesting, I can only really get the elephant standing frontways,  but do get occasional glimpses of it being a back view turning forwards. The dogs were a bit of what of what one of my daughters calls a " meh..."

The next story I don't believe it at all. BTW at one point (a few years ago now) Thomas Paine lived around the corner from me in Lewes. A few pages of advertisements, but who is Dagwood? The name rings a bell and I'd like to see Blondie's cook book of his favorite foods.

Next a few pages of the "Dark Continent's" wackiness

1) A portable beehive in a hat

2) For 24 hour before their marriage Bachelors of the Muka Tribe Africa must support a huge tree trunk on their shoulders to prepare them for the burdens of matrimony!  Which as any married or ex-married man would testify is a very soft introduction.

3) The tribal judge of the Mongos in the Congo is ALWAYS the man with the longest beard. I think that we should seriously consider this as a way of electing our politicians, as all our current methods are abject failures. Obviously in today's society women would also be considered.

BTW King Samori sounds a really nasty piece of work! Next we have a text story about a firewalker Kuda Box. Not such a "common" occurrence as it is now???

The last story I guess had some basis in fact and was good! Not so good if you were on the Japanese ship!

Some advertisements and we finish!

Verdict: Really enjoyed this, but one complaint is the advertisements. A total of 10 full pages and 2 1/2 pages! This from some one who quite likes to read ads, but there were way too many here! We could easily had another story in and still had plenty of products, or maybe the same amount of ads and a 52 pager.

[bowers]

I've always enjoyed Ripley's, although usually only in small doses. Do I believe the stories? Mostly not, but many stories do have a grain of truth to them. Thomas Paine was imprisoned by Robespierre, but it's doubtful his wife's chicanery freed him. The U.S.S Gato did dispose of an enemy depth charge in a lift raft, although no ensuing damage to Japanese shipping was ever reported. I think it's this small grain of truth that makes these stories interesting, entertaining, and maybe gives them a bit of authenticity.
"Africa Explored" was my favorite, reminding me of the Sunday panels I grew up with.
Great choice- good art and stories. A fast and fun read. Cheers, Bowers

[SuperScrounge]

Grew up with the Gold Key version. Didn't realize an earlier version existed.

A Vision Saved Two Ships - Not bad. Believe it... or Not! ;-)

Factless Facts - In small doses those facts are interesting, although how they are presented feels like one is being talked down to.

Seeing's Not Believing - Only a few of those optical illusions worked for me. The elephant just seemed like a drawn elephant facing one direction, I didn't see the circles move, and some of the others were just there.

Doggone, If It Isn't True - A bit underwhelming. I guess I was expecting much more unbelievable things here.

History Was Changed In A Chess-Game - Am I'm misremembering history? Wasn't the French Revolution and Thomas Paine's arrest AFTER America won it's independence?

Blondie's Cook Book - I wonder if that's something that can be scanned & put up at CB+? 

Africa Explored - Interesting. I wonder if the Medicine Man uses those skulls like a puppet show? 

     Only 7 years hard labor? I know some men who complain marriage is nothing but hard labor. 

     A crime to voice his name? Must make it difficult for people to explain this law. "And remember it is a crime to pronounce the name of Samori. Oh, no!" "You're under arrest for saying Samori. Whoops!" "You are charged with voicing the name Samori. How do you ple... Wait, what? But I'm the judge!"

Fire-proof Man - Interesting.

The Bomb That Bounced Back - Title's a bit of a misnomer, but a really good story.

The art overall was good, aside from some overly wild faces in the first story.

[SuperScrounge]

I can't shake the feeling that this story was resurrected in one of Gold Key's "Believe It or Not" comics, illustrated by Wallace Wood. However I no longer have my Gold Keys so I can't check.

There was a similar story with a wife's image appearing to a sailor at sea reprinted in one of Gold Key's Mystery Comics Digests, but I'm not sure if that is what you were thinking of, or if it was done by Wood. Other than a woman's image appearing to sailors the stories are different.

A few pages of advertisements, but who is Dagwood? The name rings a bell and I'd like to see Blondie's cook book of his favorite foods.

Dagwood is the husband of Blondie from the American comic strip Blondie. I believe there were also a series of movies based on the comic strip. Dagwood sandwiches refer to sandwiches that are similar to the sandwiches Dagwood would make in the comic, usually with so much filling that the sandwich was bigger than his head.

[narfstar]

Not only were there Blondie and Dagwood movies but OTR and a TV series. They are all really good. The comic strip was the number one strip for many years.

[Captain Audio]

I have to confess to never having read a Ripley's in my puff.  It was in no way a title that appealed to me, so I started on this comic with some trepidation.  And it was justified.  Harvey claim this more exiting than fiction, and, while that is sometimes the case in life, it was not here.  While I understand these stories, if true, are grossly simplified, itmit of interest to compare a biography of Paine, born in England, with the note at the end of the story.  Paine was a supporter of the French revolution, promoted deism and argued against organised religion and Christian religion in particular.
By far the most enjoyable bits in this comic for me were the ads - the Dubble Bubble was fun and the house ads for other Harvey comics were so nostalgic.
But  to cover feature the bloke walking on hot coals and finding it was an unillustrated text piece must have been seriously disappointing for anyone who bought the comic.
The art was pretty good throughout.  The war story could almost be a condensed version of a Commando comics story, apart from this being many years previous.

Thomas Paine was jailed by the French Revolutionary counsel, for writing an article that urged that the French spare the life of their king. He was also critical of the many excesses of the revolution and depised atheism which was growing at the heart of that movement.
He was suspected of trying to get the British to intervene  to rescue the French King.

The only story I've heard in connection with Paine escaping the guilotine was that due to the pecular construction of the cells there was a mix up in moving another prisoner that left Paine's cell door unlocked.
More likely someone had been bribed to leave it un locked. He just walked away.

[paw broon]

Yes, that's right.  Perhaps I should have said he supported the ideas of the revolution but supported the wrong side, so Robespierre, being on the other side was seriously not chuffed and Paine was seen as an enemy.