Boris Karloff’s Tales of Heroic Fantasy

Tales of heroic fantasy can be found in the pages of Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery from Gold Key comics. “Mystery” was Silver Age code for “Horror”. The comic began in 1963 (the year the TV show ended!) and ran until February 1980, though issues were all reprints after December 1977. You won’t find any Conans running around in them. Gold Key had its own Sword & Sorcery comic if you wanted that: Tales of Sword & Sorcery Dagar the Invincible. That was written by Donald F. Glut, who penned one of these stories as well.

I will apologize to the purists right now. These stories are not cut-and-dry Sword & Sorcery so much as Arthurian tales, Arabian settings and portal fantasies where people from our world go to fantastic realms (or monsters come into ours). These tales were meant to appeal to the fans of S&S or Fantasy in general. These are not really scary but fantastic. (George Wilson painted a ton of dragons for the covers!)

“The Sorcerer’s Potion” (Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #5, October 1963) was written by unknown author. The wizard Sinistere creates a potion that can control the minds of men. When Sir Hulbert kidnaps Lady Eleanor, Sir Malcolm rides to her rescue. But she needs no rescue. She has trapped the wizard in his own bottle.

“The Vengeance of the Armored Arm” (Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #9, March 1965) was written by an unknown author but drawn by friend to S&S, Wally Wood. When Sir Mansfield wins the kingdom, Baron Raiford resorts to assassination to get control. An enchanted gauntlet haunts him for his treachery. Like all severed hand stories, it ends with fingers wrapped around a throat.

“Dragondoom” ( (Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #34, April 1971) was written by Len Wein. Wayne, an archaeologist, discovers an ancient helmet, proving his theory that Camelot was real. His girl, Glynis Oliver, tells him a tale of King Arthur featuring a dragon. An earthquake releases that dragon and Wayne must ride like a knight on his motorcycle to vanquish the beast. It is interesting to compare this one to “Delusion For a Dragonslayer”.

“The 1001 Deaths of Abulam Khan” (Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #38, December 1971) was written by Arnold Drake. Abulam Khan is the leader of an invading horde. Unfortunately he suffers from nightly dreams of terror, in which a monster tortures him. In the end he meets that monster for real.

“The Trojan Dragon” (Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #39, February 1972) also has an unknown writer. King Reginald defames the magician, Magister Loden. Later a dragon is left on the doorstep. Reginald recognized the trick from the old stories. He has a squad of archers ready to kill the soldiers hiding inside. There’s only one problem. There is no hatch. The dragon is real!

“Coat of Arms” (Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #45, February 1973) was written by an unknown author. Kroner spends a lot of “American bucks” to buy Castle Von Kroner. Trainor is hired to research the family history. He comes across a story about how the first baron hired a wizard to defeat an enemy. The sorcerer uses an ancient Greek Hydra to slay the enemy. The baron is deceitful and kills the wizard. The hydra took revenge long ago and will again.

“The Prince’s Shadow” (Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #46, April 1973) was written by unknown author. When a wizard’s son is killed by the castle guard, the prince is cursed by the sorcerer. The prince casts a terrible shadow that trades places with him, turning him into a strange beast. The prince recalls a rhyme the wizard’s son overheard. It turns out to be the counter spell.

“Prince Olaf and the Sea Beast” (Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #48, July 1973) was written by unknown author. Inga is to be wed to King Olaf but she loves Erik. The king is taking an expedition to slay a monster, as he had done long ago. Erik goes with him. When Olaf falters, Erik throws the harpoon. Olaf knocks Erik out with an oar, then slips his body into the sea. No one can know of Olaf’s weakness. Later at the wedding, Erik shows up on the back of the monster. The creature expires and lands on Olaf, flattening him. Erik is not dead, only injured. He and Inga will be together. This reminded me a little of Joe Kubert’s Viking Prince.

“The Demon Waters” (Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #52, February 1974) was written by an unknown author. Master Hassan is lost at sea when a sea serpent attacks the ship. Later his son Hussan sees a mirage of the monster and a man stranded on an island. He pursues this until he finds his father alive on an island. They also find the monster. Rashid, the treacherous servant, is placed on the island with the sea monster as guard.

“A Friend in Need” (Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #55, July 1974) was written by unknown author. Henri Dubois is master of the village. He has taken a disliking to Tynjo, a mishappen dwarf who resembles a frog. Henri follows him into the woods to murder him. There he runs into a gigantic frog. Henri believes the frog is Tynjo. The creature abandons him. Later, when Tynjo returns to the village, Henri has him arrested. They take him to woods again to execute him. He is saved by the giant frog. The villagers refuse to touch him after that, fearing the creature’s curse. I picked this one because it reminded me of Clark Ashton Smith’s Averoigne story “Mother of Toads” (Weird Tales, July 1938). It too is set in a weird version of Medieval times. Perhaps it is more like Manly Wade Wellman’s (Weird Tales, November 1946).

“Night of the Dragon” (Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #57, October 1974) was written by Freff. Chen Yee, the emperor’s top magician, plans his death on his birthday. During a firework display, Chen Yee creates a dragon with which to steal the kingdom. The dragon is supposed to last for twenty years. Sadly, it shatters into a puff of smoke. The two men are arrested. Wong, Chen Yee’s assistant, botched the math. It only lasted twenty minutes.

“Born to the Devil” (Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #60, April 1975) was written by an unknown author. Sid and Don Bethune are twins. Don leads a popular cult, worshiping the Asian god, Yashnu. When Don gets injured, he dies for six minutes, during which time Yashnu claimed him. The god is slowly draining Don. Sid goes on a mystical journey to save his brother, slaying Yashnu in ancient garden.

“Food For the Gods” (Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #63, August 1975) was written by an unknown author. The volcano god Vulkar is unhappy. It spits lava over the homes of the poor. The king and his high priests, Dekulous, try to appease the deity. The high priests tells his lord that animals made of gold and silver must be fed to a new statue of Vulkar. Later a boy stumbles on a pit that leads to a chamber under the idol where the animals are found. Dekulous has been scamming his king. He pays dearly with his life when the king figures out what to send next into the fiery mouth of the giant idol.

“Dragon’s Bride” (Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #64, October 1975) was written by an unknown author. Bernard is unhappy when his fiancee, Susy, is chosen to play Lady Madeliene in a pageant. He set up lights and sound effects to scare her, but ends up getting eaten by a real dragon.

“MacGonnikkle’s Monster” (Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #66, February 1976) was written by an unknown author. The movie producer, Belton, offends the locals when he plans to exploit the town’s monster, the MacGonnikle. He learns the story of how MacGonnikle married the prettiest girl in town and a wizard conjured a dragon to kill him. This tale comes to real life and Belton is saved by the ghost of the original lord.

“The Taxman and the Axeman” (Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #68, June 1976) was written by Don Glut. Gordoth the taxman comes to the swamp to collect back taxes from a witch. He breaks into her hut and takes her jewels. She tells him of the chopping sound that he heard in the swamp. It is the spirit of an executioner. As Gordoth returns with his prize, he encounters the axeman. Later we see the axeman return the jewels to the witch, his mother. Of the taxman, there is no trace as the quicksand covers him up.

“The Magic Dragon of Ju Tsai” (Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #72, December 1976) was written by an unknown author. Dr. Liu comes to town with his magic wagon. The children scoff that magic is not real. A fatherless boy named Lao Choi falls in with Dr. Liu and begins a life of magical training. Once older he delves into conjuring a dragon. The beast breathes with fiery breath. This breath kills Dr. Liu who has lived for five hundred years. Only dragon flame can kill him. Lao Choi has unintentionally killed the master he loved.

“Like Father–Like So” (Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #73, February 1977) was written by an unknown author. When the Brahmur dies the Screeva, a terrible monster, is unleashed again to ravage the lands of India. A new Brahmur or guardian must be found. Rajendra, a farmer, takes on the beast to protect his family. The Screeva attacks him but his son, Sarvi intervenes. Sarvi grabs the monster and defeats its easily.  Sarvi is the new Brahmur!

“The Sleeping Giant” (Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #74, April 1977) was written by an unknown author. Some Roman soldiers find a man frozen in ice. He refuses to bow to the emperor so he is put in the arena. He easily takes out gladiator and lions. Finally they release the monster. We learn the man is actually a hunter from an ancient civilization that existed before the ice age. He remembers  the monster and how to deal with it. He grabs the monster’s antennae and crosses them. He has killed the ancient enemy and will now wander the world. I picked this story because it reminds me of one of my favorite S&S-ish novels, David Drake and Karl Edward Wagner’s Killer (1985).

Conclusion

Boris Karloff’s Tales of Heroic Fantasy was a typical family-friendly Silver Age comic that loosened up a little in the Bronze Age when 1950s standards were loosening. These tales are not Sword & Sorcery exactly. “Prince Olaf and the Sea Beast” comes the closest. They were written with the current trend for heroic fantasy that ran from the early 1960s into the 1970s. “Mystery” readers must have liked them because they appeared again again over fourteen years.

Next time…Grimm’s Ghost Stories…