CLASSIC PULP GHOSTS – Collection Review

In CLASSIC PULP GHOSTS, available from Source Point Press on May 26th, 2021, pulp ghost stories from the early days of comics are restored in this anthology to tickle your spooky bone.

The Details

• Assembled By: Josh Werner
• Written By: Assorted
• Art By: Assorted
• Cover Price: $3.99 (physical), $1.99 (digital)
• Release Date: May 26, 2021

Was It Good?

For anyone who loves pulp ghost stories or pulp comics in general, this is a must-have. This comic isn’t an homage to classic pulp ghost stories or a reasonable facsimile but a restored reproduction of the original tales.

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There’s not much to say about the art and the writing because it’s so of its time, but it’s quite amazing to see how comics from a lifetime ago were heavily influenced by the radio dramas that were the prevalent form of mass entertainment at the time. When you read the first few pages, you can almost hear the radio announcer narrating the action as it unfolded in the panels. It’s a fun snapshot of a bygone era.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

This is a collection of previously released short comic stories. The review won’t touch on the quality of the art or writing but on how good the restoration looks and the story’s fit within the collection.

Flee The Phantoms

A young couple gets into a car wreck on a lonely stretch of road. When the driver goes for help, he finds a bus with passengers headed for a very permanent destination.

this story is an excellent choice to lead off the collection. The colors are vibrant. The lettering is clean and clear. And the whole story sets an otherworldly feel with a gut-punch ending. Great choice!

The Banshee Bells

Two wayward brothers bomb a school in retaliation for a grudge against the school teacher. One brother hangs and the other goes to prison for life, but the executed sibling returns to get his living brother in trouble one more time.

There’s a near-perfect transition from the previous story into this one. The same theme of the dead causing trouble for the living is still at play. That said, the colors look a little more faded than in the previous story.

The Helping Hand

A couple and their infant child spend the afternoon rowing on Lake Jupiter when they’re caught by a surprise storm. When a man rows out to help them, the family has a very difficult time thanking him later.

The bold colors return and the story keeps that theme of the living interacting with the dead, but the theme transition from harm to help. It’s an excellent restoration with an excellent thematic choice that takes a different perspective in the same vein.

Phantoms From The Sea

A Navy fighter pilot’s carrier is attacked shortly after he takes off. Injured and low on fuel, the ghosts of his former shipmates come back to repay him for his service.

The colors are slightly more faded here and there’s an excess of yellows to give the overall story a weathered look. Thematically, this story fits perfectly with the previous as ghosts return to lend a hand.

Odds and Ends

For the remainder of the collection, we slip into “spooky coincidence” tales that are one-page, black & white stories. They’re quick, bite-sized stories surrounding the death of a key character when people swear they see the deceased after they die or when a harbinger forewarns of a person’s death.

They’re neat fun little stories, typically with a Twilight Zone-esque twist at the end.

For the finish, we end with a couple of real-life accounts of ghost stories in both essay and illustrated form. These stories wet your whistle for more ghost content but give you a little pause when you consider some of the stories may, in fact, be real.

Final Thoughts

CLASSIC PULP GHOSTS is a fun and fascinating collection of pulp ghost stories that help you remember what the word “spooky” truly means. The stories complement each other perfectly, and the restorations are beautifully authentic.

The score is reflective of the story selection and the quality of the restoration.

Score: 9/10