My Rating
“Yours Truly, Jack The Ripper!”
Greenwich Village, on the corner of 4th and MacDougal, a crowd has gathered to watch the spectacle of Police officers cording off an area of apparent homicide. The young redheaded woman has been the fourth victim this month. As the Ambulance crew begin to load the body for transport two men stand off to the side near the street light. One of the men, a Psychiatrist named John Carmody, begins to discuss his theories on the recent slayings.
The other, a much older gentleman named Sir Guy Hollis, dismisses the doctor’s statement, for he is a special investigator for Scotland Yard. These are no random killing of a deranged serial killer, there is a clear pattern of ritual sacrifice, and in Hollis’ mind take root in the 1888 killings of Jack the Ripper himself. His investigations have taken him on a global manhunt across multiple cities and numerous countries.
John Carmody laughs at the suggestion. How can that man still be alive? Everyone dies, even homicidal maniacs. Sir Guy Hollis interrupts. Black Magic. It is his professional opinion that this killer is the same man who stalked the streets of London over one-hundred years ago. John agrees to disagree, but offers to help the Englishman by introducing him to the various residents and shop owners in the village. The two men head off towards a house party up the street.
Can Sir Guy Hollis convince the young Psychiatrist his suspect has escaped both time and justice? Does Jack the Ripper have a rope like Scar on his forearm? Does Black Magic really exist?
“More Than Blood!”
Something sinister is happening to the athletes at Westfield Heights high school. For the past two years each one of their star baseball and basketball players have collapsed under some strange illness during their games. Even Jimmy Ryan, Westfield’s all-state track star, had stopped mid-event and just stared off into space like some horror movie zombie.
This year, Paul Williams, the school’s top basketball player, has begun to suspect something supernatural has cursed the school. His girlfriend Linda has reluctantly agreed to help him investigate the bizarre illness as long as it keeps his mind off sports. If only the doctors had any answers. To Paul, they seem just as bewildered as he is now.
What strange illness is draining the mental capacity from the students of Westfield Heights high school? Can Linda help solve the mystery even if she is a newcomer? How many times will the school’s basketball team turn victory into defeat?
“The Girl Who Couldn’t Die”
It is the 19th century, a time of breakthroughs in science and medicine. What was once deemed impossible is now but a footnote in the books of history. For the young medical school graduate, Dr. Lee Fuller has impressed both peers and medical scholars alike with his research into regenerating dead tissues.
Life was everything Dr. Fuller had expected it to be for a man of such talents. That was until his dear wife Lisa fell ill and died. With his true love gone, a madness set in. He knew he could bring her back from the dead, he just needed to develop the correct serum. He was a genius, everyone knew it. He just needed time. With his dead wife exhumed from the earth, and the corpse resting in a vacuum sealed chamber, Dr. Lee Fuller sets forth to solve the mystery of death itself.
What combination of chemicals can spark the very essence of life? Will the modern electric heart prove to be the key to resurrection? How many years must the good doctor spend before his love returns to this mortal coil? Collect the series to find out!
Reviewer Notes
I came for the Ripper and was met with another anthology. With Robert Bloch, writer of “Psycho”, highly featured on the cover of this issue, I was kind of expecting a full length story featuring Jack the Ripper. Nope. Even though the Ripper story was very well done, I feel kind of jipped.
“Yours Truly, Jack The Ripper!” Is an adaptation of a story Robert Bloch wrote in 1943 for Weird Tales Magazine. I like this version of the story even though it was extremely short. I do find it amusing that Marvel and DC Comics both use Greenwich Village heavily in their stories. Seriously, as much bad shit that has gone on down there in the 1970’s you would think Mayor Koch would have parked the Nation guard on every street. Time to think outside the box, guys.
There are two additional stories included in this issue of Journey Into Mystery. The second follows a team of high school basketball players who begin to fall ill under mysterious circumstances. Overall it was good, but it became obvious near the end what was causing the issues.
Overall, the book was good but I could have done without story three. The 19th century is so yesterday. We’re over it. Give me more Jack the Ripper! This one gets three out of five stars.
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