‘A 96-page anthology of some of the most astonishing oddities in the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! collection, written and illustrated by an equally mind-blowing mix of comic book legends and rising stars. A collection of 8-page stories and fun facts in the inimitable Ripley style! You’ll have to see it to believe it!’

Ripley’s Believe It or Not, by Tony Isabella & Ben Meares, turned out to be a graphic novel! I was expecting a text collection of fascinating facts and interesting stories, though I’m not sure why I had that idea. I loved the artwork! And, of course, the stories are true. These are accounts of real people. Each story itself is based on a true account, but it varies as to how embellished the retelling is. At the end, there’s a short explanation of the true facts the tale covers, along with a factor about Ripley himself, such as he collected shrunken heads. Whaaa..?

One of my favourite stories of psychological interest is that of Phineas Gage, who survived an iron rod driven through his skull. I was quite tickled that this was the second of the stories in this collection. The death cat, frozen girl, and the Winchester House were other familiar stories. I liked most of the artwork. Often the style fit the story. Winchester had a sepia tone. The Egyptian tale is done in warm watercolour hues, with lots of peachy oranges and pale lemon yellows, rose and salmon. Early morning colours for a story set at the dawn of civilisation. I’m probably reading too much there, but hey, I have a Poet’s soul. However, the drawings of Riply himself freaked me out. He has a creepy ass grin that reminds me of Dick Roman in Supernatural.

***Many thanks to Netgalley & Diamond Books/ Zenescope for providing an ecopy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Do you enjoy tales of true world miracles and mystery? Do you have a favourite such story? Have you ever been to a Ripley museum?