San Diego, CA (July 18, 2013) – Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditoriums are among the most popular museums worldwide, yet most people don’t know that it all started with a daily cartoon drawn by one man—Robert Ripley. IDW and the Library of American Comics will present the definitive edition of Ripley’s sensational cartoons that featured the odd and amazing from around the world.
Originally a sports cartoonist, Ripley drew a “Champs and Chumps” cartoon that eventually morphed into “Believe It or Not!” By 1929, the series took off as Ripley became a world traveler, seeking stories of bizarre and unusual proportion to put in his internationally-known feature. In an era when not many people traveled outside their own home town, let alone out of the country, Ripley became a compulsive traveler and journeyed whenever he could! The cartoons were adapted into radio and television programs, and helped make Ripley the highest paid cartoonist in the world. The franchise still thrives as the famous Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditoriums.
Starting in 2014 IDW and the Library of American Comics will begin reprinting Ripley’s famous daily cartoons in hardcover collections, including bonus and background material from Ripley’s impressive archives. The first volume will collect the cartoons from 1929 and 1930, when Ripley’s fame raised him from relative obscurity to international celebrity!
“Ripley’s Believe It or Not! has been entertaining generations of readers,” said IDW CEO & Publisher Ted Adams, “My grandpa used to read it when he was growing up and I read it with him when I was first getting interested in comic art. Even today, Ripley’s work still holds a special place for me as I recently took my son to the Ripley’s exhibit in San Diego. I’m proud that IDW will be able to reintroduce some of the earliest cartoons to a new audience and look forward to learning even more myself, about Ripley’s fascinating life.”