Ripley's Believe It or Not!: Daily Cartoons 1929-1930

About Ripley’s Believe It or Not!: Daily Cartoons 1929-1930

Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditoriums are among the most popular attractions worldwide, yet most people don’t know that it all started with a daily cartoon drawn by one man — Robert Ripley. Originally a sports cartoonist, Ripley developed Believe It or Not! in the 1920s. By the end of the decade, the series had become a phenomenal hit. In an era when few people traveled outside their own home town, let alone out of the country, Ripley became a globetrotter, seeking stories of bizarre and unusual proportion to put in his internationally-known feature. The cartoons were adapted into radio and television programs, and helped make Ripley the highest paid cartoonist in the world.

This series begins a chronological reprinting of Ripley’s famous daily cartoons in hardcover collections, reminding us that first and foremost Robert Ripley — explorer, radio, movie, and television personality, entrepreneur and museum impresario — was an astounding artist-cartoonist.

The first volume reprises cartoons from 1929 and 1930, when Ripley’s fame raised him from relative obscurity to international celebrity, and includes bonus and background material from Ripley’s impressive archives.