Rip Kirby hit the newspapersÕ comic pages as a completely new concept for the private
detective medium. He was thoughtful, wore glasses and smoked a pipe. He had his share of
fisticuffs and gun battles, but preferred to think his way through a mystery. Rip Kirby was
aided in his sleuthing by a reformed burglar named Desmond and RipÕs long time girlfriend,
the lovely Honey Dorian.
The Rip Kirby comic strip was the brainchild of Alex Raymond (creator of Flash Gordon and
Secret Agent X-9) and Editor Ward Greene. The strip debuted on March 4, 1946 and would
continue for over fifty years. Alex Raymond was given the prestigious Reuben award in
1949 for his work. The interior artwork in these stories are all Alex Raymond's brilliant
pencils and inks. The covers were crafted by James E. McConnell. Raymond wrote three of
the four scripts for this collection. The script for RACE OF DEATH was penned by Fred
Dickenson
The Rip Kirby comic strip was an amazing combination of beautifully crafted artwork and
taught writing and is still considered to be a classic to this day.