There is a house in Louisville...
...they call the House of Mystery. Inhabited at various times by denizens of DC's Supernatural line, this book has had everything under its brand. This article (unlike others I have written to this point), will only deal with the Pre-Crisis title that lasted 321 issues. Below, is a picture of Issue #1 (Dec-Jan 1951/52), featuring the story "Wanda is a Werewolf."
House of Mystery started as DC's entry into the horror genre as the people who ran it discovered that super-hero comics were on the wane and that horror comics were all vogue, mostly due to EC Comics line. There were several stories per issue (written by various luminaries such as Jack Schiff, and drawn by artists such as Win Mortimer and my personal favourite, Curt Swan). Some of the stories were based on legends from the real world, while others were the providence of the writers themselves. The book began on a bi-monthly schedule, similar to other books of the genre. Some of the interesting stories of the early era were #3's "The Dummy of Death" which features a revenge death by a ventriloquist's dummy, #15's "Curse of the Golden Secret" (this issue also had a cover by Swan that I simply love; the mirror is chilling) or #29's "Hangman House" (where a man who is the descendant of a long line of hangmen apparently has a hobby of a different nature.) I use these examples as they are actually stories I have read an enjoyed. This era of the series ended with the advent of the Comics Code. (The first issue published with the Code's approval was Issue #36, March 1955.)
At this point, the stories turned into a science-fiction type magazine similar to Mystery in Space and the Atlas titles published around the same time. Stories like "The Fountain of Youth" (from issue 36) became more of the staple of this comic, a bit of horror, but mostly suspenseful. The stories from this era got more and more mediocre until the decision was made to turn the title into a super-hero comic in the Silver Age.
After losing his spot in Detective Comics to the Elongated Man, the Martian Manhunter, J'onn Jonzz, became the lead and cover feature of the magazine with Issue #143 (June 1964) and kept this up until Issue #155, after which an interesting character by the name of Robby Reed (a personal favourite of another blogger that runs a blog called Dial B for Blog) starring in a series called "Dial H for Hero" took over the front, and J'onn became a backup in the magazine.
Dial H for Hero had a great concept, Robby would dial H-E-R-O on a device he found in a cavern on a school trip that gave him temporary powers (for about an hour). He never received the same powers twice and became a different super-hero with every issue. Eventually fans began to send in suggestions that were published in the letter pages of the book. One of Robby's transformations became the first Silver Age appearance of Plastic Man (Issue 160, July 1966) Starting with Number 156 and running until Issue 173, Dial H for Hero is remembered fondly by a lot of comic fans from the time.
With Issue 174, the editorial-ship of this magazine fell to EC veteran Joe Orlando. Because both Marvel and DC decided to begin to challenge the restrictive nature of the Comics Code Authority, the companies began to experiment again with horror themed titles. The first issue was a reprint title of some of the older stories, but with issue 175, the horror format of the title began. In the tradition of the EC stories, a personage with the biblical name of Cain (whose brother Abel ran DC's other similar title, the House of Secrets). Cain is the care-taker of the House of Mystery, introducing stories and on occasion, interacting with the protagonists of the current tale. This series also began to feature some of Sergio Aragones' work as well, as very issue for a time had at least one of his "Cain's Game Room"features. This is the era (besides the Dial H time period) that I remember most, as this era continued into the late Bronze age, finally being cancelled with issue #321.
The House would be revived a few times after, such as in a Vertigo title and with Elvira, Mistress of the Dark as host, as Elvira's House of Mystery in the late 1980s. But as good as some of the more recent books have been (the Vertigo series in particular had some very chilling moments.), I have always been partial to the Bronze Age version of the title. I hope, that after reading some of it, you enjoy it too, because if the House wills it, or if Cain convinces it, you will never leave again...
Ottawa News and Notes - Rob Lussier passes on that the CHEO sale will be this Saturday, May 26, where comic sales will be used to help CHEO. Details are listed here and Rob hopes that everyone can make it. (https://www.kijiji.ca/v-events/ottawa/25-000-comic-book-fundraising-sale-for-cheo-now-with-giveaway/1348619396?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true) and Rob hopes that everyone can make it. JUne 10 sees another Capital Trade show at the Jim, and the Canadian Gaming Expo makes its appearance in Ottawa on June 23 and 24, 2018. (http://fancons.ca/events/info.shtml/9588/Canadian_Gaming_Expo_Ottawa_2018)
That's it for now, next time I will be doing a review of a book I picked up at Commiccon from a local artist, followed by another Random Book My Son Picks...take car.
House of Mystery started as DC's entry into the horror genre as the people who ran it discovered that super-hero comics were on the wane and that horror comics were all vogue, mostly due to EC Comics line. There were several stories per issue (written by various luminaries such as Jack Schiff, and drawn by artists such as Win Mortimer and my personal favourite, Curt Swan). Some of the stories were based on legends from the real world, while others were the providence of the writers themselves. The book began on a bi-monthly schedule, similar to other books of the genre. Some of the interesting stories of the early era were #3's "The Dummy of Death" which features a revenge death by a ventriloquist's dummy, #15's "Curse of the Golden Secret" (this issue also had a cover by Swan that I simply love; the mirror is chilling) or #29's "Hangman House" (where a man who is the descendant of a long line of hangmen apparently has a hobby of a different nature.) I use these examples as they are actually stories I have read an enjoyed. This era of the series ended with the advent of the Comics Code. (The first issue published with the Code's approval was Issue #36, March 1955.)
At this point, the stories turned into a science-fiction type magazine similar to Mystery in Space and the Atlas titles published around the same time. Stories like "The Fountain of Youth" (from issue 36) became more of the staple of this comic, a bit of horror, but mostly suspenseful. The stories from this era got more and more mediocre until the decision was made to turn the title into a super-hero comic in the Silver Age.
After losing his spot in Detective Comics to the Elongated Man, the Martian Manhunter, J'onn Jonzz, became the lead and cover feature of the magazine with Issue #143 (June 1964) and kept this up until Issue #155, after which an interesting character by the name of Robby Reed (a personal favourite of another blogger that runs a blog called Dial B for Blog) starring in a series called "Dial H for Hero" took over the front, and J'onn became a backup in the magazine.
Dial H for Hero had a great concept, Robby would dial H-E-R-O on a device he found in a cavern on a school trip that gave him temporary powers (for about an hour). He never received the same powers twice and became a different super-hero with every issue. Eventually fans began to send in suggestions that were published in the letter pages of the book. One of Robby's transformations became the first Silver Age appearance of Plastic Man (Issue 160, July 1966) Starting with Number 156 and running until Issue 173, Dial H for Hero is remembered fondly by a lot of comic fans from the time.
With Issue 174, the editorial-ship of this magazine fell to EC veteran Joe Orlando. Because both Marvel and DC decided to begin to challenge the restrictive nature of the Comics Code Authority, the companies began to experiment again with horror themed titles. The first issue was a reprint title of some of the older stories, but with issue 175, the horror format of the title began. In the tradition of the EC stories, a personage with the biblical name of Cain (whose brother Abel ran DC's other similar title, the House of Secrets). Cain is the care-taker of the House of Mystery, introducing stories and on occasion, interacting with the protagonists of the current tale. This series also began to feature some of Sergio Aragones' work as well, as very issue for a time had at least one of his "Cain's Game Room"features. This is the era (besides the Dial H time period) that I remember most, as this era continued into the late Bronze age, finally being cancelled with issue #321.
The House would be revived a few times after, such as in a Vertigo title and with Elvira, Mistress of the Dark as host, as Elvira's House of Mystery in the late 1980s. But as good as some of the more recent books have been (the Vertigo series in particular had some very chilling moments.), I have always been partial to the Bronze Age version of the title. I hope, that after reading some of it, you enjoy it too, because if the House wills it, or if Cain convinces it, you will never leave again...
Ottawa News and Notes - Rob Lussier passes on that the CHEO sale will be this Saturday, May 26, where comic sales will be used to help CHEO. Details are listed here and Rob hopes that everyone can make it. (https://www.kijiji.ca/v-events/ottawa/25-000-comic-book-fundraising-sale-for-cheo-now-with-giveaway/1348619396?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true) and Rob hopes that everyone can make it. JUne 10 sees another Capital Trade show at the Jim, and the Canadian Gaming Expo makes its appearance in Ottawa on June 23 and 24, 2018. (http://fancons.ca/events/info.shtml/9588/Canadian_Gaming_Expo_Ottawa_2018)
That's it for now, next time I will be doing a review of a book I picked up at Commiccon from a local artist, followed by another Random Book My Son Picks...take car.
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