Horror In And Out Of The House Of Mystery

Here are a couple of cases of horror around the house....the House of Mystery, that is, with Neal Adams' covers for House Of Mystery #178 and #179 (January-February and March-April, 1969).

House Of Mystery Change

House Of Mystery had undergone a few changes over the years.  First, as a sort of generic mystery/science fiction title, then as a home for super heroes like Martian Manhunter and Dial H For Hero...

...under the editorial direction of Joe Orlando, with issue number 174 (May-June, 1968, with a cover layout by Carmine Infantino, art by Joe Orlando and George Roussos, the title became a horror icon until its end with issue 321 (October, 1983).

Imagine the shock kids who had a subscription to see J'onn J'onnz (who started in issue 143 of June, 1964) or Robby Reed (premiering issue 156 of January, 1966) as they got that latest issue!  Of course, the horror of a giant Zook should not be underestimated....

Consider this an invitation to keep checking back in October, for more House of Mystery, and other spooky covers!  

For those who like to flip to the end of a book, here is the end of the House Of Mystery!

Happy Halloween 2021

A Happy Halloween to one and all with this cover from Elvira's House Of Mystery #11 (January, 1987), the last issue of the series, drawn by Dave Stevens.

The series began in 1986, featuring Cassandra Peterson as the host, replacing Cain, and even had a special after the regular series ended!

Happy Birthday Elvira

 

Technically, it may or may or may not be Elvira's birthday, but it is the birthday of Cassandra Peterson, who plays Elvira...

...and what better way to celebrate than by learning something, like when Elvira was teaching school kids for this cover of the 10th issue of the 11 issue series of Elvira's House of Mystery (that was cover dated December, 1986, and drawn by Joe Orlando and Dick Giordano!).

The End Of The House Of Mystery

Mike Kaluta gives us the image no one wanted to see....

....a true horror....

....the end of an era, with Cain leaving the House of Mystery, from House of Mystery #321 (October, 1983).

Bernie Wrightson Halloween

Remembering the late Bernie Wrightson (October 27, 1948 to March 18, 2017), an incredible artist taken from us too soon.

This classic cover of House of Mystery #256 (January-February, 1978) features the host of the house, Cain, about to play some Halloween tricks on a group of holiday mirth makers.

Who Is Fishing Who?

A nice time on the lake, enjoying your time there...fishing....but, who is trying to catch who?


That's the question, the answer is in House Of Mystery #94 (January, 1960), with a cover by Dick Dillin and Sheldon Moldoff, and in the story of "The Creature In Echo Lake"  with art by Bill Ely.

Supergirl Stats: Martian Manhunter Friend Zook

Yes, there is a Zook, and he's been a friend of the Martian Manhunter for years!

While not as big a part of his life now, the helpful little alien was at one time....

....here are a few of his appearances!

Detective Comics 311

Zook premiered in Detective Comics #311 (January, 1963) by Joe Certa in the Martian Manhunter feature entitled "The Invaders From The Space Warp", where Zook came to Earth along with three other alien invaders, and while J'onn J'onnz sent the others home, Zook didn't make it (as noted by J'onn's friend, Diane Meade, claiming him as a pet).  Probably a good thing he stayed, as Zook rescues J'onn in the very next issue (still getting no respect).

Zook even detects another Saturnian alien disguising himself as John Jones (the Martian Manhunter's Earth identity) in Detective Comics #314, and even briefly becomes a foe for J'onn J'onnz after a blow on the head in Detective Comics #318, working with J'onn and Diane through the most of the rest of the Martian Manhunter's run in Detective Comics (until #326).

House Of Mystery 143

Zook moves along with the Martian Manhunter over to the House Of Mystery (#143 of June, 1964), where, Zook becomes a big threat to J'onn with the help of "The Giant Maker" by Jack Miller and Joe Certa.

As J'onn had abandoned his identity as John Jones to a supposed death in his last issue in Detective Comics, he thought he could spent more time searching down the Idol-Head of Diabolu (a mystic item that causes unimaginable threats).

One of those threats was an enlarged and enraged Zook!

J'onn was able to stop his friend from hurting him (or himself), and Zook was restored back to normal by the end of the issue.

House Of Mystery 151

Zook's last cover appearance was House Of Mystery #151 (June, 1965 by Jack Miller and Joe Certa) helping the Martian Manhunter against "The Doom Of From Two Worlds" (more menaces from the Idol-Head).

Zook doesn't appear again until House of Mystery #156, helps J'onn against his foe Professor Arnold Hugo in House of Mystery #157, helps end the menace of the Idol-Head Of Diabolu in House of Mystery #158, then pops up in #166, #168, #171 and #172 as Martian Manhunter contents with Mr. V and the criminal organization of Vulture, though isn't there when J'onn confronts their secret leader in his last solo feature of the 1960s in House of Mystery #173 (March-April, 1968).

Afterwards

Mostly forgotten in the modern age, Zook was revived as a sentient shape-changing Martian plant (Zo'ok), that J'onn J'onnz used to make his shape-changing costume during the John Ostrander Martian Manhunter run (specifically mentioned in Martian Manhunter #16 of March, 2000), shows up with everybody in Solo #7 of December, 2005 by Michael Allred in his normal form, and then even menaced Superman and Batman during Superman/Batman (in Superman/Batman #31 of January, 2007), before dying in Ambush Bug: Year None #2 (October, 2008).

Quite a few appearances for an "imaginary friend"....no matter what J'onn's dad says on the CW Supergirl!

Happy Halloween From Elvira's House Of Mystery

Happy Halloween from Elvira's House of Mystery.

Elvira's House of Mystery #1 (January, 1986) with a cover by Brian Bolland, featuring the horror host made famous by Cassandra Peterson), hosting tales of horror in a 64 page special, with stories by Joey Cavalieri, Philip Clark Jr., Robert Kanigher, Dennis Yee and Jack C. Harris,  and art by Ron Wagner, Bob Oksner, Tom Grindberg, Irwin Hasen, Shawn McManus, Arthur Geroche, Dennis Yee, Dan Adkins, Tex Blaisdell, and Dan Spiegle, as well as photos of Cassandra as Elvira.  

This then led to 10 more issues of horror hijinx, ending with another Halloween issue, as well as a Christmas Special.

House of Mystery 13

Something a little different....a quick look at the 13th issue of House of Mystery from July, 2009 and the many creepy tales within....all under his cover by Esao Andrews!

First up, a tale by Matthew Sturges and Ralph Reese, called "The Thirteenth Hour" where a man watches the world get destroyed every day during the thirteenth hour!

Next, Bill Willingham and Eric Powell give us "The Lace Anniversary", where a couple reconsider their marriage during their 13th Anniversary.

With "13th Times The Charm", two immortals who keep meeting during their long lives finally make contact, in this story by Chris Roberson, and Neal and Josh Adams...

...then a quick note about the Neal Adams' variant cover for this issue, while writers Matthew Sturges, Chris Roberson and Bill Willingham all give their take on the Clockwork Storybook.

Finally, a little levity by Matthew Sturges and Sergio Aragones, involving Cain, the original host of the House of Mystery.....

Merry Christmas From Elvira

Getting your holidays mixed up?

Well, even if Halloween and Christmas aren't the same, Elvira celebrated Christmas with this....the Elvira's House of Mystery Special #1 of 1987, and a designed by Ed Hannigan, and drawn by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez.

The issue features tales such as "Elvira's Christmas Carol" by Joey Cavalieri and Frank Springer, "Oh What Fun To Laugh And Sing A Slaying Song Tonight!" by Michael Fleisher and Jack Sparling, "O, Christmas Tree" by Barbara Randall, Stephen DeStefano and Craig Boldman, "Twas The Night Before X-Mas" by Ed Hannigan and a pin-up by Paul Gulacy...all sure to delight any fan of Halloween or Christmas!

Happy Halloween from the House of Mystery

Happy Halloween from Cain and the House of Mystery, with this cover from Esao Andrews and the House of Mystery Halloween Annual #2 from December, 2010!

Stories include a little House of Mystery tale with Cain and Abel from Matthew Sturges, Luca Rossi and Jose Marzan Jr.; Madame Xanadu by Matt Wagner and Brandon Graham; John Constantine the Hellblazer by Peter Milligan, Giuseppe Camuncoli and Stefano Landini; iZombie by Chris Roberson and Michael Allred and Lucifer by Mike Carey and Peter Gross!

Just the creepy tales one needs for Halloween!

Start of Summer 2016

It's the start of summer, 2016!

Try to keep cool....but maybe not as cool as this guy, drawn by George Evans, from House Of Mystery #218 (October, 1973), with the story of "An Ice Place To Visit" by Michael Fleisher and Frank Thorne.

Batman's One Time Supernatural Team-Ups

Batman was no stranger to team-ups, thanks to the Brave and the Bold (and multiple team-ups with folks like Deadman, the Phantom Stranger, Spectre and the Demon), neither was he a stranger to the supernatural...

...as the darknight detective had encountered plenty of odd things in his own magazine and Detective Comics as well...

...but, these were a few of the magical team-ups Batman only did once in Brave and the Bold!

Sunny Side Down

Eclipso was only Batman's second team-up appearance in Brave and the Bold, but the story in B&B #64 (February-March, 1966, by Bob Haney and Win Mortimer) was a doozy all under a magical cover done by Gil Kane (who was more known for drawing the Green Lantern and the Atom at the time!).

Batman faced off against Dr. Bruce Gordon's alter-ego...the evil Eclipso, as Eclipso and Queen Bee (Marcia Monroe, not related to the JLA foe, Zazzala) started a crime wave in Gotham, and even framed Batman for the crime!

Eclipso came into being in House of Secrets #61 (August, 1963) in a story by Bob Haney and Lee Elias, and was originally though to be solar scientist Bruce Gordon (no relation to Com. James Gordon), scratched by a black diamond held by tribal sorcerer Mophir during an eclipse. 

Bruce would then turn into the evil Eclipso (like Jekyll and Hyde) and weld the power of the black diamond against the forces of good (and usually his fiancé, Mona Bennett and her father during the run to House of Secrets #80, and a few returns in Metal Men and Green Lantern, among others).  Later, it was revealed that Eclipso was tied to the Spectre as a former wrath of God, and that the diamond imprisoned his essence (in the Eclipso: The Darkness Within 1992 DC Annual event , and Eclipso's own 18 issue series, and a storyline in Spectre #14-18 at the time involving DC magicians Dr. Fate, Zatanna, Phantom Stranger, the Demon and Madame Xanadu)...and that anyone holding one of many black diamonds could manifest Eclipso under anger.

Another House

Batman went into the House of Mystery in Brave and the Bold #93 (December-January 1970/1971) in a story by Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams (famous for a run on Green Lantern at the time as well), where Batman had to save a boy in Scotland from what might be the ghost of a Scottish king in "Red Water, Crimson Death".

An odd, but often reprinted tale....and a pretty good one as well, with some historical significance for DC Comics, as the House of Mystery had originally been a horror anthology without a host, then home to the first Brave & the Bold co-star back from issue #50, Martian Manhunter, and a newcomer, Dial H for Hero until they were evicted ...

What made this story a little odd was Batman meeting Cain, who was the host of DC's horror anthology title, House of Mystery (and until his point, thought only to be a narrator of tales for the writer starting in #175), and, with his brother, Abel (who took over House of Secrets when it became a horror anthology after Eclipso and Prince Ra-Man were sent packing) became parts of the DC Universe, with houses that magicians and others went to (like Superman, Blue Devil, Sandman and more).

Daylight Sucks

One of the residents of the title of the House of Mystery, was a real bat-man...and Andrew Bennett (of the feature I...Vampire) met Bruce Wayne's alter ego in Brave and the Bold #195 (February, 1983, by Mike W. Barr and Jim Aparo).

This set the two against each other for a time, then united against Andrew's foe, Mary and the vampires of the Blood Red Moon as Batman had to deal with this vampire invasion of Gotham and save a mobster's daughter in "Night of Blood"! 

Not the first or last time Batman faced a creature of the night...

Andrew Bennett was one of the earlier "good" vampires, who lamented his existence as a vampire, and had been an Englishman who turned in the 16th century, and bit only one human, his lover, Mary, who joined the evil cabal of vampires called the Blood Red Moon, whom Andrew devoted his life to ending.  His story started in House of Mystery #290 (March, 1981, by J.M. DeMatties and Tom Sutton) and ran in most issues of House of Mystery (continuous from #302 up) until House of Mystery #319.  Andrew then popped up in Dr. Fate's 1980s series for a time, and even returned in the New 52 with his own I...Vampire series, and DC made a collection of all his original House of Mystery appearances as well.

The Doctor Is In

Dr. Fate had met Batman before as a member of the Justice Society, but the two had one adventure together alone, with Brave and the Bold #156 (November, 1979) by Cary Burkett and Don Newton.  The Gotham City police force (including Commissioner James Gordon) had become possessed by an evil force, and it took the help of the mystic from Earth-2 to save Batman and the police!

Now, regular readers of this column might remember a mention of Earth-2 before, but for those that don't, it was a place of heroes that existed since World War II, and gathered as the Justice Society of America (as opposed to the Justice League of America), with some heroic duplicates on each Earth, like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrrow and Aquaman, and some similar, like Flash, Green Lantern, Atom and Hawkman.

Dr. Fate was a hero unique to Earth-2, and was quite the hero!  Kent Nelson first appeared in More Fun Comics #55 (May, 1940) by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman (under a Spectre cover), wherein the magic user saved Inza from the evil Wotan.  Later, it was revealed that Kent was the son of Sven Nelson, an archeologist, and while the two were clearing a tomb in Egypt, they found Nabu, a Lord of Order, who accidentally killed Sven, and then took Kent as his ward, trained him in sorcery, and gave the boy Nabu turned into a man the helmet of Fate...which allowed Kent to operate as a sorcerer and fight mystical menaces (as well as join the Justice Society). 

Kent learned that the helmet was taking him over, and left it behind for a while (using only his flying powers, strength and invulnerability) to fight slightly more ordinary crime, but by the time of the JLA/JSA team-ups, Dr. Fate was in the full helmet again (with Dr. Fate being separate from Kent Nelson, much to the chagrin of Inza, who had become Kent's wife).  Dr. Fate even joined the Justice League after the Crisis on Infinite Earths for a time, until his body gave up the ghost, and Eric and Linda Strauss took over being Dr. Fate (and they were the Dr. Fate who met Andrew Bennett), and when they gave it up, Inza became Dr. Fate for a time (and she helped face Eclipso with the Spectre and Zatanna....).

Backwards Magic

Batman and Zatanna had worked together many times before, and she even fought Batman and Robin back in an issue of Detective Comics, but her one and only team-up with Batman in Brave and the Bold happened in issue #169 (December, 1980) by Mike W. Barr and Jim Aparo.

This story, "Angel Of Mercy, Angel Of Death" was a nice chance to see more of Zatanna on her own, yet with the safety of having Batman around as well (kind of the point of Brave and the Bold issues....). 

The pair work together to see if a faith healer is real (as does the mob boss who want to avail himself of the healer's talents!).

Zatanna first appeared in Hawkman #4 (October-November, 1964) in the story "The Girl Who Split In Two!" by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson.  Zatanna was revealed to be the daughter of Zatara (a mystical character who first appeared in Action Comics #1), and was on a quest to find her missing father using the same powers of backward-speaking magic that her father possessed.  This saga would unfold in a few individual Justice League members titles, ending in Justice League of America #51! 

Later on, the mistress of magic joined the JLA (and gained the costume she wore when she was in B&B), and then gave that costume up for one designed by artist George Perez (that is more associated with her time in the JLA).  Later, as Zatanna gained more independent appearances, she returned to the fishnets, top hat and coat that she used in her stage magic act...but kept up helping people using her magic, including John Constantine, the Hellblazer, himself a dabbler, and confidant of the Swamp Thing (who teamed with Batman a few times, though John never did in B&B).

That's the fun of Batman team-ups, they were always magical and that legacy carries on today!