World Famous Comics: Showcase Presents: House of Mystery, Vol. 2
Showcase Presents: House of Mystery, Vol. 2
By: Len Wein Publisher: DC Comics Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: DC Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 552 Publication Date: February 07, 2007 Reading Level: Young Adult Release Date: March 07, 2007
Good stories, excellent artwork !!! Like i said in my review of Volume I, the stories are rather bland and tame, but they do transport you to a time when this genre was being explored in comic form. A great addition to a comic book buff's bookshelf.
Delve into a story at periodic intervals and you will not get bored or find it repeititive.
Congartulations to the artists for their fabulous artwork, which is exquisite, all hand done, no computer software to help them !
Buy it, read it, enjoy it, don't lend it !
Great old horror comic!! If you are a fan of older horror comics, for instance the EC line, don't miss these! Although not as gruesome as comics like Tales from the Crypt, this still has that classic comic flavor that is lacking in some of the newer horror "graphic novels". Recommended.
Essential, unmissable, 5 stars
I was captivated and enthralled by these comics when I was a child -- adults always felt that comics were awful, a distraction from "real" books, from "real" reading.
However, for many of us, these books actually led us to creative writing, and good literature -- these comics led me directly to Ray Bradbury, John Whyndam, M.R. James and countless other quality authors. Later, these kinds of stories led me onto the likes of Chekov.
Of course, reading these comics some 30 years later, they don't have the same enthralling sense of the magical -- but one can appreciate them in other ways. One feels transported back to that time of naivety, when the stories were like a world complete, a space complete unto itself.
The other point to mention is the extraordinary, quality artwork by unsung greats such as Redondo, Nino, Alcala and others , most of whom were from The Philippines.
Get "House of Mystery" as soon as possible if you were a fan of the genre back in the 60's and 70's -- and at the price, how could you go wrong? You will be transported back ( mentally at least ! Though who knows??? ) to the time when you huddled alone under the bed covers, or read alone in a quiet room on a rainy afternoon, enchanted by these odd, weird tales.
A real trip then, back into time of childhood -- a time of naivety, creativity and wonder.
A BEVY OF LEGENDARY ARTISTS! One era/genre of comics that seems to get little attention are the horror comics of the 1970's. For a genre that seemed almost a throwaway back then there certainly were a myriad of titles being produced. DC had House of Secrets, Tales of the Unexpected, Ghosts, Ghost Castle, The Witching Hour, Weird Mystery, Dark Mansion, Phantom Stranger, and of course, The House of Mystery. Funny thing about all these old horror comics that seemed to be so lightly regarded...they had some of the best artwork around. The roll call for the second volume of "Showcase Presents The House of Mystery" includes such masters as Berni Wrightson, Neal Adams, WM Kaluta, Gil Kane, Gray Morrow, Russ Heath, Wally Wood, Nick Cardy, and Jim Aparo. It's an incredible lineup of artists.
The second volume re-prints issues #195 - 211 of the regular comic series, spanning the years 1971 - 1973. By today's graphic standards, the stories are somewhat tame. One must remember that the dreaded Comics Code Authority still had their control, pre-direct distribution. The stories in House of Mystery owed a lot to the EC Comics of the 1950's, often going for shock endings with twists of irony. One can also see influences by many great early horror writers on these stories such as H.P. Lovecraft and Arthur Machen.
"Things Old...Things Forgotten" certainly seems to be one of those tales influenced by Machen's lore of mysterious and ancient woodland beings, far older than the human race. This tale finds a would-be conqueror cutting a path through the wilderness to try and surprise his enemies, until he encounters something far more dangerous than man. Writghtson illustrated this story and its one of the best in the book.
One of those stories of ironic morality is "The Beast's Revenge" illustrated by Mike Kaluta. When a man kills his own sister to get her half of the family farm, nature decides to take its own revenge. An amusing story with art by Jim Aparo is "The Demon Within" about the drastic means a mother and father use to curb their seven year-olds ability to transform into a hideous demon.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the spectacular covers of these issues, the bulk of which were done by Adams, Kaluta, and Wrightson. The ghostly Adams covers for 197 & 198 are masterpieces, My favorite cover, however, is Wrightson's Lovecraft inspired pieces for issue #204. This depicts a gruesome, slime-like creature with multitudes of eyes all over its shapeless body. Wrightson's Dracula cover for #211 is another standout. There's no doubt that the best covers of the early 1970's were found on The House of Mystery. Providing some comic relief throughout the book is longtime Mad cartoonist Sergio Aragones with his always hilarious cartoons.
This is just great stuff and at $16.99 for over 500 pages of comics, it's a great value as well. Five out of Five Stars!
Reviewed by Tim Janson
THIS IS THE STUFF HOUSE OF MYSTERY, HOUSE OF SECRETS, CREEPY AND EERIE...ARE ALL THE COMICS YOU EVER NEED...PERFECT.
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