Ghosts #81 -- DC actually challenges me to read it. And who am I to back down from a challenge?!
I. "Ghosts And The Supernatural" -- A one-pager about various spooky goings-on (all purported to be true, like all of the stories herein) in Washington DC. I think most of the spooky stuff in DC goes down in Senators' offices.
II. "The Specter Struck Twice" -- A greedy doctor steals his colleague's research, then murders him to cover it up. Unfortunately, the ghost of the murdered man hangs around to choke the life out of his killer. Good thing a friendly gypsy comes by, offering to get rid of it for a price. Too bad the guy didn't give him much of a tip. This one's about one double cross shy of being an EC story.
III. "Unburied Phantom" -- The cover story, of sorts. A construction worker rips off the payroll and kills his more-moral buddy, dumping him in a cement mixer. The next day, the dumb sap gets pushed off the ledge by a ghost, and also winds up in the cement mixer. Short and to the point, like most real-life supernatural encounters.
IV. "An Echo From The Tomb" -- When did we get to Weird Western Tales? The brother of a murder victim fingers the killers through the timely assistance of his brother's ghost, coupled with a co-conspiritor in the scheme which lead to his death in the first place. Has more plot than one really expects in a 5 page story.
V. "Voice of the Telephone Phantom" -- Text story from the "files of Dr. Geist." I'd make a "Geist, MD" joke, but I don't like anime. Anyway, a woman is saved from a tidal wave (It's California) by a disembodied caller who may or may not be her dead husband. Needless to say, the art stinks.
Overall Weird Factor: 3 (of 5).
Pretty standard DC horror/mystery fare. Ghosts was usually considered one of the lesser titles in the range, but I liked this issue. The lead story was pretty solid for the era. The three main stories all have a revenge vibe which is always fun. And the oater was just so strange and out of place that it amps up the Weird Factor pretty strongly.
3 comments:
You know, one of these days when you're finished with those books, I'd really like to read them. I've never actually read any horror, mystery or war comics, and I feel like I'm missing out.
Sure thing, dude. I'm trying to make the Weekly Dose of Weird! a feature here, so hopefully that will continue to whet your appetite for the genre books.
I use to love reading those stories. Ghostly Tales and Ripley's Believe it or Not were always fun to ready too.
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