Awesome Files: Something I Never Expected

DC is releasing a Showcase Presents volume of Secrets of Sinister House, AKA The Sinister House Of Secret Love.  Even more of a treat, this volume collects the entire series, all 18 issues.  Here's the solicitation text:

DC's classic gothic horror/romance from 1971-1974 is collected for the first time in this value-priced collection. This moody, atmospheric volume collects THE SINISTER HOUSE OF SECRET LOVE #1-4 and THE SECRETS OF SINISTER HOUSE #5-18.

Now, I know the Romance angle of this series was dropped after the name change, but the fact that DC is collecting these truly obscure titles really puts a smile on my face.  Can Showcase Presents: The Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love/Forbidden Tales of the Dark Mansion be far behind?

Weekly Dose Of Weird!

Weird War Tales #24 -- Death can be pretty darn fashionable when he wants to be.

I. "The Invisible Enemy" -- Lieutenant Oberst is a model Nazi -- without remose or conscience, he orders a gypsy and her child to death, and as a result is cursed to die... by tiger! Despite being haunted by tiger-filled nightmares, Oberst continues on with his brutal campaigns, cheating death time and again, until he is forced to guard a subterranean supply depot. Turning on his own men for their cowardice, Oberst guards the depot for years, until he is eventually discovered by miners ten years after the war has ended! But the madness is too far gone for Oberst, as he even sees his saviors as tigers, and runs, ending up tumbling off of a building. His fall directs him onto a statue of tiger, proving once more than irony is one of the fundamental powers of the universe.

II. "The Last Battle" --In the year 2080, the Dictator rules all of Earth with an iron fist. But, he wants to be loved by his subjects, not feared. To this end, he has his generals devise a phony war against Mars, complete with a raid against the Red Planet... one which the Martians, secreted under the surface, do not take kindly to.

Overall Weird Factor: 3.5 (out of 5).

Two fairly standard stories get a boost here by very strong art, done by Ernie Chua up front and Alex Nino in the back. Nino's work especially has a strong psychadelic factor to it which really adds a lot of flair. The cover, with it's bold colors, is very nice as well. It's issues like this which are why I have such affection for this title: even your average, run of the mill installment has surprises and a lot of entertainment value lurking within.

Weekly Dose Of Weird!

Secrets Of Haunted House #6 -- Didn't Luke Cage fight this guy once?

I. "The Contest" -- (Frame Story) Destiny welcomes Cain and Abel into his Garden to spin stories to frighten mortals, and we shall be the judges.

II. "Grave Situation" -- A posh Londonite vampire awakens after a short nap and tries to find a pretty girl to dine with. All he gets is a double dose of woman's lib, followed by a bothersome bit of sunlight -- eclipses are bad like that.

III. "A Deadly Allegiance" -- All-around bad guy Peter is partners with the mysterious torture master Mr. Black. They retrieve information about the whereabouts of a payroll heist from one victim, then Peter eliminates the rest of his gang, leaving him and Mr. Black to get the loot. But when they find the loot, it's booby trapped, and Peter is suddenly left alone... betrayed by his cloven-hoofed compatriot.

IV. "Valley Of The Giants" -- Rurik the Viking raids the English countryside but feels they are unworthy of a challenge. An old soothsayer predicts doom for the Viking at the hands of giants. Defiant, the Vikings sail off, only to be caught in a storm and wind up in Arabia. There they leave of a lost city of ivory, deep in the Valley of the Giants. Rurik leads his mean into the valley, where they are ambushed and slaughtered by tiny pygmies. Truly, there were giants in the valle,y but they were the victims, not the executioners.

Overall Weird Rating: 2 (out of 5).

Secrets of Haunted House ran for about 7 years, but it's lack of name recognition amongst its DC stablemates makes it more obscure. Most fans only know of Destiny reading his book from Gaiman's Sandman. But this is a perfectly servicable horror/mystery comic, although the last segment is the least interesting but longest, so that is a strike against it. Oddly, though Destiny introduces a challenge between Cain and Abel, saying that he cannot tell a story, only to measure one's fate, he introduces that third feature. Go fig!

Weekly Dose Of Weird!

Weird War Tales #112 -- There are seven things wrong with this cover. Can you name them?

I. "The Medusa Sting!" -- In Egypt, the Creature Commandos are on a mission to harass Rommel's Panzer lines in order to buy General Patton enough time to set up his counterattack. After downing a Luftwaffe fighter, the Commandos take refuge inside a pyramid, where they find a gorgon-headed mummified queen, the spitting image of Dr. Medusa. All of the Commandos save the doctor then drink of a potent wine, which shrinks them down to the size of dolls! Carrying them in her hair, but now seemingly useless at their size, Dr. Medusa makes the charge on a Panzer encampment on her own, but is helped by her pint-sized comrades who team up to fire a machine gun and help wipe out the camp, giving Patton the time he needs. The Commandos return to normal thanks to the venom of the snakes in Dr. Medusa's hair, who had bitten the team while the doctor carried them.

II. "The Head Of The Battalion" -- During the French revolution, an ambitious lieutenant has all of his superior officers added to the list of traitors who shall meet Madame Le Guillotine. Now the commander of the battalion, the lieutenant leads his men into battle, only to find himself along against an army of headless corpses -- along with the ghosts of the officers he murdered! Startling his horse, the ghosts lead the lieutenant into a trap, complete with a wire, which decapitates the lieutenant and reunites his spirit with his unhappy former comrades.

III. "Nine Lives Are Not Enough!" -- A GI liberating France in the later stages of WWII saves a black cat from the Nazis, and is rewarded by the cat's mysterious owner with nine lives. Now a reckless hero, the GI throws himself into every situation, dying each time but returning thanks to his gift. Rising to the rank of sergeant, the GI now has other men's lives in his hands. Saving one of his Privates by diving on a grenade, the GI uses his last life... only to be reborn as a black cat, given another chance for his sacrifice.

Overall Weird Rating: 4 (out of 5).

A good introduction to the Creature Commandos, who really are pretty similar to the Losers except that they are all monsters. Kanigher seems to enjoy writing them and that shows through. The other two segments are also well done, making this a strong issue all told, even if I was a little skeptical up front because of the Commandos, whom I had never read before. Adding to the Weird Factor is an ad for the Swamp Thing film, as well as a clasified ad in the block used to hawk comic book catalogs which appears to be hand written -- and very badly at that!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, folks! We'll have an EC-stra special edition of the Weekly Dose Of Weird later today, but for now, let's have fun with an episode of Tales From The Darkside!

Have a happy and safe Halloween folks!  And remember, teens, tonight is THE night for you to finally have sex in your house while your parents are out... just watch out for large, calmly walking guys in spray-painted William Shatner masks.

Weekly Dose Of Weird!

Weird War Tales #61 -- Man, I tell ya, Skeletor's really hanging in there. That or the Red Skull spilled bleach on his head.

I. (Introduction) -- Death welcomes us to the final frontier, where he is the only one who can truly "win" the struggle of war.

II. "Mind War" -- Commander Aaron Haley and his first mate June defend Earth against the Troahians by using a "ment-scan" device to create ships and soldiers from Haley's own mind. Dogged by his wily Troahian foe, Haley takes the fight deep into enemy territory, tricks his opponent and blasts him to pieces. But the battle will never truly be over, for Commander Haley is trapped in his own mind, reliving the same hallucination thousands of times over, held in a Troahian mental facility years after the fall of Earth.

III. "The Mercenary" -- Meet Dave. Dave is a workaday mercenary in the year 3002, leading his crew below the gilded Upperworld to the remains of Lowerworld. Dave and his crew hunt down the vermin who refused to be Subtracted from the population with the Finalsleep, and so the mercenaries have to go on S&D (Search and Destroy, natch) duty. Dave's crewmate Ben wants to cut out for lunch, but chow is the last thing on Dave's mind, cornered and ambushed by an army of Lowerworld dwellers, his anti-radiation mask gone and cut off from his crew... going to be late getting home tonight, Dave is.

Overall Weird Rating: 4 (out of 5)

Ah yes, the infamous "you only brought 6 dollars to the Con" issue of Weird War. As a themed issue (a trend promised to continue in the letters page by editor Paul Levitz, now the publisher of DC Comics), this is very enjoyable. The science-fiction stories are a change of pace from the ghosts and skeletons which traditionally star in this series. The introduction has a great rendition of Death in a space suit by Howard Chaykin, who also handles the art on "Mind War." Very worthy issue if you can find it.

Weekly Dose Of Weird!

Ghosts #111 -- The Burton Method? Which Burton? Tim Burton? Corey Burton? Jeff Burton, maybe?

"The Burton Method" -- Psychologist Professor Burton has devised a device which projects a patients deepest barriers and defenses as imagery, allowing them to view the obstacles and overcome them. Showing that his insecurities play out as a sword and sorcery tale, the Professor fends off the criticisms of his colleagues who think he is doing this for personal gain and to make "The Burton Method" famous. The Professor laughs them off, until suddenly the muscle-bound projection of his mind bursts from the view screen and stabs him dead -- a product of Burton's own deep-seated death wish being achieved by overcoming the mental barriers preventing him from doing it himself.

"The Last Kung-Fu Movie" -- Kung-Fu idol Lee Cheng falls to his death from a Hollywood penthouse after drinking a spiked drink, given to him by his producer to help settle his star's nerves. When Cheng's wife begins to ask questions, she too is killed. Missing their star, the producer and his lackey splice outtakes of Cheng together with body doubles to produce more films, all of which are blockbusters. After his sensei sacrifices himself, Cheng's reanimated corpse rises from his grave, takes vengeance on those who killed him, with the producer ending up dead in a noose of his own film.

"Shrieeeeeek!" -- Harland Frigby sets a mousetrap in his house, and ends up catching one in it -- alive. His wife Alice takes pity on the creature, and lets it go outside, but Harland lets the neighbor's cat in the yard to kill it. On his way to meet with his mistress, Harland is visited by the now-literate talking ghost of the mouse, who threatens to terrorize his family unless Harland takes care of the mouse's wife and children. Harland refuses, thinking the ghost will haunt his wife and send her to the nut hatch, allowing him to be with his mistress. But the mouse haunts the mistress instead, who looses control of her car, then hits and kills Harland. With his mistress herself being committed, Harland is left with an eternity of being haunted by the mouse -- a ghost haunting a ghost.

Overall Weird Rating -- 3.5 (out of 5).

A very good issue for the later days of Ghosts (this being the second to last issue). Then again, any comic book which features a kung-fu zombie will get a thumbs-up from most readers, I imagine. Also amusing at the titles of the kung-fu "epics" they produce, including Kung-Fu Krippler, Kung-Fu Rabbi, Kung-Fu Kretin, Kung-Fu Disco, and my favorite, Gidget Goes Kung-Fu. They just don't make em like that anymore!

Weekly Dose Of Weird!

Weird War Tales #32 -- You know, I don't recall there being any giant monsters in World War II.  That's something I would have remembered.

I. "My Enemy, The Stars" -- A private blows off his buddy's horoscope reading, but twice in a row it proves prophetic.  After spotting a huge column of Nazi hardware rolling towards him, the private is hit, and soon starts to imagine that the constellations themselves are coming to his aid, smashing the German armor.  He awakes in the morning to find a field of destroyed tanks, but neither his unit nor any other takes credit for it.  The stars saved him... and he was rewarded with the Silver Star.

II. "The Day After Doomsday" -- In rural Britain, nothing much seems to change... except when radiation from wars of men seep into the groundwater, causing the humble farming couple who drink from their well to shrink and become chicken feed.  Don't worry; the chicken's will get their's soon enough, what with no one to feed them.

III. "A Glutton for Punishment!" -- During the Crusades, a harsh, greedy and portly Christian Commander is approached by a ghostly Saracen, who makes a devil's deal with him: for his soul, the Commander will never go hungry, and will never die unless he asks to.  Continually wounded and maimed as he drives his men harder and harder towards Jerusalem, the Commander is finally abandoned and then left for dead after the Saracens attack with Greek fire.  Reappearing to collect the man's soul, the Commander spits that the Saracen is breaking the deal by letting him die, so the Saracen bows... reattaching the Commander's hands to his thighs and leaving him, so if he wants to eat, he'll have to rely on the pity of others.

IV. "Mission Into Madness!" -- 3 OSS men land on a tiny Japanese island.  Two distract the soldiers encamped there, while the third sabotages some computer equipemnt -- namely the controllers for the robotic soldiers the other two were distracting!  There's no computer that can match the human brain... for now.

Overall Weird Factor: 4 (out of 5).

A superior issue this time out.  All four of the features have an aspect which stands out, and they are all very different, making this a fun read.  The first feature, with the stars themselves descending from the Heavens to fight the Nazis, is quite striking in spots, and the third feature looks almost like something Graham Ingels would have done for The Haunt of Fear.  The two shorts are both well done, especially the last one which really does throw a twist in there (the use of "tiny Japanese island" in the opening narration is a major misdirection).

Weekly Dose Of Weird!

Ghosts #108 -- This looks like something out of The Haunted Mansion. Then again, that moon makes it look like a Helloween album.

I. "A Chance!" -- (Framing Story) Squire Shade introduces us to Charlie Davis, professional wrestler on his last legs. Charlie will try to win the deciding fall by living out three very different lives...

II. "Trick Or Treat!" -- A biker named Brute and his gang bust up a graveyard, including prying a decorative head off of a mausoleum. Turns out the tomb belongs to the caretaker, who has been searching for the diamonds his brother hid herein. The bikers steal the head and rough up the caretaker, who is then egged on by his spectral brother to go after them. He does, and retrieves the head... not noticing the diamonds spilling out of it. Lose one for Charlie.

III. "Iconoclast!" -- A paranormal debunker is in the middle of northern Idaho is put on to a local haunted house. When the spooks inside seem all too real, he is able to disbelieve them into disappearing -- along with the entire house as well. Charlie wins.

IV. "The Face Of Truth" -- A research professor discovers how to seperate the body and soul, but his jealous administrator tosses him in the device and claims the work as his own. When his colleagues want proof, he shows them the device -- with the dead professor inside! What looks like a hoax is revealed to be true when the professor's spirit reaches through the device and kills the administrator, who takes the secret to his grave. Charlie didn't do so well.

V. "Brain Cells" -- In a story seemingly unrelated to our poor grappler, two criminals and a corrupt police officer blast off a prison asteroid, only to run into a strange being of pure energy. Explaining that his people learned to leave their physical bodies behind to travel great distances, the being teaches the fugitives the trick and they whisk away to the being's home planet -- which is without war, poverty, or crime thanks to chemical brain treatments. Wanting the formula to control other men's minds, one of the criminals steals it, and the three blast off as energy to their ship... which has been found by the police, who are disposing of the seemingly dead bodies. The cop and the younger crook manage to regain shape, but the older one who had stolen the formula finds himself destined to remain non-coporeal for the rest of time.

VI. "A Chance! (part two)" -- (Framing Story) Charlie is pinned, and loses his last shot at glory. But, he swears, this is a new opportunity, and this time he will make something of himself. Squire Shade ominously adds "The Beginning."

Overall Weird Factor: 4 (out of 5).

The writing must have been on the wall for the title, which would would last four more issues. The framing device is very odd, but unique at least. The fifth feature, with it's bizzare hard-left turn into science fiction, and the third, with some lovely Johnny Craig art, are the best segments.

Weekly Dose Of Weird!

Witching Hour #13 -- I don't blame the guy.  If there was a spider with a human skull on my nose, I'd be freaked out too.

I. (Host Segment) -- The Three Witches have guests for their New Year's Eve party; namely, Cain and Abel, whom they entertain with tales of terror, each in their own method, only to be met with critique.  Later, the party is crashed by the Mad Mod Witch from Unexpected, of all people.

II. "The Maze" -- Schlub Harold Martin Beedle cannot remember who he is or how he ended up in this strange labrynth, only that a strange voice continually goads him onwards.  Finally, he is given his reward: a large block of cheese, as the lab rat of a pair of aliens.

III. "The Accursed Clay!" -- Scultper Arthur Delano, rejected by all the museums, runs across a stranger who offers him magic clay with which to sculpt four statues.  Sculpting his first statue, he finds that he sculpts the face of a man who drowns the same night.  The second night, he sculpts a man hit by downed power lines, and the third, a man hit in the head by a meteorite.  Refusing the sculpt the final piece, the stranger returns and forces him.  Delano sculpts the stranger's face, who thanks him as he expires -- being a wizard cursed to wander the Earth until your visage is duplicated forever as a house for your soul will do that to you.

IV. "The Rush-Hour Ride of Abner Pringle!" -- On the night of Paul Revere's ride, a fourth ride, Abner, falls off his horse and sleeps for almost 200 years.  With a little prodding from our host Cynthia, Abner awakens and tries to warn the thoroughly 70s people of Concord that the British are coming.  With the police trying to commit him, Abner flees, and manages to knock himself out on the same tree... just in time to miss the massive British army marching into town.

V. "'The Witching Hour Mistree' By Egor" -- (Text Story) A pretty princess locked in a castle in a bog by a wizard is rescued by the "nobell" prince and his trusty (but rusty) blade.  Upon fighting through the dangers of the bog, the prince pulls the stake from the vampire princess's heart, just as the full moon turns him into a werewolf... "and they ate happily ever after."

Overall Weird Factor: 4 (out of 5).

This one is just strange on all sorts of levels.  Cain, Abel, and the Mad Mod Witch show up for no real reason, but it's funny to see them all interact.  The first story has the extra added weirdness of a mini text commentary running in the bottom gutter.  The cover, which is not even close to anything inside, is the creepiest part of the issue, though.

Weekly Dose Of Weird!

Journey Into Mystery v.2:no.16 -- Okay, I am willing to look past the leisure suit, and even the girl evidently wearing a cvoat as long as her skirt, but heels? Heels?

I. "The Man Who Said 'No'" -- Bascombe is very rich and very cruel, enjoying sending ants tumbling down hills after they struggle up. When an old friend asks for funding to finish his cellular formula, Bascombe tells him "no." Going to his friend's house to gloat, Bascombe accidently activates the formula when it is struck by lightning, and he is shrunk -- to the size of an ant, and subjected to his own brand of torture by a young child.

II. "The Rag Doll!" -- Fred and his family have to move away after his father dies suddenly, leaving them penniless. His daughter wants to keep her precious ragdoll, a guft from her grandfather, but Fred refuses. The doll, naturally, shows up at their new house, and seems unwilling to go to the trash heap. Fed up, Fred rips the doll apart, finding all of his father's hidden money.

III. "The Old Man's Secret!" -- An American travels to Tibet to find a man who knows the secret of immortality, who lives in the mountains with his son. Tricking the younger man into letting him take his eldery charge, the American thinks he has stolen the secret -- only to discover after an arduous trek back to civilization that the young man was the father and the old man his son.

IV. "The Thing In The Jungle!" -- Adventurer Cliff Morgan travels to Africa to find a mysterious temple -- but when he finds it, he sees that three other men have also found it! The temple, it seems, is not a temple, but actually a spaceship sending out subliminal messages to rescue the crew of another ship which crashed on Earth years ago! But Cliff knows he is not an alien -- so what is he to do? Beg off and risk getting attacked, or board the ship and kiss Mother Earth goodbye?

V. "Inside The Mummy Case" -- Museum guard Joe is spellbound by the thought-projections emanating from a sarcophogus, telling him that if he comes at midnight and presses a button on the tomb, he will recieved a priceless jewel. The curator tries to stop Joe, saying the mummy inside was a hypnotist and a magician. The men struggle, and in the fight the button is pressed, revealing not a gem but a deadly booby trap instead.

Overall Weird Factor: 1 (out of 5).

This is another Marvel Weird comic with a mummy on the cover which just doesn't live up to it's hype. Makes me wonder if I would have bought these with any consistancy if I was alive back in the 70s. Anyway, the real standout this issue is the fourth feature, which is just strange, and the fifth, which has some really nice Joe Orlando artwork.

Weekly Dose Of Weird!

Weird War Tales #29 -- Talk about your Ghost Riders!  At least these guys don't have their heads on fire.

I. "Breaking Point" -- In the summer of '44, a Nazi Major skilled in torture becomes a victim of his own techniques after a failed coup attempt.  Driven to his wits' end, he begs Satan for assistance, and then finds himself miraculously escaping his captors.  His freedom is short-lived, though, and was all a ruse set up by his former subordinate to drive him to his titular breaking point.

II. "The Hunted" -- Lawrence of Arabia (no, really) accidentaly kills a young Arab and his lover when they surprise him, and the girl damns him to be cursed by Anubis.  Lawrence is later captured and tortured by the Turks, then released to demoralize his troops.  Meeting up with a young jackal he befriended earlier, Lawrence is lead to a Turkish ammunitions depot, which he destroys, as it seems that Anubis has the ability for both punishment and forgiveness.

III. "The Phantom Bowmen of Crecy" -- Five hundred years before WWI, English archers effectively turned the tide against overwhelming numbers of French knights outside the village of Crecy.  The Doughboys are understandably surprised when they receive some sprectral help from those same archers (now ten feet tall, inexplicably) against the Germans on the same hill.

Overall Weird Factor: 1.5 (out of 5).

Not a very weird installment, as the first and second features deal more with psychology, fate, and luck moreso than anything decidedly supernatural.  Still, a better read than the last issue if only because it's all new material.

Weekly Dose Of Weird!

Ghosts #105 -- I think I saw this on an album cover once. Only the statue was also surrounded by flames.

I. "Honeymoon In Hell!" -- A French mercenary seduces a poor Sicilian girl, claiming he wants to marry her, but when he reveals this to be a lie, she throws herself to her death. Years later, when the Frenchman returns to marry the daughter of a rich Don, an earthquake drives him into the waiting arms -- and grave -- of his first fiancee.

II. "Plant You Now, Dig You Later" -- A 19th Century English graverobber is being chased by the police, so he pays his doctor friend to make him appear dead to throw them off. His friend agrees, but the graverobber finds his own grave robbed by a rival and his living "corpse" brought to a med student for dissection! Luckily, his doctor friend saves the day... only to reveal his intentions to perform autopsies on the living from now own.

III. "Imagine" -- (Text Story) You're a ranch hand with a mail order bride... when the railroad comes into town, bringing lots of young eye candy, can you do the unthinkable?

IV. "Dos And Don'ts For Ghosts" -- Helpful hints for the deceased.

V. "Wishing Well" -- An amenable ghost has enough of listening to a farmer's complaints, and so he kills him and takes his place -- and his pretty young wife, too.

VI. "My Soul Belongs To Daddy!" -- A divorced couple fight about custody of their daughter, until hubby kidnaps his girl from a hotel lobby. The only problem? He died an hour earlier. Wishing his daughter to stay with him for all eternity, the ghost of her father tries to convince her to drown herself, but is shamed when she actually tries to go through with it, and gives her back to her mother.

Overall Weird Factor: 3.5 (out of 5).

The stories this time are hosted by Squire Shade, who for all intents and purposes is the Gentleman Ghost's brother, wearing glasses instead of a monocle. The letterspage includes a note from Todd MacFarlane, who seems to like undead gladiators. This comic is 27 pages in celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the title.

Weekly Dose Of Weird!

Weird War Tales #28 -- Just how big is that hill that the giant is hiding behind?!  That doesn't make any sense at all!.

I. "Isle Of Forgotten Warriors" -- (3 Chapters) In the Pacific, American and Japanese forces are constantly trading back and forth a tiny island which seems to be cursed -- whoever controls the island slowy begins to disappear, weapons and all!  The cruel Colonel Deermount leads the "Black Cat Brigade," keeping his good luck charm black cat in line with an electrified collar, the remote control in his swagger stick.  Under his leadership, the Americans take the island, only to discover the secret of the curse -- the "friendly" natives have a method of shrinking men and machines to bug-eye size!  Trapped on a tiny "island" of land, Deermount leads the other shrunken Americans in a raid against the tiny Japanese, and puts down any insubordination with a machine gun.  Trying to use a tunnel dug by the others to escape, Deermount then uses a grenade to attack a queen ant to escape the colony's wrath.  Finding daylight again, Deermount is found by his cat, who is more than happy to use the Colonel as a playtoy before knocking him into the native's tiny electrified fence, powered with flashlight batteries.  

Overall Weird Factor: 2 (out of 5)

No sooner do I say that Weird War Tales didn't have a lot of feature-length tales than I read two of them in a row.  To be fair, this one is a reprint from Adventure Comics.  The final twist is pretty obvious from the start, hurting the overall rating.  Also interesting is that Death narrates the story like a GhouLunatic, but this is more a function of the reprint than anything else.

Weekly Dose Of Weird!

Haunted #67 -- "Baron Weirwulf" is a great Scary Host name, although I don't know if anything will ever top the horror that is Doctor Frightmarestein.

I. "Strangler On The Loose" -- Detective Joe Smith is tired of his wife's constant nagging, so when an insane strangler escapes from the mental hospital, he sees the perfect opportunity to kill her and get away with it. He frames Strangler Sam down to the smallest detail -- expect for the fact that Sam was captured by the cops an hour before Joe called the crime in.

II. "Death Scene" -- In 1893 London, Modern Wax Museum proprietor Rudolf Klieb specializes in perfectly recreating infamous crime scenes twenty-four hours after they occur, which draws the suspicion of Det-Sgt Harkley of Scotland Yard. When the Sgt-Det finds Klieb sculpting a scene before the crime occurs, Klieb tries to kill him using a post-hypnotic suggestion. Surviving the attempt on his life, Harkley confronts Klieb again, only to find a wax scene of his own murder! Harkley is faster on the draw than Klieb, though, and shoots him dead... and the wax figures suddenly change to reflect the new endgame.

III. "Welcome Home, Darling!" -- Ephraim Meeks and his new wife Melissa return to her home -- the site where she murdered her first husband, Lionel. Lionel is not too happy about this, and returns to haunt Melissa -- who is, of course, a witch! Able to disguise her form in her feline familiar, Melissa tries to murder Ephraim as well, until Lionel's ghost suggests that he buy a dog. A viscious, snarling, attack dog. Needless to say Melissa's spell is soon broken.

Overall Weird Factor: 2.5 (out of 5).

Despite having the Baron on the cover, all of the tales are hosted by Dr. Graves; sensible enough, as all of the stories are reprints fron various issues of The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves. Perfectly enjoyably average mystery comic, with the final segment having the best art (Tom Sutton) and story (Joe Gill). Of note is that this comic also contains not one, not two, but three seperate advertisements to learn mind control. Appropriately, there is also an ad on how to avoid being mind controlled.

Weekly Dose Of Weird!

House Of Mystery #190 -- Finally, this chick understands the importance of looking behind her.

I. "Fright!" -- Gerald Rogers, an American studying in Germany, finds he has to join a fencing fraternity to win the heart of the beautiful fraulien Helga. As part of his initiation, he has to spend the night in a "haunted" house. Brushing off their theatrical tricks, he emerges the next morning confident of his success -- until he learns that he stayed in the wrong house, and the devils and ghosts he saw were the real thing. Naturally, he goes insane, rotting away in a cell, never to be visited by Helga. Typical.

II/III. "Cain's Game Room," "Cain's Gargoyles" -- Silly shorts, including a three-legged man buying shoes, and a perplexed mailman told to beware the shapeless "thing" in the yard.

IV. "A Witch Must Die!" -- (2 Chapters) In Salem, Mass, Esau is lovestruck with the young beauty Ruth... only she's married to Jacob, and he to Jennifer. Jennifer is understandably upset by this, and plots to have Ruth branded a witch and executed. Jacob arranges an escape for Ruth and their daughter Hester, fleeing to the woods. There they run into an Indian chief, who demands they leave, threatening to use his powers against them. When Jacob refuses, the Indian brings a tree crashing down on the family, only for Ruth to use her witchdraft to divert it's path and kill the chief.

V. "Cain's Mail Room" -- The Caretaker of the House answers readers letters.

Overall Weird Factor: 2.5 (out of 5)

Pretty average issus of House of Mystery, all told. The first feature has some really neat Alex Toth art, which really gives all the spooks an unearthly quality. The second feature is too predictable, though, and the art is stiff and a real let down after the first one.

Weekly Dose Of Weird Bonus Feature!

Well, I am getting ready for HeroesCon this weekend in Charlotte, so I am going into a "content-free" mode for today. Hopefully this image of the Nazi Witch Doctor from last week's Weekly Dose will tide you over for today. I should have a new Weekly Dose, some new Links, and hopefully some reports from the Con up this weekend. In the meantime, enjoy! (Click to expand to SPINE-TINGLING size!)

Weekly Dose Of Weird!

Weird War Tales #19 -- I tell you what, for skeletons, those riders are pretty beefy.

I. "The Platoon That Wouldn't Die" -- (3 Chapters) The crack Nazi strike force known as the Blue Bolts is observed stealing the body of their commander from a gravesite right as US Intelligence determines that the man, Maj. Bruekner, has been reported dead three times! The Army sends in a convict named Harry Nielson, an impersonator and con-man, to infiltrate the unit and see how this is possible in exchange for his freedom. Nielson's first mission with the Bolts is to capture the officer who sent him inside; but things go south and Nielson is forced to kill him. In the ensuing escape, the Major is killed once more, and Nielson hitches a ride with the ambulance to see where he is being taken -- the Institute of Para-Psychology! Inside, the Major's body is wheeled into the Caribbean Research room, where Nielson finds a witch doctor performing a voodoo ritual to revive the Major as a zombie! Nielson tries to escape, but is blocked by the Bolts' Sergeant, which leads to a chase by a platoon of undead Nazis! Nielson flees to another room in the Insitute, discovering a control room -- the reanimated soldiers aren't zombies, but actually robots, the zombie angle being a ruse to fool the Americans! Nielson destroys the control room, and shuts down the robotic legion before escaping back to American lines, where we see that he did not, in fact, kill his CO in the raid. Eager to get started on his freedom, Nielson calls the Army a bunch of nuts and bugs out.

Overall Weird Factor: 4 (out of 5)

You have to like any story which starts out with zombie Nazis and then switches to robot zombies. A witch doctor in full regalia performing the voodoo rites over a Nazi is a nice touch too. This is a relatively rare full-length issue of WWT -- at least for this timeframe. Later, towards the end of the run, the title would host more long features and less shorts. But the constant twists make this a fun installment.

(Sorry this is a day late, I had training al day at work yesterday and things became more hectic than they had any right to be!)

Weekly Dose of Weird Bonus Feature!

You might recall in last week's Weekly Dose Of Weird that I mentioned a sweet in-house subscription ad for one of my favorite titles, Weird War Tales. Well, I got my scanner hooked up this morning, so he is a little Bonus Feature for you guys. Enjoy! (Click to magnify the weirdness to pulse-pounding depths!)

Weekly Dose Of Weird!

Vault of Evil #19 -- I think I saw this in a movie once... it starred Abbott and Costello though.

I. "Inside The Tomb!" -- Two Egyptologists walk out of a crypt and promptly collapse as if in a waking death. Their partner, telling his girlfriend not to worry, enters the crypt and fumbles to the solution: his cohorts were hypnotized by the Pharaoh's mummified mentalists, their staring eyes still powerful some thousands of years after their death.

II. "Beware! The Ghosts Surround Me!" -- A German thief turns on his partner and hides out in an abandoned house. Needless to say he is surprised to find that the house is a weak point between two dimensions, and he has a conversation with spectral aliens! He's not conerned, since they can't touch him, but these things never work out well: when the police find him, it's only a matter of time before he discovers that he now exists in a limbo state between the two worlds.

III. "Strange Doings in Cell 4-B!" -- A viscious con is celled-up with an old man who seemingly has the power to wish whatever he wants into existance. The young con forces the old man to conjur him weapons and a getaway car, but just as he and his buddies are going to make their escape, everything vanishes. Should have gotten there sooner, as the wished-for items only lasted while the old man did.

IV. "The Evil Eye!" -- A shunned old hag is avoided like the plague -- literally -- thanks to her "evil eye." Driven from her hovel, she winds up in an old farm house, and discovers the strange object called a "mirror"... and promptly brings doom to herself in the process.

Overall Weird Factor: 2 (out of 5)

Not a bad reprint mag, as Marvel was known for at this time, featuring tales originally from Uncanny Tales, Strange Tales, World Of Fantasy, and Astonishing Tales. The second and fourth features are the best, while the first one is somewhat disappointing in that it really is not even close to the cover image, honestly. It's funny reading these, because just reading the anthologies makes it seem like Marvel was phoning in their Wierd stuff from this era, but of course that is not true; all the Weird talent was working on the Horror books like Werewolf By Night and Tomb Of Dracula. Also of note is a subscription coupon inside, which details just how many titles Marvel offered in 1975: 59 normal comics, plus Giant-Sizes and magazines. Yikes!