House of Mystery v1 (DC Comics) torrent

House of Mystery started out as a horror anthology, published by DC Comics from 1951. It featured tales of the supernatural as well as supernatural-themed mystery stories. However, with the growing backlash against horror comics in the mid-1950s, as well as the advent of the Comics Code Authority and its restrictions on horror-themed storylines (banning stories dealing with such supernatural fare as werewolves, vampires, and such), the series quietly was revamped into dealing with science-fiction type monsters and other mystery-suspense type tales that were permitted by the comic code.

In the mid-1960s, the series was revamped to include super-hero stories: From House of Mystery #143 (June 1964) through #158 (April, 1966), the Martian Manhunter headlined the series, as his back-up feature from Detective Comics was moved to "House of Mystery". This was also followed up with the introduction of Dial H for Hero, who was introduced in House of Mystery issue #156 (January, 1966) and took over as headliner until #173 (March-April 1968).

With issue #174, EC Comics veteran Joe Orlando was hired by DC to take over as editor of "House of Mystery". As the Comic Code Authority was now being challenged, by both DC and Marvel over content restrictions, the series returned to its overt horror themes. The first issue (House of Mystery #174) under Orlando would be a reprint issue of old horror/suspense stories as the new direction would truly begin with House of Mystery #175 (May-June 1968). The issue would introduce a new figure to the series, Cain, the "able care taker" of the House of Mystery who would introduce nearly all stories that would run in the series before its cancellation (Cain would also host the spin-off series Plop! and ultimately become a recurring character in The Sandman).

Under Orlando's stewardship, the series won a good deal of recognition in the comics industry, including the Shazam Award for Best Individual Short Story (Dramatic) in 1972 for "The Demon Within" in #201 by John Albano and Jim Aparo, and the Shazam Award for Best Humor Story in 1972 for "The Poster Plague" by Steve Skeates and Sergio Aragones. The series also featured stories by writers T. Casey Brennan (#260, 267, 268 and 274) and Scott Edelman (#257, 258, 260, 264, 266, 270, 272, 273).

Orlando would ultimately step down from the series, appointing Karen Berger as editor of the book, her first for DC Comics. Under Berger, the series experimented with long-form storyline with the popular I...Vampire serial. "I... Vampire" revolved around the heroic vampire, Andrew Bennett, who sought to defeat his nemesis and former lover Mary, the Queen of Blood. This series began in #290 (March, 1981) and would last until #319 (August, 1983), two issues before the title ended with #321 (October, 1983).

The classic "House of Mystery" series is widely regarded as one of the cornerstones of the Vertigo comic line. A one shot reprint (in color), Welcome Back to the House of Mystery, featured ten of the most highly-regarded stories as selected by Alisa Kwitney in a Cain wraparound by Neil Gaiman and Sergio Aragonés, under the Vertigo imprint. The first issue from 1951 was also reissued as a Millenium Edition under the Vertigo imprint.


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