Do You Dare Enter? Part Thirty-Eight: August 1973

The DC Mystery Anthologies 1968-1976

by Peter Enfantino and
Jack Seabrook

Nick Cardy

Unexpected 149

"To Wake the Dead"
Story by Leo Dorfman
Art by Ernie Chua

"The Slayer Wore Skirts"
Story by Carl Wessler
Art by Rico Rival

"Deadmen Do Tell Tales!"
Story by George Kashdan
Art by E.R. Cruz

Jack: The neighbors complain that the noise coming from old Mr. Hobart's house is enough "To Wake the Dead," but when two police officers check it out, all they see is elderly Mr. Hobart and some very peppy ghosts! Senior Officer Corrigan tells young officer Matt about the weirdest mystery in the department's records. Three years before, rich Mr. Carson wanted to build a 50-story office building on old Mr. Hobart's land, but Hobart refused to sell. Carson bought up all the land surrounding Hobart's house and began to build, but when he bulldozed the family cemetery he went too far, and the family ghosts rose up and sabotaged the project, ending in Carson's death. To this day, the rotting frame of the skyscraper stands behind Hobart's house. This story was more palatable when it was Bugs Bunny's rabbit hole that they were building around. Leo Dorfman should stick to Ghosts.

"To Wake the Dead"

Peter: How many times have we seen this old plot line taken out of mothballs? It's harmless fun and the art's pretty good but the finale, when the young cop looks up and sees the half-finished "skyscraper" next to Mr. Hobart's house as if for the first time, is a hoot.

Jack: Someone is murdering men in the streets of Paris and the police think it's a woman, since one of the victims was able to report that "The Slayer Wore Skirts" before he breathed his last. Louis Blanc shares a flat with his mother ever since Dad ran out on them years ago, and Louis likes to take to the streets wearing a dress. But when the police arrest him, it turns out that the real killer is his mother and he was trying to take the rap for her. Now that's a devoted son! Too bad his crazy mother doesn't appreciate him.

"The Slayer Wore Skirts"

Peter: So, does that mean Louis would dress up like a woman, follow his mother to her kill sites, watch her commit murder, and then hang around until a witness would pop up, just so he could run away and give the appearance of a fleeing old lady? Do I need to point out that doesn't make much sense? Oh, it's Carl Wessler? Never mind.

Jack: Intrepid reporter Mr. Craig manages to get inside the mansion of reclusive magnate Mr. Belson for a rare interview, so Belson agrees to talk to him. Craig is one of many to suspect that Belson is really dead and that his death has been covered up, but he learns that "Deadmen Do Tell Tales" when he discovers that Belson is a reanimated corpse, kept alive by a computer. Craig is held prisoner but Belson's corpse tries to help him escape, wanting to get away from his own prison. They are caught in the act and, when a photographer comes looking for Craig, he finds him sitting alongside Belson and looking equally corpse-like. Boy, he sure rotted fast! This was a dreadful issue, something not altogether unexpected.

"Deadmen Do Tell Tales!"

Peter: I thought the climax was pretty cool, very downbeat (an innocent man suffers a nasty fate), but don't think about it too long as it doesn't hold much water. Is that a bullet hole in Mr. Craig's forehead? Won't the newspaper eventually wonder why Craig won't leave Mr. Belden's house?

Luis Dominguez

The House of Mystery 216

"Look Into My Eyes... And Kill!"
Story by John Albano
Art by Tony deZuniga

"Graveyard Shift"
Story Uncredited
Art by Bernard Baily

"Special Sale: Canned Death 1/2 Off"
Story by Doug Moench
Art by Abe Ocampo

Peter: Willie "Doc" Salem has an unusual gift (well, not so unusual for the DC mystery line): he can persuade his victims to do his bidding with just the few whispered words, "Look Into My Eyes... and Kill!" When he falls for a rich beauty named Alicia, she tells him the only competition he faces is a handsome race car driver. Very soon, with that obstacle driven into a wall, Doc convinces Alicia to marry him and he wastes no time attempting to eliminate Alicia. He parks on a high cliff wall and commands her to jump. To his dismay, Alicia gives Doc a shove and he falls to his death, leaving the beauty to remark that Doc's special powers don't work on a witch. Another one of those plots I swear we've seen before and a twist right out of left field. The reveal doesn't really work because nothing we've seen from Alicia would point to witchcraft. If she knew about Doc's powers, she must have known he killed her race car lover so why would she consent to marry the guy in the first place? None of it makes sense but the art is gorgeous.

Jack: Tony deZuniga's is the best art I've seen so far this month. Doc is a little freaky since he has one green and one yellow eye! The ending came out of nowhere and didn't work at all for me. There's a difference between a twist ending and a surprise ending, but I'm not sure this qualifies as either--more like a dumb ending!

Peter: Cabby Harry Baxter is one mean son of a gun, to his fares and to his co-workers. The guy won't lift a finger to help a poor soul unless there are dollar signs attached. One night, Harry hears one of his fellow cabbies, Old Gus, tell how he picks up one rider every night in the same place and the guy tips enough to keep the bills paid for a week. Harry locks his comrade in a supply room and heads out to pick the guy up. Turns out the passenger is a vampire and so was Gus. They met every night to "exchange blood." Harry becomes his latest victim. Since the "surprise" is given away on the splash page, I was waiting for the big reveal of "Graveyard Shift" and it didn't disappoint. Well, I mean the story disappointed me in that there's really nothing to it. Why would the old man tell his fellow cabbies about the rich passenger when they all know what a creep Harry is? And to make it even stupider, we learn that the cabbie knew his regular was a vampire because he's a bloodsucker. And what does the vampire mean when he tells Harry that he and Gus meet every night to "exchange blood?" I know I'm thinking too much.

"Graveyard Shift"

Jack: Baily's art in the '70s doesn't always work but it works here and looks suitably creepy. I love the giant vampire bat with the somewhat human face! The NYC taxi driver setting is nice and seedy and, for once, I was surprised that the rider was a vampire, especially since the cover made me think he would be a monster!

"Special Sale..."

Peter: Sheila Barker decides she's had enough of her husband, George, and his damn grocery store, so she places a roller skate on their stairs and becomes a widow. A week later, Sheila re-opens the grocery store but the lights go out and she's attacked by food cans and milk bottles. Could it be the ghost of George? She dies, buried under a mound of Spaghetti-Os, not knowing that the area had been hit by a major earthquake. To fully enjoy these things, one has to not only suspend the disbelief of the supernatural but also to believe that these characters can be such monsters. Take Harry, the cab driver, who won't stop for a woman who needs to get to the hospital or Sheila, who thinks nothing of breaking her husband's neck because his love for the grocery took precedence over her. I know there are people out there in the real world like this but I haven't run into any yet so when I come across them in our mystery stories they feel artificially enhanced. We have to hate them to cheer for the nasty things that, inevitably, happen to them. In some cases the writer does a good enough job without going overboard. Not so with "Special Sale: Canned Death 1/2 Off."

Jack: Kind of a riff on "Eyes" from Night Gallery, don't you think? The woman thinks the groceries are attacking her in the dark but it's really an earthquake. Those must have been some angry soup cans to cause a death! And what's Doug Moench doing at DC?

Peter: The same kind of writing he perpetrated over at Marvel, it seems.

Luis Dominguez

The House of Secrets 110

"Domain of the Dead"
Story by Jack Oleck
Art by Fred Carrillo

"Safes Have Secrets Too"
Story by Mike Pellowsky and Maxene Fabe
Art by Flor Dery

"Possessed!"
Story by Jack Oleck
Art by Gerry Talaoc

Peter: Tom Akins has always wanted to live in a castle so he convinces his wife, Lisa, that they must rent the old Hargri estate despite the rumors that the old owner, a vampire, lives in the neighborhood. Their first day there, they're startled by the arrival of Father Xavier, a priest who only adds to Lisa's fears that the legends are true. Xavier talks the couple into allowing him to stay with them a few nights just in case. Sure enough, Lisa is attacked by the monster in the courtyard and the only thing that saves her is the Father's crucifix. Xavier talks Lisa into acting as bait for the vampire so that they can track him to his lair and then kill him. The plan goes perfectly and the pair find the creature in its coffin. Xavier explains to Lisa that she'll have to stake Hargri as a man of God can't get blood on his hands. She does the dirty job but Tom scoffs. After they discover the coffin empty, Tom tells his wife they're going to the police to stop the superstitious harassment, only to be told by the constable that Tom must believe there was a vampire since the young man acknowledged the presence of Father Xavier, a man who had died ten years earlier. I must admit I never saw the twist, that the priest was actually a ghost, coming. As Jack notes, "Domain of the Dead" has a very 1960s Hammer Film feel to it, an atmosphere I enjoyed. Good story!

"Domain of the Dead"

Jack: This story had a neat vibe to it, kind of like a Hammer Films adventure. I learned another lesson--never rent a castle in Transylvania as a summer vacation home. That Lisa sure was one game gal, wasn't she? But her hubby was a dud.

"Safes Have Secrets Too"

Peter: Kent Tryton has been embezzling from his safe company and his partner has found out. Not wanting to end up with his name on the social pages, Kent does the natural thing: he brains Ralph and hides his body in a safe that he has moved to his own house. Very quickly, Kent learns that "Safes Have Secrets Too" when his house catches fire and he's drawn into the safe by unseen hands. This was a really dumb one. Why would you want your partner's dead body at your home? At one point in the story, the guys moving the safe see blood leaking from the door. When the police come out to investigate, Kent opens the door to reveal a mound of ash. These cops don't even question him as to why he'd have a safe full of dust. Kent turns to us and lets us know that the night before, he'd burned Ralph's corpse in the furnace and then put his ashes in the safe. Now, that sounds rational, doesn't it?

Jack: "There is only so much horror the human organism can bear," writes Maxene Fabe midway through this story. Too bad it wasn't on the page. Despite decent art, this one was too unfocused to make much sense. Where did the blood come from that the workmen saw? And what about the blood at the end? Who knows? Not Maxene.

"Possessed"

Peter: Adam Tolliver has only wanted to give his wife, Rachel, the best things in life but since they are near-penniless, that's been a tough mountain to climb. While in the village one day, they witness the burning of a witch and the rumors of a book of spells to be buried with the body. Adam convinces Rachel to help him dig up the book but the print is in Latin so it's useless to them. While the grave is open,  the witch's spirit escapes. The next few nights see the murders of those who stood against the witch. Adam becomes convinced Rachel is "Possessed" by the evil spirit and, when the townsfolk come to the door, crying "murderer," he kills Rachel so that the mob won't get to her. Unfortunately for Adam, there were witnesses to the latest murders and they all ID him as the killer. Right from the get-go, Rachel is too obvious to be the killer so that leaves only her husband. Surprise, exit stage left. The art by Gerry Talaoc, fast becoming one of the best pencilers in the DC mystery bullpen, saves "Possessed" from obscurity.

Jack: Best art of the month goes to this story! Oleck's tale is fairly straightforward and the twist ending is no great surprise, but the art is so strong that I was swept along in this tragic tale.

Nick Cardy

The Witching Hour 33

"Four Funerals"
Story and Art Uncredited

"Cold Ashes--Hot Rage"
Story by George Kashdan
Art by Alfredo Alcala

"A Choice Seat for... Doomsday!"
Story by Carl Wessler
Art by Jerry Grandenetti

Jack: Ned Phelps thinks everyone is out to get him. He worries constantly about the safety of his daughter Nancy. When careless driver Frank Nolan runs her over and kills her, Ned snaps and vows that there will be "Four Funerals." He picks up his rifle and murders Nolan and his family, one by one. He then goes to his office to kill some more people but just tears up paperwork when he finds no one there. He is caught and taken to the psychiatric hospital, where he gradually discovers that everything was a figment of his imagination. He never killed anyone and, in fact, he doesn't even have a family! At the end, he is cured and sent home, alone and lonely. The art is obviously by one of the Filipino artists, but I can't place which one. Abe Ocampo? Rico Rival?

Peter: I'd put my money on Ruben Yandoc. "Four Funerals" has an interesting premise and I like that a story that appeared to be just another revenge tale switched boats midstream and became a different animal altogether. I thought the final panel came up short but it's still a much better story overall than anything else this month.

"Four Funerals"

To this day, Marva's skirt is illegal in 12 states

Jack: Morton reads a prediction of his own imminent death in the Sands of Satan and his friend Thomas obliges by strangling him on the spot in a case of "Cold Ashes--Hot Rage!" Thomas begins spending a lot of time with Marva, Morton's widow, who keeps listening to the urn that contains Morton's ashes. Before his death, Morton told her that the ashes would tell her the identity of his killer. Thomas proposes to Marva and she accepts, then he intentionally drops the urn and it smashes, freeing Morton's spirit. Marva tells Thomas that the ashes told her a month ago that he killed Morton, but she refused to let Morton's spirit free because she wanted to protect Thomas. Morton's spirit kills Thomas and gets revenge. Alcala's art here is much better than we'll see in Ghosts this month, and Marva wins the prize for shortest skirt in a DC comic in recent memory!

Peter: Nice twist, with marvelous Marva admitting she ignored Morton's spirit in order to marry into money. Even though Alfredo Alcala is my favorite horror artist of all time, I will admit that most of his women (Marva included) were cut from the same cloth.

We can't make this stuff up!

Jack: Dan Jones's old grandpa tells Dan and a couple of visiting friends a story from long ago. Old Dan Jones was riding his horse and carriage along the road outside of town when the way was blocked by large rocks. The rocks rose up in near-human form and commanded Dan to follow them to an underground cavern, where they told him that their ancestors had been driven underground and had eventually turned into rock people who now want their revenge on the descendants of the villagers who tormented them. Looks like Dan had "A Choice Seat For . . . Doomsday!" The rock people give Dan a blue stone as a pass to escape safely when they come to attack on his birthday and tell him not to warn anyone. Dan disobeys and tries to warn everyone but they don't listen. On the fateful day, the rock people come a-marchin' but, right before they arrive, an earthquake wrecks the town. They march back to their underground cavern and find that it has caved in as well. Back in the present, Old Dan discovers that his guest is one of the rock people, still waiting for revenge. Too bad Jack Kirby didn't draw this one! This is such a crazy story that I ended up liking it. Kirby really could have gone to town with this.

Peter: Exactly the vibe I got from this one, Jack. It's a Kirby/Lee homage (something we don't see too much of in the 1970s mystery titles outside of reprints) sunk by typically bad Grandenetti visuals. It reminds me a lot of that classic Kirby/Lee " I Was the Man Who Released the Monsters Who Would Become the Menace from Easter Island" (way back in Amazing Tales to Suspend Astonishment #63, March 1961), complete with the "my old friend was actually an alien the whole time" climax.

Jack: Hey! That's not a real story!

Nick Cardy

Ghosts 17

"Death Held the Lantern High"
Story by Leo Dorfman
Art by Alfredo Alcala

"The Specters Were the Stars"
Story by Murray Boltinoff
Art by Gerry Talaoc

"The Devil's Ouija"
Story by George Kashdan
Art by John Calnan

Jack: Carl Ventriss and his family are vacationing in Cornwall when they see the ghost of a young woman walking the beach with a lantern. They learn from the locals that she is the specter of a mother whose children died a century before in a boat accident and she kept searching for her lost ones night after night until she died of grief. A week later, Carl and Donna leave their two kids alone in the vacation house while they go shopping. A terrible storm comes up and the parents can't make it home. The kids are frightened as the waters rise but they are led out of the house by a ghostly woman with a lantern. Next day, Carl and Donna find the house destroyed and think the worst, but soon they discover that the kids were led to a safe perch by the ghost and all ends happily. This is a rare story where the writing is more interesting than the art. I think Alcala must have drawn "Death Held the Lantern High" with his eyes closed!

This is what happens when Alfredo Alcala
holds the pencil with his toes.

Peter: Gotta disagree with you on this one, Jack. I think art and story are equally good. The story is really creepy (and could have been even creepier if it had gone where I thought it was going) and Alcala's art perfectly compliments it. An unnerving story in Ghosts? That's Unexpected!

Jack: An American movie company making a topical film in Northern Ireland learns that "The Specters Were the Stars" when the dailies are ruined by the ghosts of the Irish freedom fighters from 50 years before. This starts out as a very interesting story but then falls apart. Talaoc's art is strong, as usual, but Boltinoff's story goes nowhere. The first scene seems to be an emotional one involving a British soldier who shoots and kills an Irish boy, but then it is revealed to be a scene in the movie. A second scene finds the soldier killed by an angry mob at the funeral, but again it's a movie scene. Then the director watches the rushes, sees the ghosts, and scraps the project. 1972 was the worst year of the bloody period in the late '60s and early '70s in Northern Ireland, and it's great that DC Comics tried to do something so topical, but this story just doesn't make much of a point, except to suggest that it's all been seen before.

"The Specters Were the Stars"

Peter: Wow! You are spot on with this one. I thought we were in for a rare bird: a comic story that actually had something to say about important issues in the early 1970s rather than the usual "Fight the Power" crap that the Marvel hippies were coming up with. Weirdly, the interesting stuff is the "fake" story, the film within the funny book, which I'd have liked to have seen more of. The silly "oh my gosh, there are ghosts in this film" finale is simply a tacked-on excuse to get this into the pages of Ghosts rather than an organic extension of the story. There are no haunts, no spectre sightings, nothing, so the sudden climax feels like what it is: a cheat. I'd still give it a big thumbs-up for both script and graphics. Two winners in one issue? Could we score the hat trick?

"The Devil's Ouija"

Jack: In Hungary, Count Ritzky is angry that gypsies are on his land. He confronts them and is introduced to "The Devil's Ouija," which predicts that he will die from drowning in three days. He scoffs at this, since he's headed for the Arabian desert! On a train ride along the way, he has a vision of the train being underwater and fears his own death is near, but he snaps out of it and finds that all is well. Or so he thinks, since he promptly drops dead of pneumonia, a sort of drowning in itself. Moral: never ignore a gypsy fortune!

Peter: Curses. Foiled again. Just when you think you've got the best issue of Ghosts ever, you get this lousy bit of humdrum. Let's forget "Ouija" ever happened and declare this issue a winner, Jack!

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