Do You Dare Enter? Part Twenty-Four: May 1972

The DC Mystery Anthologies 1968-1976

by Peter Enfantino
and Jack Seabrook

Nick Cardy

Unexpected 135

"Death, Come Walk With Me!"
Story by George Kashdan
Art by Art Saaf

"The Corpse Was the Star!"
Story Uncredited
Art by Rich Buckler

"The Map of Menace"
Story Uncredited
Art by Nick Cardy
(reprinted from House of Mystery #96, March 1960)

"Fame Comes to Killer Farnum!"
Story Uncredited
Art by Art Saaf

"The Carbon Copy Man"
Story Uncredited
Art by George Papp
(reprinted from Tales of the Unexpected #9, January 1957)

"This Tree Bears Deadly Fruit"
Story Uncredited
Art by Jack Sparling

Not quite the Phantom Stranger

Jack: As Kroy's wealthy uncle's last seconds tick away, Kroy sees a strangely-garbed man in black hat and cape slip out of the room, clutching a large hourglass. Kroy knows that his uncle cut him out of his will and thus he helped the old man's death along with some poison. Soon after, Kroy sees a man killed in a car accident, and the man with the hourglass is again on the scene. Kroy suspects he is the angel of death and ambushes the man, grabbing the hourglass. Sure enough, the man is an angel of death, who tells Kroy that he must appear with the hourglass when people are dying. Kroy forces the man to do his bidding by threatening to smash the hourglass and insisting that "Death, Come Walk With Me!" Making the man gather the sands of all of the heirs to his uncle's fortune, Kroy takes them all on a yacht to hear the reading of the will. The sands run out and everyone else is killed, leaving Kroy shipwrecked. He washes up on a deserted island, where the angel of death tells him he has many years to live! Where to begin with this terrible story? The angel of death looks like the Phantom Stranger's sickly cousin. The story makes very little sense and Art Saaf's artwork has all of the drawbacks of Golden Age art with none of the charm.

Buckler comes through

Peter: How weak is the angel of death if one buffoon can wrest the sands of time (cue the music for Days of Our Lives!) from his grasp? How smart is Kroy to be on the ship at the same time as all his doomed relatives? How will he live for years to come if he has no food and water? How awful were some of these DC artists?

Jack: An elderly actor begs Mr. Reynolds for a part in his new movie and gets it. The scene requires him to pretend to lie dead in a coffin. After the scene is filmed, the crew discovers that the old man has really died and "The Corpse Was the Star!" The director orders that he be buried in the prop coffin. This three-pager features some decent art by Rich Buckler. I saw the "unexpected" conclusion coming a mile away but it's better than the story that preceded it.

Peter: Um, Jack, I think you're starving for quality material. This ain't it. The art's pretty close to amateurish and the story's deadly dumb. A one-note joke that makes three pages seem long.

Poor Phil Farnum!

Jack: Nobody respects Phil Farnum, not until "Fame Comes to Killer Farnum!" Picked on at work and henpecked at home, poor Phil finally gets some recognition when he is suspected of killing the co-worker who teased him day and night. Phil likes the attention so much, in fact, that when the real killer confesses, Farnum grabs a gun and shoots him to death! Art Saaf's scribblings won't give Neal Adams any competition, but at least this story makes sense and is only four pages long.

Peter: Oh, it makes sense alright. It's a "psychedelic phantasmagoria whirling through my mind." I'm beginning to wonder if Murray Boltinoff came into the DC offices on Monday morning, never mind editing this title.

Jack: Young Arthur likes to play in his backyard treehouse, but one day he learns that "This Tree Bears Deadly Fruit!" A strange and violent man is hiding up there and he makes Arthur bring him food, blankets, and the ledger from the safe in Arthur's house. Arthur does not know that his real father was suspected of being a homicidal maniac and has been presumed dead. When his stepfather finds Arthur in the treehouse and threatens to kill both the boy and the maniac, a fight ensues and lightning destroys the treehouse, killing both men. The ledger reveals that Arthur's father was unjustly accused by his stepfather, and his mother reveals that the man in the treehouse was Arthur's long-lost Pop. I thought it was obvious from the start that the man was Arthur's father but I liked this story, despite an ending that kind of falls apart. Sparling's art continues to grow on me and I'm a sucker for a Great Expectations ripoff.

Pip Arthur and the convict scary treehouse man

Peter: Sparling's art is, indeed, the only highlight of the new material this issue. Sparling's a tough nut to crack as he can be lights out sometimes and pretty doggone bad at others. Here his rough sketches are perfect for the story, one with very few surprises.

Jack: Reprints this issue include "The Map of Menace," in which treasure hunter Jack allows his three comrades to be killed one by one so he can have treasure all to himself. When he is trapped in quicksand, he uses his one and only wish to bring his cohorts back to life so they can save him. Strangely enough, they then find the treasure anyway! I like Nick Cardy's art but this story is run of the mill. "The Carbon Copy Man" is Frank Dorne, who makes a living by seeming to teleport around the world. When his identical twin is killed, Frank thinks the jig is up, until the twin reappears at his next performance! Frank is killed due to his own evil deeds and, as he dies, he learns that he was a triplet, not a twin. Seriously? It's a sad state of affairs when even the reprints are lousy!

Peter: I find, once again, I cannot agree with you, Mr. Seabrook. The reprints this issue are a riot! At least they brought smiles to my face, a reaction not achieved by reading any of the new stories. I loved "The Map of Menace" and its goofy, ironic climax (the greedy explorer accidentally wishes unselfishly!) but then I'm a sucker for these jungle dramas. It sure was lucky for Jack that there weren't more than three partners with him or he'd have run out of traps. "Carbon Copy Man" is so desperate for a twist it had me laugh out loud with its final expository. 1950s parents were abysmal--imagine dumping your new-born triplets at three separate orphanages! There's got to be a really good story behind that.

Michael W. Kaluta

The House of Mystery 202

"The Shearing of a Soul!"
Story by Gerry Conway
Art by Mike Sekowsky and Frank Giacoia

"A Deal with a Sorcerer!
Story by John Albano
Art by Nestor Redondo

"Stay Away From Me--You Might Die"
Story Uncredited
Art by Gene Colan
(reprinted from My Greatest Adventure #72, October 1962)

"Trick or Treat"
Story Uncredited
Art by Sid Greene

"The Poster Plague!"
Story by Steve Skeates
Art by Sergio Aragones

"The Phantom on Wheels!"
Story Uncredited
Art by John Prentice
(reprinted from House of Mystery #58, January 1957)

"The Shearing of a Soul!"

Peter: When her husband dies after she gives birth to their son, Mrs. Shrew makes a pact with the devil to house her dead hubby's soul in with that of her newborn. Unfortunately for Carson Shrew, that's one soul too many in one body and he goes insane. There may be a good idea buried somewhere underneath the gobbledegook of "The Shearing of a Soul!" but I'll be darned if I can pinpoint it. Our main protagonist remains a mystery; we learn about his past and, I think, we witness his fate, but we don't actually spend any time with the guy so it's hard to work up any emotion either way. There's just "the moment" and then a flashback and then back to "the moment." A mother so evil that she'd sacrifice her son's life to keep her old man around is stuffed with potential but then she's dispatched so quickly we hardly get to savor the nastiness.  Mike Sekowsky's art resembles Jerry Grandenetti's in several spots (not a good thing). File this one under "Potential Not Achieved." Fantastic intro page courtesy of Mike Kaluta (reprinted far below).

Jack: After a sharp cover by Kaluta and an even better splash page featuring Cain, the first story is marred by muddy art by Sekowsky and Giacoia and an equally muddy script by Gerry Conway. I'm not sure why the demons torture Carson Shrew every night--all I know is that his maid looks like a man in drag and suffers from the same problem that often plagues Sekowsky's stories: all of the characters look pretty much alike.

Peter: Franklin Owen has always been a weak man with a desire to be a strong man. Now, thanks to "A Deal with a Sorcerer," he can have all the power he wants. He just has to control his new-found bag of tricks as he very quickly learns through trial and error. Anything illustrated by Nestor Redondo gets a three-quarters thumbs up from me and the humorous Jack Oleck script provides enough oomph to elevate that score. House of Mystery caretaker Cain cameos as the sorcerer.

Jack: Well, that was a surprise! A funny story with the usual quality art from Nestor Redondo. I like that Cain is the sorcerer with whom Owen makes a pact. For a change, a DC horror story actually has a beginning, middle and end that make sense! I enjoyed this one.

Peter: "Trick or Treat" is a two-page waste of space in which Adolf Hitler is confined to a deserted island (with an unnamed crony), whining about what could have been. Who thought this kind of crap was a good idea? Editor Orlando? What does it even mean? That some secret force rescued Hitler from his bunker and deposited him on this little bit of sand in the middle of the ocean as punishment for his failures? Or are we to imagine this is the Nazi's afterlife?

Jack: Hitler again? The best thing about this short-short is the "Das Ende" balloon at the bottom of the reveal panel.

Peter: Who's behind "The Poster Plague" at Harold University? Why is the campus besieged by posters for events that never happen? One night, students Warren and Debbie decide to get to the bottom of the fanatic who thinks "Klop is Coming" is an important message. They witness a shadowy character plastering his posters all around but, when they give chase, the spectre vanishes in thin air. In the cafeteria next day, they are debating their next move when the earth begins to rumble. Nearby, a large boulder spurts out of a volcano and lands right on top of the school with a thunderous "KLOP!"  Sergio Aragones had been entertaining us with his little bits of wackiness since the Mystery Line fired up but this was his first real shot at fame. Let's not forget Steve Skeates' wacky script, one that leaves us with no questions answered but not really caring a bit. With but a major change (one letter), KLOP soon became PLOP!, DC's answer to Mad, Cracked, and Sick, a comic title that would become famous for its covers featuring morbid, exaggerated-body art by Basil Wolverton (Nooly Nostrildamus and Nails Nittle being only two of the sideshow freaks paraded on the covers) and its darkly humorous horror stories within (many created by Skeates and Aragones). PLOP! lasted 24 glorious issues from October 1973 through December 1976).

Jack: Call me crazy, but this may be my favorite story of 1972! The art by Aragones is so goofy that I loved it, and the story is funny, too. I was swept up in trying to figure out what was going on and laughed out loud at the climax. Maybe Aragones should have done more long-form stories instead of always doing one-panel gags. As Peter notes, this story led to the creation of Plop! the next year, for which I am grateful. I bought and enjoyed every issue of Plop! when they came out.

"The Phantom on Wheels!"

Peter: Reprint Time, boys and girls! A surgeon stops to fix a flat tire, sees a strange rock by the side of the road, picks it up, hears a strange ticking noise and suddenly everyone's yelling at him: "Stay Away From Me --You Might Die!" The ticking rock turns out to be a potent explosive from somewhere in space and if the doc takes his finger away from the "detonator"--KABOOM! (or maybe even KLOP!) With no time to waste (he's got a very important life-or-death operation to perform in only hours), the really bright scientists around him deduct that the bomb is operating on a "gravity detonator" and the only way to diffuse her is to get the good doctor into a rocket and transport the bomb into a nearby capsule. Huge brains and modern technology win out and the brilliant surgeon is relaxed from his burden and even makes it back to the operating room on time! Just enough silliness and great Gene Colan art make this one ultra-enjoyable in a retro-vibe way. Not so good is "The Phantom on Wheels," which serves up two of DC's most overused cliches: the debunker of the supernatural and the old "I know you guys wanted me to dress up as a werewolf and scare Mr. Smith but my truck broke down on I-101 and I couldn't make it. What? There really was a werewolf?" final panel. John Prentice's workmanlike compositions (think Jack Kirby on a bad day) keep the pages turning but there's really nothing to this one.

Colan!

Jack: As a big fan of Gene Colan's work for Marvel in the '60s and '70s, I was excited to see this story of his from 1962. His art here doesn't look like his art of five to ten years later in that it is not so full of shadows, but it is striking nonetheless. The story is exciting and holds a suspenseful mood from start to finish. I'll forgive the silly bits--did they have rockets just sitting around waiting to be shot into space?--because this one was satisfying from all aspects. As for "The Phantom on Wheels," all I can say is "not again!" Why is it that the folks who are supposed to carry out practical jokes always seem to arrive late?

"Stay Away From Me..."

Peter: We never get to mention the Cain's Mail Room letters page, nor any of the other DC Mystery Line correspondence pages, for the simple fact that not much printed there is worthy of our time or word count. You can just read so many letters that start out with "Oh, Cain, your gargoyle is soooo cute..." or "I think last issue was awesome!" before turning the page and starting the next tale. This issue, editor Joe Orlando stomps his foot in response to letter writer Matt Graham's hearty congratulations to Joe for what he sees as a put-down of the CCA in a previous letters column: "It did my heart good to hear you publicly acknowledge that the Comics Code, that restrictive body of censors, is not going to prevent the heart of EC (Comics) from creating new pieces of wonderment for National (DC)!" Joe huffs and puffs and blows out Matt's enthusiasm: "One sore point of contention--I don't like being quoted out of context. I DO NOT consider the Comics Code to be a group of Hitlerian censors. It is mainly the "fans" (who most probably have not read the Code, nor have to work under its provisions, I find, who are its most "fanatic" detractors. To quote from Simon and Garfunkel's "The Boxer" ... "... A man hears what he wants to hear... and disregards the rest..." Way to win fans, Joe!

Jack Sparling

The House of Secrets 97

"The Curse of Morby Castle"
Story Uncredited
Art by Jack Sparling

"Divide and Murder"
Story by Steve Skeates
Art by Jim Aparo

"The Tomb of Ramfis"
Story Uncredited
Art by John Prentice
(reprinted from House of Mystery #59, February 1957)

"The Day After Doomsday..."
Story by Len Wein
Art by Jack Sparling

"Dead Man's Diary"
Story Uncredited
Art by Ralph Mayo
(reprinted from House of Mystery #46, January 1956)

"Domain of the Damned!"
Story Uncredited
Art by Jose Delbo

"...and starring Dom DeLuise as The Floating Head."

Peter: Lance Cauldan plans to move his frail wife, Margaret, into Morby Castle, an abode rumored for centuries to be haunted by the ghost of a past tenant. Lance hires Mary, a former servant in the castle who knows the place stem to stern, to help him scare his bride to death. Something goes wrong though and Margaret dies in a fall. When the police investigate they discover traces of rat poison in Margaret's blood. Convinced Lance did the poor woman in, the cops haul him off, never believing his stories of a mysterious woman named Mary. Back at the castle, "Mary," actually the ghost of Lady Morby, awaits Lance's hanging so that she'll be reunited with him. I'm not sure why these "gothic suspense" stories were so popular in the early 1970s but I can't believe the kids would have dug them at all. This one's a crashing bore from panel one. How could Lance not have been hip to the fact that "Mary" never showed him her face and always kept to the shadows? Yeah, I know, forget it and move on.

Jack: Pity the poor hosts of the DC mystery line! From playing a big role in their books only a few years ago to being reduced to a tiny, floating head at the beginning and end of the story, as Abel is here! This story covers the same old ground and Sparling's art is a little more Grandenetti-sloppy than it is in this month's House of Mystery, but he still can drew a pretty girl, which seems to be a specialty of many a comic book artist.

"Divide and Murder"

Peter: Silas Peabody has the goods on John Wilburn, papers that will prevent the up-and-comer from ever climbing the corporate ladder. Wilburn uses his powers as a sorcerer to "Divide and Murder," willing his spirit to leave his body and travel to Peabody's house, where he murders the old man and returns to his body, alibi intact. Unfortunately for John, two spirits can play that game. Peabody's ghost tricks Wilburn into leaving his body and,while the shell is free, the old ghost occupies it and confesses to the police! Steve Skeates plays fast and loose with rules of the astral planes and spirit world but it's all vastly more entertaining than the bilge that opens this issue and the final twist made me smile. With this and "The Poster Plague," Steve is fast becoming a name I'm looking forward to seeing in the credits.

Jack: Now we know that Dr. Strange isn't the only guy who can travel around on the astral plane. But how does Peabody take over Wilburn's body if he's a ghost? It's all a little confusing. Aparo's usual solid art makes it fairly enjoyable, though.

"The Day After Doomsday..."

Peter: On "The Day After Doomsday..." Adam and Gertrude are still looking for food when Gertrude stumbles upon an oddity: a flower. Astounded, the pair aren't paying attention as a nearby building topples, burying them in rubble. Whose idea was this scattershot series? Did Len phone up editor Orlando every six months or so and proclaim a brainstorm? There's literally nothing of substance here (and never has been) but, unfortunately, the chapters will continue periodically. As will my scorn. Thankfully, most of the chapters will shift over to Weird War Tales, a title that skirts our scope (but will be covered in due time in Star Spangled DC War Stories).

Jack: Is this the end of Adam and Gertrude? I certainly hope so! But a note in the letters column suggests there may be another story, so we'll have to wait and see.

Peter: Shipwrecked Dan washes up ashore on the "Domain of the Damned!" an island ruled by malformed freaks (cursed centuries before by a "visiting witch doctor") not keen to visitors. Threatening to feed Dan to their hungry Volcano god, the oogly bunch imprison the man in a hut. When he is visited by Oola, daughter of the native chieftain, Dan quickly surmises this sorry excuse for a woman is his last hope for survival. Oola begs her pop for her man's life and dad tells her she can take Dan, but if they ever come back they'll be fed to the volcano. Once in the jungle, Dan's true colors become apparent when he dumps Oola like a bad habit and heads for the beach. In quick order, Oola is sacrificed to the volcano, said volcano erupts and covers Dan in molten lava, and the now-radically altered young man is picked up by a sickened sea crew. Just once I'd like to see bad things befall someone who's a truly noble character rather than the typical cad Dan transforms into mid-stream. The story's just sick enough to elicit giggles, as are Jose Delbo's amateurish mutations. That ending is telegraphed a few pages prior but the final panel is truly queasy stuff for a CCA-approved funny book. Well done, (uncredited)!

"The Tomb of Ramfis"

Jack: I did see it coming a couple of pages before the end, but I liked it anyway! So much for pretty girls. Oola is UGLY! Jose Delbo's art is not as smooth as that of Nestor Redondo, but he manages to portray the deformed inhabitants of the island effectively. Something about this story appealed to me, as predictable as it was. Maybe it was Dan's moronic behavior?

Peter: Professor Edson Daniels, Egyptology whiz, is accused of forging the document he found in "The Tomb of Ramfis." To vindicate himself, Daniels must use Ramfis' "cryptic formula which, if repeated in the original Egyptian, can transport a man forward or backwards in time!" to travel back to Egypt of the Sixth Dynasty and secure some sort of proof he didn't commit fraud.  But, once there, Daniels discovers, to his amazement, that he himself is actually Ramfis thanks to the space and time continuum theory. Things heat up when the pharaoh discovers Daniels/Ramfis can foretell the future and things stop going the big man's way. Our hero has to hoof it back to the present but he manages to bring ironclad proof that he's on the up-and-up and the museum gives him a hero's welcome. The most astonishing bit of time travel to me is that, despite the story's dates being updated to 1972 by the contemporary letterer, the autos pictured are clearly from the 1950s! A fun time travel yarn but, like most such stories, not one to contemplate for too long lest the threads begin to unravel. "Dead Man's Diary" is a rambling, confusing story of revenge, containing one of my favorite comic book occurrences, the flashback within the flashback. Here, police receive a strange diary written by a man named Conrad Crane who's disguised himself as a food-tester for J.B. Dales, a millionaire who's been receiving death threats. Turns out our guy is the letter sender and he has big plans for the millionaire, who left a very young Crane and his father to die after a boating accident. Now, Crane will go to incredible lengths (putting himself into a coma!) to insure J. B. starves to death just like Conrad's old man did years before. Wacky isn't a strong enough adjective for this classic tale of manipulation and extremes.

"Dead Man's Diary"

Jack: "The Tomb of Ramfis" is a good story with art to match. It is nice and wordy, like many of my favorite stories from the '50s, and I'm always happy to go back to Ancient Egypt. "Dead Man's Diary" is a satisfying tale of revenge with a few twists and turns that are somewhat mystifying. It's well-told, however, with above-average art by Ralph Mayo, who did some awfully nice work in the '40s and '50s.

Nick Cardy

The Witching Hour 20

"Death is a Demon in Disguise"
Story by George Kashdan
Art by Nestor Redondo

"Beware the 13th Guest"
Story and Art by Howard Purcell
(reprinted from House of Secrets #59, April 1963)

"The Diamond Hands of the Sun God!"
Story Uncredited
Art by Bill Ely
(reprinted from House of Secrets #8, February 1958)

"Never Ride With a Stranger!"
Story by Carl Wessler
Art by Don Heck

"Once Upon a Midnight Dreary"
Story by Bill Dennehy (Murray Boltinoff)
Art by John Calnan

Jack: Elsa is surprised when her husband Walter appears one day after dying. She does not know that "Death is a Demon in Disguise," since the ghostly Walter is actually a crooked mortician named Belding, who uses lifelike rubber masks to impersonate the recently dead in order to bilk their grieving widows out of large amounts of cash. His partner in crime is an old crone named Bridgit. When a man drops dead on the street right outside Belding's funeral parlor, he brings the corpse inside and discovers it's none other than Osmond, a famous fakir and stage magician. Belding makes a rubber mask and plans to impersonate Osmond, but he must first murder Osmond, who has inconveniently returned to consciousness, determined to expose Belding. Belding emerges from his funeral parlor in the Osmond mask but fools no one. He runs away and is killed when he darts in front of a horse-drawn carriage. As he dies, a mirror reveals that the Osmond mask was a failure, having reshaped itself into Belding's features. Why? How? Who knows? There is a lot going on in this story, and Redondo's art is top-notch, but the plot doesn't really hold together. It's nine pages long but I think it would have benefited from being longer.

"Death is a Demon in Disguise"

Peter: I'm so glad you were responsible for writing the synopsis for this confusing bit of dreariness, Jack. Writer Kashdan seems to go from Points A to Z, stopping at every letter in between, never knowing quite what he wants the story to do. In the end, it's a bloody mess.

Jack: Having already picked up a hippie named Luke on his nighttime drive, Harry stops to pick up a pretty young woman named Nicole Wallace. But who will learn that they should "Never Ride With a Stranger"? The trio seeks shelter at an old house in a storm, but Nicole's sleep is interrupted by a figure who resembles the devil. When the figure appears again, Luke and Harry accuse each other, and appear to kill each other, allowing Nicole to reveal that she is the devil and the owner of the house her servant. I think that's what happened, though the script is a bit confusing, especially at the end. I don't think artist Don knew what the Heck was going on either.

"Never Ride With a Stranger!"

Peter: Talk about confusing! I still can't figure out what was going on in the end. I assumed Luke (in his robes and strange hair-do) was going to be revealed to be a religious Yin to Nicole's Yang but, nope, I was fooled.

Jack: Lying helpless on the floor of the cellar of the summer home she rented, writer Jennifer thinks back to how it all started. She is desperate to escape, "Once Upon a Midnight Dreary," because the landlord is digging a grave and intends to put her in it. It seems that Jennifer's little dog dug up the body of the wife whom the landlord murdered. Jennifer uses her wits to turn the tables just in the nick of time and the landlord ends up in the grave he had dug for his tenant. Why is it that the worst stories in these comics often inspire the best covers?

"Once Upon a Midnight Dreary"

Peter: "Dreary" indeed! This one is just plain rotten. Are we to believe that Jennifer, whose wrist and back are so badly damaged she can't move, suddenly found the strength to climb the stairs and tie some yarn across the stairway so that farmer Yost would (hopefully) stumble and break his neck? Why not climb a bit more and just get the hell out of the place? All three original stories this issue feature one quality: lack of clarity. Is it too much to ask of Kashdan, Wessler, and Boltinoff to conjure up tales that can be understood?  The new material in Witching Hour #20 only accentuates how wonderful the reprints are.

"Beware the 13th Guest"

Jack: Jason Bradford gets a fatal diagnosis and tries to gain immortality but learns that the ancient warning to "Beware the 13th Guest" should be taken seriously. Howard Purcell's script and art are fantastic, making this my favorite reprint of the month! The twist ending took me by surprise and put a smile on my face. In "The Diamond Hands of the Sun God," Skleers learns to his dismay that an old Indian curse may have merit. This story is not quite as good as Purcell's, but it still entertains.

Peter: "13th Guest" is the type of story I ate up as a youngster, full of wild fantasy and colorful characters. I loved how Jason managed his juggling trick by placing magnets in his walls "to counteract the unbalancing weights" Zaljaz put in the spheres. Thank goodness Jason is granted a reprieve from death in the end as I'm assuming he'll go on to cure cancer and invent cable TV. The plot of "Diamond Hands" is missing the magic of "13th Guest" but, if anything, the art is even better. I'm not familiar with Bill Ely but his pencils have an almost EC-ish starkness to them (in fact, in several spots, Ely's work resembles that of George Evans), an exciting quality that keeps the eyes interested. 1972 DC artists could have learned quite a bit from Purcell and Ely.

"The Diamond Hands of the Sun God!"

Kaluta intro from HoM 202

COMING NEXT ISSUE!

The Hitchcock Project-Henry Slesar Part Twenty-Five: "The Hatbox" [7.1]

by Jack Seabrook

The seventh season of Alfred Hitchcock Presents began not with an episode directed by Hitchcock himself (that would come the following week) but with an episode written by Henry Slesar. "The Hatbox" was aired on Tuesday, October 10, 1961, on NBC, and was based on Slesar's short story, "Murder Out of a Hat," which had appeared in the July 1961 issue of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.

Caught cheating on an exam in Professor Jarvis's class, college student Perry Hatch is aghast when the teacher says he will punish the young man by writing to his father. Perry's friend Dino convinces him to visit Jarvis that evening to apologize, since Perry is worried that his father would cut off his allowance. Outside the professor's house, the students peer through a window into the study, where a skeleton is displayed. They witness Jarvis come out of his house and place a large hatbox in his trash can.

Taking the box, they return to their dormitory, where Perry begins to suspect that Jarvis has murdered his wife and placed her severed head in the hatbox. To their relief, it contains only a hat. Perry does not give up, though, and agrees that, since the hat is new and no woman would allow her husband to discard a new hat, this is proof that a murder has been committed.

Perry and Dino go to the police station and air their suspicions to Lt. Jack Roman, who is skeptical until he calls Mrs. Jarvis's sister and confirms that the Professor's wife never stayed there, despite Jarvis's assertions to the contrary. His curiosity piqued, Lt. Roman drives the students to Jarvis's house, telling them to wait in his car while he goes to speak to the professor. As soon as the lieutenant is out of sight, Perry and Dino sneak up to the house to eavesdrop through an open window.

Jarvis confesses to Roman that his wife walked out on him after a quarrel and that he made up the story about her visiting her sister in order to save face. Responding to Roman's hints that he could have murdered his wife, Jarvis ridicules the idea, pointing out that he has no car to transport a body and explaining that obliterating a corpse without a trace is all but impossible.

Paul Ford as Professor Jarvis

A chastised Lt. Roman apologizes and leaves, lecturing Perry and Dino on their wild speculation. Later, after everyone is gone, Jarvis goes up to bed, saying goodnight to the skeleton on display in his study. As he places the hat on its head, he bids goodnight to all that remains of his late wife Margaret.

"Murder Out of a Hat" satirizes both Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954) and Max Franklin (Richard Deming)'s short story, "The Geniuses" (Manhunt June 1957). In Rear Window, the main character suspects that a neighbor murdered his wife, dismembered her body, and is removing it from his apartment piece by piece in a suitcase. In "The Geniuses," two college students murder a third, dismember him, and put his severed head in a hatbox. (Robert Bloch adapted this story later in season seven as "Bad Actor.") Slesar pokes fun at both stories, using two college students with vivid imaginations and a college professor to demonstrate how unlikely these events are in real life. The suspense created by Perry's suspicions is punctured when the hatbox is opened and reveals nothing but a woman's hat. The idea of the professor disposing of his wife's corpse is ridiculed by Jarvis, who explains to Lt. Roman that the type of methods used in Rear Window and "The Geniuses" would never work. It is almost too bad that the story requires a twist ending, since the revelation that the professor really did kill his wife diffuses some of the satire, though the fact that her skeleton hangs in plain view is a nice touch.

Billy Gray as Perry Hatch

Henry Slesar's teleplay for "The Hatbox" is a faithful adaptation of his short story. Perry's friend Dino becomes Denny, and he uses some contemporary slang such as "a drag," "bread," and "make with the tears." When Perry and Denny peer through Jarvis's window, we see only a skull on a desk; there is no view of the full skeleton on display, and thus no clue to Margaret's fate. The hatbox is opened right after they discover it in the professor's trash can, and there is an effective mood of suspense topped by a jolt as Perry fumbles with the top of the box.

The conversation between Perry and Dino (in the story) after they open the hatbox is moved to the police station and occurs between Perry and Lt. Roman. When Roman goes to Jarvis's house, Perry and Denny wait in the car rather than sneaking up to the house to listen in. Finally, Roman does not tell Jarvis that Perry was the source of his suspicions. Slesar's changes from story to teleplay are insignificant, making the story work better on film.

"The Hatbox" was directed by Alan Crosland, Jr. (1918-2001), with competence and skill. The world that he creates, at least in the episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents that have been examined so far, is one that can seem cheap and pedestrian, yet it is a place where shadows lurk in corners and violence can explode at any moment. Crosland directed 16 half-hours and three hours, including Slesar's "Servant Problem."

Paul Ford (1901-1976) initially seems to be an unusual choice of actor to play Professor Jarvis. Ford was a large man with a balding head, a big nose, and a booming voice like a foghorn who was best known for comedic roles, often playing an authority figure who is unaware of how ridiculous he seems. In movies since 1945, he was a regular on The Phil Silvers Show (1955-1959) and later had a notable role in The Music Man (1962). In "The Hatbox," his skills are put to good use and what seems like an odd casting choice turns out to be a clever one in the important scene where he convinces Lt. Roman that the policeman's suspicions are unfounded. Ford's voice, both booming and drawling at the same time, helps him argue that he could not possibly have killed his wife. Ford and director Crosland play on the viewer's likely familiarity with the actor from his role on The Phil Silvers Show to make a convincing case.

Portraying Perry Hatch is another actor who was very familiar to TV viewers of the time, Billy Gray    (1938- ). As a child, Gray appeared in The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). As a teenager and young adult, he was a regular on Father Knows Best (1954-1960), playing Robert Young's son, Bud. By the show's final season, it was among the top ten most-watched shows in America. Just as Paul Ford played against type as the dishonest and murderous professor, Billy Gray played against type as a cheating student who cooks up an imaginative theory about his teacher in order to avoid punishment. In addition to his acting career, Gray had success as a businessman and inventor. He maintains a website here.

Frank Maxwell as Lt. Roman

Finally, Frank Maxwell (1916-2004) played Lt. Roman, one of countless policemen played by this familiar character actor in his long career. He was president of AFTRA from 1984 to 1989 and appeared on six episodes of the Hitchcock series, including "Special Delivery."

"The Hatbox" is not yet available on DVD but the last third may be viewed online for free here.

Sources:

"Galactic Central." Galactic Central. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.

Grams, Martin, and Patrik Wikstrom. The Alfred Hitchcock Presents Companion. Churchville, MD: OTR Pub., 2001. Print.

"The Hatbox." Alfred Hitchcock Presents. NBC. 10 Oct. 1961. Television.

IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.

Slesar, Henry. "Murder Out of a Hat." A Crime for Mothers and Others. New York: Avon Book Division, 1962. 96-107. Print.

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.

Star Spangled DC War Stories Part 24: May 1961

The DC War Comics 1959-1976
by Corporals Enfantino and Seabrook

Joe Kubert

Our Army at War 106

"Meet Sgt. Lt. Rock!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Irv Novick? Jack Abel?

"Valley of Missing Aces!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito

Jack: Just before attacking a beach, Sgt. Rock is dressed down by a tough general when he salutes too abruptly and knocks his own helmet off. Rock's brave leadership in an assault on a Nazi gunner leads the commanding officer to remark that Rock should be promoted, something the sergeant does not want. Rock's next heroic act, which involves destroying a tank, results in the general ordering the captain to send Rock to officer's candidate school. But before the combat-happy Joes of Easy Company get to "Meet Lt. Rock!," the sergeant intentionally upsets the general by being seen once again without his helmet on. As a result, he loses one of his three stripes, though we know his heroics will have him back to three soon enough. It's really not fair to the readers to have a Kubert cover on an issue of Our Army at War and then have the Sgt. Rock story inside drawn by someone else. The Grand Comics Database credits this to Irv Novick, based on Julie Schwartz's notes. However, I read and re-read this story and I think it's drawn by Jack Abel. Peter, what do you think?

Peter: It sure looks like Abel to me, Jack (especially that panel below), but then we've only been doing this "Professional DC War Correspondents" stuff for about a year so I'll leave the identifications to the experts. The art's not bad but it's not Kubert, that's for sure. The story's a bit lackluster as well but I think that's because Kubert brings a lot to the storytelling and when he's absent, the tale will suffer.

Abel or Novick?

Once again, Abel or Novick?

Andru swiping from Heath?

Jack: A major in the U.S. Air Force in WWI is haunted by the disappearance of every plane that has flown off to patrol Sector 2. He takes to the sky himself to see what happened and finds his plane sucked into the "Valley of Missing Aces," where German Baron Lothar is using a wind machine to capture U.S. Spad planes. His dastardly plan involves using the planes to attack Allied targets, knowing that fighters will not realize that the planes are being piloted by the enemy. The Major does a little secret painting on the underside of the wings of the captured planes, then escapes and flies off to warn the good guys. Happily, the other Allied fighters spot the iron crosses he painted beneath the wings of the pilfered planes and a battle ensues, with the U.S. fliers once again emerging victorious. This is a neat story that moves quickly and features some of the least annoying art by Ross Andru that I can recall.

Peter: I got the feeling we'd come in right in the middle of a Saturday afternoon serial, with references to previous dogfights between our hero and the (Hiss! Boo!) villain, the dastardly Baron Lothar (HA! HA! HA!). The almost science fiction-ish giant wind fan was a hoot but I'm not sure our hero had enough time to paint those Iron Crosses on all those planes. Maybe he had a stencil? I believe the Major's dramatic dive into the waterfall would have been the cliffhanger of Episode Nine!

"Valley of the Missing Aces!"

Russ Heath and Jack Adler

G.I. Combat 87

"Introducing--The Haunted Tank!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Russ Heath

"Dead End!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Russ Heath

Peter: Since he was a child, Jeb Stuart has felt the presence of the long-dead confederate cavalry leader of the same name. Now that he's a member of a tank crew (in a tank called the "Jeb Stuart"), he feels that presence even more. The iron monster seems to take care of itself even, as in one instance, when the tank crew is incapacitated. Mowing its way through the larger German "Tiger"s, the "Jeb Stuart" could very well be the Allies' new secret weapon. "Introducing--The Haunted Tank" is no classic, it's overlong and Heath's art suffers here from too much "claustrophobia" (too many close-ups), but it's a decent enough intro to a series that would prove immensely popular. How does what seems to me to be an oddball one-shot concept stretch out to almost 250 adventures (the last turret spin occurred in the final issue of GI Combat in March 1987)? You got me. I guess we'll find out together but I'm skeptical. There are way too many unanswered questions in this opening installment and we may not get some of those answers until the origin story runs in GIC #114 (November 1965). Why is the Tank named after "Jeb"? Most of these tanks were nicknamed after actresses, weren't they? Don't the other men find it odd that they're driving around with Jeb Stuart in the Jeb Stuart? A bit egotistical if the guys don't know the whole story, no? Despite my dubiousness, I should note that The Haunted Tank is beloved by DC war fans (The Jeb even made the cover of Comic Book Marketplace #47) and has even seen reprinting in the DC Showcase format, so what do I know? At least we'll have Russ Heath to gaze at, even when the plots get repetitive (Heath will remain the principal artist on The Haunted Tank until 1972, when he'll be replaced by Sam Glanzman).

"Introducing--The Haunted Tank!"

Jack: Now we're getting somewhere! I had been waiting for the Haunted Tank series to get going and I was not disappointed by this introduction. Peter and I both like Russ Heath's art and, while I would not say that this long (18 page) story features what I would call consistently great work from Mr. Heath, it's certainly enjoyable and nice to look at. I did not know that the tank was haunted by the ghost of Jeb Stuart and also driven by a contemporary soldier named after the civil war general, but it's a neat idea. I am looking forward to more tales of the Little Tank That Could!

Peter: In the middle of the Pacific, a downed fighter pilot finds himself facing a "Dead End." Should he surrender to the enemy, drown, or keep on fighting? Luckily for our hero, an American sub happens along and a frogman rescues him. As the sub prepares to torpedo the Japanese battleship, they themselves are hit by a torpedo. The only survivors are our pilot and the frogman who saved him. Together they manage to steer a floating mine into the battleship and save the day. Now where was that nearby sand barge? A double dip of Heath goes down really well. Here Russ is able to breathe and his art is exquisite (perhaps the best of the year, Jack?), with the splash page worthy of its own poster. Keep the Heath coming, Bob! If there's only one quibble, it's the same old "what now?" when the story finishes with our heroes drifting in a Pacific filled with man-eaters and no land in sight.

Jack: If I gave the Haunted Tank story a high rating, "Dead End" gets an even higher one! This is a very exciting story with Heath at his best. Haney's prose even reaches a level that DC war tales rarely reach--poetic and moving. "Fighting machines can only do what they are bidden . . . fighting hearts can do what seems impossible!" Heath even draws Japanese characters without resorting to offensive stereotypes. A Heath cover, two Heath stories, good writing, a good new series--this is the best DC war comic we've seen recently!

Russ Heath

Star Spangled War Stories 96

"Mission X!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito

"Bodyguard for a Flattop!"
Story by Bob Haney
Art by Jack Abel

"The Nothing Ace"
Story by Hank Chapman
Art by Jerry Grandenetti

Peter: A sub crew assigned to "Mission X" finds itself being dragged to the bottom of the ocean by a giant turtle. Torpedoes give the giant some aches and pains but before the crew can get the sub back to working order, they're assaulted by a giant eel. Luckily the crew is equipped with brave men as well as explosives and the eel is reduced to bits and pieces. Just as two men head for a local island and "Mission X," a pterodactyl destroys the sub, leaving the duo at the mercy of an island filled with creatures from the dinosaur age! A well-timed tidal wave destroys the island and all its monsters but the soldiers manage to ride the waves in a giant turtle shell. They're picked up by a patrol plane, sent back to their base, and finally get to their Mission X! Is this The War That Time Forgot or The Time That War Forgot? These two guys are standing before their C.O. at the climax of the story and neither says a word about the monsters from the dinosaur age! If I was around to read this series when it was ongoing, I would have written editor (and writer) Bob Kanigher and suggested that perhaps he write in a mysterious fog around these islands that causes amnesia to anyone who leaves. That would have been the best way to explain the utter lack of knowledge on the military's part despite thousands of casualties amassed through the first five adventures. I love how the two GIs are almost like balls in a pinball machine, bouncing from one monster to the next and thank goodness that tidal wave came along when it did! These dinos have been living on this island for millions of years but the minute a couple of rangers land, the whole place goes to hell. As dopey and repetitive as this series is, it seems like it's more fun with each succeeding installment and this chapter is the best of them all. Andru and Esposito, while still tanking it with their human characters, are really getting into the swing of things with their outrageous dinosaur creations. There's a high mortality rate here as well: an entire submarine crew (save our two heroes) bites the dust. Now, can we find out what Mission X was?

Jack: I'm glad you liked it! I thought it was just as dumb as all of the other stories in this series, which all follow the same pattern. The height of hilarity came when the two sailors were outside the sub exchanging Morse Code messages with the men inside by tapping on the hull with a wrench. As the giant sea monster whooshes along with the sub in tow, the men men hang on somehow, and they continue to tap out endless messages! The raft made out of a broken giant turtle shell was goofy, too. The GCD says this episode was written by Bob Haney rather than Kanigher, but how could you tell the difference? The stories are all the same.

"Bodyguard for a Flattop"

Peter: The crew of the PT 57 find themselves "Bodyguard for a Flattop" and some of the men are none too happy about it. The aircraft carrier "Big Y" is massive but still needs lookouts else Japanese subs will sink her. Though the captain continually chides his men that they're on the sea to clean the path for "Big Y," there's still moaning and groaning to be heard, some claiming that the battleship "doesn't even know we're here." When an enemy sub sinks the 57, the "Big Y" comes to her rescue and, suddenly, all the whining and moaning ceases. Yet another "hook line" story where the dialogue almost becomes a monotone, with every other panel highlighting "they don't even know we're here" or "do you think they'd do the same for us?" The concept, little fish looking out for the big fish, is an intriguing one and I wish Haney had accentuated the action rather than the grumbles. Jack Abel is becoming more and more dependable at delivering solid art.

Jack: I thought this was good! Haney managed to avoid using a catch phrase over and over, though you're right that the sentiment does get repeated. Abel's art is at its best and the sight of the little PT boat destroying everything that threatens the flattop is exciting, especially the final battle when the PT boat crashes straight into the kamikaze boat!

"The Nothing Ace"

Peter: Jet Pilot Lt. Ned Norris has always been known as "Nothing" Norris. He fumbled passes in college football, dropped boxes of merchandise in his vocations, probably even left his fly open in Science class, but one thing he always excelled at: skipping stones across the neighborhood pond. When "Nothing" finally gets a chance at blowing up stuff in the war, he constantly comes up short, ostensibly killing innocent bystanders with his errant missiles. Then, on one fateful mission, "Nothing" Norris becomes the "Nothing Ace" when he tests his unique stone-skipping talents against some enemy subs. Nothing story, nothing art.  I have nothing to say about this nothing story. Jack?

Jack: Once again, I liked it! Yes, the constant repetition of "Nothing" is a drag, but Hank Chapman's captions create a sense of suspense that reminded me of an EC story or even something Cornell Woolrich would have written. I liked how the narrator addressed Norris in the second person as "you" and kept needling him, pushing him and the story along to its conclusion. I even liked the plot device with the skipping stones and the skipping bombs. I guess I'm just so grateful when a story does not have any dinosaurs that I give it a break!

DC was really sticking it to Dell!

Another Infantino PSA

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