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House of Secrets: The Bronze Age Omnibus #1
The House of Secrets: The Bronze Age Omnibus Vol. 1
The classic horror anthology series is now re-collected in this new line of graphic novels, beginning with DC HOUSE OF SECRETS OMNIBUS VOL. 1, which includes the first appearance of Swamp Thing!
With contributions from such industry titans as Len Wein, Jim Aparo, Bernie Wrightson, Don Heck and Dick Dillin, this anthology series set the groundwork for classic DC Universe horror stories for years to come. Collected for the first time in an oversize hardcover, HOUSE OF SECRETS OMNIBUS VOL. 1 is a must-have for all fans of DC's horror comics!
With contributions from such industry titans as Len Wein, Jim Aparo, Bernie Wrightson, Don Heck and Dick Dillin, this anthology series set the groundwork for classic DC Universe horror stories for years to come. Collected for the first time in an oversize hardcover, HOUSE OF SECRETS OMNIBUS VOL. 1 is a must-have for all fans of DC's horror comics!
864 pages, Hardcover
First published February 13, 2018
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67 people want to read
About the author
Len Wein
1,587 books154 followersLen Wein was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men (including the co-creation of Nightcrawler, Storm, and Colossus). Additionally, he was the editor for writer Alan Moore and illustrator Dave Gibbons' influential DC miniseries Watchmen.
Wein was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2008.
Wein was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2008.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 4, 2019
I'm crazy about DC's early 70's horror revival titles: House of Mystery, House of Secrets, Unexpected, The Witching Hour, The Phantom Stranger and all the others. All of them damn good reading and wonderful artists line wide.
A good portion was reprinted in the black and white Showcase Presents a few years ago. But H of S never appeared. Neither did the Unexpected collection. So it was a particular delight to me that H of S got a color omnibus edition. I see that it's selling quite well and I hope that bodes well for more to come in horror color Omniboo in the future.
If you love that particular sort of Gothic that was so groovy in the 70's then you're going to love this material. It's the Hammer Horror of comics. And that's high praise indeed.
The book starts off fairly weak but it steadily improves going from strength to strength and by the end of the volume it's equal to the quality of its sister mag House of Mystery.
A good portion was reprinted in the black and white Showcase Presents a few years ago. But H of S never appeared. Neither did the Unexpected collection. So it was a particular delight to me that H of S got a color omnibus edition. I see that it's selling quite well and I hope that bodes well for more to come in horror color Omniboo in the future.
If you love that particular sort of Gothic that was so groovy in the 70's then you're going to love this material. It's the Hammer Horror of comics. And that's high praise indeed.
The book starts off fairly weak but it steadily improves going from strength to strength and by the end of the volume it's equal to the quality of its sister mag House of Mystery.
June 4, 2018
Big fan of DC's horror/mystery anthology books, and this omnibus offers some rarely reprinted material from one of the best. It starts after Abel moves into the House of Secrets, and the early issues provide a few pages each of just Abel, letting the reader see his interactions with the House, establishing his neurotic personality, and providing some interaction with his brother Cain over at the House of Mystery (as well as Cynthia from The Witching Hour). About half-way through, Abel is relegated to first page splashes or just a panel or two introducing the issue's tales. The stories hold up surprisingly well, although they're a bit dated and not as shocking today. Most of the twists are easy to figure out, but considering these stories are done in 2, 3, 7, or maybe 10 pages, they're pretty tight both in script and art. Today's writers probably can't shut up enough to write just a few pages and tell a complete story (Bendis, looking at you!).
The highlight of the book is obviously the first appearance of Swamp Thing. The character is a bit different from the eventual incarnation, but the genius of the Wein/Wrightson collaboration is still there. Besides Wein, Gerry Conway, Marv Wolfman, John Albano, and Jack Oleck provide many of the stories, which are illustrated by so many outstanding artists, it's hard to name them all: Neal Adams, Berni Wrightson, Rich Buckler, Wally Wood, Alex Nino, Alex Toth, Alfredo Alcala, Tony DeZuniga, Gray Morrow, Nestor Redondo, Georges Rousseau (of Doom Patrol fame), Jack Sparling, Dick Dillin, Jim Aparo, and many others.
I hope this book is successful and we see a second volume, and many more containing DC's great anthology series.
The highlight of the book is obviously the first appearance of Swamp Thing. The character is a bit different from the eventual incarnation, but the genius of the Wein/Wrightson collaboration is still there. Besides Wein, Gerry Conway, Marv Wolfman, John Albano, and Jack Oleck provide many of the stories, which are illustrated by so many outstanding artists, it's hard to name them all: Neal Adams, Berni Wrightson, Rich Buckler, Wally Wood, Alex Nino, Alex Toth, Alfredo Alcala, Tony DeZuniga, Gray Morrow, Nestor Redondo, Georges Rousseau (of Doom Patrol fame), Jack Sparling, Dick Dillin, Jim Aparo, and many others.
I hope this book is successful and we see a second volume, and many more containing DC's great anthology series.
January 23, 2019
A fine collection of utterly mediocre material. I love the omnibus format, and if you're looking for a collection of House of Secrets, then you'll be perfectly happy here. But if you've never read these before, I should warn you: these...are not good.
To be clear, there's some great art here. Guys like Bernie Wrightson, Wally Wood, Michael Kaluta, Gray Morrow, Alex Toth (!) and more delivered some solid material. But the stories are, well, not to put too fine a point on it, but they're awful. If you need proof of the genius of the stable of EC/House of Gaines writers during their horror era, this book is it. Because these stories attempt to mimic the style and twist endings of Tales from the Crypt and others, but fail miserably. Virtually every story ends in a deus ex machina-style twist from nowhere. There isn't a single memorable story in here, or one I thought was even moderately clever. That includes the first attempt by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson at Swamp Thing, by the way. Their second attempt would prove to be much more interesting.
Honestly, I can't believe I finished this book (even if it did take me over a month to do it). It's an 860+ page slog of mediocrity. The one-page gag strips by Aragones and others were the only thing I can point to in here as being decent, and even they weren't great.
Unless you really, really need a history in 70s era DC horror comics, skip this one. The fact that it's labeled as "Volume 1" feels like a threat more than anything else.
To be clear, there's some great art here. Guys like Bernie Wrightson, Wally Wood, Michael Kaluta, Gray Morrow, Alex Toth (!) and more delivered some solid material. But the stories are, well, not to put too fine a point on it, but they're awful. If you need proof of the genius of the stable of EC/House of Gaines writers during their horror era, this book is it. Because these stories attempt to mimic the style and twist endings of Tales from the Crypt and others, but fail miserably. Virtually every story ends in a deus ex machina-style twist from nowhere. There isn't a single memorable story in here, or one I thought was even moderately clever. That includes the first attempt by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson at Swamp Thing, by the way. Their second attempt would prove to be much more interesting.
Honestly, I can't believe I finished this book (even if it did take me over a month to do it). It's an 860+ page slog of mediocrity. The one-page gag strips by Aragones and others were the only thing I can point to in here as being decent, and even they weren't great.
Unless you really, really need a history in 70s era DC horror comics, skip this one. The fact that it's labeled as "Volume 1" feels like a threat more than anything else.
July 7, 2022
This book is not for everyone. For starters, you must be OK with short stories that all usually have a simple premise. For instance, a common plot is when someone tries to kill off an elderly grandfather or uncle, then they receive some curse or awful death. Mix in a different curse or monster and you have a plot. There really isn't anything special about the stories. After you have read a couple of dozen 60s and 70s horror stories, you have read them all. But the real draw is the great 70s art and atmosphere. I'm familiar with some of these artists, but I'm kind of new to classic DC artists. So this is my first time seeing art by Dick Dillin, Jim Aparo, and Bill Draut. But there is also great art by Bernie Wrightson, Jack Sparling, and Gray Morrow.
Early issues have some fun segments with the narrator Abel. But after a while they abandon this and he just becomes nothing more than a talking head. That's too bad, because I feel like they missed some story opportunities there.
Early issues have some fun segments with the narrator Abel. But after a while they abandon this and he just becomes nothing more than a talking head. That's too bad, because I feel like they missed some story opportunities there.
August 3, 2020
I love this format. Great value for the cost. Classic DC horror.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews