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Showcase Presents #83
Showcase Presents: Secrets of Sinister House, Vol. 1
Originally titled THE SINISTER HOUSE OF SECRET LOVE, the gothic grotesquery known as SECRETS OF SINISTER HOUSE joined THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY and THE HOUSE OF SECRETS to form a terrifying triumvirate of petrifying periodicals never before seen in the history of comic book creepiness!
Featuring alluringly atmospheric artwork from such masters as Alex Toth, Tony DeZuniga and Michael Kaluta, together with bloodcurdling stories from such celebrated scribes as Sheldon Mayer, Len Wein and Jack Oleck, this short-lived but fondly remembered series is collected here for the first time in a single titanic tome reprinting all eighteen issues hosted by Eve, the mother of those cantankerous caretakers Cain and Abel
So come on in, but watch your step-- this house seems to have a mind of its own!
Featuring alluringly atmospheric artwork from such masters as Alex Toth, Tony DeZuniga and Michael Kaluta, together with bloodcurdling stories from such celebrated scribes as Sheldon Mayer, Len Wein and Jack Oleck, this short-lived but fondly remembered series is collected here for the first time in a single titanic tome reprinting all eighteen issues hosted by Eve, the mother of those cantankerous caretakers Cain and Abel
So come on in, but watch your step-- this house seems to have a mind of its own!
496 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
5 people are currently reading
93 people want to read
About the author
Michael Fleisher
552 books12 followersMichael Lawrence Fleisher's comic-book writing career spanned two decades in which he authored approximately 700 stories for DC, Marvel, and other comics publishers. His work on series such as The Spectre and Jonah Hex is still highly regarded, as is his work on the Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes. After a widely reported libel case his comic output declined, with his last published comic assignment appearing in the UK anthology 2000AD in 1995.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 2, 2015
Buddy read with the Shallow Comic Readers -- This week's theme: Horror!!!
At one time, mystery or horror comics were a major part of the comic book publishing world. Gory and often tinged with excessive violence, a public outcry led to the formation of the Comics Code Authority, which pretty much toned down the horror to a point where comics could barely show anything scary. By the late 1950s, most horror comics had changed over to science fiction and super-heroes. At DC, characters such as the Martian Manhunter, Eclipso, Adam Strange, and others, got their start in the non-horror "mystery" comics.
As society changed and the Comics Code Authority loosened up some of their restrictions, these comics reverted to their original format and became top sellers. Soon, the mystery/horror comics were a large part of DC comics sales, and other genres were expanded to take advantage of the new popularity of scary comics. DC published a supernatural super-hero, Deadman, and released books as varied as Weird War Tales and Weird Western Tales. Naturally enough, DC eventually published a couple of gothic romance comics as well: Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion, and the series that is collected in this Showcase Presents edition, Sinister House of Secret Love.
Unfortunately, the gothic romance angle did not last long, only four issues, and then the book was renamed Secrets of Sinister House. Those first four issues, though, were published at a time with DC's comics were 52 pages, which means that after ads, stories were close to 36 pages. Instead of being an anthology like DC's other mystery books, Sinister House of Secret Love had "novel" length stories, which allowed a rather full exploration of the romantic angle and the subsequent mystery. These first four tales are the highlight of this book. Although they are similar to other romance comics of the day, where heroines fell in love at first sight, usually with men that appear to be bad at first, they are not as formulaic as one would expect. Rather mild in the suspense department, but still enjoyable.
Once the format changed, the book got a host like the other DC books, this time the witch Eve, who introduces and narrates the various stories. Eve sticks around until the last couple of issues, when a change in editors changes the focus to scary houses. The title was canceled with issue 18, so this Showcase Presents collects the entire run, including the first four romance issues.
Ranging from one page to ten or twelve, most of the post-romance stories deal with unexpected twists or changes in fortune. Think old Twilight Zone stories. Most aren't terribly convincing, to be honest, or all that unexpected, but quite a few are original and spooky enough. The best part of these old horror comics is the art. During the early 1970s, when these comics were published, DC was having a influx of noted Filipino artists like Alfredro Alcala, Alex Nino, Tony de Zuniga, Nestor Redondo, and others. Their style was more realistic and did not fit easily into the super-hero style DC was publishing then, but they do a bang up job on this type of material. These guys were really as innovative as anything Neal Adams or Jim Steranko were doing, in my opinion.
These stories are rather tame, compared to what passes for horror these days, but I enjoy reading them, primarily because of that. It's nice to read something spooky without the attendant gore we so much of these days.
At one time, mystery or horror comics were a major part of the comic book publishing world. Gory and often tinged with excessive violence, a public outcry led to the formation of the Comics Code Authority, which pretty much toned down the horror to a point where comics could barely show anything scary. By the late 1950s, most horror comics had changed over to science fiction and super-heroes. At DC, characters such as the Martian Manhunter, Eclipso, Adam Strange, and others, got their start in the non-horror "mystery" comics.
As society changed and the Comics Code Authority loosened up some of their restrictions, these comics reverted to their original format and became top sellers. Soon, the mystery/horror comics were a large part of DC comics sales, and other genres were expanded to take advantage of the new popularity of scary comics. DC published a supernatural super-hero, Deadman, and released books as varied as Weird War Tales and Weird Western Tales. Naturally enough, DC eventually published a couple of gothic romance comics as well: Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion, and the series that is collected in this Showcase Presents edition, Sinister House of Secret Love.
Unfortunately, the gothic romance angle did not last long, only four issues, and then the book was renamed Secrets of Sinister House. Those first four issues, though, were published at a time with DC's comics were 52 pages, which means that after ads, stories were close to 36 pages. Instead of being an anthology like DC's other mystery books, Sinister House of Secret Love had "novel" length stories, which allowed a rather full exploration of the romantic angle and the subsequent mystery. These first four tales are the highlight of this book. Although they are similar to other romance comics of the day, where heroines fell in love at first sight, usually with men that appear to be bad at first, they are not as formulaic as one would expect. Rather mild in the suspense department, but still enjoyable.
Once the format changed, the book got a host like the other DC books, this time the witch Eve, who introduces and narrates the various stories. Eve sticks around until the last couple of issues, when a change in editors changes the focus to scary houses. The title was canceled with issue 18, so this Showcase Presents collects the entire run, including the first four romance issues.
Ranging from one page to ten or twelve, most of the post-romance stories deal with unexpected twists or changes in fortune. Think old Twilight Zone stories. Most aren't terribly convincing, to be honest, or all that unexpected, but quite a few are original and spooky enough. The best part of these old horror comics is the art. During the early 1970s, when these comics were published, DC was having a influx of noted Filipino artists like Alfredro Alcala, Alex Nino, Tony de Zuniga, Nestor Redondo, and others. Their style was more realistic and did not fit easily into the super-hero style DC was publishing then, but they do a bang up job on this type of material. These guys were really as innovative as anything Neal Adams or Jim Steranko were doing, in my opinion.
These stories are rather tame, compared to what passes for horror these days, but I enjoy reading them, primarily because of that. It's nice to read something spooky without the attendant gore we so much of these days.
October 12, 2016
This was really good, and also surprised me. I'm a huge fan of horror comic anthology, mainly EC Comics and Creepy and Eerie. But I like the DC and Marvel horror stuff too. The surprising part was that I liked the Gothic Romance type stories in this volume better than the more traditional horror tales. This series original had "Secret Love" in the title, and the stories were full issue length gothic horror romance stories. Then I suppose sales dropped and the book shifted to the more traditional horror anthology stories that House of Mystery and House of Secrets were doing at the time. But the early issues were much more original and unique then the shorter stories that followed. A lot of the later stories had a "Been There, Done That" feeling to them, but the opening stories did not.
Don't get me wrong, the early issues were still horror oriented, but there was a deeper story and always some type of romance woven into the plot. It really showed that comics are a much more diverse way of telling stories than they usually get credit for, especially back in the early 70s.
So while this huge volume did run hot and cold at times, overall it was a very entertaining read. If you are looking for something a little different in your horror comics, check this out.
PS: I looked over some of the other reader reviews, and it's amazing to me how many readers felt exactly the same as I did. Even though most of us probably wouldn't ever read a gothic romance novel, we still felt as though those were the strongest stories in the collection. Too bad DC didn't continue with the premise, it felt like they were really onto something.
Don't get me wrong, the early issues were still horror oriented, but there was a deeper story and always some type of romance woven into the plot. It really showed that comics are a much more diverse way of telling stories than they usually get credit for, especially back in the early 70s.
So while this huge volume did run hot and cold at times, overall it was a very entertaining read. If you are looking for something a little different in your horror comics, check this out.
PS: I looked over some of the other reader reviews, and it's amazing to me how many readers felt exactly the same as I did. Even though most of us probably wouldn't ever read a gothic romance novel, we still felt as though those were the strongest stories in the collection. Too bad DC didn't continue with the premise, it felt like they were really onto something.
June 24, 2011
This book contains reprints of issues #1-4 of The Sinister House of Secret Love, followed by #5-18 of Secrets of Sinister House, which were created between the dates of 1971-1974. DC initially launched this title as a mystery/fantasy romance series, and it actually contained quite a few original concepts in its first 5 issues (from pages 1-200 in this volume). Unfortunately the romance idea did not catch on, and with issue #6 they changed the concept to a more middle-of-the-road mystery/horror comic with stories that could have easily been found in other titles of the time like House of Mystery or House of Secrets.
All of the stories in this volume are of good quality, although some are of questionable originality, especially towards the end. The art is very good and has the detailed style that you can expect from mystery titles of this period. I felt like the romance stories were particularly interesting, although somewhat aged. Generally the main character is female in these early stories, and more often than not she is not some completely helpless pawn (although you couldn't tell from the cover). Unfortunately the book loses this idea somewhere in the middle and features almost no female characters of any importance past a certain point.
Overall, I give this book a 4-star rating, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys reprints of these types of mystery/horror comics. If you don't like the romance aspect, that's ok because it's present in less than half of these stories. However, if you do like the idea of a romance/horror comic, definitely check this out because there isn't much other material like this out there.
All of the stories in this volume are of good quality, although some are of questionable originality, especially towards the end. The art is very good and has the detailed style that you can expect from mystery titles of this period. I felt like the romance stories were particularly interesting, although somewhat aged. Generally the main character is female in these early stories, and more often than not she is not some completely helpless pawn (although you couldn't tell from the cover). Unfortunately the book loses this idea somewhere in the middle and features almost no female characters of any importance past a certain point.
Overall, I give this book a 4-star rating, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys reprints of these types of mystery/horror comics. If you don't like the romance aspect, that's ok because it's present in less than half of these stories. However, if you do like the idea of a romance/horror comic, definitely check this out because there isn't much other material like this out there.
January 15, 2011
Contains the Sinister House of Secret Love 1-4, and Secrets of Sinister House 5-18. The earliest issues 1-4 were probably the best out the whole bunch. The stories were long and the artwork was, for the majority of those issues, high quality. From issue 5 onwards you have the appearance of the old hag Eve and the stories, although usually well done, tended to run the gambit and were typical of the genre.
August 28, 2012
I have just finished reading this trilogy. The stories are very good. My favorite is "The Enemy" that really makes you think. Others are just as scary. They don't write stories like this anymore and really have scared me. The interesting stories aren't the monsters, Man's inhumanity to man is scarier which is still relevant today.
I don't want to give anymore details about the stories. You have to read them for yourselves and this is for fans of Tales From The Crypt and House of Mystery.
I don't want to give anymore details about the stories. You have to read them for yourselves and this is for fans of Tales From The Crypt and House of Mystery.
April 2, 2013
I really enjoyed this one. Classic DC horror from the early 1970's, after the comics code "relaxed" their rules..
Th 1st 4 issues have more romance in the stories. In one scene from #4, we see the female lead, in a look of ecstasy, and it reads "...Time and again I felt the fire of his presence"OH MY!
After the 5th issue, they got away from the romance,and the female leads...but it is still a good collection,a nd a fun, creepy read!
Th 1st 4 issues have more romance in the stories. In one scene from #4, we see the female lead, in a look of ecstasy, and it reads "...Time and again I felt the fire of his presence"OH MY!
After the 5th issue, they got away from the romance,and the female leads...but it is still a good collection,a nd a fun, creepy read!
July 11, 2024
The 18 or so issues of this book are collected here. This book went through a lot. It started as a giant sized gothic romance titles. That lasted for five issues and then was mostly horror stories and then at the end it seemed that they were tying in most of the stories with the idea of houses or homes and that just was odd. With all that said, this was a wild ride. The art was amazing and the changes in tone were interesting. The best version of this series was in the middile when it was a straight horror anthoology.
July 25, 2024
Fun, scary good time. Really dug the Gothic romance horror stories as well as the anthology stories.
July 4, 2024
This is another winner. Much like its sister titles, House of Mystery and House of Secrets, this was (after Issue 5) an anthology Horror title with great writing and artwork. The first 5 issues were double-sized Gothic Romance stories, if that makes any sense. Vampires, castles, the macabre, true love, etc. At 35-40 pages each, and crammed with text like every other comic book of the day, they offer quite a bit of depth and characterization. The format obviously tanked, and DC tweaked the title and format.
The late Alfredo P. Alcala is one of my all-time favorite comic book artists. The amount of detail that he crams into each panel is stunning, and his artwork looks even better here in black and white. A lot of his fine line work was washed out when they colored these stories in the original single issues.
These black and white phone books are the ultimate for vacation reading. They are cheap (MSRP under $20), light, and plentiful. I plowed through this in 6 days. I read 370 of the 496 pages up north in Caseville, MI, the land that time forgot. I couldn't get my Internet connection on my phone, there were 2 TV channels, and the whole area just seemed detached from the 21st Century, which is as frightening to me as these stories are. It seemed fitting to be detached from the now while reading these stories from the early 1970s which largely took place in the late 1800s.
The late Alfredo P. Alcala is one of my all-time favorite comic book artists. The amount of detail that he crams into each panel is stunning, and his artwork looks even better here in black and white. A lot of his fine line work was washed out when they colored these stories in the original single issues.
These black and white phone books are the ultimate for vacation reading. They are cheap (MSRP under $20), light, and plentiful. I plowed through this in 6 days. I read 370 of the 496 pages up north in Caseville, MI, the land that time forgot. I couldn't get my Internet connection on my phone, there were 2 TV channels, and the whole area just seemed detached from the 21st Century, which is as frightening to me as these stories are. It seemed fitting to be detached from the now while reading these stories from the early 1970s which largely took place in the late 1800s.
April 5, 2010
DC's Showcase Presents series here reprints the entire run of the old 70s horror title "Secrets of Sinister House". Now, kid-friendly horror as seen in both House of Secrets and House of Mystery are fine in and of themselves. They aren't very scary, but they have a nice formula to them, they are short, and mostly bad people get their comeuppance. The problem with "Sinister House" is the first five issues the book was known as "The Sinister House of Secret Love", wherein romance comics were mixed with the horror genre. Now, romance can be done well in comics, but not in this form. Heck, the first issue just had a House of Mystery reprint, complete with Cain making an introduction, calling it a House of Mystery story.
Fortunately, starting with issue 6, a new narrator, thousand-year-old witch Eve, shows up and takes over. Eve seems a little more pro-active then her neighbors Cain and Abel. She or a witch matching her description pops up in stories more often, but there isn't anything all that different from the other two titles here. Fortunately, those are fun by themselves and almost make up for the poorly-done romance stories that seemed to get worse with every issue.
Fortunately, starting with issue 6, a new narrator, thousand-year-old witch Eve, shows up and takes over. Eve seems a little more pro-active then her neighbors Cain and Abel. She or a witch matching her description pops up in stories more often, but there isn't anything all that different from the other two titles here. Fortunately, those are fun by themselves and almost make up for the poorly-done romance stories that seemed to get worse with every issue.
July 18, 2011
An interesting addition to DC's Showcase series, Secrets of Sinister House actually began as a gothic romance comic series before switching over to a straight horror series. The stories, once it switched over, are similar in style to DC's other horror titles of the era (House of Mystery, House of Secrets).
January 17, 2012
It was ok. Liked the earlier issues better since they were full length graphic novels. After issue #4, bunch of short fly by night horror stories that didn't have time to develop. Still a fun read.
May 27, 2016
I prefer The Witching Hour more, but some nice quick shot horror in this. Highly enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews