Chamber Of Darkness!

Chamber of Darkness was the second of two mystery comics Marvel launched in the heady year of 1969 soon after their contract which limited their number of titles has lapsed. The first was Tower of Shadows which was glimpsed here yesterday.

The Chamber was hosted by a wonderfully underrated character dubbed Headstone P. Gravely. He's a creepy cat for sure, a gruesome undertaker who tells horror yarns in his spare time. As far as I know after his brief tenure in Chamber was concluded he has not shown up in any other Marvel comic, but I would love to learn that I'm wrong about that. One notable thing is that a try-out for Conan appeared in the fifth issue by Roy Thomas and Barry (Not-Yet-Windsor) Smith. Jack "King" Kirby did some of his final work for Marvel in this book before heading off to DC and his own Fourth World.

Chamber of Darkness was just like Tower of Shadows and after a time its name was changed to Monsters on the Prowl. This was for most of its run a reprint magazine for vintage Atlas monsters and such from a decade or so before.

There was one little hiccup when King Kull was showcased, sort of an in-between engagement when his comic was on hiatus for a time. So weirdly Kull appeared in both Marvel's upstart mystery comics.

While not as illustrious in many was as its sister Tower of Shadows, I've always preferred the Chamber of Darkness myself. And I've always had a soft spot in my head (appropriately enough) for its grisly host.

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