It's Twelve O'Clock - The Witching Hour!

The Witching Hour is a comic which has always fascinated me. Partly it's because it was an early new title edited by Dick Giordano, soon after he left his gig at Charlton and joined the DC crew. He brought with him not only fresh insights into how to put together a comic, but also fresh talents such as Pat Boyette who draws several of the stories in the early issues. But first and foremost, the reason to take a good hard look at the early issues of The Witching Hour is Alex Toth. Toth was a master comic talent, and his skills are are on display in full form in these early comics. The Witching Hour featured three hosts, three witches. 

They were Mildred and Modred, two classic witches and a third hip modern witch named Cynthia. The friction between the tastes of Mildred and Modred and Cynthia infuse the early issues of The Witching Hour with an incredible humor, all of captured in dynamic pages by Toth. We also meet Igor, the faceless and mute caretaker of the witches' house, stuck deep in a fetid swamp. The three witches tell stories, in competition with one another, sometime around a theme. The tales by the likes of Denny O'Neil, Steve Skeates, and Gerry Conway have a modern lilt to them. The covers are by Nick Cardy and Neal Adams. Adams pinch hit for Toth from time to time on the frame stories as well. Sadly, eventually the title gets a new editor in Murray Boltinoff and the changes are for worse immediately. The artwork becomes pedestrian, though still offering highlights such the work of Jerry Grandenetti. The wonderful frame stories get reduced to a single page drawn efficiently by George Tuska and oddly the three witches move into the the city. It's unfortunate, but for a short time The Witching Hour was one of the best. 

Here are the covers of the issues contained in Showcase Presents The Witching Hour. 

Boltinoff takes over the series at this point, as the title will soon switch up to twenty-five cents with reprints added, as was normal for DC at the time. 

Halloween is here my friends. Enjoy the festivities and eat your candy with care. 

Rip Off