When DC returned to the classic ghostly comic book format in the 60's they employed a veteran of the form, Joe Orlando to spearhead the effort. He wisely brought aboard superstar artist Neal Adams to create some powerful covers for those early House of Mystery and House of Secrets covers.
You can see clearly how Adams ability to capture realism made for even more potent images to drag the young readers to the long-forbidden format. Silly monsters maybe, giant monster perhaps, but now we were about to be graced by the classic blood-curdlers of ages gone by.
At about this same time Hanna-Barbera launched what would prove to be their most successful creation of the late 60's and throughout the 70's and beyond. Scooby Doo, Where are You! (Isn't that supposed to be a question? ) was a monster hit as a group of older teens and their precocious Great Dane prowled the countryside looking for mysteries and finding always that it was all a hoax.
But that was not to be the case in Joe Orlando's comics. Orlando himself produced the first cover of House of Mystery #174 which showcases a boney hand beckoning to a gang of kids to enter. A wonderful cover. And the ideal of kids finding out these mysteries became an iconic element of the covers going forward as rendered by Neal Adams. Below are those covers. Do you dare enjoy them? Of course you do.
(Tony DeZuniga)
And that's a wrap on Halloween this year amigos. We close with Neal Adams and expect to see more Adams work as the next few months unfold. Be sure to check back.
Rip Off
Great stuff Rip, that Adams lad sure could draw an exciting cover . I've been trying for years to track down a reasonably priced copy of House of Secrets 82 and 84 mostly for those covers (although at this time the title contained some nice internal strip art as well) .
ReplyDeleteHe was a great artist. DC's ghost comics were a shot in the arm to not only the company at the time but to comics in general. For a short time DC, Marvel, and especially Charlton were all producing fantastic ghostly comics.
DeleteHere's a spell for you to dare,
ReplyDeleteTry it now, see how you fare.
Say 'Neal Adams', PM's there,
With such speed you'll get a scare.
(Thank you, I'm here all week.)
I'll give it some slow applause.
DeleteI was born in 1966 so Scooby Doo was a particular favourite of mine when I was a little kid in the early '70s along with Doctor Who and Star Trek. I remember Scooby Doo being quite scary but being so young I never noticed that the plot was basically the same every week with somebody trying to scare people away from a secret gold mine or whatever. I loved the Scooby Doo theme-tune too and I still do love it!
ReplyDeleteI was born a decade earlier than you and I never noticed the plots were that similar in Scooby Doo. Scooby was easily the most successful of Hanna-Barbera's projects from that era, a powerhouse that keeps selling comics and cartoons. The recent show focused on Velma was pretty entertaining.
DeleteHappy Halloween, Rip! Nice cover gallery. I remember reading that Al Feldstein said that the EC's with kids on the cover sold the best. Interesting as their weren't that many that I've come across. DC more than compensated for that!
ReplyDeleteWhen DC found a formula that sold, they stuck with it. I still love those vintage gorilla covers. I think a collection of just those comics based around those covers would sell. I'd buy it. Happy Halloween back.
DeleteGreat stuff! Those are all awesome and must have been such fun reads back in the day. Thanks for all the posts helping us enjoy Halloween!
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome. Glad to be of service, especially when it's so much fun.
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