Friday, October 2, 2009

Famous First Fridays: The Witching Hour

In November, 1968, editor Dick Giordano helped launch DC's coolest non-house mystery comic, The Witching Hour. I can remember seeing ads in other DC comics trumpeting The Witching Hour's arrival...and getting the creeps. (Hey, I was five! Gimme a break!) That first issue more than lived up to the spooky ads with its moody art by Nick Cardy, Alex Toth, Neal Adams, and others. And as with all other DC mystery comics, The Witching Hour needed a host; Giordano and company gave us three hostesses, inspired by the Weird Sisters from Shakespeare's Macbeth: Mordred, Mildred, and Cynthia. WH proved popular enough that it lasted 85 issues until it was absorbed into the Dollar Comic version of The Unexpected (starting with issue #189) during the DC Implosion of 1978.

It's 12 O'Clock...The Witching Hour! Time to see what Dick Giordano, Alex Toth, Denny O'Neil and Pat Boyette, Jack Sparling, and Neal Adams have in store for you...if you dare!
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4 comments:

  1. Mike MikulovskyOctober 2, 2009 at 9:02 AM

    Hey There!
    I love Halloween! I was 7 when this book came out. I agree when DC horror/ghost comics came out. They really scared you as a kid. Heck, even in 74/75 I loved the Wendigo. But I used to walk to my locale comic store then.

    I was super lucky to have actual comic store to go to. I'd walk a lone through my rough neighborhood. In the winter time it could be very creepy. Deserted streets, howling winds. It kind of always made me wonder if the Wendigo might be real, come out & grab me. WWeennddiiggooo!! YIKES! Where's the Hulk when you need him! Great post! Keep them coming!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousOctober 3, 2009 at 1:43 PM

    Most excellent! I love reading the older 60s & 70s horror stuff like House of Mystery/Secrets, Vault of Horror, Tales From the Crypt, Swamp Thing, etc. This was a rare treat. Despite my love of Denny O'Neil and Neil Adams, I'd never even heard of The Witching Hour! Thank you very much for posting it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. DaleMay 1, 2014 at 3:33 PM

    I'm jumping back five years to this post but couldn't resist! It's such a great debut issue and what a treat for Alex Toth fans in particular. Brings back memories! Long may you groove,groovy one!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Spurwing PloverNovember 3, 2017 at 3:06 AM

    The Perfect Wave maybe a little too perfect for Stan and Carol

    ReplyDelete

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Special thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics and Grand Comics Database for being such fantastic resources for covers, dates, creator info, etc. Thou art treasures true!


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