Faster than a DC Bullet: The Houses of Mystery and Secrets, Part VI: Showcase Presents The House of Mystery, Volume Three

Comic trade paperback, 518 pages
Published 2009 (contents: 1973-74)
Borrowed from the library
Read November 2013

Showcase Presents The House of Mystery, Volume Three

Written by Michael Fleisher, Maxene Fabe, Jack Oleck, Sergio Aragonés, Steve Skeates, Mark Evanier, Robert Kanigher, George Kashdan, Doug Moench, Sheldon Mayer, E. Nelson Bridwell, John Jacobson, Len Wein, Joe Orlando, David Michelinie, Gerard Conway, David Izzo, Dennis O'Neil, Marv Wolfman, John Broome, Paul Levitz, Bob Rozakis, Mark Hanerfeld, David Kasakove, Martin Pasko, Michael J. Pellowski

Art by John Calnan, Murphy Anderson, Alex N. Nino, Ruben Yandoc, Sergio Aragonés, Romy Gamboa, Adolfo Buylla, Sonny Trinidad, Nestor Redondo, Rico Rival, Gerry Talaoc, Fred Carrillo, Tony Dezuniga, Bernard Baily, Abe Ocampo, Alfredo Alcala, Frank Thorne, Bernie Wrightson, Michael Wm. Kaluta, E. R. Cruz, Ralph Reese, Ramona Fradon, Joe Orlando, Frank Robbins, Bill Draut, Howard Purcell, Dick Dillin, Neal Adams, Mort Meskin, George Roussos, Frank Giacoia, Mike Sekowsky, Jack Kirby, Don Heck, Joe Giella, Jack Sparling, Pat Broderick, Leonard Starr, Carmine Infantino, Bernard Sachs, Bill Ely, Jess M. Jodloman, Curt Swan, George Klein

This is the last of the "House" volumes thus far released in DC's Showcase Presents reprint series. I'm not sure if there's more House of Mystery to reprint after this, but it's easy to see that the series ought to be ending if it did continue to limp on after this. The last three of the sixteen issues included here are 100-page super spectaculars, the majority of which are reprints. (Well, they're all reprints-- what I mean is that even in 1973-74, these were reprints.) Boo. Especially when they're reprints of material available in other Showcase Presents volumes.

Still, there's some decent material here, especially the completely creepy "Oh, Mom! Oh, Dad! You've Sent me Away To Summer Camp... and I'm So Sad!" (written by Michael Fleisher and Maxene Fabe, art by Alex N. Nino), about camp counselors and campers attempting to murder one another(!) and "The Night of the Teddy Bear!" (written by Michael Fleisher, art by Alfredo Alcala), about a creepy-faced serial killer and a weedy man. But unfortunately, this once-strong title could have done even better.

(Interestingly, a number of stories credit Russell Carley with "art continuity"; this Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed article explains what that means, but it baffles me that these credits are omitted from the book's table of contents, since Carley's role is far from incidental.)