Dec 19th 2020 Advent Calendar

December 18, 2020

Dec 19th 2020 Advent Calendar

A solitary candle on a tall, ornate stand affords this sepulchral chamber its only source of light--

A bespectacled hob-goblin of a man squints at the pages of an ancient, leather-bound book, but the children have already stopped listening to the blood-curdling tale he is telling them--

From the darkness come sounds-- soft but not comforting-- slobbering, shuffling, scraping... then from the shadows creep some... things...

In the Summer of 1970 readers of Horror Comics were presented with SUPER DC GIANT S-20, a HOUSE OF MYSTERY Special Issue, consisting of a generous framing story illustrated by Jack Sparling and a clutch of reprints from the title's 1950s issues. The cover was completed by Neal Adams and depicts the House's resident Cain engaged in reading ghost stories by candlelight to a trio of children who have just noticed the assorted creatures appearing out of the shadows.

Two years earlier the title had undergone a makeover with a new logo and a whole new approach to the cover visuals. Its June 1968 edition featured an Orlando/Roussos cover which was altogether more creepy than previous issues had ever been, suggesting dark, disturbing stories for older readers, even adults.

The following issue, #175, introduced Neal Adams to the title and for the next few years he continued to illustrate the vast majority its covers as well as several covers for HOUSE OF SECRETS and DC's other Horror books such as THE WITCHING HOUR and THE PHANTOM STRANGER.

It's true to say that at times Adams' covers were the best thing about these anthologies, but even when the contents consistently matched his efforts he always managed to add something extra to the package. Usually his covers do not represent a single exact moment in one of the stories, but suggest some of the deeper concerns or themes or sum up several moments in one.

For this post I have assembled some of the covers Adams completed for these titles in the time leading up to the publication of the SUPER DC GIANT. I have not included covers from issues I have previously commented on, so if you haven't yet read about them please seek them out here--

HOM #174 had introduced what was to become a defining characteristic of these books during this period-- a group of children observing or involved in the main action. Adams certainly made these characters his own, depicting them in all manner of unsettling or dangerous situations, usually surrounded by the trappings of Horror stories and movies.

Adams realised that 'less is more' and regularly hinted at menace rather than depicting fully-- a ghostly hand being a more frightening sight than the entire ghost would be. And the children's faces added to the sense of an unseen terror, because they could see it, leaving the reader in an uneasy suspense before opening the book.

Often these kids were the only ones to have noticed the danger while a character from one of the issue's stories continued in his misdeeds unaware of either their presence or of the impending threat.

Many of the covers are masterworks of Horror imagery, and I'm pretty certain they would have easily drawn the eye of prospective readers back in the late 60s/early 70s, especially with their twisted angles and disorientating use of perspective.

Adams also often placed the children in the forground, so that they were close to the reader and the horrors further away and indistinct. Again this encouraged readers to empathise with the kids and share in their dangerous predicaments.

One of the most effective covers for me is this one from HOM #182 in which a girl is entering a mirror-- it's another case of the cover image posing questions of the reader, urging them to purchase the issue to satisfy their need to unravel the mystery.

Or there's this spectacular cover from HOUSE OF SECRETS #81, in which the eponymous house has taken on the form of a huge monstrous face with leering eyes and exposed, chomping teeth. The gate of course adds to the element of these children being imprisoned, and the howling dog increases the element of terror.

Adams' covers for THE PHANTOM STRANGER often feature the spectral visage of the title figure while an assortment of horror-figures play out their roles before him.

I especially like this cover for #7, depicting a guy fleeing the clutches of an animated tree's spindly branches, once again demonstrating that the most horrific moment is usually the moment immediately before something grisly happens.

And for this cover to THE WITCHING HOUR #7, Adams employs a looser style to capture this luminescent creature's ethereal movement, enhancing the sense not only of its size but also its menace.

Or there's this humorous cover for the following issue, in which a comical maid reacts uncertainly to her mistress's appeals while waiting on a panoply of ghoulish guests.

If you are a fan of Neal Adams or these Horror anthologies please keep an eye open for my final Advent calendar post on Xmas Day, which will be an extended special commentary on some of the covers not included here, as well as some of their antecedents and influences . It's not to be missed.