DC Horror titles, do you merely buy for the covers or you enjoy the stories? 2 2

[Coverdeath]

The DC horror titles are clearly not the cheapest books, and some great names of the industry worked a lot on them trough the 70s, I firstly think to Neal Adams and Bernie Writghson...

Are you merely buying for the cover art or the story are funs and good to read?

I have the feeling that the way they were drawing in the 70's was not really horrific as contrary as what been made during the pre code era... !!! MAYBE IM WRONG !!! so I don't know if it's really enjoyable to read an horror comics which is not essentially "scary". 

 

[grendel013]

I haven't read many but even as a kid I don't recall ever getting scared reading a 70s horror comic. If I buy any at this point, it's solely due to the cover. Skulls and skeletons are bad azz.

Edited September 8 by grendel013

[Ken Aldred]

Like in any anthology title, the quality was patchy, but there were many good stories at DC. Particularly in the early-to-mid 70s you could find some very bizarre or disturbing material in House of Mystery and House of Secrets, especially for young kids like myself at the time. I’d agree with the previous post in that I found Marvel ‘Horror’ to be noticeably tamer and didn’t evoke anything near the same level.

Edited September 8 by Ken Aldred

[AndyFish]

Covers for sure-- the stories are very mixed bag but I don't think I've ever been "scared" by a comic story in any comic book.  CREEPY and EERIE Magazine probably came the closest, but that would be more of a chill.

[Cimm]

A lot of the DC horror books have truly stellar interior art. Probably mostly not worth "reading", but almost always worth perusing. Warren is very much the same. Skywald, on the other hand, did have some very disturbing stories, and again, almost always stellar art. Marvel horror was the weakest of the lot. Not many standout covers, and mostly bland interior art.

Edited September 8 by Cimm

[Jayman]

In the 1970’s with the code still in place, some comic publishers, writers and artists began pushing the boundaries within its confines. Notably over at Marvel, Stan Lee introduced Morbius the “Living” Vampire. Over at DC, specifically in the anthology series, stories started popping up that were forcing the writers and artists to be more creative as not to violate the code. Artist like Adams, Wrightson, Dominguez and Aparo among others drew some spectacular stories that “implied” a lot of the horror without actually drawing it. Not seeing what was implied in these stories still delivered the horror readers were seeking, mostly to a better effect as it was left to the reader to imagine the rest. Some standouts were HoM 201 where a boy gets lobotomized, HoM 233 where a girl hiding in a pop out surprise birthday cake gets chopped up in hundreds of pieces and eaten by the guests and HoM 262 where a man makes a deal with the devil to have his young daughter brought back to life. The devil twists his request and leaves the man obviously deranged holding the corpse of his daughter believing she is still alive in his mind!

 

So to answer the OP’s question, collecting the Bronze DC horror titles is worth it for both the covers and interior contents.

[Robot Man]

I periodically buy them for the cover or interior art when I run into them. I am primarily a PCH collector. I remember a few ECs as a kid that creeped the heck out of me but not the later DC/Marvel stuff.

[Jayman]

On 9/8/2024 at 11:31 AM, This is Who We Are said:

DC Horror sells itself

Having had complete runs of all the major titles for over 20 years now, I grew up reading these books. Picking them off the spinner racks then later buying the ones I missed in the back issue bins. I’m probably a bit biased, but DC horror was always my favorite! 

[Jayman]

On 9/8/2024 at 9:39 AM, Ken Aldred said:

Never read the Skywalds.

[jimjum12]

On 9/8/2024 at 9:44 AM, Cimm said:

Marvel horror was the weakest of the lot.

There was a hungry appetite for horror in the late 60's and 70's, and Marvel's answer was reprints. At least we got TOD and WWBN out of those mooks. GOD BLESS ... 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

 

[bronze_rules]

I see a lot of these stories as like morality tales with twisted endings where the bad person gets their comeuppance.

Like people steal and are on the run and encounter the devil in their hiding spot, or death comes to take them.

Or they try to take advantage of elderly,, kids, etc.. and have something bad happen to them.

Kind of like a dream for nerdy, shy people who get bullied or taken advantage of in life. 

You can purchase Omnis or get digital access if you don't want to decrease the value of the comics.

I've read many of the skywalds and would say they are similar storylines with much lower quality art. Warren magazines also have similar tales.

 

One of the things that scared me in recent years is picking up stories about the spanish artists of the 70s (estaban maroto, etc...) and reading about their true lives.

 

 

Edited September 8 by bronze_rules

[Ken Aldred]

On 9/8/2024 at 6:50 PM, bronze_rules said:

Kind of like a dream for nerdy, shy people who get bullied or taken advantage of in life

Never thought of that with horror comics. The empowerment fantasy is easier to see with super-hero comics. 

[Ken Aldred]

On 9/8/2024 at 3:59 PM, Jayman said:

Some standouts were HoM 201 where a boy gets lobotomized, HoM 233 where a girl hiding in a pop out surprise birthday cake gets chopped up in hundreds of pieces and eaten by the guests and HoM 262 where a man makes a deal with the devil to have his young daughter brought back to life. The devil twists his request and leaves the man obviously deranged holding the corpse of his daughter believing she is still alive in his mind

Two I remember.

A guy making the mistake of asking for immortality but not for invulnerability, leading to physically horrendous results.

A story where a guy is turned in the end into a rather disturbing-looking pile of string in the road.

If I’ve misremembered a bit, it’s been 50 years.

Edited September 8 by Ken Aldred

[KCOComics]

On 9/8/2024 at 1:50 PM, bronze_rules said:

I see a lot of these stories as like morality tales with twisted endings where the bad person gets their comeuppance.

Like people steal and are on the run and encounter the devil in their hiding spot, or death comes to take them.

Or they try to take advantage of elderly,, kids, etc.. and have something bad happen to them.

Kind of like a dream for nerdy, shy people who get bullied or taken advantage of in life. 

You can purchase Omnis or get digital access if you don't want to decrease the value of the comics.

I've read many of the skywalds and would say they are similar storylines with much lower quality art. Warren magazines also have similar tales.

 

One of the things that scared me in recent years is picking up stories about the spanish artists of the 70s (estaban maroto, etc...) and reading about their true lives.

 

 

This is 100% correct. 

I've been collecting DC Bronze Age Horror for years now. DC and primarily HOS. 

I buy high grade issues mostly for the covers - but also buy readers.  The stories are really really mixed,  but I would agree they aren't always "horror".  Lots of morality stories with twists,  kind of in the spirit of EC. 

 

As an aside - I'm debating selling off my high grade run of HOS and keeping the readers. It's gotten to be a pretty pricey pursuit, which even 4 or 5 years ago, it really wasn't.  

[Gaard]

On 9/8/2024 at 3:55 PM, Ken Aldred said:

 

A story where a guy is turned in the end into a rather disturbing-looking pile of string in the road.

 

Sounds bizarre. You don't happen to remember the issue?

[Ken Aldred]

On 9/8/2024 at 10:58 PM, Gaard said:

Sounds bizarre. You don't happen to remember the issue?

HOM 230

’The Doomsday Yarn’

 

 

Synopsis for "The Doomsday Yarn"

 

“A gambler kills an Indian fakir for his magic yarn and knits a picture of himself surrounded by money. He wins the money in a casino and places the money in a bank. The gangsters that run the casino show up and threaten to kill him unless he gives back the money. He takes them to the bank but meanwhile his cat back at the apartment begins to unravel the tapestry. The money is missing from the safe deposit box but he manages to elude the gangsters. The cat eventually unravels his representation in the tapestry and he unravels in the middle of the street.”

Edited September 8 by Ken Aldred

[1950's war comics]

this is the original copy i bought of the rack at Mario's Market in Lansing Mi in 1972 (the store is still there)

and yeah DC bronze horror has magnificent covers !!

[Jayman]

On 9/8/2024 at 3:55 PM, Ken Aldred said:

A guy making the mistake of asking for immortality but not for invulnerability, leading to physically horrendous results.

Could it be this one I remember? Evil guy becomes immortal then the natives throw him into quicksand where he’s stuck forever being eaten alive (then healing) by insects.

[Jayman]

On 9/8/2024 at 6:56 PM, 1950's war comics said:

this is the original copy i bought of the rack at Mario's Market in Lansing Mi in 1972 (the store is still there)

and yeah DC bronze horror has magnificent covers !!

Kaluta! 

[Jayman]