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Showcase Presents: The Witching Hour Vol 1

by Scott Nybakken (Editor)

Other authors: Jack Abel (Illustrator), Neal Adams (Illustrator), Murphy Anderson (Illustrator), Jim Aparo (Illustrator), Sergio Aragonés (Contributor)59 more, Don Arneson (Contributor), Pat Boyette (Illustrator), Bob Brown (Illustrator), John Calnan (Illustrator), Nick Cardy (Illustrator), Bernie Case (Illustrator), John Celardo (Illustrator), Vince Colletta (Illustrator), Gerry Conway (Contributor), John Costanza (Contributor), Tony De Zuniga (Illustrator), José Delbo (Illustrator), Bill Draut (Illustrator), Lee Elias (Illustrator), Mike Friedrich (Contributor), Carlos Garzon (Illustrator), Frank Giacoia (Illustrator), Joe Giella (Illustrator), Dick Giordano (Illustrator), Alan Gold (Contributor), Jerry Grandenetti (Illustrator), Sid Greene (Illustrator), Bob Haney (Contributor), Don Heck (Illustrator), France 'Ed' Herron (Contributor), Carmine Infantino (Illustrator), Jeffrey Jones (Illustrator), David Kaler (Contributor), Michael Wm. Kaluta (Illustrator), Gil Kane (Illustrator), George Kashdan (Contributor), Charles King (Contributor), Jack Kirby (Illustrator), Jack Miller (Contributor), Gray Morrow (Illustrator), Denny O'Neil (Contributor), Jack Oleck (Contributor), Joe Orlando (Illustrator), Mike Peppe (Illustrator), Jack Phillips (Contributor), Stanley Pitt (Illustrator), Howie Post (Contributor), Alan Riefe (Contributor), George Roussos (Illustrator), Mike Roy (Illustrator), Art Saaf (Illustrator), Mike Sekowsky (Illustrator), Phil Seuling (Illustrator), Howard Sherman (Illustrator), Steve Skeates (Contributor), Jack Sparling (Illustrator), Alex Toth (Illustrator), George Tuska (Illustrator), Carl Wessler (Contributor), Ron Whyte (Contributor), Al Williamson (Illustrator), Marv Wolfman (Contributor), Wally Wood (Illustrator), Bernie Wrightson (Illustrator)

Series: DC Showcase Presents: Witching Hour (1), The Witching Hour {1969 comic series} (#1-19), DC Showcase Presents (The Witching Hour)

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"Pull up a broom and warm your hands over the cauldron as our cracking coven of caretakers serves up nineteen complete issues of The witching hour"--P. [4] of cover.
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My quest to read every comic remotely linked to The Sandman continues with its (hopefully) last strand: those horror comics whose hosts were later appropriated by Neil Gaiman to be denizens of the Dreaming. The Witching Hour! is hosted by Mildred, Mordred, and Cynthia, the three-part witch-being who popped up in various guises throughout Gaiman's Sandman run. Post-Sandman, the Witches got their own story in James Robinson's awful WitchCraft, but maybe he should have taken a page from this book, because it is good plain fun.

Most of the stories were disposable, but they were usually also enjoyable. The highlight of the book, though, is definitely the frame narrative. Mildred and Mordred are "traditional" witches, while Cynthia is "mod"-- dressing in the latest fashions and using store-bought canned soups in her witches brews. They constantly bicker over what a good witches tale is, as well as how their never-seen manservant Egor should be treated (Cynthia likes him more than the others). Each issue weaves some small plot around their storytelling competition, like an attempt to take a group photograph, new neighbors at the swamp, or a visit from Cynthia's old college flame. Alex Toth usually provides the amazing artwork for these frame stories. The reader is often directly addressed, putting one in mind of the issue of Gaiman's Sandman where the reader is positioned as a dreamer talking to Matthew the Raven, Abel, Cain, et al. in the Dreaming-- which is presumably where all this takes place?

The witches eventually move to an apartment in the city for some reason, which would seem to promise some new hijinks, but unfortunately by that point the frame story has been squeezed down to a mere page or two per issue, rather than its original five or so. I'm not sure why that happened, but it robs the issues in the second half of the volume of a lot of their character.

The stories are pretty good throughout. Obviously a lot are about witches, and ostensibly each of the witches has a "theme" to their stories, but this is honored as much in the breach as in the observance-- Cynthia is criticized for telling "modern" stories, and then one of the other two will come out with one about a psychologist or computer dating! (In fact there are three stories about the perils of computer dating... I wouldn't've guessed it was already a thing and a worry in 1969-72.)  I particularly enjoyed "Trumpet Perilous!" (writer unknown, art by Jack Sparling and Jack Abel) for its audacious ending ("I'll grant you a little creativity Mordred--but what are you going to do with the world totally destroyed?") and "The Maze" (written by Al Gold and Marv Wolfman, art by Gray Morrow), which is about a guy trapped in a formless dimension, accompanied by some effective and chilling second-person narration. The whole issue of space horror stories, culminating in, of course, "The Haunted House in Space!" (writer unknown, art by Al Williamson and Carlos Garzon) was pretty fun, too.

It seems unlikely that anyone will be scared by any of the stories in here, but they're pretty enjoyable when you're in the right mood, and those three witches can lift most any material, no matter how weak.

The Houses of Mystery and Secrets: Next in sequence »
  Stevil2001 | Nov 16, 2013 |
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» Add other authors (4 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Nybakken, ScottEditorprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Abel, JackIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Adams, NealIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Anderson, MurphyIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Aparo, JimIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Aragonés, SergioContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Arneson, DonContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Boyette, PatIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Brown, BobIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Calnan, JohnIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Cardy, NickIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Case, BernieIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Celardo, JohnIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Colletta, VinceIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Conway, GerryContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Costanza, JohnContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
De Zuniga, TonyIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Delbo, JoséIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Draut, BillIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Elias, LeeIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Friedrich, MikeContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Garzon, CarlosIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Giacoia, FrankIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Giella, JoeIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Giordano, DickIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Gold, AlanContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Grandenetti, JerryIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Greene, SidIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Haney, BobContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Heck, DonIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Herron, France 'Ed'Contributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Infantino, CarmineIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Jones, JeffreyIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Kaler, DavidContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Kaluta, Michael Wm.Illustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Kane, GilIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Kashdan, GeorgeContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
King, CharlesContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Kirby, JackIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Miller, JackContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Morrow, GrayIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
O'Neil, DennyContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Oleck, JackContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Orlando, JoeIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Peppe, MikeIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Phillips, JackContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Pitt, StanleyIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Post, HowieContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Riefe, AlanContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Roussos, GeorgeIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Roy, MikeIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Saaf, ArtIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Sekowsky, MikeIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Seuling, PhilIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Sherman, HowardIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Skeates, SteveContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Sparling, JackIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Toth, AlexIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Tuska, GeorgeIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Wessler, CarlContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Whyte, RonContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Williamson, AlIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Wolfman, MarvContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Wood, WallyIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Wrightson, BernieIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
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"Pull up a broom and warm your hands over the cauldron as our cracking coven of caretakers serves up nineteen complete issues of The witching hour"--P. [4] of cover.

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