TP Comics

This month we take a look at some of the classic Horror Comics Hosts and Hostesses from DC Comics, Charlton Comics, and other companies.  Okay, I'm cheating on this one... "Fritz the Nite Owl" is stage name of Frederick C. Peerenboom, the host of Nite Owl Theatre on WBNS-10 TV in the Columbus, Ohio, market from 1974 to 1991.  I share the story of meeting Fritz here.    As mentioned in that blog, Fritz appeared as himself in a number of issues of The Power of Shazam!, featuring the super-hero known then as Captain Marvel.   So Fritz was both a host (of a show that often featured horror movies) and a character in a comic book.  Like I said, I'm cheating on this one. Fritz is seen in the circle below, along with other characters from the series in this panel from the final issue of The Power of Shazam!

This month we take a look at some of the classic Horror Comics Hosts and Hostesses from DC Comics, Charlton Comics, and other companies.  Many of DC's horror hosts moved on to other things when their books were cancelled.  Madame Xanadu is one of them.  In fact, it wasn't until writing this blog that I learned she was once a horror host.  She first appeared in Doorway to Nightmare #1, cover dated February 1978. Madame Xanadu had an unassuming shop on Christy Street in New York's Old East Village.  The name on the window read "Madame Xanadu, Advisor."  A sign on the door read "Enter Freely and Unafraid."  Some who tried to enter found the door locked.  Those who were in true need of her services were able to enter.  For some, the door was a gateway to realized dreams... to others, it was a Doorway to Nightmare... Madame Xanadu was a little different from the other hosts we've covered so far; she was a character in the storyline, rather than a...

This month we take a look at some of the classic Horror Comics Hosts and Hostesses from DC Comics, Charlton Comics, and other companies.  Plop! ended with the Nov./December 1976 issue.    The House of Secrets  ended with issue #154 dated Nov. 1978.  The House of Mystery ended with issue #321 dated October 1983. House of Mystery returned as Elvira's House of Mystery with a new #1, promoted as a Halloween 1985 issue.  Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, happened upon the House while fleeing from a blood-thirsty mob.  By the end of the issue, Elvira told the House, "This place is my destiny... I think me an' this ol' house will be together... a long, long time!" In Elvira's case, a long, long time was only 11 issues plus one special. The title remained a horror anthology.  The stories in a number of issues had a unifying theme, like "Wild West" or "Samurai."  Issue #3 was published without the Comics Code Authority seal.  Issue #6 was printed ...

This month we take a look at some of the classic Horror Comics Hosts and Hostesses from DC Comics, Charlton Comics, and other companies.  Cain... Abel... If you guessed the next host would be little brother Seth, you get points for knowing Genesis, but that is not the correct answer.  Our host, or hostess, rather tonight is Eve.  (But you knew that already, because I put it in the title...).  DC Comics' Eve is the cousin of Cain and Abel, at least according to Who's Who.    According to sources, Eve hosted both Secrets of Sinister House and Weird Mystery Tales for a time.  I am most familiar with her appearances in PLOP! , a DC humor comic in the vein of MAD magazine, where she was often depicted by  Sergio Aragonés .   PLOP! also featured Cain and Abel.   

This month we take a look at some of the classic Horror Comics Hosts and Hostesses from DC Comics, Charlton Comics, and other companies.  Like their biblical namesakes, Abel, caretaker of the House of Secrets, appeared sometime after his brother Cain.  According to several sources, Abel made his first appearance in the re-booted House of Secrets issue #81, cover dated August-September 1969.   Peter Sanderson writes about Cain in Who's Who in the DC Universe: "Abel is an ineffectual coward, who cannot hope to outwit his crafty brother.  Surprisingly sensitive for a man who takes such pleasure in horror stories and agonizingly lonely, Abel is anguished by his constant torment at his brother's hands.  Yet Abel remains pathetically devoted to Cain, despite his better judgement, since Cain is the closest thing to a human friend that he has."   The House of Secrets is located near The House of Mystery.  "Originally built by a mysterious Senator S...

This month we take a look at some of the classic Horror Comics Hosts and Hostesses from DC Comics, Charlton Comics, and other companies.  The House of Mystery comic book had a decades-long run before its host was introduced.  Cain, the "able caretaker" made his debut in issue #175, cover dated August 1968.  The preceding issue marked a return to the horror theme of the book, after the title had focused on science fiction stories for a time. Issue #175 also introduced Cain's pet gargoyle in part of that issue's second feature, "The House of Gargoyles."  Cain also had a cat named Oskar. In addition to introducing the stories, Cain lent his name to humor pages like "Cain's Game Room" and "true" horror stories in "Cain's True Case Files." Of Cain, Peter Sanderson writes, "It has been suggested that Cain suffers from severe mood swings.  In the past he has often appeared to be a jovial, strange, but ultimately harmless ...