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31 Nights of Horror Hosts | Night 16 | Dr. E. Leopold Maas

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This month we take a look at some of the classic Horror Comics Hosts and Hostesses from DC Comics, Charlton Comics, and other companies.  Of all the DC Comics horror hosts, the most mysterious may be Dr. E. Leopold Maas.  He only appeared in a few comic books and his first appearance is not in a comic, but rather in a Jack Kirby magazine titled Spirit World, which lasted only one issue (Fall 1971).  For the rest of the fascinating story of Spirit World, please visit TwoMorrows Publishing's Jack Kirby Collector #13.  You can read the article here. To do the research for this blog, I had to acquire a copy of Spirit World #1.  It was not cheap, but the hardcover collection which reprints the issue was even more expensive. In the first story in Spirit World, Dr. Maas introduces himself: "I'm Doctor E. Leopold Maas!  My area of interest is the young but fast-developing form of rational inquiry known as parapsychology!!!  Essentially, I try to separate the ...
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31 Nights of Horror Hosts | Night 15 | Squire Shade

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This month we take a look at some of the classic Horror Comics Hosts and Hostesses from DC Comics, Charlton Comics, and other companies.  Squire Shade was the host of Ghosts, beginning with issue #104, cover dated Sept. 1981.  He continued to host the book until its final issue #112, cover dated May 1982.   Squire Shade bears a strong resemblance to the villain Gentleman Ghost, who was created earlier and has achieved more notoriety, even appearing on the Super Friends cartoon.
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31 Nights of Horror Hosts | Night 14 | Mad Mod Witch

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This month we take a look at some of the classic Horror Comics Hosts and Hostesses from DC Comics, Charlton Comics, and other companies.  As we get into the lesser-known DC horror hosts, it becomes more and more difficult to find out about these mysterious entities.  Consider the Mad Mod Witch.  She appeared in a handful of issues of The Unexpected, beginning with issue #108, cover dated September 1968.  I will allow her to introduce herself.
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31 Nights of Horror Hosts | Night 13 | Death

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This month we take a look at some of the classic Horror Comics Hosts and Hostesses from DC Comics, Charlton Comics, and other companies.  Weird War Tales lasted a surprisingly long time.  The first issue was cover dated (appropriately) October 1971 and the final issue #124 cover dated June 1983.  The host of the book was Death, Grim Reaper-type skeleton, who wore a variety of military uniforms.   Weird War Tales enjoyed a revival in 1997 under the Vertigo imprint.  One-shot specials were released in 2000 and 2010.  
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31 Nights of Horror Hosts | Night 12 | Lucien

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This month we take a look at some of the classic Horror Comics Hosts and Hostesses from DC Comics, Charlton Comics, and other companies.  Tales of Ghost Castle #1 was cover dated June 1975.  Two additional issues followed, and the series ended cover date October 1975.  All three issues are available digitally and this would be a good starter series if you are new to horror comics.  Lucien was the name of the host of the title.  He was featured post-Crisis* in Neil Gaiman's Sandman comic. Lucien describes himself as the librarian and guardian of Ghost Castle, located in Transylvania and "abandoned by both sides after World War II."  He is seen with his "pet" werewolf, Rover. *Pre-Crisis and Post-Crisis are references used by comic book nerds, in the same way scholars use B.C. and A.D. or B.C.E. and C.E.  The Crisis in this case is the Crisis on Infinite Earths from 1985, one of the ways DC celebrated its 50th Anniversary.
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31 Nights of Horror Hosts | Night 11 | Destiny

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This month we take a look at some of the classic Horror Comics Hosts and Hostesses from DC Comics, Charlton Comics, and other companies.  Appearing in Weird Mystery Tales #1 (Aug. 1972) was Destiny, "whose fate is to walk alone throughout eternity and observe the follies and mysteries of mankind, and to note them all in the cosmic log."  The cosmic log is also known as the Book of Souls. Destiny crossed over into the mainstream DC Universe in Superman and the Tales of the Teen Titans .  He was also included in The History of the DC Universe Vol. 1 (below). Later in Neil Gaiman's Sandman series, Destiny was the brother of the title character known also as Dream or Morpheus.  Other siblings included Death, Destruction, Delirium, Desire, and Despair.  As noted previously, Gaiman incorporated many of the other horror hosts into his storyline as well.       
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31 Nights of Horror Hosts | Night 10 | Fritz the Nite Owl

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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!
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