XOW Logo
  • Location
    • Home
    • Issue Detail, List Content Items
in for
   
by
Facebook Logo
Report a Bug Ask for Support Review Site Apply to be an Editor
Issue: DC Special #4
Publication Date: July 1969
Previous Base Issue Previous Issue Variant Next Issue Variant Next Base Issue
 
Disclose Detail
Issues: #4 of 29 Issues
Title:
Variant: unnamed
Rating: Approved by the Comics Code Authority
Publisher: FlagDC
Brand: Superman DC National ComicsView Brand Images3
Indicia Publisher: National Periodical Publications Inc.
On Sale Date: 05/22/1969
Volume: none
Pages: 68
ISBN: none
UPC/EAN: none
Price: $0.25 USD
Indicia Frequency: Approved by the Comics Code Authority
Content Items: 16 (15 stories, 1 cover)
Editor(s):  
Disclose Notes: On-sale date from copyright registration.

First appearance of Abel is in this issue. Abel next appeared in House of Secrets in #81 which came out two weeks after this issue.
  Does this data need corrections? Become an editor.
Disclose Format
Publication Type: Comic Book
Color: color
Dimensions: standard Silver Age U.S.
Paper Stock: glossy cover; newsprint interior
Binding: squarebound; saddle-stitched
Publishing Format: was ongoing series
Format Notes:  
Disclose Reprinted In0
There is currently no data for this Issue being reprinted anywhere.
Disclose Reprinted From13
Disclose Images1
Cover, Front
Original Artwork
Digital Edition
Adult Image
Title Page
Indicia on this Page
 
 
Assets1
Indicia
 
 
spacer
Disclose Content Items (16 total)
Disclose Issue Images
13 Shock-Ending Stories 13

Illustration  on  Cover, Front
Credits
Colorist(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
First Line: Let the secret trial begin!
Synopsis: The children watch a trial...and are also watched.
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Job Number: J332
Disclose
13 Shock-Ending Stories 13

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Colorist(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
Character(s): Cain (host of House of Mystery); Abel (future host of House of Secrets); Cynthia (co-hostess of The Witching Hour); Mildred (co-hostess of The Witching Hour); Mordred (co-hostess of The Witching Hour); Judge Gallows (from The Unexpected); the Phantom Stranger; various unnamed children
First Line: This is a haunted gouse...
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 8.33
Job Number: J 327 + J 328
Disclose Notes: Framing sequence running throughout the book where each named character takes turns telling stories to try and scare the children, with the final story being told by the Phantom Stranger.
Disclose
Ghost Writer

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Colorist(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: horror
First Line: He sure is funny!
Synopsis: Billy Conway; Mike Foster (death)
Reprinting
From Content Item: FlagHouse of Mystery #9 published December 1952
was Ghost Writer [Story on Interior Page(s)]with splash panel removed
Reprint Notes: Billy Conway kills his ghost writer Foster – just because he wanted to be credited! Conway is visited by a ghostly audience exposing him as the murderer.
Miscellaneous
Pages: 3.33
Disclose
The Magic Hammer!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Colorist(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: fantasy
Character(s): Gerald Bard; Thor; Loki
First Line: Look what I have found...
Synopsis: Gerald Bard finds Thor's hammer and uses it as a rainmaker, but Thor arrives to retrieve it. The story explains that Thor’s hammer was stolen from him by Loki.
Reprinting
From Content Item: FlagTales of the Unexpected #16 published August 1957
was The Magic Hammer [Story on Interior Page(s)]splash panel removed
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 5.33
Disclose Notes: Thor precursor. Jack Kirby designs Thor’s Hammer, Mjolnir the same exact way he would design Marvel Thor’s Mjolnir in Journey into Mystery (Marvel, 1952 series) #83 and tests both Mjolnir’s against a tree as per Comic Book Historians article researched by Alex Grand.

Loki story precursor. Jack Kirby reuses this story of Loki stealing the Hammer for the plot of Journey into Mystery (Marvel, 1952 series) #92 as per Comic Book Historians article researched by Alex Grand.
Disclose
A Piece of Rope!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Penciller(s): ?
Inker(s): ?
Colorist(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: fantasy
Character(s): George Hackett
First Line: One bleak September day...
Synopsis: While rummaging through the house of a deceased man, reporter George Hackett finds a treasure, and commits a crime trying to get his hands on it.
Reprinting
From Content Item: FlagHouse of Mystery #5 published August 1952
was A Piece of Rope! [Story on Interior Page(s)]splash panel removed
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 3.33
Disclose
"Last Mile" Martin

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Colorist(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: fantasy
Character(s): Tom Harris; James Martin
First Line: Tom Harris is my name...
Synopsis: The murderer James Martin is pardoned because the electric chair is not functioning. Stepping outside he is killed accidentally by a ricocheting bullet.
Reprinting
From Content Item: FlagHouse of Mystery #15 published June 1953
was "Last Mile" Martin [Story on Interior Page(s)]splash panel removed
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 3.33
Disclose
The Dream Lamp

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Colorist(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: fantasy
Character(s): Cyrus Perkins; Hiram; Walker; Marston
First Line: Jolly old Cyrus Perkins claimed...
Synopsis: Cyrus Perkins experiences his adventures through the help of a "dream lamp.
Reprinting
From Content Item: FlagTales of the Unexpected #1 published February 1956
was The Dream Lamp [Story on Interior Page(s)]splash panel modified
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 6
Disclose
Door of No Return?

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: fantasy
Character(s): Don Miguel
First Line: Years ago in a village near Barcelona...
Synopsis: Don Miguel learns a valuable lesson after he tries to cheat a poor village out of a magical artifact which nearly traps him in another dimension.
Reprinting
From Content Item: FlagHouse of Secrets #62 published September 1963
was Door of No Return [Story on Interior Page(s)]page 1 condensed
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1.67
Disclose
Beware After Dark!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Colorist(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: fantasy
Character(s): Mary Dutton; Jimmy
First Line: Twelve times the Phantom Prowler had struck...
Synopsis: Mrs. Dutton's cat Wendy is in reality a shape-shifting alien from the planet Deneb. At night it leaves the house and goes on a killing spree to decimate human life.
Reprinting
From Content Item: FlagSensation Mystery #114 published March 1953
was Beware after Dark! [Story on Interior Page(s)]page 1 condensed
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 5.5
Disclose Notes: Keith Chandler : The pencils look less like Infantino and more like Toth.
Disclose
The Tree Man of Tanganyika!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Colorist(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: fantasy
Character(s): Evans; Kirby; Mogando (a tree man)
First Line: One day, in Tanganyika Territory...
Reprinting
From Content Item: FlagHouse of Mystery #30 published September 1954
was The Terrible Tree-Man of Tanganyika! [Story on Interior Page(s)]1st panel removed
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1.67
Disclose Notes: Keith Chandler : The original title was 'The Terrible Tree-Man of Tanganyika!'
Disclose
Written in the Sands!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Colorist(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: fantasy
Character(s): Ezekial Green; Wilbur Link
First Line: Although he didn't know it at the time...
Reprinting
From Content Item: FlagHouse of Mystery #26 published May 1954
was Written in the Sands! [Story on Interior Page(s)]1st panel modified
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1.67
Disclose Notes: Keith Chandler : If this IS, as claimed, by George Papp, it's a radical change from his usual style.
Disclose
The Secret of Salzo the Great!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Colorist(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: fantasy
Character(s): Salzo the Great; Inspector Tissot; Irene
First Line: And now, ladies and gentlemen...
Synopsis: Stage magician Salzo commits crimes by hypnotizing his victims.
Reprinting
From Content Item: FlagHouse of Mystery #2 published February 1952
was The Secret of Salzo the Great! [Story on Interior Page(s)]1st panel modified
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 3.67
Disclose
Blakjelly Beens

Text Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Letterer(s): typeset
Subject Matter
Genres: fantasy
First Line: Deer Harlan [sic]...
Reprinting
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose Notes: Letter to Harlan from Egor.
Disclose
Secret Locked in the Ice!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: fantasy
Character(s): Police Officer Emile Valois; Hugo Dulac
First Line: On a wind-whipped cliff...
Synopsis: A thief returns to the Alps to recover stolen money previously lost there, but the search ends in his capture.
Reprinting
From Content Item: FlagHouse of Secrets #63 published November 1963
was Secret Locked in the Ice [Story on Interior Page(s)]title removed and 2nd page condensed
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1.5
Disclose
The Bullet Man!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Colorist(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: fantasy
Character(s): Chick Durant; Paul Vickery
First Line: Chick Durant was a four-time loser...
Synopsis: Due to a mixture of elements from a meteorite and scrap metal from an atomic research lab in his ID tag, inmate Chick Durant is able to leave his cell for 25 minutes at a time. But Durant is stuck on an uncharted island when he reshapes his tag, altering the mixture.
Reprinting
From Content Item: FlagTales of the Unexpected #17 published September 1957
was The Bullet Man [Story on Interior Page(s)]splash panel removed
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 5.33
Disclose
The Strange Faces of Death!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Colorist(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: fantasy
Character(s): Elmo Hackett; Roger Dale; Lord Delbert; Harvey Black; Howard Towne; Jonas Laird
First Line: These aren't simply death masks...
Synopsis: Elmo Hackett, collector of death masks of people who died unnatural deaths, leads the reader through his exhibition. Until he finds his own mask on display.
Reprinting
From Content Item: FlagHouse of Mystery #19 published October 1953
was The Strange Faces of Death! [Story on Interior Page(s)]splash panel reduced and each tier moved up one spot
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 5.67

Site designed and hosted by XOWTech, Inc..
Any questions or problems with this site should be directed to REMOVE-webmaestro-THESE@xowcomics.com.

XOW, XOWComics.com, XOWTech and XOWTech.com are registered trademarks of XOWTech, Inc.
© XOWTech, Inc., 2010 - 2025. All rights reserved.

Some data courtesy of the Grand Comics Database under a Creative Commons Attribution license.