Welcome Back to the House of Mystery #1

(July 1998)

["Welcome to my private aviary behind the House of Mystery!"] (Table of Contents)

Cain / foreword, introduction, preface, afterword / 1 page (report information)

Credits

Script:

?

Pencils:

Bernie Wrightson (signed)

Inks:

Bernie Wrightson (signed)

Letters:

?

Content Information

Genre:

horror-suspense

Characters:

Cain; Gregory (gargoyle)

Synopsis:

Cain welcomes kids to his aviary and speaks of his poacher problem.

Reprints:

• from House of Mystery (DC, 1951 series) #203 (June 1972)
• in Neil Gaiman: Leyendas del Abismo (ECC Ediciones, 2012 series) #1 (Septiembre 2012)

Indexer Notes

Inside front cover introductory text and illustration with indicia information at bottom of page.

Welcome Back To... The House Of Mystery (Table of Contents)

Cain / comic story / 9 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Neil Gaiman

Pencils:

Sergio Aragones

Inks:

Sergio Aragones

Colors:

Tom Ziuko

Letters:

Todd Klein

Content Information

Genre:

humor

Characters:

Abel; Cain; Gregory (gargoyle); Phantom Stranger

Synopsis:

Cain reminisces and presents to us these tales from the past.

Reprints:

• in Neil Gaiman: Leyendas del Abismo (ECC Ediciones, 2012 series) #1 (Septiembre 2012)

Indexer Notes

Framing sequence.

["Right now, in the pages that follow you will encounter the following tales:"] (Table of Contents)

Cain / table of contents / 1 page (report information)

Credits

Script:

?

Pencils:

Bernie Wrightson [as Berni Wrightson] (signed)

Inks:

Bernie Wrightson [as Berni Wrightson] (signed)

Colors:

Tom Ziuko (color reconstruction)

Letters:

Todd Klein

Job Number:

J-3174

Content Information

Genre:

horror-suspense

Characters:

Abel; Cain

Synopsis:

Cain lists the credits in this issue's stories, while Abel is held prisoner in a giant water cooler.

Reprints:

• from House of Mystery (DC, 1951 series) #219 (October 1973) [art only]
• in Neil Gaiman: Leyendas del Abismo (ECC Ediciones, 2012 series) #1 (Septiembre 2012)

Indexer Notes

Reprinted introductory illustration with new text. Wrightson's signature is on a book spine at lower center and is actually spelled backwards and reads INREB NOSTHGIRW.

The Gourmet (Table of Contents)

Vernon Glute / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Steve Skeates

Pencils:

Bernie Wrightson [as Berni Wrightson]

Inks:

Bernie Wrightson [as Berni Wrightson]

Colors:

Tom Ziuko (color reconstruction)

Letters:

?

Content Information

Genre:

horror-suspense

Characters:

Abel; Cain (story host); Hormsley (servant); Vernon Glute

Synopsis:

Vernon Glute, a rich obese man, eats only the best of foods and consumes enormous quantities of fresh frog legs. One day he and his servant face the wrath of an army of legless frogs.

Reprints:

• from Plop! (DC, 1973 series) #1 (September-October 1973)

Sno' Fun! (Table of Contents)

Dr. Wallace B. Peterson / comic story / 9 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Sergio Aragones

Pencils:

Wally Wood

Inks:

Wally Wood

Colors:

Tom Ziuko (color reconstruction)

Letters:

?

Job Number:

J-878

Content Information

Genre:

horror-suspense

Characters:

Cain (story host); Gregory (gargoyle); Dr. Wallace B. Peterson (scientist); Professor Strauss (scientist)

Synopsis:

Dr. Wallace B. Peterson wants the fame of the discovery of a lost civilization in Antarctica for himself and so kills his colleague Professor Strauss. On the exploratory mission he is then captured and kept prisoner by that lost race of monstrous men who want to know everything about the outside world. A long time later he manages to escape but returning to civilization he doesn't feel well and goes to relax at the House of Mystery. There he finally melts to water having physically become like one of those lost men.

Reprints:

• from House of Mystery (DC, 1951 series) #199 (February 1972)

Nightmare (Table of Contents)

Judy / comic story / 12 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Jack Oleck

Pencils:

? (pg 1: Cain head); Neal Adams

Inks:

? (pg 1: Cain head); Dick Giordano

Colors:

Tom Ziuko (color reconstruction)

Letters:

?

Job Number:

J-138

Content Information

Genre:

horror-suspense

Characters:

Cain (story host); Judy; Judy's father; Miss Winter (governess); Pan (statue brought to life)

Synopsis:

A lonely little girl, Judy, seeks a friend and finds it in Pan, an animated statue. They play together in a fantasy world, but meantime in the real world she is struck by a fever and a doctor tries to cure her. As she improves, her father convinces her that Pan is just a statue. The statue, with a girl who's now grown up, sheds a tear.

Reprints:

• from House of Mystery (DC, 1951 series) #186 (May-June 1970)

Indexer Notes

Uncredited Cain head on the top of page one. Judy was modelled after Neal Adams' daughter Zeea Adams.

The Secret Of The Egyptian Cat (Table of Contents)

Isha / comic story / 10 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Robert Kanigher

Pencils:

Bernie Wrightson [as Berni Wrightson]

Inks:

Bernie Wrightson [as Berni Wrightson]

Colors:

Tom Ziuko (color reconstruction)

Letters:

?

Job Number:

J-226

Content Information

Genre:

horror-suspense

Characters:

Cain (story host); Isha (priestess); Konassos (sorcerer); Ra-Na (cat)

Synopsis:

To the House of Mystery comes Konassos, a sorcerer, with his white cat. Cain one night sees the cat transform into a woman who tells her tale. Isha, Egyptian priestess of the temple of Nu-Ta the Cat-God, is captured and held captive by Konassos. The sorcerer to better control her transforms the priestess into a white cat. Trapped in her feline form, Ra-Na a male cat escorts her but is then poisoned by the sorcerer. She plots her revenge and one day concocts a magical spell that transforms her back into a woman and Konassos into a mouse which she then introduces to Ra-Na's friends.

Reprints:

• from House of Mystery (DC, 1951 series) #186 (May-June 1970)

The House Of Endless Years (Table of Contents)

Judy and Peggy / comic story / 6.5 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Gerry Conway [as Gerard Conway]

Pencils:

Bill Draut

Inks:

Bill Draut

Colors:

Tom Ziuko (color reconstruction)

Letters:

?

Job Number:

J-3471

Content Information

Genre:

horror-suspense

Characters:

Cain (story host); Judy (girl); Neal (Peggy's brother); old hag; Peggy (girl); Tippy (Peggy's dog)

Synopsis:

Two girls, Judy and Peggy, in search of Peggy's lost brother Neal, enter an old house where lives an old hag who warns them to leave for their own good. They don't and find out that the evil house drains the life from those in it by leeching on their fear of death, condemning them to an endless eternity.

Reprints:

• from House of Secrets (DC, 1969 series) #83 (December 1969-January 1970)

Cain's True Things You Didn't Know About The House Of Mystery!!!! (Table of Contents)

Cain / comic story / 0.5 page (report information)

Credits

Script:

Neil Gaiman

Pencils:

Sergio Aragones

Inks:

Sergio Aragones

Colors:

Tom Ziuko

Letters:

Todd Klein

Content Information

Genre:

humor

Characters:

Cain

Synopsis:

Cain explains to us some "true things" about the House of Mystery comic.

Reprints:

• in Neil Gaiman: Leyendas del Abismo (ECC Ediciones, 2012 series) #1 (Septiembre 2012)

"The Demon Within!" (Table of Contents)

Gary Winters / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Joe Orlando (plot); John Albano (script)

Pencils:

Jim Aparo

Inks:

Jim Aparo

Colors:

Tom Ziuko (color reconstruction)

Letters:

Jim Aparo

Job Number:

J-1301

Content Information

Genre:

horror-suspense

Characters:

Cain (story host); Gary Winters (boy who can become a monster); Gary Winters (Gary's father); Kathy Winters (Gary's sister); Mildred Winters (Gary's mother)

Synopsis:

A boy who has magical powers, repeatedly transforms himself in public into a gruesome monster, terrifying everyone. His family decides first to cure him and then to have him lobotomized.

Reprints:

• from House of Mystery (DC, 1951 series) #201 (April 1972)

The Burning! (Table of Contents)

Adam Strat and Meg Cooper / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Jack Oleck

Pencils:

Mike Sekowsky

Inks:

Tom Palmer

Colors:

Tom Ziuko (color reconstruction)

Letters:

?

Job Number:

J-1664

Content Information

Genre:

horror-suspense

Characters:

Adam Strat; Cain (story host); Meg Cooper (witch)

Synopsis:

A man, without any memories, is apparently saved from death by Meg Cooper, an ugly witch. After having Meg make him a lot of gold he betrays her to the local village. She is tried and burned alive and Adam reverts to the straw man he was.

Reprints:

• from House of Mystery (DC, 1951 series) #206 (September 1972)

"His Name Is... Kane" (Table of Contents)

Gil Kane / comic story / 6.5 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Mike Friedrich

Pencils:

Gil Kane

Inks:

Wally Wood

Colors:

Tom Ziuko (color reconstruction)

Letters:

?

Job Number:

278

Content Information

Genre:

horror-suspense

Characters:

Abel; Carmine Infantino; Gil Kane; Joe Orlando

Synopsis:

Comic book artist Gil Kane feels wasted in the comic books he's drawing and tries to gain some privacy by going to the House of Mystery where he plans to write his own stories. There, however, his editor Joe Orlando scolds him until Gil Kane finally kills him. The editor and writer however exact their vengeance by drawing Gil Kane into his own artwork which is then framed by Abel on the walls of the House of Mystery.

Reprints:

• from House of Mystery (DC, 1951 series) #180 (May-June 1969)

Indexer Notes

The word "Cain!" appears in the story title, but is crossed out and replaced with "Kane".

Your Handy Cut-Out-And-Keep Guide To The House Of Mystery!! (Table of Contents)

The House Of Mystery / comic story / 0.5 page (report information)

Credits

Script:

Neil Gaiman

Pencils:

Sergio Aragones

Inks:

Sergio Aragones

Colors:

Tom Ziuko

Letters:

Todd Klein

Content Information

Genre:

humor

Synopsis:

A guide to the rooms inside the House of Mystery.

Reprints:

• in Neil Gaiman: Leyendas del Abismo (ECC Ediciones, 2012 series) #1 (Septiembre 2012)

Oh, Mom! Oh, Dad! You've Sent Me Away To Summer Camp... And I'm So Sad! (Table of Contents)

Richard / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Michael Fleisher; Maxene Fabe

Pencils:

Alex Nino

Inks:

Alex Nino

Colors:

Tom Ziuko (color reconstruction)

Letters:

Alex Nino

Job Number:

J-1759

Content Information

Genre:

horror-suspense

Characters:

camp kids [Richard ("Richie", boy in wheelchair); Timmy; Tony; and others]; counselor Bill; counselor Dave; counselor Larry; head counselor Ressler

Synopsis:

Little wheelchair-bound Richard is left by his parents at a strange summer camp. After one of the kids apparently drowns in a lake, the others begin murdering, one by one, the counselors, thinking they are aliens out to conquer the earth. Richard then tells this to the head counselor, but the other kids find out and want to kill him. As Richard flees he finds out that the counselors really were aliens, who then escape into outer space carrying away the entire camp to an unknown faraway destination.

Reprints:

• from House of Mystery (DC, 1951 series) #212 (March 1973)

Molded In Evil (Table of Contents)

Pierre Gouny / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Credits

Script:

Ed Noonchester (idea); George Kashdan

Pencils:

Bernie Wrightson [as Berni Wrightson]

Inks:

Bernie Wrightson [as Berni Wrightson]

Colors:

Tom Ziuko (color reconstruction)

Letters:

?

Job Number:

J-3283

Content Information

Genre:

humor; horror-suspense

Characters:

Cain (story host); Clothilde (Pierre Gouny's wife); Pierre Gouny (sculptor)

Synopsis:

In 1850 Paris, Pierre Gouny, a sculptor, secretly discovers how to make statues come alive. His wife Clothilde, though, wants him to concentrate only on gargoyle statues that bring in the money. Exasperated, the sculptor makes a statue of a woman, so as to escape with her. His wife destroys it prompting him to murder and conceal her, ironically, inside a gargoyle statue which then comes alive making Pierre himself part of a sculpture.

Reprints:

• from Plop! (DC, 1973 series) #5 (May-June 1974)