With the nation’s housing woes, it’s nice to know at least one abode hasn’t lost its value: SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY: VOLUME 3. This is yet another 500-plus-page volume of early ’70s horror/suspense goodness from DC Comics.
In it, you get dozens upon dozens tales of terror (tame, of course, but wonderfully so), sporting such residents as greedy boyfriends (lots and lots of those, actually), creepy summer campers, werewolves, circus daredevils, pacts with Satan (those never go well), alien powers, vampires, ghosts, voodoo curses, swamp gods, mass murderers, ocean monsters and messages from the beyond.
Of particular note is a circus-themed #221, which of course allows for clowns. The Spectre appears in a story about an evil magician, and The Phantom Stranger shows up for a couple of tales, too.
The best issues are the last three, which were part of DC’s 100-pages-for-60-cents line. It’s amusing to see “The Curse of the MacIntyres” plugged as “a full-length Gothic novel” at all of 25 pages, but it’s among the very best in the collection.
Sergio Aragonés again contributes the occasional page or two of wordless gags, and a few puzzle pages are strewn throughout as well. Sold! —Rod Lott
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS SERIES:
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS BATGIRL: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS BATMAN: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS BATMAN: VOLUME 2
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD BATMAN TEAM-UPS: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD BATMAN TEAM-UPS: VOLUME 2
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD BATMAN TEAM-UPS: VOLUME 3
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE ELONGATED MAN: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS ENEMY ACE: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS GREEN ARROW: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE HAUNTED TANK: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS HAWKMAN: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY: VOLUME 2
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE HOUSE OF SECRETS: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS JONAH HEX: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES: VOLUME 2
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS METAMORPHO: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE PHANTOM STRANGER: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE PHANTOM STRANGER: VOLUME 2
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS SGT. ROCK: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS SHAZAM!: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS SUPERMAN FAMILY: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE WAR THAT TIME FORGOT: VOLUME 1
