DC Showcase Presents: Secrets of Sinister House - 1970s Horror comic Collection

Back in the 1970s when I was a kid and was reading comics, I was only interested in superheroes. But after I turned 13 and had my first paranormal experience, ghosts began to interest me. Although I didn't read the paranormal-tinged comics then, I've enjoyed them as an adult in collections like DC Showcase Presents: Secrets of Sinister House.

In the mid-late 2000s, DC Comics published 500-page volumes of classic comic books in black and white under the "DC Showcase presents" title, giving new fans a chance to read classics. It was a great idea, and sadly, now they are out of print. Fortunately, I was able to get a copy of "Secrets of Sinister House, a 1970s Horror comic collection of comic book issues #1-18 that only ran from 1972 to 1974.

The series was originally titled "Sinister House of Secret Love" and was a Gothic grotesquery. By issue number five it changed titles to "Secrets of Sinister House" and became more of a horror comic without the gothic romance (and a much better comic!).

It's a great collection, and after issue #5 once the title changed, the stories are short and imaginative! Well worth a read.

A Good Graphic Novel: The Creature Commandos (soon to be an animated movie)

 As a paranormal enthusiast and a lover of comic books, The Creature Commandos seemed like a good fit. About five years ago started reading silver age (1970s and 1980s) DC Comics "horror comics" - and have loved the "Ghosts" series. One title I missed was "Weird War" which mixed the supernatural with war stories (which I've never cared for, but have now found some to be creative). Today's blog is about a Graphic Novel collection of a series within that Weird War series, which will now be made into an animated film next year from DC Comics. 

The "Weird War" series introduced a group of soldiers that are similar to a vampire, a Frankenstein monster, a werewolf, and Medusa (with the hair of poisonous snakes). They're called the "Creature Commandos." They had a run in "Weird War" for about 20 issues or so, and they were led by a soldier who was, well, a jerk. That's the only characterization that bothered me, because the soldier kept calling them freaks, and expected them to respect him (to me he was an idiot). Regardless, the stories are creative and the supernatural aspect makes the World War Two stories more interesting. It's about a grade B, in my opinion. (Honestly, I like the Weird War stories that didn't have these characters and were just weird and supernatural).

I read this collection because the new guy at the helm of DC Comics films wants to make an animated movie of this group (and I had never heard of them before this collection came out after his announcement).  The collection was entertaining, and perhaps the animated film will be, too.  

ABOUT THE BOOK: In one of DC's strangest comics ever, a werewolf, a vampire, a gorgon, and Frankenstein's monster fight the German forces during World War II. Originally published in the early 1980s, The Creature Commandos laid the groundwork for recent series like FRANKENSTEIN, AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E. Collects WEIRD WAR TALES #93, 97, 100, 102, 105, 108-112, 114-119, 121 and 124.