House of Mystery #184

House of Mystery #184 (On Sale: November 6, 1969) has a cover by Neal Adams.

We begin with "Turner's Treasure" by Jack Oleck and Alex Toth. This features ten pages of wonderful Toth artwork and begins with an 11th page by Toth that acts as an introduction. Philosophy professor Paul Turner resigns from his position on State U's faculty to head to Egypt in search of treasure. Paul and his wife, Anne, eventually find the treasure, which Paul decides to sneak out of Egypt so he can keep it all for himself. What Paul does not know is that the treasure is cursed and all who have touched it, in Egypt and America, are quickly killed.

Paul sets up a sale for the rest of his treasure with a fence who informs the police and the Egyptian authorities of Paul's theft. When Paul comes back later to complete the deal, he is met by police, whom he runs from. He hides under a pier, hanging from a beam, but after the police leave the beam snaps under the weight of the treasure, which Paul refuses to let go of even as it pulls him to his death.

For some reason, there is a Page 13 by Joe Orlando and Sergio Aragones embedded in the middle of the Toth story, which is immediately followed by a Cain's Game Room by Sergio Aragones.

We end with the ten-page "The Eyes of the Basilisk" by E. Nelson Bridwell, Gil Kane and Wally Wood. The kingdom of Karenek is threatened by a giant serpent all the Basilisk, who kills anything that looks into its eyes.  An old man in the kingdom relates a tale of his youth how the Basilisk ravaged the land but was killed with a spear by Prince Henvist, who was poisoned by the beast even as he killed it. In fear the people leave the Basilisk alone in his valley and it soon becomes a place of death. King Ludro is talked into telling the people that anyone who slays the beast will marry his daughter and succeed him on the throne.

Many from the surrounding lands try, but all are killed by the eyes of the Basilisk. Ulfar, the son of a nobleman is able to use a highly polished shield to reflect the Basilisk's eyes back on itself, killing it. He is hailed as the next king and when asked how it was to look into the creature's eyes, he replies he does not know, as he is blind. A fairly silly story but some nice artwork by Gil Kane and Wally Wood make it more than worth it.

The entire book is reprinted in Showcase Presents: The House of Mystery Vol. 1 TPB.

Edited by Joe Orlando.