All-Star Western #8

All-Star Western #8 (On Sale: August 5, 1971), has an Outlaw cover by Tony DeZuniga.

We begin with Outlaw: Billy the Kid in "The Scavenger" by John Albano and Tony DeZuniga. Billy the Kid gets arrested for gunning down two men and is locked up with a one-eyed scavenger who tries to take her boots. However, when the Sheriff gets mixed up, the one-eyed man stabs the Sheriff and takes his boots instead. Billy and the scavenger then decide to escape jail together.

However, when making their escape, they are stopped by robbers who want to know the location of where the scavenger hid their loot. When they find out that Billy is a girl, the scavenger talks them into drawing against her, Billy, with the scavenger's help, gets the draw on them and shoots them all dead. The scavenger then tells Billy to leave without him as he's going to occupy himself with the pickings of the dead, but in reality, the scavenger was only making an excuse to stay behind and hold the law that is after Billy occupied while she got away. Reprinted in Showcase Presents Jonah Hex Vol. 1 TPB (2006).

Next up is Buffalo Bill in "The Magic Thunderstick" by Dave Wood and Joe Kubert and reprinted from Frontier Fighters #3 (1956).

Our next reprint is Pow-Wow Smith in "The Sheriff's Birthday Party" by Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino and reprinted from Western Comics #78 (1959). 

Next, we have "Timber Wolf" drawn by Gil Kane and Tony DeZuniga. Ben Armstrong is herding a steer and a cow to his ranch when a timber wolf starts hunting them.

We end this El Diablo-less issue with Davy Crockett in "The Renegade Fur-Traders" drawn by John Prentice and reprinted from Frontier Fighters #6 (1956).

Edited by Joe Orlando.

House of Secrets #94

House of Secrets #94 (On Sale: August 3, 1971), has a gorgeous Mr. Hyde cover by Berni Wrightson.

We begin with "The Man with My Face" by Gerry Conway and Jack Sparling. A gambler agrees to switch bodies with a mysterious stranger in exchange for a lucky silver dollar which allows him to never lose a bet.

That is followed by "Hyde -- and Go Seek" by Len Wein and Tony DeZuniga. A henpecked police officer is shocked to find out his best friend was searching for a cure for drug addiction and developed a serum that transformed him into a strangler that chooses his victims among girls who reminded him of his wife who left him. After the police manage to shoot him at last the dying man tells his friend where the vial of serum is located and begs him to destroy it. 

After he returns to his shrew wife who is telling him about how she's already spent his bonus for solving the case, he withdraws the serum from his coat pocket and drinks it down. Reprinted in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #24 (1982).

Next up we have "The Day Nobody Died" drawn by George Roussos and reprinted from Tales of the Unexpected #9 (1957). A man is certain no one will die today because he is Death and it's his day off.

That brings us to  "Track of the Invisible Beast" drawn by Alex Toth and reprinted from House of Mystery #109 (1961).

We end this issue with "A Bottle of Incense.. a Whiff of the Past" by Gerry Conway, Alan Weiss, and Berni Wrightson. An old woman who lost a man she fancied in an auto accident fifty years ago uses an occult ritual to return him to her, but he returns as a hungry zombie who devours her. Reprinted in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #17 (1982).

Entire issue reprinted in Showcase Presents: The House of Secrets Vol. 1 TPB (2008).

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Phantom Stranger #15

Phantom Stranger #15 (On Sale: July 13, 1971), has another beautiful cover by Neal Adams.

We begin with "The Iron Messiah" plotted by Joe Orlando, scripted by Len Wein, and drawn by Jim Aparo. John Kweli has returned to Africa to visit his home village and finds it in conflict with a land developer who is trying to claim the land by any means possible. When diplomacy with the owner of the company doesn't work, John creates the Iron Messiah, a robot based on their tribe's god Chuma, and based on his own personality.

Things get complicated when the Iron Messiah develops feelings for John's lover Ororo, however, her love is spurned. The Phantom Stranger, who has been watching and helping John whenever there was danger tries to convince the Iron Messiah to act like a man. The robot helps the villagers fight off their opposition, however, in a moment of jealousy it kills John in cold blood. The villagers don't react to this very well and destroy the robot with grenades. Reprinted in Showcase Presents Phantom Stranger Vol. 1 TPB (2006).

Next up is "I Battled for the Doom-Stone" by France Herron and Alex Toth and reprinted from My Greatest Adventure #61 (1961). An explorer discovers that a missing scientist has undergone a fantastic transformation.

That brings us to the other new tale in this issue, Doctor 13 in "Satan's Sextet" by Robert Kanigher and Tony DeZuniga. Dr. Thirteen is asked to stop a group called Satan's Sextet, a musical group that somehow manages to take control of their audiences and make them walk out into the ocean to drown. Thirteen learns their secret: bead and flower necklaces given to the audience members have a hallucinogenic effect on the audience.

Breaking free of their control, Dr. Thirteen goes after the members of Satan's Sextet. Taking them off guard and easily knocks them all out, turning them over to the police after. Reprinted in Showcase Presents Phantom Stranger Vol. 1 TPB (2006).

Our final story is Mark Merlin in "I Scout Earth's Strangest Secrets" by Bob Haney and Mort Meskin and reprinted from House of Secrets #23 (1959). Mark Merlin, the private investigator of the supernatural, takes on several cases that appear to have unnatural explanations. Some of the cases have a natural explanation, such as mountainside creatures that are really just large shadows. In another case, Mark is able to expose a deliberate hoax. Mark proves that a museum, which is believed to be haunted, has actually been the victim of a hoax using magnets to move metal objects invisibly.

Merlin also has a "Question Mark File" containing cases he can not explain or classify. In one such case, a strange creature is found in an unmapped cave. When Mark investigates he falls through a seam in the rock and discovers an entire species of giant single-celled creatures. The creatures attack him, but he seals off the seam, trapping them inside.

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love #1

Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love #1 (On Sale: July 13, 1971), has a cover by George Ziel. This is our third new title of the month, though this one, and the whole gothic romance genre would not survive for long. The genre failed to catch on, but I give DC a lot of credit for attempting to expand what a comic book could be.

Unlike the rest of the DC line though, this book was all new. "The Mystery of the Missing Bride" is written by Dorothy Woolfolk and Ethan C. Mordden and drawn by Tony DeZuniga. Laura Chandler comes to Langfrey House to attend the funeral of her friend Bettina, and accepts an offer to live and work there so she can investigate how Bettina died. However, the many secrets of the Langfrey family may prove fatal to her before she can discover the truth.

Edited by Dorothy Woolfolk.

Ghosts #1

Ghosts #1 (On Sale: July 1, 1971), has a cover by Nick Cardy.

I guess I was one of the few readers who were bored by just about every book Murray Boltioff was editor of except the Brave and the Bold. Since it was mainstream DC, I bought this series but never cared for it at all, and the gimmick of "true" stories just made it even worse. Despite how I felt about it, this title would last for over eleven years.

Interesting tidbit: The indicia reads just Ghost, with a lot of white space on both sides of the word. The cover and later issues read as Ghosts. It appears that the book was at first to be titled True Ghost Stories, thus the white space in the indicia, but then it was changed to just Ghosts. When they updated the indicia they whited out "True" and "Stories," but they forgot to add the "s."

We begin with a one-page introduction to ghosts drawn by Tony DeZuniga.

Our first take is "Death's Bridegroom" by Leo Dorfman and Jim Aparo. The police discover the body of a young woman who committed suicide, with a note saying she took her own life because the man she was engaged to only courted her to steal her life savings and leave her penniless in a tenement. The swindler who stole from her ends up lost in a fog as he skips town, and comes across a mansion owned by a strange beautiful woman who claims to be waiting for her long-lost fiance. She seems the perfect new target to him, but little does he know she and her home have long rotted away and with his proposal, he joins her in the fog. Reprinted in Limited Collectors' Edition C-32 (1974).

That is followed by "Ghost in the Iron Coffin" by Leo Dorfman and Sam Glanzman. A resistance fighter is caught and executed while trying to sabotage a Nazi U-Boat but haunts the vessel killing its crew until he's able to use his spiritual powers to turn the U-Boat's own torpedoes against it and destroy it.

Next up is our first reprint: "The Tattooed Terror" by John Broome, Carmine Infantino, and Sy Barry and reprinted from Sensation Mystery #112 (1952).

We have another reprint up next in "The Last Dream" by John Broome, Carmine Infantino, and Frank Giacoia and reprinted from Sensation Comics #107 (1952). Tybalt Fletcher, the last of his line, dies in a feud with the Beaumont clan. His ghost then spends the next 400 years killing Beaumonts with the pistol he requested to be buried with.

We end with "The Spectral Coachman" by Leo Dorfman and Tony DeZuniga. Tombstone, Arizona, draws its name from the town graveyard where the greatest badmen of the west are buried. But tonight one of them lives again when a young modern prospector is rescued from a pack of wolves by the ghost of a long-dead stagecoach driver. Reprinted in Limited Collectors' Edition C-32 (1974).

All of the new material was reprinted in Showcase Presents Ghosts Vol. 1 TPB (2012).

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

DC 100-Page Super Spectacular #5

DC 100-Page Super Spectacular #5 (On Sale: July 1, 1971), has a Love Stories cover by Bob Oksner. In this second issue of the comic, they had still not figured out they needed wrap-around covers.

This is a strange book. Unlike most of these We start with a new Table of Contents drawn by Tony DeZuniga and an actual new story, "How Do I Know When I'm Really in Love?" by Robert Kanigher and Winslow Mortimer.

Next up is "My Shameful Past" written by Robert Kanigher, with page one drawn by Jay Scott Pike and the rest of the story by Artie Saaf and Vince Colletta and reprinted from Young Love #60 (1967).

That is followed by another reprint: "My Sister Stole My Man" by Robert Kanigher and John Romita and reprinted from Girls' Love Stories #91 (1962).

Next up is a text feature, "How I Met My Boyfriend" with illustrations by John Rosenberger. In this ongoing contest, readers submit stories of their first meeting with their boyfriends.

The next tale is "The Other Girl" by Robert Kanigher and Bernard Sachs and reprinted from Girls' Romances #70 (1960).

They sneak in another bit of new material with "The Wrong Kind of Love" by Robert Kanigher, Ric Estrada, and Wally Wood.

Next up is television model Wendy Winthrop in "Made for Love" a two-part tale written by Jack Miller, with the first part drawn by Jay Scott Pike and the second part drawn by Pike and inked by Bob Oksner and reprinted from Girls' Romances #99 and #100 (1964).

We are back to the editor's Robert Kanigher obsession with "I Didn't Want His Love" by Robert Kanigher and Norman Nodel. I'm not sure how this story came about since it is only one of two stories Nodel (born Nochem Yeshaya in 1922 ) did for DC. His other piece is from the British Classics Illustrated comic book, an issue which the American publishers of Classics Illustrated decided not to publish and was sold instead to DC. This saw print as Showcase #43 (1963) featuring Doctor No. With this purchase, DC held the rights to a James Bond comic for ten years.  In 1972, as their rights were close to expiring, Jack Kirby and Alex Toth were contacted, but DC ultimately decided against it, feeling unsure about the future of the characters as Sean Connery made what he stated would be his last appearance as 007, in Diamonds Are Forever. Finally, something interesting about this book. This story was reprinted from Girls' Romances #130 (1968).

Our next reprint is "Good-Bye, Lover" by Robert Kanigher, Mort Drucker, and Bob Lander and reprinted from Girls' Romances #20 1953). Lander worked as an inker at DC from 1951 through 1953.

Next up is "Happy Ending" by Robert Kanigher, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. This is obviously an old story but may have never seen print before.

We end with a one-pager drawn by Mort Drucker entitled "Where Is Love?"

The entire book was reprinted in DC 100-Page Super Spectacular: Love Stories Replica Edition #5 (2001).

Edited by Dorothy Woolfolk.

Heart Throbs #133

Heart Throbs #133 (On Sale: June 22, 1971), has a cover by Don Heck and Vince Colletta.

We began with our cover story "A Girl's First Love" drawn by Lee Elias. Bill is jealous of the other guys his fiancee Gale has dated in the past, which nearly breaks them up until Gale finds a way to turn the tables on him.

Next is "Kid Sister" drawn by Artie Saaf and Vince Colletta. Mindy gets a makeover from her older sister Doris when she's taken on a double date, which makes her friend Chuck see her in a different light.

Next up is "The Perfect Couple" drawn by Bill Draut and Tony DeZuniga. Jori lives in a commune but falls in love with the son of the real estate developer who is trying to drive the group off their farm.

Following that, we have "Ashamed of My Love" drawn by John Rosenberger and reprinted from Young Romance #152 (1968). Lita likes Tony but since he isn't particularly handsome or fun-loving she tries to deny her feelings for him

We end with "I'll Never Go Home" drawn by Irv Novick and Bernard Sachs and reprinted from Falling in Love #8 (1956). Jane is determined to leave small-town life behind until a snowstorm strands her on her way to the big city and a new man makes her see what's really important.

Edited by Dorothy Woolfolk.

Witching Hour #16

Witching Hour #16 (On Sale: June 10, 1971), has a cover by Nick Cardy.

We begin with a framing sequence drawn by George Tuska, and that leads us to "Never Kill a Witch" by Carl Wessler, John Calnan, and Bernie Case. Harry and Stella approach an old house that Harry believes has money hidden away inside but Stella is frightened as she has heard a witch lived there. Harry tries to reassure the frightened Stella that they can make money for their wedding by robbing the old woman who lives in the house, but Stella is still frightened. 

Harry and Stella are confronted by the old woman who lives in the house, accusing them of being thieves. Harry attacks the old woman and Stella thinks that he has killed her, but she appears again and warns them to leave her house. Harry makes sure the old woman is dead this time. Stella wants to leave, but Harry refuses to leave without the money and finds its hiding place. The witch refuses to stay dead and when Harry confronts her, a fire breaks out. Harry gets the burned Stella out of the house and asks a passerby to call an ambulance. 

The old woman burns up in the house and Harry and Stella are brought to the hospital where they have an extended stay. When the bandages from their faces are removed, Stella screams when she sees that Harry's face now resembles that of the old witch. This is the only credit for Bernie Case at DC, though there are three issues of Black Diamond Western by Lev Gleason from 1949 that has Case listed as a penciler and inker.

Next up is "The Spell of Sinner Ella" by Murray Boltinoff and Gray Morrow. The Cinderella story retold where Cinderella pushes one of the stepsisters off a cliff for attempting to rival the prince's affection and the prince tracks her down with the glass slipper and has her hung. A stupid story with great artwork.

That is followed by "You Can't Hide from Death" by Murray Boltinoff and Tony DeZuniga. One man fires a shot in a duel and misses and the other refuses to fire saying that he will pick the time and place. The story leads the reader to believe that the first man in the duel spends years fleeing the pursuit of the other, but the end of the story reveals that the pursued man is the one who refused to take the shot. At the end of the story, the pursuer catches up with the pursued and hands over his gun, demanding that he take the shot. The man fires into the ground.

Next up is "The Wondrous Witch's Cauldron" drawn by Lee Elias and reprinted from House of Secrets #58 (1963). A witch's cauldron that brings its owner fame, fortune, and long life passes from owner to owner.

We end with  "The Curse of the Cat" by Howie Post and Bill Draut and reprinted from House of Mystery #177 (1968). A beggar tells Mr. Fleming of a fortune buried in a cat's grave.

The entire issue was reprinted in Showcase Presents: The Witching Hour Vol. 1 TPB (2011).

Edited by Murray Boltinoff.

All-Star Western #7

All-Star Western #7 (On Sale: June 8, 1971), has a beautiful Outlaw, Billy the Kid, cover by Tony DeZuniga.

We begin with Outlaw, Billy the Kid, in "Bullet for a Gambler" by John Albano and Tony DeZuniga. After being saved twice by a man named Ace, from attacking Indians, Billy the Kid agrees to go with Ace to be safe from further attacks. Ace has a case of tuberculosis and is dead set on killing any Indian that happens on his path. However, the two are surrounded soon after Ace indiscriminately kills a hunting party.

However, the Indians let Billy go, as Billy tried to stop Ace from killing the Indian chief's son. Not wishing to be burned alive, Ace demands that Billy pay his debt, and reveals that he was the killer of Billy's father and that he knows that Billy is really a girl. Billy agrees to kill Ace in a draw only, and Ace tricks Billy into shooting him by not drawing when it's time to shoot. Reprinted in Jonah Hex and Other Western Tales #1 (1979) and Showcase Presents Jonah Hex Vol. 1 TPB (2006).

Next up is Davy Crockett in "The Challenge of Black Warrior" drawn by John Prentice and reprinted from Frontier Fighters #1 (1955).

That is followed by Buffalo Bill in "The Tenderfoot Caravan" by Dave Wood and Joe Kubert and reprinted from Frontier Fighters #1 (1955).

We end with El Diablo in "The Gypsy Curse" by Robert Kanigher, Alan Weiss, and Dick Giordano. Santano, a gypsy king, is convicted of crimes and sentenced to death by hanging. He issues a curse on those who persecuted him. 

Princess Nurka, Santano's daughter mourns the loss of her father and El Diablo tries to comfort her, but the other gypsies chase him away. Later Santano's curse unfolds, as the judge and sheriff are murdered. El Diablo is accused of the crime and thrown in jail. Nurka rescues him. That night Hutton, the man who hung Santano is killed. El Diablo catches the killer only to discover it is Nurka. She is arrested. As El Diablo rides out of town Nurka lays a curse on him, but El Diablo knows that he is already cursed.

Edited by Joe Orlando.

House of Secrets #93

House of Secrets #93 (On Sale: June 1, 1971), has a nice cover by Bernie Wrightson.

We begin this issue with "Lonely in Death" by Steve Skeates and Jim Aparo. At first circumstances in an old house lead a young woman to believe her recently deceased mother is attempting to kill her in order to have company in the afterlife, but then the resentful brother is revealed as the cause of the near-fatal mishaps. He attempts to stab his sister with a spear but falls out a window to his death when startled by something the woman takes to be her mother's ghost protecting her, not attempting to kill her as she mistakenly previously believed.

Next up is our first reprint, "The Curse of the Cat's Cradle" drawn by Alex Toth and reprinted from My Greatest Adventure #85 (1964).

That is followed by "Nightmare" by Gerry Conway and Jack Abel. A man being paid to sabotage a construction project has a nightmare about falling into a dark area and then being seized by a giant hand. After he wakes up and heads to the construction site he finds that his nightmare was a premonition.

Next, we have our second reprint, "The Beast from the Box" drawn by Nick Cardy and reprinted from House of Secrets #24 (1959). Charles Sanders releases and eventually kills a thing from a box.

We end this issue with "Never Kill a Witch's Son" by John Albano and Tony DeZuniga. A niece and her husband plot to kill her uncle for insurance money, but since the uncle's mother fancies herself a witch, the husband hatches a scheme to drive his wife to suicide so that he can get all the money. He fakes the uncle's appearances after they push him to his death off the balcony claiming that he had a fainting spell, but does too good a job and while his wife has been sedated, she sees her husband at the balcony and mistakes him for her uncle and shoves him to his death. All this time, the uncle's mother has been tending her son's grave, believing herself to be responsible through black magic for what happens to the niece and her husband.

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Phantom Stranger #14

Phantom Stranger #14 (On Sale: May 18, 1971), has an amazing cover by Neal Adams.

We begin with The Phantom Stranger in "The Man with No Heart" by Len Wein and Jim Aparo. Answering the call of Broderick Rune, the Phantom Stranger finds himself knocked out with a powerful spell. Rune, who has heart disease, then has his men perform a heart transplant, using the Stranger's very own heart. However, when his goons go to dump the body, they are shocked to find that the blanket they were carrying the Stranger's body is empty and that the Stranger is very much alive.

The Stranger then begins to haunt and stalk Rune everywhere he goes causing him to panic and flee to his second estate. There the haunting continues, and so they try mystical means of ridding themselves of the Phantom Stranger, this also doesn't work. Finally, the Stranger appears and chases Rune out into a field where he dies of a heart attack. When his aides can finally get to him, they are shocked to find that Rune doesn't have a heart in his body.

The backup is Dr. Thirteen in  "The Spectre of the Stalking Swamp" by Len Wein and Tony DeZuniga. Dr. Thirteen is called into Bayou country to investigate reports of a strange swamp monster dubbed the Swampster, who is supposedly responsible for the disappearance of people in the area. What they stumble upon is a plot by Professor Zachary Nail, who has built a secret city untainted by the destruction the human race is doing to the planet. People who have gone missing have been mentally conditioned to do Nail's bidding.

When Dr. Thirteen is captured and put under this process, however when ordered to capture his wife, Thirteen shakes off the control. During his fight with Nail, the swamp suddenly and inexplicably begins crushing the domed city, forcing everyone to flee as the domed city is destroyed.

The entire issue was reprinted in Showcase Presents Phantom Stranger Vol. 1 TPB (2006).

Edited by Joe Orlando.

House of Mystery #193

House of Mystery #193 (On Sale: May 13, 1971), has a beautiful cover by Bernie Wrightson, his second for DC, this being the followup to the stunning House of Secrets Swamp Thing cover.

We begin with "Voodoo Vengeance" by Alan Riefe and Tony DeZuniga. A white plantation owner gets into a voodoo duel with his laborers. He comes up with a plan to fake his death and tell them his spirit will torment them forever, but after he is put inside the mausoleum, one of the laborers rolls a stone down an incline so that it blocks the mausoleum wall and entombs the white man.

Next is "Dark Night, Dark Dreams" by Gerry Conway and Bill Draut. A landlord doesn't want to sublet a room so when a woman shows up on his doorstep he assumes that she is the woman that he wasn't expecting for another week. A police report comes over the radio that a number of dangerous lunatics have escaped from a nearby asylum and he takes the opportunity to use light and sound effects as well as a dropped knife to scare her into a faint. 

He laughs to himself that when she comes to she won't want anything to do with the place. He turns on the radio once more and the police are warning that only one lunatic still remains at large but she is the most dangerous of all and warn those who come into contact with her not to provoke her. The description they give reminds the man of the girl he met on the doorstep, and he is unaware that she has picked up the knife and is advancing upon him from behind.

Following that is a "Cain's Game Room" by Sergio Aragones and a one-page gag, "The Hero" by Lore Shoberg. The entire issue was reprinted in Showcase Presents: The House of Mystery #1 (2006) and House of Mystery: The Bronze Age Omnibus #1 (2019).

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Girls' Love Stories #160

Girls' Love Stories #160 (On Sale: May 13, 1971), has a cover by Artie Saaf.

We begin with "Heart of Stone" drawn by Tony DeZuñiga. Lisa returns to her hometown to get revenge on the rich girl she hates by stealing her fiance.

Next up is "Someday I'll Find Him!" drawn by Bernard Sachs and reprinted from Secret Hearts #26 (1955). Though she doesn't love him, Irene is determined to marry Dennis because she fears she'll never get another offer.

We end this issue with "Love a la Mode" drawn by George Tuska and Vince Colletta. Susan is ashamed of being poor so she tries to hide where she lives from her boyfriend Chris.

Edited by Dorothy Woolfolk.

All-Star Western #6

All-Star Western #6 (On Sale: April 8, 1971), has a cover featuring the new Outlaw, Billy the Kid, by Tony DeZuniga. Editor Orlando decided to keep the Outlaw name on the covers but replaced the Rick Wilson storyline with one featuring Billy the Kid.

Our first story is Outlaw in "Billy the Kid... Killer" by John Albano and Tony DeZuniga. Billy the Kid's father has been murdered and Billy has been on the killer's trail. Tracking down a Mexican named Poncho, Billy believes him to be the killer, however, Poncho tells Billy that he saw the killers of Billy's father. Agreeing to be taken to the killer, Poncho takes Billy out into the desert.

After camping, the next day Billy wakes up to find that Poncho stole everything including Billy's pocket watch. Tracking Pancho to a house, Billy finds the woman has all his money in her possession but also learns that she is blind. Finally tracking down Poncho, Poncho tells Billy that the watch was stolen. Deciding that they need more money to buy new provisions, Billy takes up a job in a town to stop Blackie Kane, a gunfighter who has been terrorizing the town.

However before Billy can round up Blackie, Billy has to rush a boy to the town doctor when a horse spooked by Kane tramples the boy. While Billy is off saving the boy's life, learning of who caused the trouble, Poncho goes after Blackie on his own. Blackie tricks Poncho and shoots him with a gun hidden in his hat. Billy returns and finds Poncho near death, Poncho hands over Billy's pocket watch. After killing Blackie and after burying Poncho, Billy takes a look at the picture inside. The picture is of Billy and her father, and we learn that Billy is secretly a girl named Billy Jo. Reprinted in Jonah Hex and Other Western Tales #2 (1979) and Showcase Presents Jonah Hex Vol. 1 TPB (2006).

Next up is Wild Bill Hickock in "Town Tamer" written and drawn by Gil Kane. It is 1871 and Wild Bill leaves Abiline, Kansas late one night, having tamed the town and no longer needed there. While contemplating the fate of a wild man in a tamer and tamer world, Bill is attacked by a grizzly bear. Losing his gun, Hickock must kill the bear using only his knife and in doing so, reconnects to his true being. Once the bear is dead, Hickcock mounts his horse and rides off in search of the next town to tame. Reprinted in Jonah Hex and Other Western Tales #3 (1980).

We end with "The Night of the Snake" written by Denny O'Neil and Gil Kane, penciled by Gil Kane, and inked by Tony DeZuniga. Bick Lupson was a trouble-making cattle minder. One night while drinking on the job, Bick leaves his post to find some more fun and ends up finding a cabin owned by a native woman. 

The woman has a pet snake, a servant to the great spirit she worships. Bick promptly kills the snake and attempts to rape the woman. The woman's trapper husband comes home interrupting Bick but Bick shoots them both in cold blood. Before dying, the woman curses Bick with the curse of the snake. 

Haunted by the sound of rattlesnakes, Bick races back to the ranch where his employers tell him to get back to work. The increasingly frightened Bick is dogged by the sound of the rattlesnake until his horse, spooked badly enough, throws him off it and into a ravine. Bick soon finds himself confronted by a giant snake and the ghost of the woman who he killed welcoming him to Hell. Reprinted in Jonah Hex and Other Western Tales #3 (1980) and Showcase Presents Jonah Hex Vol. 1 TPB (2006).

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Secret Hearts #152

Secret Hearts #152 (On Sale: April 6, 1971), has a cover by Don Heck and Frank Giacoia.

We begin with "My Father's Wife" by Jack Oleck and Tony DeZuniga. When Sherry's father remarries, she refuses to accept her new young stepmother and nearly drives her boyfriend away with her vicious attitude.

Next is "The Day I Fell in Love" by Robert Kanigher and John Romita reprinted from Falling in Love #59 (1963). Mary has wanted to be a successful actress for many years and has neglected her personal life to do so. This makes her unable to portray a woman in love onstage until she meets and falls for director Vincent May.

We end with "The Story of Karen" drawn by Jack Katz and Vince Colletta. Kathy is shocked when she begins to have feelings for another man while her fiance is away.

Jack Katz was born in Brooklyn, New York, on September 27, 1927. He attended the School of Industrial Art in New York City and began his comics career in 1943 working in the C. C. Beck and Pete Costanza studio on Bulletman. Katz used a number of pseudonyms such as Jay Hawk, Vaughn Beering, Alac Justice, Alec Justice, and David Hadley.

From 1946 to 1951, he worked as an art assistant on various King Features Syndicate comic strips, working briefly on Terry and the Pirates as an assistant to George Wunder. 

Katz went to work for Standard Comics in 1951 doing horror comics, war comics, and some romance comics until the company went out of business. From 1952 to 1956, Katz worked as a penciler and inker at the studio of Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, working alongside Mort Meskin and Marvin Stein. A slow worker due to heavy detailing, Katz was let go and moved on to Timely Comics under Stan Lee around 1954 where he worked on war and horror comics, as well as Westerns. In 1955 he left mainstream comics to paint and teach art, both privately and for the YMCA in New York City. 

Impressed by Jim Steranko's Captain America, Katz reentered mainstream comics in 1969 penciling Sub-Mariner #17 and three other stories for Marvel, a few stories for Skywald, and four stories for DC, this being the first.

But Jack Katz is better known for writing and drawing The First Kingdom,  a 24-issue, 768-page graphic novel that took Katz 12 years to complete. The first Kingdom was published as a black and white underground comic book. 

Edited by Dorothy Woolfolk.

House of Secrets #92

House of Secrets #92 (On Sale: April 1, 1971), has an amazing cover by Bernie Wrightson. Bernie had done five horror covers for Marvel by this time, but to be honest, they sucked, every one of them. This is his first cover for DC and he hit it out of the park and at the same time, birthed a new DC hero and rebirthed the swamp creature genre (I know, Savage Tales #1 with the Man-Thing hit the stands in January, but I know it never hit the stands in my town and was impossible to find). This is a fitting cover for one of the classic comics of the past 60 years. If you do not own this book, you wish you did. April is staring with not a bang, but an explosion!

We begin with a frontispiece by Gerry Conway and Bernie Wrightson. In the graveyard behind the House of Secrets, Abel invites the reader to join him in hunting for a snipe, while his brother Cain lurks behind a gravestone laughing at his gullibility.

Next up is the story that launched a genre and brought tears to my 14-year-old eyes. "Swamp Thing" is by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson and Bernie captures the haunting sadness of the creature like no one else may have been able to. While the Man-Thing seems like a mindless child, the Swamp Thing is all about emotional pain.

A mossy, muddy, grotesque creature with the saddest eyes you have ever seen, shambles through the swamp till it comes to a clearing and sees a house upon a hill and it only makes him sadder. He remembers the "soft, golden lady" who lives there and wonders what she is doing. Linda Olsen Ridge is being toasted by her husband Damian on their six-month anniversary, but we learn that she has another man in mind this night, Alex Olsen, her dead first husband and the best part of her life, and it is another anniversary that her thoughts focus on, the night she gave him a golden bracelet as a symbol of their undying love. Alex and Damian were scientific partners till the day the lab exploded and Alex died.

Damian senses that Linda is thinking of Alex and he remembers back to their partnership, their friendship, and how he longed and lusted for his friend's wife. How he rigged the lab to explode to get rid of the only thing standing between him and the woman he desired above all others. How Linda never knew that Alex was not killed by the explosion and how he dragged his torn-up body to the swamp and buried him alive. How he slowly went from bereaved friend to something more, something he had long desired.

Not feeling well, Linda retires to her room, but Damian can sense that she is starting to suspect something, that she is flinching from his touch, and that it will only be a matter of time before she realizes what he did to Alex. As much as he loves her, his "own neck comes first" and so he decides to kill Linda before she can turn him in for Alex's murder. Back in her room, she feels eyes upon her, even though Damian is across the house. When Damian comes to see how she is doing, he brings a hidden hypodermic needle, and as he stands poised to kill his unsuspecting wife, the swamp creature breaks through the window and attacks!

Damian is no match for the monster's strength and the creature chokes him to death. He turns to Linda and holds out his hands trying to explain to her, wanting to tell her the truth, but his vocal cords no longer make sounds and Linda is terrified. The fear in her eyes is more than he can bear. He looks to his wrist where once a beautiful golden bracelet resided and cannot remember what happened to it. The sad-eyed creature leaves her and returns to the swamp that is now his home. "If tears could come, they would."

Bernie Wrightson would later say, "I recall Len [Wein] offered me the "Swamp Thing" short story to draw that night. The deadline was really tight and I remember doing most of the work on a weekend. I had help from [Michael William] Kaluta, [Jeffrey Catherine Jones], [Alan] Weiss, and Louise [Jones]. I remember that to save time we photographed the whole thing."

For fun, you can search the Internet and see the photos that became this classic story, with Michael William Kaluta as Damian, Bernie as Alex, and Louise (Jones) Simonson as Linda.

Now this is and it isn't the Swamp Thing that would return in a year and a half; this story takes place in an older time and pertains to characters with slightly different names than what was to come. I think when DC saw the sales for this book, the series was a no-brainer, but this was at the time a genre that had been pretty much ignored for decades, and DC wisely moved the series to the current era. Reprinted in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #9 (1981), Roots of the Swamp Thing #5 (1986), Swamp Thing: Dark Genesis TPB (1992), Roots of the Swamp Thing HC (2009), Roots of the Swamp Thing TPB (2012), Swamp Thing: The Bronze Age Omnibus HC (2017), Swamp Thing: The Bronze Age Vol. 1 TPB (2018), and Swamp Thing Halloween Horror Giant #1 (2018).

Next is "After I Die" written by Jack Kirby and Mark Evanier and drawn by Bill Draut. A wealthy man named Maxwell James is obsessed with what happens after death. His obsession grows stronger when he arrives at his wife's deathbed. She begs her husband to take care of Hal, her brother-in-law but is shocked when he realizes that she sees something utterly horrifying in her final moments. 

After his wife's death, Maxwell makes increasingly callous attempts to pursue this mystery, even paying to see a critically injured child and angrily storming out when the child makes a full recovery. Finally, Maxwell loses his patience and attempts to kill his wife's brother-in-law Hal with a gun. In the ensuing struggle, Maxwell is fatally shot and begs Hal to look into his eyes. As Hal obeys, he sees the reflection of the terror beyond death in Maxwell's eyes and is driven to permanent insanity. I think this is Mark Evanier's first work at DC.

Next up is "It's Better to Give..." by Virgil North (Mary Skrenes), Alan Weiss, and Tony DeZuniga. A homeless man named Smilin' Sam encounters a crying boy in the town dump who is upset that he has broken his balloon. The homeless man remembers that he's got a dime on him and so he gives it to the kid and tells him to get another balloon. The kid thanks him and tells him that he'll pay him back someday. Shortly, Sam notices dimes starting to fall from the nozzle of an abandoned bathtub and can't believe his good fortune. 

He gathers them up and goes into town to eat at a fancy restaurant, donate to the Salvation Army and buy new clothes. A criminal observes that the man has run into some money and follows him back to the dump to relieve him of it. The criminal kills Sam just as the little boy shows up and accuses the man of killing his friend. The man threatens to hurt the kid if he ever squeals and the boy swings his new balloon at the man who laughs at the boy but stops laughing when the new balloon begins to grow so large that it engulfs the killer completely. The boy then approaches the balloon with a large pin and pops it. The killer has disappeared and Able shows up to explain that it is better to give than to receive especially when you are dealing with a young warlock.

We end this classic issue with "Trick or Treat" by Gerry Conway and Dick Dillin. The story opens with a painter (perhaps) taking what he calls "magic paint and canvases" from a gallery. We see a guard on the ground, perhaps dead. He takes the items back to his place where he says that according to legend, whoever follows the instructions and paints the canvases according to the numbers provided will have their life changed. He follows the directions and paints a knife-wielding ghoul. He thinks it is pretty creepy but does not care as he knows his life is about to change. In the background we see the ghoul step out of the painting, knife in hand. I have to say this is some of the strangest Dick Dillon art I have ever seen.

The entire book has been reprinted in DC Silver Age Classics House of Secrets #92 (1992), House of Secrets #92 [Variant] (1993), Millennium Edition: House of Secrets 92 (#20) (2000), Showcase Presents: The House of Secrets Vol. 1 TPB (2008), and House of Secrets (Facsimile Edition) #92 (2019).

Edited by Joe Orlando.

Phantom Stranger #13

Phantom Stranger #13 (On Sale: March 16, 1971), has a cover by Neal Adams.

We begin with the Phantom Stranger in "A Child of Death" by Robert Kanigher and Jim Aparo. Albert Anson, the head of the science project Thunderhead dies mysteriously while working on the project. His grandson Freddy, who carries a toy gun, is present at the time of his death, which is ruled to be of natural causes. When another scientist on the project dies in similar circumstances with Freddy also present, the Phantom Stranger intervenes.

Freddy's adoptive father Dr. Forsyte takes over the project. The Phantom Stranger then acts to prevent his death at Freddy's hand. Freddy is actually a hyper-mutant from a race that lives underground. Recent nuclear tests have forced the hyper-mutants, who look like children, to the surface. They intend to disrupt nuclear test projects. The Phantom Stranger also learns that Tala is observing the project disguised as one of the scientists. The Stranger tries to convince Freddy that the tests are force defensive purposes only. Freddy is then killed in a blast resulting from the latest test. 

Our back-up features Doctor 13 in "The Devil's Timepiece" by Robert Kanigher and Tony DeZuniga. Dr. Thirteen attends a midnight auction of supposed occult items with his friend Bentley Ames. Bentley purchases a grandfather clock with a miniature devil hanging from the pendulum. The clock is delivered to Ames. The first time he winds it, the devil springs forth from the clock and kills him.

Dr. Thirteen arrives a short time later and discovers his dead friend. He winds the clock also. The devil springs forth again. Dr. Thirteen is able to fight off the devil who falls upon his own pitchfork and dies. The devil is actually the auctioneer, who wanted revenge on Ames for testifying in court against his father. Dr. Thirteen successfully debunks the devil's clock, but two men are now dead.

The entire issue is reprinted in Showcase Presents Phantom Stranger Vol. 1 TPB (2006).

Edited by Joe Orlando

Young Romance #171

Young Romance #171 (On Sale: February 18, 1971), has a cover by Don Heck and Dick Giordano.

We begin with "Let Me Share My Heart with You" by Robert Kanigher, Artie Saaf, and Tony DeZuñiga.

Next is the reprint "Strangers in Love" penciled by John Romita and originally published in Heart Throbs #93 (1965) where it was entitled "A Date with Heartbreak!".

Next is a one-page "Do's and Dont's of Dating" drawn by Tony DeZuñiga.

That is followed by "How Much Can My Love Buy?" by George Kashdan, Artie Saaf, Vince Colletta, and Tony DeZuñiga.

Next, we have "Which Man Is Mine" with pencils by John Romita and which is reprinted from Secret Hearts #68 (1961).

Following that is a one-page "How to Lose 5 lbs. in 5 Days!" by Liz Berube.

Our next reprint is "Afraid to Love" also with pencils by John Romita and which is reprinted from Falling in Love #36 (1960).

We end with "Nice Girls Are Out of Style" by Barbara Friedlander, Kurt Schaffenberger, and Vince Colletta.

Edited for the first time by Dorothy Woolfolk.

Falling in Love #122

Falling in Love #122 (On Sale: February 4, 1971), has a nice cover by Tony DeZuniga.

Thinking of an old Monkees' song we begin this issue with "I Want to Be Free -- to Live, to Love" drawn by Tony DeZuniga. Diana's parents don't trust her since she returned home after a rebellious phase in college, so they forbid her to see her new boyfriend Dirk, who wants to marry her. Diana leaves home without Dirk but her parents assume they have eloped, only seeing their error when Dirk finds her and brings her back. 

Longer stories this issue mean fewer stories, so we next come to our last story, "Too Old for Love" drawn by Artie Saaf and Vince Colletta. Ellen starts dating Bob but is shocked to learn he is four years younger than she and doesn't think they can continue to see each other.

Edited by Dorothy Woolfolk.

Girls' Love Stories #158

Girls' Love Stories #158 (On Sale: February 2, 1971), has a cover by Don Heck and Dick Giordano.

We begin with "Perfect Match: Philip, Louise & Kirk" drawn by Tony DeZuniga. Louise doesn't understand the passionate feelings she has about Kirk, especially when she's already engaged to Philip.

Next, we have  "Just Friends" penciled by John Rosenberger. Marni denies her feelings for Tommy because her mother believes that a rich boy could never truly be interested in a poor girl.

The next item is a quiz, "What's Your Dating I.Q.?" drawn by Liz Berube.

That is followed by "Gruesome Twosome" by Jack Oleck, George Tuska, and Vince Colletta. Nancy is a plain girl who agrees to go out with Harold, who's too short, because no one else will date either of them. She's quickly bored by his constant talk about his hobbies, but eventually, he changes her mind when he fights one of the bullies that's been harassing them (one of Harold's hobbies is martial arts).

We end with an untitled one=pager drawn by Lee Elias. Laura invites a persistent suitor to come to her house, but it's only so he can babysit her brother while she goes on a date with her boyfriend.

Edited by Dorothy Woolfolk. Born in 1913, Dorothy takes over the editorship of all seven DC romance books starting this month. Dorothy Woolfolk was one of the first women in the American comic book industry. She served from 1942 to 1944 as an editor at All-American Publications, one of the three companies that would merge to form the present-day DC, then spent the next two years at Timely Comics, the 1940s predecessor to Marvel Comics, and in 1948 was an editor at EC Comics.

Woolfolk said she had found Superman's invulnerability dull and that DC's flagship hero might be more interesting with an Achilles' heel such as adverse reactions to a fragment of his home planet. This gave rise to the famous fictional metal kryptonite, which made its first appearance in the comics in the story "Superman Returns To Krypton!", credited to writer Bill Finger, in Superman #61 (1949).

She wrote an unknown number of Wonder Woman stories in the 1940s, making her the first woman to write the character. She also wrote for the science fiction magazine Orbit during the 1950s, and in the 1970s and early 1980s was the author of the 10-book Scholastic Press young-adult novel series about teen detective Donna Rockford.

Her second husband was 1930s comic-strip cartoonist and 1940s comic-book writer Walter Galli. She met her third husband, novelist William Woolfolk, during her stint at DC when she rejected a script he had submitted for a Superman comic book. Woolfolk was nominated every year from 2001 to 2004 for induction into the Women Cartoonists Hall of Fame and in 2018 Woolfolk won the Bill Finger Award. Dorothy Woolfolk died in November 2000.