Beautiful Vertigo reprint of some of the finest moments from The House of Mystery, DC's flagship horror title from 1968 until its cancellation in 1983. These ten tales elicited real shudders from me when I was a kid, and they've held up extremely well over the years. There's "Nightmare" (story: Jack Oleck / pencils: Neal Adams), about a statue that comes to life to provide company for a lonely little girl; the quite literally chilling "Sno' Fun!" (story: Sergio Aragones / pencils: Wally Wood), about an explorer who discovers a race of grotesque underground men in Antarctica; and arguably the single greatest story ever to appear in HoM, "The Demon Within" (story: Joe Orlando and John Albano / pencils: Jim Aparo), about a harmless-looking boy with a dreadful power. In the right hands, three or four of these tales could form the basis for a terrific film in the tradition of the old Amicus horror anthologies.

A new (1998) cover--featuring Cain, Abel and Gregory--by the late, great Bernie Wrightson, as well as a new wraparound story written by Neil Gaiman and drawn by Aragones. Essential for fans. ( )

Cover by Wrightson ( )