Review: DC House of Horror #1 (2017)
By Andy Frisk
October 23, 2017 - 22:39
DC Comics
Writer(s): Keith Giffen, Edward Lee, Brian Keene, Mary SanGiovanni, Ronald Malfi, Brian Smith Wrath, James Wright, Nick Cutter, Weston Ochse
Artist(s): Howard Porter, Scott Kollins, Bilquis Evely, Dale Eaglesham, Kyle Baker, Tom Raney, Rags Morales, Howark Chaykin
Colourist(s): HI-FI, Romulo Farjardo Jr, Mat Lopez, Jordan Boyd, Kyle Baker, Gina Going-Raney, Lovern Kindzierski, Wil Quintanna
Letterer(s): Rob Leigh, Josh Reed, Taylor Esposito, Pat Brosseau, Kyle Baker, Sal Cipriano, Wes Abbot, Ken Bruzenak
Cover Artist(s): Michael Wm. Kaluta, Lovern Kindzierski
'Tis the most wonderful time of the year. No it's not quite Yuletide yet, it Halloween Time! DC Comics has always been pretty consistent in coming up with great, although admittedly low selling, holiday comics. I've always loved when the Big Three Holidays were reflected in the comics I read as a kid, be them Marvel Comics or DC Comics. In my adult years, its been DC Comics that's kept up the tradition better, so they've gotten my extra dollars each holiday season.
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DC House of Horror #1 (2017) is a little different from the usual DC Halloween books that they've published over the last few years/decade. Devoid of original characters and chills like the old time House of Secrets or House of Mystery books, this year's DC House of Horror tells 8 tales that essentially will end up returning somewhere down the line as Multiverse characters no doubt. A murderous, impish, childlike Superman, a goth Billy Batson, the spirit of a murderous Amazon, a deranged Batman, a serial killer Gotham DA, Hal Jordan vs. zombies, a murderous Arrow Killer, and the ghost of Harley Quinn populate this house of horror. While the stories are interesting, and to a great extent feature strong female characters (I guess that's scary to the DC powers that be), I'd rather have seen some more mainstream stories (set in the current Rebirth timeline) or original horror stories that involved the mainstay characters peripherally. And where is Deadman, The Demon, The Phantom Stranger, or Frankenstein?
A bevy of writers and artists tackle the tales, but Keith Giffen is the master of ceremonies here. He plots all of the stories and allows the individual writers and artists to flush them out. It reminds me of the old "Marvel Method."
Genuinely creepy, and heavy on the gore, only one story really stands out, and its "Man's World" by Mary SavGiovanni and Bilquis Evely. You'll never look at Wonder Woman the same way. "The world of man hell is going to be a glorious war." Indeed. Unfortunately, this one shining gem isn't enough to rescue DC House of Horror #1 (2017) from it's $9.99 cover price, and otherwise lack of originality.
Rating: 7/10
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