REVIEW: The House of Secrets #127

Credits: See below
Review: Art Bee

Horror has been a genre close to my heart since I was about 11–years old and watched the original Amityville Horror. Though I don’t get terrorized by such things anymore, my appreciation of the feeling is still well into the high side of, “loving it.” When I was older my fascination for “witty horror” (my own label) skyrocketed with the HBO series, Tales from the Crypt.

For those not familiar, these types of stories have a short plot followed by a witty punchline from the narrator.

What’s funny is talking about it makes it sound a little dumb, but assuredly it is not.

DC’s The House of Secrets #127 has three such short stories in it. Each has a tragic end for the main character of the story worthy of each, as they all have less than desirable personality traits.
Enough jabbering! On with the…review.

“The Headsman of Hell”

Art: Abe Ocampo

Story: Marv Wolfman and Len Wein

This little story opens with a hooded executioner using a guillotine to loose the cranium of a man into a basket. This Headsman works for the Committee of Public Safety in France during the year 1793. Within the crowd gathered to witness the execution is a silly man by the name of Andre LeBlanc, who happens to bad mouth the Headsman and the regime. Over and over he exclaims the wish to know the identity of the Headsman while ridiculing the character of the man. Can you guess where this leads?

That’s right! Andre is a wanted man and representatives of the regime begin a man hunt for the loose-lipped critic. 

Wait a sec! I am a critic…

Better be nice just to be…NONSENSE!

The truthful opinion shall reign here!

This story is cute but not the issue’s best. During this era of DC (Jan 1975) standards were the norm and they knew you were going to save the best for last. In today’s standard-less DC harlotry they put their best at the front to keep you going or to inspire you to buy before finishing.

“A Test of Innocence”

Plot: Mike Pellowski
Art: Mike Sekowski and Bill Draut

This tale of treasure hunting horror is brought to you by deception and murder. Two friends meet up to talk. George asks Harry for help in finding a treasure of emeralds as shown by a recently acquired map. The trek would lead the friends through the thick of the Amazon rain forest (it really existed back then) and the pair set off for an adventure in finding riches…

Did you forget the first of the paragraph? Of course, they didn’t.

Harry stabs George and takes the map for himself, stumbling through the thick, steamy jungle for days until he passes out. He regains consciousness in a village of Indians and, after being nursed back to health, Harry looks to head back home. Thinking the map is false, he means to depart but one of the natives begs him to stay for their big feast that night.

During the feast the natives carry out their god, Zactal, a statue encrusted with many cut emeralds. Harry’s greed is rekindled, and he plots to steal the gems. Let’s say the crafty Harry doesn’t run, but the natives have a clever, infallible test to prove guilt or innocence.

Will Harry pass the test and be rich, or will he fail and have something horrible happen to him?

“Death on Cue!”

Story: David Micheline and Russell Carey

Art: Rubeny

This little story is the best in the issue and is so simple. A young man, Eightball O’Brian, loves the game of pool but he has one major flaw to his game: he has about as much talent as pavement.

We have all know someone like that in our lives.
For instance, I had this one friend…
That is not important.

Eightball O’Brian is as much a loser in his life as he is at pool (the story is elaborates about it). One day Eightball sees an old man playing a game by himself with a fancy-looking pool cue and challenges him to a game.

Whereupon he gets beat down like a stuffed toy in the jaws of a Rottweiler...

The old man reluctantly lets Eightball try the pool cue and the magic of the cue is revealed.

As you can guess, Eightball kills the old man, takes the cue, and sets his sights on building his fame and fortune. Needless to say, things don’t go quite the way O’Brian hopes.

When I was at my LCS looking through the boxes of back issues, this gem glistened at me for $4, and I said, “Sold.” My olfactory cells were wonderfully aroused when the bag for this comic was opened and the scent of ink and paper wafted to them. How I love that smell!

I am weird. Sue me.

The House of Secrets #127 is the first of the series I’ve acquired, but I have been looking for them. So glad to finally have one added to my collection.