House of Secrets
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
House of Secrets is the name of several mystery-suspense, anthology comic book series published by DC Comics. It had a companion series titled House of Mystery.
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[edit] First series
The original Silver Age series ran 80 issues, from December 1956 to October 1966. In additional to anthological stories, several issues featured the adventures of modern-dress sorcerer Mark Merlin. The dual-personality Eclipso ("Hero and Villain in One Man!") was introduced in issue #61 (Aug. 1963), continuing to the series' end. Prince Ra-Man the Mind-Master bowed in #73 (Oct. 1965) (later retconned into being the same person as Mark Merlin). Other, lesser continuing features included "Peter Puptent, Explorer"; "Dolly and the Professor"; "Doctor Rocket"; and "Moolah the Mystic".
[edit] Second series
The series was revived three years later with a definite article as The House of Secrets, beginning with issue #81 (Sept. 1969). Now its horror and suspense tales were introduced by a host named Abel, who would also host the satirical comic Plop! and later become a recurring character in The Sandman (and related series such as The Dreaming). His brother Cain hosted House of Mystery.
The House of Secrets is also the name of the actual edifice in which Abel lives. The Sandman series revealed it exists both in the real world of the DC Universe and in the Dreaming, as a repository for secrets of all kinds.
The building itself was constructed for a Senator Sanderson using only materials from Kentucky, and went under the enchantment that only pure-blood Kentuckians would be able to live there. Later, Sanderson's wife went insane in the upper floors, leading the Senator to sell the house. The next four owners, none of them pure Kentuckians, found themselves driven away for various reasons. The following owner attempted to move the home from its original location, but the house tore itself free from its trailer, ran its owner over a cliff to his death, and settled less than 200 yards from the Kentucky state line in a graveyard. Whether by fate or some mystical alignment, the companion House of Mystery stands at the other end of the graveyard.
This revival, sporting many covers by Neal Adams, Bernie Wrightson and Mike Kaluta, ran through issue #154 (Nov. 1978), with three months passing between #140 (April 1976) and #141 (July 1976), a victim of the DC Implosion. It was then 'merged' into The Unexpected with issue #189.
The enduring character Swamp Thing was introduced in #92 (July 1971), reprinted in its entirety in 2000 as one of DC's "Millennium Editions".
[edit] Third series
DC's Vertigo imprint revived the name House of Secrets as a new title and concept. Here the House of Secrets was a mobile manor, appearing in different places. The building itself is haunted by the Juris, a group of ghosts who summon those with secrets in order to judge them and pass sentence. To the Juris, all offenses carry the same weight, from rape and murder to simply lying at a crucial moment. A runaway named Rain Harper stumbled upon the House of Secrets and took up a position as an unwilling witness to the Juris trials, validating the judgments and either condemning the tried souls to imprisonment in the basement, or setting them free to live their life purged of their secret.
Starting afresh with a new #1 (Oct. 1996), this book ran 25 issues, plus a two-part "House of Secrets: Facade" special.
[edit] Secret Six headquarters
In the mid-2000s, the Secret Six made their headquarters in a House of Secrets. Scandal stated in issue five of Villains United that the House would not show up on technological scans or mystical surveillance. She also said that Mockingbird claimed the House was a "house of victims." Whether this House of Secrets is the one that exists in Kentucky and the Dreaming or the mobile one is unknown.
