The Unexpected

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The Unexpected
Cover to The Unexpected #105 (February-March 1968). Art by Bob Brown.
Publisher	DC Comics
Schedule	monthly
Format	ongoing
Publication date	February/March 1968 - May 1982
Number of issues	117

The Unexpected was a DC Comics horror comic book, a continuation of Tales of the Unexpected. It ran 117 issues, #105-222, from 1968 to 1982. Unlike the predecessor, it was more of a fantasy anthology at first, then turned into a weird/horror anthology in the style of House of Secrets and House of Mystery. With issue #189, House of Secrets and The Witching Hour were merged into The Unexpected. Each "Unexpected" story would always include the word in its last panel. After the merge, this was only true of the lead story; there would then be one each in the style of The Witching Hour, hosted by its witches, and The House of Secrets, hosted by Abel.

The only continuing series was Johnny Peril, an adventure series which ran from issues #106-117. For issues #111-on, he was billed as an 'adventurer of the weird', as the comic changed. Johnny Peril would again appear in issues 200, 205-213. Johnny Peril had originally appeared in Sensation Comics #107-109, when it was retitled Sensation Mystery for issues #110-116. Some of his stories would be reprinted in Unexpected.

The comic features "Mad, Mod Witch" (later known as "Fashion Thing" in Neil Gaiman's The Sandman) as a story narrator in #108-112, 114-116, 140, and 162, and "Judge Gallows" in #113, 118, 121, 125 and 133. Judge Gallows would later appear in the final story arc of The Dreaming.

Madame Xanadu appeared in issues #190, 192, 194 and 195.