Haunt of Horror #4 - Marvel

Now this is more like it! Nothing like a good demonic-possession cover, again courtesy Bob Larkin.

This issue features Satana, The Devil's Daughter--and lots of her! The first story, "This Side of Hell" by Tony Isabella and Enrique Romero, stars the comely Satana as she combats demons at the Gates of Hell. Beautiful art by Romero, who manages to make Satana sexy yet creepy.

This is immediately followed by an editorial with a pic of Tony alongside a woman dressed as Satana! Man, it was good to work in comics in the seventies...

Next is "Fright Pattern!" by Jack Younger, Syd Shores, and Wayne Howard, a definitely more traditional horror tale about a woman whose nightmares have a terrifying way of becoming real. Next is a Satana text story, "Doorway to Dark Destiny" by Chris Claremont, with some nice spot illustrations by Pat Broderick and The Crusty Bunkers, including a priceless one of Satana snuggling up to a male friend as he makes breakfast! He has a worried look on his face, which is understandable...

"Deathwatch", by Gerry Conway and Yong Montano, about a guy who wakes up to find it's the first day after The End of the World. That's such a can't-miss set-up for a story, and this one works pretty well, putting you in the shoes of the main character as he tries to adjust to his new reality.

Next is our cover star, Gabriel, Devil-Hunter, in "To Worship the Damned", who is called to confront some demons at Stonehenge. By Doug Moench and Sonny Trinidad, it's a fun, creepy tale of sexy babes and horrific evil.

This is also comes with a Gabriel poster(on the inside covers) by none other than Neal Adams! He's holding a giant bible which he has thrust at the reader. What would some kid's parents think if they saw this hanging in their kid's room? Would they be relieved, or worried?

A lot of this material was reprinted in the third issue of the British version of this mag, called Demon! It didn't include the Adams poster, or the pic of Tony and the real-life Satana, thereby taking out the most fun stuff!

Haunt of Horror #1 - Marvel

This was Marvel's most across-the-bow shot at the type of magazine Warren was doing at the time. Other ones, like Dracula Lives! and Doc Savage, were more Marvel-style, from starring one central character to the way the stories were told.

The cover is by Bob Larkin, and it's an interesting hybrid between the type of horror they wanted to do and the more safe, almost cartoon-ish approach they were known for. I mean, that girl doesn't look that scared, really, and the big skull in the foreground, bathed in golden light, looks like something off of a Hardy Boys book cover. Not to say its a bad cover, but it's a bit benign for the Warren-esque horror Marvel was trying to emulate.

After a genuinely horrorific frontspiece by Alfredo Alcala(featuring a topless succubus, a rotting corpse, a zombie, and assorted demons), this issue opens up with "Rats!" by Gerry Conway and Ralph Reese, about a miserable, mean little man who refuses to kill any rats. Living in New York City in the seventies, that's a tough standard to maintain.

Next is a text piece about the new mag, called "The Hint of Horror", and then a prose story by George Alec Effinger called "Heartstop" with cool spot illustrations by Walt Simonson.

The next comic story is "The Last Man!", which is a reprint tale about a homicidal murderer who is convinced Earth is under attack by flying saucers. Its uncredited, but its a tight, fun little five-page tale. Fourth is "His Own Kind!" by Roy Thomas, Val Mayerik, and Mike Esposito, adapted from the story by Thomas Disch. It's a fanciful tale told by a woodnymph about a werewolf and is nicely rendered by Mayerik.

Conway and Ernie Chua handle "The Nightmare Patrol" about an army patrol that runs into a ghoul while in Vietnam. As if being in Vietnam wasn't bad enough!

Next is "In The Shadows of the City" by Steve Gerber and Vincente Alcazar, a grim, mood-drenched tale about the paranoia that sets in while living in New York City. I have no idea if Gerber was in fact living in the Big Apple when he wrote this, but I wouldn't be surprised; the story feels like something a writer would come up with in the middle of a hot summer night, when its eerily quiet and you can't sleep.

Not a bad start to the magazine, even if the contents are sorta all over the place, from grueshome horror to sci-fi fantasy to psychological dread. But there was more after this issue, so we'll see later how well Haunt of Horror kept the scares going...