Long before there was Black Label, long before even Vertigo, DC’s horror anthologies handled the occult, the arcane, and the dark places between. And there, in the shadows, is where we meet Mister E! Your Major Spoilers Retro Review of Secrets of Haunted House #31 awaits!

SECRETS OF HAUNTED HOUSE #31

Writer: Bob Rozakis
Penciler: Dan Spiegle
Inker: Dan Spiegle
Colorist: Bob LeRose
Letterer: Ben Oda
Editor: Jack C. Harris
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: 50 Cents
Current Near-Mint Pricing: $16.00
Release Date: September 11, 1980

Previously in Secrets of Haunted House: The resurgence of DC’s horror anthology books in the mid-1970’s almost certainly had to do with the Marvel monster titles that defined the early half of the decade. Rather than Ghost Rider or Werewolf By Night, the House That Superman Built was the home of House of Secrets, House of Mystery, and Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion. Many characters would become the fabric of Gaiman’s The Sandman and the greater Vertigo universe were first seen as the narrators and presenters of EC Comics-style horror/suspense stories. Indeed, this very issue is hosted by Destiny, later to become the eldest of the Endless, but the man who would become the most unreliable member of the Trenchcoat Brigade was not one of those metaphorical/metaphysical Rod Serlings.

A young Irish woman named Kelly O’Toole arrives in Boston, on the very same day that the papers are filled with news of a brutal murder. Indeed, it’s the THIRD such death in recent memory, leading the man known as Mister E out to investigate. Kelly meets a man named Kobold (Foreshadowing: Your Key To Quality Literature) and ends up staying in his home as he recuperates from “a mugging,” working as his housekeeper.

Because she’s a sweet, kind, naive young woman, Kelly doesn’t see all the red flags about her day-sleeping boss and his intense way of speaking, but a sudden knock at the door changes everything.

Of all the artists I associate with Bronze Age DC (Jim Aparo, Dick Dillin, Don Heck, Marshall Rogers, Neal Adams, Mike Grell, Dave Cockrum, etc.), Dan Spiegle always seems to be among the most overlooked. His work on Nemesis in the pages of The Brave and The Bold is somehow epic and subtle all at once. The same is true here, and unlike nearly everyone who ever drew Daredevil, Spiegle’s Mister E actually visually seems to be blind. Kelly is horrified to see the stranger wearing cheaters preparing to impale her new savior and decks Mister E. All is well in the world of Miss O’Toole… until Judge Kobold pops his fangs and tells her that he’ll take care of Mister E and then, take care of HER!

Remember those mysterious murders? Judge Kobold isn’t just some elderly night owl, he’s a vampiric killer who is ready to drain his would-be assassin and turn both Kelly and Mister E into his blood-sucking thralls. Grabbing the judge’s gavel, Kelly snaps off the hammer, remembering the legends of the Abhartach back on the Emerald Isle, and most of all, how you defeat one.

Of course, she didn’t count on this particular vampire ALSO being a werewolf, letting the Judge flee into the alleyways of Boston! By next issue, the mysterious investigator hires Kelly himself, and she accompanies him as he fights other creatures of darkness and evil, but never finding out the secrets held by her new ice-cream-suit-wearing boss. It would be fifteen-odd years before we got his origin, but Mister E’s first appearance in Secrets of Haunted House #31 is a well-crafted, tidy little first appearance that makes it worth tracking down, especially at current prices, earning 4 out of 5 stars overall. Honestly, though, if you seek out anything by Rozakis (especially Hero Hotline) or Spiegle (especially his work on Crossfire), you just about cannot go wrong.

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