{"id":12,"date":"2016-06-27T09:07:40","date_gmt":"2016-06-27T07:07:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/?page_id=12"},"modified":"2017-01-11T20:17:26","modified_gmt":"2017-01-11T19:17:26","slug":"sensation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/?page_id=12","title":{"rendered":"Sensation Comics \/ Sensation Mystery"},"content":{"rendered":"

All artwork credits for the SENSATIONs were double checked by Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sensation Comics # 107<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

January-February 1952<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Sens#107\"Cover: (Sinister Jack-in-the-box frightening man who\u2019s dropping money) \u2013 Joe Giella ?<\/p>\n

\u201cSinister Jack-in-the-Box\u201d (Frank Giacoia)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Last Dream!\u201d (Carmine Infantino + Frank Giacoia \/ Sy Barry ?)<\/p>\n

\u201cMan into Frog\u201d (Mort Drucker) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n

\u201cQueen of the Snows!\u201d (Alex Toth + Sy Barry, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cGhost Habits\u201d (John Giunta ?) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n

\u201cLucky Horseshoes\u201d (???) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n

It\u2019s only three stories and a lot of ads<\/strong> in this second DC horror book (the first being HOUSE OF MYSTERY #1). All of the stories are 8 pages long, though.
\nFrank Giacoia\u2019s art in \u201cSinister Jack-in-the-Box\u201d reminds me of Bob Forgione (of Charlton\u2019s THE THING fame). The plot about a magic toy<\/strong> granting and fulfilling wishes (but to good-hearted people only!) is kiddie stuff<\/strong>. When a gangster gets his hands on the (not in the least) \u201csinister\u201d Jack-in-the-Box, he runs in front of a truck \u2013 diving for a wallet filled with play money. The irony! Ca-ripes! Is this DC HORROR? Mild-mannered morale plays?<\/strong> Can\u2019t wait to see more\u2026<\/p>\n

Artwork\u2019s nice in \u201cThe Last Dream!\u201d, a run-of-the-mill family curse story<\/strong>. Frederic Beaumont tries to outrun it, but will be killed like all of his ancestors before him. That\u2019s not what I call suspense\u2026\"QueenOfSnows\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The three half-page fillers are accounts of folklore and are executed in the sloppiness these features usually are presented. Nothing new here.
\nSo let\u2019s turn to the highpoint of this issue<\/strong> \u2013 an Alex Toth \u201cJohnny Peril\u201d episode called \u201cQueen of the Snows!<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Told in first person (by Johnny) we embark on a mountain climb to Mount Subara. Ruled by the beautiful but cruel ice phantom Subara<\/strong>, many mountaineers meet their untimely death. Only Johnny Peril returns from the summit, having met the fiend and managed to escape.<\/p>\n

Fairly entertaining read. I like that they work in the native belief that mountains are personalized entities. (Story’s posted on FIFTIES HORROR, click splash or title …)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sensation Comics # 108<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

March-April 1952<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Sens#108\"Cover: (Huge green spectre commanding man to stab captain-like character) \u2013 Carmine Infantino ? + Frank Giacoia ?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Wheel of Fate!\u201d (Carmine Infantino ? + Frank Giacoia ?)<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Year Superstitions\u201d (Mort Drucker) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n

\u201cI Was King of the Moths!\u201d (Alex Toth + Sy Barry)<\/p>\n

\u201cSpiritual Doubles\u201d (Mort Drucker) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Sands of Doom!\u201d (Carmine Infantino + Frank Giacoia)<\/p>\n

\u201cNoisy Ghosts\u201d (Mort Drucker) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n

Cover refers to first story. The character in the splash of the last story looks like copied from the Jack-in-the-Box on the first cover. Thrifty kind of approach to art.
\nAdvertising<\/strong> is taking up MORE space<\/strong> in this issue. Instead of three stories 8 pages long, they cut down every story to 7.66 pages. Meaning there\u2019s an ad at the end of every story! Cheeky. And a bit annoying, really.<\/p>\n

Allegedly the art credits for the first story have been pulled from a reprint of \u201cThe Wheel of Fate!\u201d. Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. however is not that convinced we\u2019re dealing with Carmine Infantino here\u2026 and if you compare with the last story \u201cThe Sands of Doom!\u201d (also credited to Infantino) you\u2019ll wonder if this can be the same artist.\"KingOfMoths1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Issue begins with a real clunker of a story: \u201cThe Wheel of Fate!\u201d is ridiculous<\/strong> in a hair-raising way. Archeologist Edgar Preston discovers an ancient wheel-drawing depicting a man’s life in visual episodes. The man looks like Preston and soon events take place like pictured in the scroll<\/strong> \u2013 however fantastic they may be! Like being cast away on an island or the murder of a lighthouse keeper who built himself a lighthouse in the desert. Where Preston traveled on purpose to avoid meeting a lighthouse keeper, because the scroll foretold he\u2019d be killing a lighthouse keeper! You gotta be f\u2026\u2026 kidding me!!! That\u2019s DC\u2019s idea of a twist ending???
\nSo don\u2019t read ancient comics\/ scrolls, kiddies. They\u2019re BAD for you!<\/p>\n

Next \u201cJohnny Peril\u201d episode awaits us with the promising \u201cI Was King of the Moths!<\/a>\u201d. Lovely art by Toth and Barry again, but the story defies belief.<\/strong> Johnny Peril travels to the Lost Caverns in the Cumberland Mountains of Kentucky, accompanied by Donna Rome. Searching for her missing father, they encounter a species of giant moths<\/strong>. Johnny manages to kill the attacking king moth, but is captured by the queen moth to be her next king. They escape by passing through a cavern wherein flames shoot out of the ground, scorching the pursuing moths.<\/p>\n

O my. A moth making a man the new king moth. Good thing Johnny escaped in time (by luckily passing a cavern where \u201cflames shoot up from holes in the ground\u201d, as Donna explains). Else we would have been in for some unsavory insect sodomy<\/strong>. (Click splash above or title to read.)<\/p>\n

\"JackNarrator\"\u201cThe Sands of Doom!\u201d is special insofar as the above mentioned Jack-in-the-Box is the narrator<\/strong> of this story! DC HORROR hosted by toys?! Harhar.
\nAnd please notice that the narrating Jack from this issue comes straight out of last issue’s
\nlead story<\/strong> … huh … weird. I wonder if DC editors toyed with the idea of a Jack-in-the-Box host character<\/strong>.
\nBut didn’t follow through with that concept.<\/p>\n

The plot is so addlebrained it\u2019s fun! An African prince by the name of Marapai is born under the flight of the Tali bird<\/strong>. Which means that wherever on earth another Tali bird is circling over a newborn child, these two humans are destined to kill each other<\/strong> \u2013 should they ever meet in life. And strange as it is, another Tali bird is seen over \u201ca large eastern city\u201d in the US. So two complete strangers from completely different worlds are commanded by story \u201clogic\u201d to stage a duel to the death. We throw in: An elephant stampede, a unique flower called \u201cXoru\u201d, a traveling sideshow and a murderous showdown in a greenhouse.
\nAch, go read it. It\u2019s posted right HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One of the most sappy horror stories<\/strong> I\u2019ve ever encountered \u2013 and that is saying a lot! DC HORROR might be fun yet\u2026<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sensation Comics # 109<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

May-June 1952<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Sens#109\"Cover: (Man staring in horror at his left-hand fingers who come alive and threaten him) – Murphy Anderson<\/p>\n

\u201cFingers of Fear!\u201d (Carmine Infantino + Joe Giella)<\/p>\n

\u201cA Guide to Ghostly Behavior\u201d (Mort Drucker) \u2013 one-pager<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Beast That Walked Like a Man\u201d (Gil Kane + Frank Giacoia)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ferry Was Waiting!\u201d (John Giunta) \u2013 two-pager<\/p>\n

\u201cSuperstitions About Spiders\u201d (Morris Waldinger ?) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Demon in the Mirror!\u201d (Alex Toth + Sy Barry)<\/p>\n

Wacky, wacky, wacky cover.<\/strong> Those \u201cFingers of Fear!\u201d are nothing less than hilarious. One of the all-time highs of pre-code horror art<\/strong> (or one of the all-time lows, depending how you look on it!). I think it\u2019s pathetic \u2013 in a charming way!<\/p>\n

The story itself is fun, of course. What can go wrong with killing fingers<\/strong>? Still impossible to kill yourself by holding just your nose, but who\u2019s complaining? 10 out of 10 points for plot absurdness. We post it HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Beast That Walked Like a Man\u201d is about a circus-performer turning were-panther<\/strong>. Driven by his animal instincts he starts killing off his rivals – until he is hunted down. Hmmm, rather run-of-the-mill stuff here.\"DemonInMirror1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

First appearance<\/strong> (of 3) in DC\u2019s pre-code horror for comic book VIP Gil Kane<\/strong> – who created the Silver Age GREEN LANTERN, the famous SPIDER-MAN anti-drug story in 1971 and one of the first \u201cgraphic novels\u201d ever (HIS NAME IS\u2026 SAVAGE in 1968).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Demon in the Mirror!\u201d is a LAST contribution by Toth<\/strong>, sadly. He leaves DC and moves over to Standard Comics, enhancing their line of romance, horror, science fiction and war books for the next two years. The \u201cJohnny Peril\u201d feature will go on for seven more installments, though.<\/p>\n

About the story: Johnny Peril helps apprehend „deadly“ Don Domingo, a killer who employed voodoo magic in his crimes<\/strong>. Domingo can escape from death row by stepping through a mirror and banishing Peril into the prison world. Peril has to do some quick thinking, because the guards plan to execute him instead of the cunning criminal.<\/p>\n

Gorgeous looking and gripping story; posted <\/a>in our special section. This is a very satisfactory issue of SENSATION COMICS. And it\u2019s the last issue of SENSATION COMICS. The DC editors are pushing the horror look-and-feel and decree a title change to SENSATION MYSTERY<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sensation Mystery # 110<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

July-August 1952<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"SensMyst#110\"Cover: (Couple discovers giant \"Mad#6_bearbeitet-1\"footprint in the sand while eyes are watching out of a black thicket behind) \u2013 Gil Kane + Murphy Anderson<\/p>\n

\u201cNightmare Island!\u201d (Carmine Infantino + Sy Barry)<\/p>\n

\u201cVengeance of the Invisible Men!\u201d (Murphy Anderson)<\/p>\n

\u201cHorror in the Lake!\u201d (Frank Giacoia + Sy Barry, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cBeware The Black Cat!\u201d (Morris Waldinger) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n

The cover reminds me eerily of that MAD #6, but it\u2019s earlier!<\/strong> So if anyone copied from anyone, it was Harvey Kurtzman from Gil Kane + Murphy Anderson! MAD #6 came out a full year later.<\/p>\n

Nice artwork in \u201cNightmare Island!\u201d, the title story. Test pilot Larry Mangrum pushes his plane \u201cthrough the uncanny speed barrier at 1500 miles-per-hour\u201d. He crash-lands in another dimension. An island populated by giant frog beings<\/strong>, where he meets two other missing pilots.<\/p>\n

Finally a DC HORROR story which stays mysterious<\/strong>, which is nice for a change. Hopefully the book isn\u2019t called Sensation MYSTERY for nothing. It’s posted<\/a>!<\/p>\n

\"NightmareIslanddet\"<\/a>

Frog-wrestling, anyone? Have the balls (or the gills) to click on this row of panels to get to the whole fantastic fable!<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cVengeance of the Invisible Men!\u201d offers a wonderful splash and a quite entertaining tale about invisible invaders called \u201cTrogs<\/strong>\u201d: Robert Marley comes into possession of magic glasses, which make him see the invisible „Trogs“. The trogs are causing deadly accidents all over the country and try to wipe out the human race. Temporarily looking like a trog, Marley can destroy the invisibility ray and saves mankind.
\nComponents of this story (magic glasses, invisible invaders) can be found in other stories from other companies. But\u2019s it\u2019s another valid suspense yarn.<\/p>\n

Johnny Peril is attacked by a horde of weird caterpillar monsters<\/strong> in \u201cHorror in the Lake!\u201d. He has to flee out of a hotel where everybody else (except a mandatory woman for \u201ceye-candy\u201d) has been killed by the worm-like beings already.<\/p>\n

DC can do action horror!<\/strong> Quel surprise. That\u2019s the first DC HORROR issue I like (and don\u2019t have to go into my wailing banshee act).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sensation Mystery # 111<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

September-October 1952<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Sens#111\"Cover: (Human-shaped fog emerging from flask in laboratory attacking man who fires a gun at it) \u2013 Murphy Anderson + Sy Barry<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Spectre in the Flame!\u201d (Murphy Anderson + Sy Barry)<\/p>\n

\u201cBest Foot Forward\u2026\u201d (Mort Drucker) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n

\u201cWar of the Toy Soldiers!\u201d (Irwin Hasen + Bernard Sachs) \u2013 two-pager<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Doorway to Evil!\u201d (Carmine Infantino + Sy Barry)<\/p>\n

\u201cLucky Break\u201d (Mort Drucker) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n

\u201cUnusual Ghost Haunts!\u201d (Mort Drucker) \u2013 one-pager<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Screaming Death!\u201d (Frank Giacoia + Sy Barry, signed)<\/p>\n

For the second time (and all of SM\u2019s run), the cover features a byline<\/strong> above the title SENSATION MYSTERY, reading: \u201cThis is the dark doorway to<\/em>\u201d\u2026 ending in the Superman\/DC logo. I guess this should read \u201cThis is the dark doorway to\u201d\u2026 SENSATION MYSTERY<\/em>, but \u201cThis is the dark doorway to\u201d\u2026 Superman\/DC comics makes much more sense. Haha.<\/p>\n

\"DoorwayLogo\"<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Spectre in the Flame!\u201d \u2013 yeah. It\u2019s beyond me why anybody would even try to SHOOT FOG<\/strong>, but, hey, why not, if both have their fun and nobody gets hurt\u2026<\/p>\n

Have to correct myself, as the following row of panels proves. Smoke CAN be hurt \u2013 when it comes fresh out of the flame<\/strong>! Remember that, kiddies, might come in handy\u2026<\/p>\n

\"FlameSpectre\"<\/p>\n

Wacky, wacky, wacky story, haven\u2019t told you the plot yet: The lawyer Preston Zandan dabbles with the occult at night and conjures a smoke-shaped spirit<\/strong> out of every fire that\u2019s lighted. The spirit follows him around like a puppy, while Zandan tries to dispose of it. He is able to kill it with silver bullets.
\nNonsense aside, I\u2019ll just show you the twist ending. Gotta see this to believe it:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"FlameEnding\"<\/p>\n

Why is Preston flying through space like a superhero<\/strong> all of a sudden?!?!?
\nI give up, I don\u2019t wanna know. Next, please!<\/p>\n

\u201cWar of the Toy Soldiers!\u201d is a clever two page story: Retired general Roger Fielding loves to play with his toy armies<\/strong> and dies of exhaustion. He walked in his sleep and played at night, too, you know? One ratio-twist I can live with!
\nSkip over this story right now:<\/p>\n

\"WarOfToySoldiers1\" \"WarOfToySoldiers2\"<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Doorway to Evil!\u201d presents great artwork by the team of Carmine Infantino + Sy Barry<\/strong>, but is NO horror story, not even mystery: Steve Davis inherits the hotel „Fortuna“ and discovers a secret 13th floor<\/strong>, filled with symbols of evil and bad luck. Accidents start to happen; a streak of bad luck hits the hotel. In the end all turns out well, because an investor buys the place for a million dollars.
\n\u201cThe Doorway to Evil!\u201d ends on a happy note and feels very much like a romance comic (see pic just below):<\/p>\n

\"SteveDavis\"<\/p>\n

We should probably look out for the team of Carmine Infantino + Sy Barry. Apart from Alex Toth (who\u2019s left the series three months before) these guys deliver the best-looking pages for DC HORROR<\/strong>. So far.<\/p>\n

The Jonny Peril feature is done by Frank Giacoia + Sy Barry again. \u201cThe Screaming Death!\u201d is a crime story:
\nThe mad sound engineer<\/strong> and murderer Bryan Anson escapes from prison and locks up Johnny Peril. Anson plans to kill Peril by amplifying the noises he makes. At the showdown in a terrarium Anson is bitten by a poisonous snake and perishes.
\nStory is posted <\/a>on my other website WAVE OF CRIME.<\/p>\n

Well, SENSATION MYSTERY #111 is a unique horror book<\/strong> \u2013 because it offers no horror!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sensation Mystery # 112<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

November-December 1952<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Sensmyst#112\"Cover: (Mummy operating gear levers shocking to life second mummy while bound man watches in horror) \u2013 Gil Kane + John Giunta<\/p>\n

\u201cDeath Has Five Guesses!\u201d (Frank Giacoia + Sy Barry, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Man Who Cried Werewolf!\u201d (John Giunta, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cCrawling Cure\u201d (Mort Drucker) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n

\u201cErrand Ghosts\u201d (Mort Drucker) \u2013 one-pager<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Tattooed Terror!\u201d (Carmine Infantino + Sy Barry)<\/p>\n

Johnny Peril gets the cover spot and will be the leading story<\/strong> from now on till the last issue of SENSATION MYSTERY (four more). \u00a0And it\u2019s a long ten-page story<\/strong>, a concept that rival publisher Fawcett is using for its horror books.<\/p>\n

\u201cDeath Has Five Guesses!\u201d is quite a crackpot fantasy tale: „Master adventurer“ Johnny Peril is trapped inside a mansion with living dummies<\/strong>. He encounters actor Karl Kandor who wants to exchange his old body for Peril’s young one by mind transfer. This is all nonsense, but lavishly illustrated.<\/p>\n

\"PerilInPeril\"

Peril in peril.<\/p><\/div>\n

You have to acknowledge that SENSATION MYSTERY looks way better<\/strong> than the sister book HOUSE OF MYSTERY.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Man Who Cried Werewolf!\u201d is a clever title for a horror story. It ends right there. The rest is the usual DC HORROR hogwash topped with a ludicrous ratio-twist<\/strong>. Mobbing at \u201cthe Academy of Supernatural Science\u201d.
\nThree students rival for leading the class. Monica has found a formula to turn a man into a werewolf. Her boyfriend Dale drinks it, nothing happens. Until later. Supposedly. Turns out he is the victim of a cruel hoax by jealous friend Hilton. Let\u2019s show you the inane climax in four panels:<\/p>\n

\"WerewolfMask\"<\/p>\n

Well, has she found a formula or hasn\u2019t she?! Wouldn\u2019t Monica know up front? Allegedly \u201cmicro-organisms change their form radically\u201d (on page 2). I would like to change into a werewolf, travel back in time and visit the offices of DC Comics<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Third and last story (because of the long first) is \u201cThe Tattooed Terror!\u201d, offering a nice splash to begin with. But it\u2019s a clear-cut crime story<\/strong>, albeit a weird<\/strong> one: Richard Forman made a fortune with counterfeit money, but let his partner Burt Jorgens go to prison. Years later Jorgens is released and stalks Forman by tattooing him in his sleep<\/strong> with symbols foreboding strange accidents. Finally confronting Forman, Jorgens … nah, I won’t spoiler it. You can read it on<\/a> WAVE OF CRIME.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sensation Mystery # 113<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

January-February 1953<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Sensmyst#113\"Cover: (Huge red spectre shouting \"DeathFumble\"warning at Johnny Peril running away from him) \u2013 Carmine Infantino + John Giunta<\/p>\n

\u201cThe End of Death\u201d (Jerry Grandenetti + Frank Giacoia)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Sea Girl!\u201d (Jim Mooney + Bernard Sachs)<\/p>\n

\u201cLantern in the Rain!\u201d (Irwin Hasen) \u2013 two-pager<\/p>\n

\u201cLegacy of Horror!\u201d (Murphy Anderson + Sy Barry)<\/p>\n

Hey, it\u2019s a next cover featuring Johnny Peril! Who\u2019s named \u201cPeril\u201d anyway? With a name like that you\u2019re bound to run into danger<\/strong>. And end up in a comic book\u2026<\/p>\n

The lead story \u201cThe End of Death\u201d kicks off with an involuntarily comical splash \u2013 a man fumbling with death! The awkwardness of the pose hints at a new artist in DC HORROR\u2019s line-up. Please welcome Jerry Grandenetti<\/strong>. Not a bad artist at all, but limited in his ways and prone to exaggerating bodily postures and facial expressions.
\nIt\u2019s a crime story, given the usual DC HORROR hogwash treatment. I refuse to delve deeper into it.<\/p>\n

\"Undine\"Can\u2019t stop shaking my head after reading \u201cThe Sea Girl!\u201d \u2013 here\u2019s my attempt of summing up the story:
\nJim Spencer is marooned on an enchanted island<\/strong>. He lives in the company of an undine, a dryad and a sylph<\/strong>.
\nSpencer falls in love with Celia, the mermaid. She offers him treasures if he leaves her, because the price for their love will be her becoming human. Spencer chooses Celia and they live happily ever after.
\nThe dryad and the sylph explain that everything has been a masquerade to shock Celia out of believing she is an undine.<\/p>\n

This leaves me kinda dumbfounded. I keep staring at that hair tonic ad just below! Is THIS the true message of the story?<\/strong> My brain is starting to melt\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cLegacy of Horror!\u201d confirms a familiar pattern:
\n7 pages of horror followed by an annulling 8th<\/sup> page washing everything down the drain.
\nNoooooo!
\nHaunted house, heir, millions for the taking, drive him insane, crooked lawyer, rigging up a television set with spooky movies, of course, of course, why not. I believe, I believe!<\/p>\n

\"HeadlessKnight\"

They forget to explain THAT stunt in the resolution, but it\u2019s all an act, folks!<\/p><\/div>\n

Most fun<\/strong> I had with this issue was the following SUPERBOY advertisement for drilling youngsters at air rifle shooting<\/strong> (\u201cLearn to shoot your rifle properly<\/em>\u201d). Ah, yes. Guns don\u2019t kill people<\/strong>. But they sure help a lot. I feel like joining right NOW!<\/p>\n

\"NRArifleFun\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sensation Mystery # 114<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

March-April 1953<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Sensmyst#114\"Cover: (Giant bird\u2019s claw coming down on the cowering Johnny Peril firing his gun at it) \u2013 Gil Kane + Frank Giacoia<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Haunted Diamond\u201d (Jerry Grandenetti + Frank Giacoia)<\/p>\n

\u201cDeath Knock!\u201d (Mort Drucker) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Return of Cagliostro!\u201d (Gene Colan + ?)<\/p>\n

\u201cHazel Magic!\u201d (Mort Drucker) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ghost Snowman\u201d (Mort Drucker + Joe Giella)<\/p>\n

\u201cBeware After Dark!\u201d (Carmine Infantino ? + Joe Giella)<\/p>\n

Another nice cover featuring Johnny Peril and a first-person lead story as well: \u201cThe Haunted Diamond\u201d is a charming fantasy tale<\/strong> about plunging into a dangerous diamond world and being stalked by diamond creatures<\/strong>. But no horror, no siree\u2026<\/p>\n

Presenting you with a typical DC HORROR half-page filler<\/strong> you\u2019ll find in every one of their books, drawn by Mort Drucker:<\/p>\n

\"DCfiller\"<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Return of Cagliostro!\u201d had been attributed to Manny Stallman, but it\u2019s very clearly a hidden Gene Colan gem<\/strong> (as Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. had no trouble spotting). Nice surprise! One of the first jobs he is doing for DC! And a fun story as well: Bruce Clark is researching the life of count Cagliostro<\/strong>. A clever impostor visits him and tries to steal the Cagliostro foundation’s money.
\nAlas, also no horror story.<\/p>\n

\"GhostSnowman1\"<\/a>\u201cThe Ghost Snowman\u201d allows filler \"BewareAfterDark1\"<\/a>artist Mort Drucker<\/strong> to express himself on four pages<\/strong>, probably inked by Joe Giella. Eric Wright lets his business partner fall to death on a mountain slope. Back in the US Wright is haunted by a living snowman<\/strong> seeking revenge. It is, however, the victim’s brother in a clever disguise.
\nI can\u2019t resist a snowman horror story, I love it. Although there\u2019s a hilariously mind-boggling ratio-twist at the end. Made me laugh.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a very big question mark for art by Carmine Infantino in \u201cBeware After Dark!\u201d, but we don\u2019t know any better. Whoever put THAT story in a DC HORROR book. It is truly a horror story<\/strong>! Amazing.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Dutton’s cat Wendy is in reality a shape-shifting alien<\/strong> from the planet Deneb. At night it leaves the house and goes on a killing spree to decimate human life.
\nHuh? Not bad for DC. What\u2019s happening? Is this the spring-time dawn of a new era? We\u2019ll be on the lookout!
\nWe present both tales in our ‚Stories‘ section, just click the miniature splash pages …<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sensation Mystery # 115<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

May-June 1953<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Sens#115\"Cover: (Couple descending flight of stairs and falling into nothingness) \u2013 Gil Kane + Frank Giacoia<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Phantom Castle!\u201d (Jerry Grandenetti + Sy Barry)<\/p>\n

\u201cStairways of Destiny…\u201d (Mort Drucker) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n

\u201cHow to Avoid A Witch!\u201d (Mort Drucker) \u2013 one-pager<\/p>\n

\u201cVengeance of the Sea King!\u201d (Carmine Infantino + Bernard Sachs)<\/p>\n

\u201cImages of Death!\u201d (Mort Drucker) \u2013 one-pager<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Half-Lucky Charm!\u201d (Gil Kane + Bernard Sachs, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Giant in the Swamp!\u201d (Murphy Anderson)<\/p>\n

Issue leads off with a nice cover<\/strong> and the corresponding Johnny Peril story \u201cThe Phantom Castle!\u201d, executed again by Jerry Grandenetti with Sy Barry doing the inks. When Gloorie castle is transported from Scotland to the US, a stolen crown is hidden in the floor. Johnny Peril investigates and is confronted with three hooded henchmen posing as ghosts<\/strong>.
\nIt\u2019s well-constructed suspense-mystery-action tale, told by Johnny Peril in first person.\"SeaKingSplash\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cVengeance of the Sea King!\u201d offers a beautiful splash and great artwork<\/strong> throughout. Story, however, is the usual DC HORROR ratio-twist hogwash!
\n(We post it anyway, click to read<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Crew members impersonate Neptune and his sons to make a murderer come forward and confess his crime.
\nMakes you wonder why no DC writers hired with the FBI and started solving real crimes! Seems to work so well.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Half-Lucky Charm!\u201d is a nice looking, but inane four-page story which sounds more like a filler: A man comes into possession of a half good-luck charm<\/strong> and makes some strange experiences: He inherits half his uncle’s estate and falls in love with a woman in a half-white and half-black costume, learning only half her name and address.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Giant in the Swamp!\u201d is an adventure-crime-drama tale and it runs like this, believe it or not: Archeologist Steve Dexter discovers a hidden island of giant Indians\/ Native Americans<\/strong> and their gold treasure in the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia. He is being followed by three gangsters who attack and plan to rob him. A hermit comes to Dexter’s rescue.
\nYaaaawwn. What\u2019s that? There\u2019s an advertisement just below the story:<\/p>\n

\"SupermanOnTV\"<\/p>\n

Holy cow! Exciting! Turn on the telly!<\/strong> I don\u2019t hafta read these \u201ccomic\u201d books anymore\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sensation Mystery # 116<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

July-August 1953<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Sensmyst#116\"Cover: (Wind-up toys in attack mode marching against frightened couple in the background)\u00a0 –
\nCarmine Infantino + Bernard Sachs<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Toy Assassins!\u201d (Gil Kane + Frank Giacoia)<\/p>\n

\u201cClocks of Doom!\u201d (Mort Drucker) \u2013 half-pager<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Phantom Enemy\u201d (Carmine Infantino + Sy Barry)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Census Taker!\u201d (John Giunta) \u2013 two-pager<\/p>\n

\u201cShuddery Shadows\u201d (Mort Drucker) \u2013 one-pager<\/p>\n

\u201cDead Man’s Diary\u201d (Murphy Anderson)<\/p>\n

Last issue of DC\u2019s long lasting SENSATION series.
\nAnd a last title spot for Johnny Peril<\/strong> who is quite the ladies\u2019 man<\/strong>! I can reveal all now. There\u2019s always a different woman on his arm<\/strong>, in \u201cThe Toy Assassins!\u201d it\u2019s lovely young actress Jill Florian.
\nThey search for a toy to buy for her nephew and then this happens:<\/p>\n

\"ToysForGrownups\"<\/p>\n

Is it just me or do I smell sexual symbolism<\/strong> here? Jack and Jill (sorry: John and Jill) are getting all excited about each other \u201ctoys\u201d and \u201crest\u201d in a giant doll house?! To do what exactly? Huh?!<\/p>\n

\"PhantomEnemy1\"<\/a>Then a life-size \u201ctoy executioner\u201d comes for Johnny, probably wanting to castrate<\/strong> him for desecrating the toy department.
\nBut, no, an army of toy soldiers<\/strong> invades the store and steals a priceless necklace on display. How in hell will DC writer ever resolve that phantasmagoria? Easy as pie.
\nJohnny made the toy soldiers up! All the action never happened<\/strong>, but Peril claims it did. Why? To give the real murderer a false sense of security (?!?), because he returns to the scene of the crime and manages to arrest the evildoer!<\/p>\n

Schizophrenic art painter Gene Dyer creates replicas of his paintings as Gardner Dell. He leaves poisoned medicine for the copycat, but kills only himself. \u201cThe Phantom Enemy\u201d treads along so dull and foreseeable that I almost quit reading. But the story picks up at the end and goes out on a tragic note.<\/strong> That and the nice artwork by Carmine Infantino and Sy Barry make it worth posting<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Census Taker!\u201d is a rare genuine DC horror story<\/strong> (if only two pages long) about death making the rounds in a clever disguise.<\/p>\n

\"CensusTaker1\" \"CensusTaker2\"<\/p>\n

\u201cDead Man’s Diary\u201d is the last story \u2013 an absurd mystery-drama with our beloved DC ratio-twist: Richard Prentiss is confronted with unusual occurrences. Behind those is his brother who wants to drive Prentiss insane. O no, o no, o no.<\/p>\n

Make it stop, now! And it stopped\u2026<\/strong>
\nThat was the last issue of DC‘ long-running SENSATIONS series.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Better take a look at the statistics for SENSATION COMICS \/ SENSATION MYSTERY. <\/strong><\/p>\n

I counted 32 full-length stories (of which 7 again are told in first person). The artists\u2019 contribution table will look chaotic now, because pens and inks are almost always divided up. Well, it reads like this:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Carmine Infantino \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 10\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 with inkers Giacoia, Barry (each 4), Giella and Sachs (each 1)<\/p>\n

Murphy Anderson\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 5\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 with inker Sy Barry (2)<\/p>\n

Frank Giacoia\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 with inker Sy Barry (3)<\/p>\n

Alex Toth \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a03\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 with inker Sy Barry (3)<\/p>\n

Gil Kane\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 with inkers Giacoia and Sachs (each 1)<\/p>\n

Jerry Grandenetti\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 with inkers Giacoia (2) and Barry (1)<\/p>\n

Jim Mooney\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 with inker Bernard Sachs<\/p>\n

Gene Colan\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 with inker Bernard Sachs ?<\/p>\n

Mort Drucker\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 with inker Joe Giella<\/p>\n

John Giunta\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 solo (hey!)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The SENSATIONS are clearly a team effort by Carmine Infantino, Sy Barry and Frank Giacoia mostly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

All artwork credits for the SENSATIONs were double checked by Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr.   Sensation Comics # 107 January-February 1952 Cover: (Sinister Jack-in-the-box frightening man who\u2019s dropping money) \u2013 Joe Giella ? \u201cSinister Jack-in-the-Box\u201d (Frank Giacoia) \u201cThe Last Dream!\u201d (Carmine Infantino + Frank Giacoia \/ Sy Barry ?) \u201cMan into Frog\u201d (Mort Drucker) \u2013 half-pager […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":60,"parent":0,"menu_order":30,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1168,"href":"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12\/revisions\/1168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/60"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}