The Unexpected
Encyclopedia
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.
. Its first "host" was The Mad Mod Witch
. With issue #189 the series became a triple-sized Dollar Comic, incorporating House of Secrets and The Witching Hour
. Each "Unexpected" story would always include the word in its last panel. After the merge, this was only true of the Unexpected section; there would then be complete, ad-free issues of The Witching Hour, hosted by its witches, and The House of Secrets, hosted by Abel
. The Witching Hour feature was alternated with Doorway to Nightmare (starring Madame Xanadu
), which appeared in issues #190, 192, 194, and 195. With issue #198, the series was restored to standard size, and rather than three complete issues in one, there was one story each per issue. The House of Secrets continued through issue #208; The Witching Hour continued to appear until issue #209 (April 1981), which incorporated the science fiction series, Time Warp.
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 "The 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
.
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
horror comic book, a continuation of Tales of the Unexpected
Tales of the Unexpected (comics)
Tales of the Unexpected was a science fiction comic book published by DC Comics from 1956 to 1968 for 104 issues. It was later renamed The Unexpected although the numbering continued and it ended at issue 222, in 1982...
. It ran 117 issues, #105-222, from 1968 to 1982.
Publication history
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 MysteryHouse of Mystery
The House of Mystery is the name of several horror-mystery-suspense anthology comic book series. It had a companion series, House of Secrets.-Genesis:...
. Its first "host" was The Mad Mod Witch
The Mad Mod Witch
The Mad Mod Witch is a DC Comics character created by Dave Wood and Jack Sparling. She starred as host in the feature "Tales of the Mad Mod Witch" in The Unexpected, beginning in issue #108. She was not allowed to take over the book the way many of DC's other horror hosts had been, though she was...
. With issue #189 the series became a triple-sized Dollar Comic, incorporating House of Secrets and The Witching Hour
The Witching Hour (DC Comics)
The Witching Hour was a DC comic book horror anthology that ran from 1969 to 1978. Its tagline was "It's 12 o'clock... The Witching Hour!"...
. Each "Unexpected" story would always include the word in its last panel. After the merge, this was only true of the Unexpected section; there would then be complete, ad-free issues of The Witching Hour, hosted by its witches, and The House of Secrets, hosted by Abel
Cain and Abel (comics)
Cain and Abel are a pair of fictional characters in the DC Comics universe based on the Biblical Cain and Abel. They are key figures in DC's "Mystery" line of the late 1960s and 1970s, which became the mature-readers imprint, Vertigo, in 1993....
. The Witching Hour feature was alternated with Doorway to Nightmare (starring Madame Xanadu
Madame Xanadu
Madame Xanadu is a fictional character, a comic book mystic published by DC Comics. The character is identified with Nimue, the sorceress from Arthurian mythology made popular by Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.-Publication history:...
), which appeared in issues #190, 192, 194, and 195. With issue #198, the series was restored to standard size, and rather than three complete issues in one, there was one story each per issue. The House of Secrets continued through issue #208; The Witching Hour continued to appear until issue #209 (April 1981), which incorporated the science fiction series, Time Warp.
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
Sensation Comics
Sensation Comics is the title of a comic book series published by DC Comics that ran for 109 issues between 1942 and 1952. For most of its run, the lead feature was Wonder Woman. Other series that appeared were the Black Pirate, the Gay Ghost, Mr...
#107-109, when it was retitled Sensation Mystery for issues #110-116. Some of his stories would be reprinted in Unexpected.
The comic features "The Mad Mod Witch
The Mad Mod Witch
The Mad Mod Witch is a DC Comics character created by Dave Wood and Jack Sparling. She starred as host in the feature "Tales of the Mad Mod Witch" in The Unexpected, beginning in issue #108. She was not allowed to take over the book the way many of DC's other horror hosts had been, though she was...
" (later known as "Fashion Thing" in Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
'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
The Dreaming (comics)
The Dreaming is a fictional place, a comic book location published by DC Comics. The Dreaming first appeared in the Sandman vol. 2 #1, , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Sam Kieth. The Dreaming is the domain of Dream of the Endless....
.