DC Special #4
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeDC Special #4 earns its place in comics history primarily as the first appearance of Abel, the meek and stuttering caretaker who would go on to host House of Secrets and, decades later, become a central figure in Neil Gaiman's groundbreaking Sandman series. The issue's framing sequence — written by Mark Hanerfeld and drawn by Bill Draut — united virtually every one of DC's 1969 horror hosts (Cain, the Three Witches, Judge Gallows, and the Phantom Stranger) in a single story for the first time, establishing the shared mythology of DC's 'Mystery' line that Gaiman and Alan Moore would later mine so richly. Beyond the Abel debut, the issue also reprints Jack Kirby's 1957 Tales of the Unexpected #16 story 'The Magic Hammer,' a western proto-Thor tale now recognized by comics historians as a key precursor to Marvel's Thor — same Mjolnir design, same Loki-as-thief plot, same hammer-versus-tree demonstration — making this reprint anthology a fascinating cross-publisher artifact. It is one of those rare anthology issues whose historical weight derives not from a single blockbuster moment but from the quiet convergence of characters and concepts whose full significance would only become clear years later.
In DC Special #4 (1969), inmate Chick Durant gains the bizarre ability to escape his cell for exactly 25 minutes—thanks to a strange mix of meteorite fragments and scrap metal from an atomic lab embedded in his ID tag. When he reshapes the tag on an uncharted island, his powers go awry, trapping him in a place he can't escape. The story, illustrated by Bernard Baily with lettering by Pat Gordon, features a striking cover by Neal Adams.
In "Ghost Writer," a jealous author named Billy Conway commits murder to claim credit for a work he never wrote—his ghost writer, Foster. Now haunted by a spectral audience that knows the truth, Conway must face the chilling consequences of his crime, where every shadow seems to whisper his guilt.
When shy farmhand Gerald Bard stumbles upon Thor’s enchanted hammer, he’s quick to put it to work—turning a parched field into a fertile one with a few well-placed swings. But his quiet miracle doesn’t go unnoticed, and soon the god of thunder himself arrives, demanding the hammer’s return. The tale unfolds with a mix of mythic weight and gentle humor, as the stolen artifact’s true history begins to surface.
In "A Piece of Rope!" from DC Special #4 (1969), reporter George Hackett stumbles upon a mysterious treasure while sorting through the belongings of a recently deceased man. Drawn in by the promise of something valuable, he makes a reckless decision that sets him on a dangerous path.
In "Last Mile" Martin, a condemned man named James Martin is granted a reprieve when the electric chair fails—only to meet his end moments later, felled by a stray bullet. The story’s stark, surreal twist lingers long after the final page, a haunting echo of fate’s irony.
In "Door of No Return?", Don Miguel’s greed leads him to attempt stealing a mystical artifact from a humble village, only to find himself on the brink of being trapped in another dimension. Written by an unknown author and illustrated by an unknown artist, this brief fantasy tale delivers a swift, eerie lesson in humility.
In "The Bullet Man!", inmate Chick Durant gains the bizarre ability to escape his cell for exactly 25 minutes—thanks to a mysterious blend of meteorite fragments and atomic lab scrap fused into his ID tag. When he reshapes the tag on an uncharted island, his powers shift, trapping him in a place where his only chance to survive may lie in mastering the very force that now defines him.
In "The Strange Faces of Death!" from DC Special #4 (1969), Elmo Hackett, a collector with a morbid fascination, guides us through his private gallery of death masks—each one a chilling memento of a life cut short by the unexpected. But when he turns a corner and sees his own face preserved in wax, the exhibition takes a turn he never expected.
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DC Special was a quarterly, theme-based reprint anthology launched in 1968 under DC's National Periodical Publications banner, designed to package Golden Age and early Silver Age stories around a unifying concept. Issue #4, on sale May 22, 1969 with a September cover date, was edited by Joe Orlando — DC's presiding architect of the horror-host anthology format — and priced at 25 cents for 68 square-bound pages. The issue's newly written framing sequence, scripted by Mark Hanerfeld (a DC assistant editor whose physical appearance reportedly served as the model for Abel's design) and illustrated by Bill Draut, was the issue's sole original content, bridging twelve reprinted horror tales drawn from House of Mystery, House of Secrets, Tales of the Unexpected, and Sensation Mystery. The cover was provided by Neal Adams, then at the height of his transformative run on DC's horror and superhero titles.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Abel (future host of House of Secrets and major supporting character in Neil Gaiman's The Sandman), created by writer Mark Hanerfeld, artist Bill Draut, and editor Joe Orlando.
- Abel next appeared in House of Secrets #81 (August–September 1969), published roughly two weeks after DC Special #4 went on sale, immediately taking over as that title's host.
- The new framing sequence, '13 Shock-Ending Stories 13,' assembles Cain, Abel, the Three Witches (Cynthia, Mildred, and Mordred), Judge Gallows, and the Phantom Stranger in a single shared story — one of the earliest crossovers of DC's horror-host universe.
- Abel's physical appearance was modeled on Mark Hanerfeld, DC's assistant editor at the time.
- The issue reprints 'The Magic Hammer!' — originally published in Tales of the Unexpected #16 (August 1957), penciled and inked by Jack Kirby — which features Thor, Mjolnir (designed identically to the Marvel version), and a Loki-steals-the-hammer plot that Kirby would reuse for Journey into Mystery #92 (1963).
- The anthology draws from multiple DC anthology titles: House of Mystery, House of Secrets, Tales of the Unexpected, Sensation Mystery, and House of Secrets, with art by Kirby, Carmine Infantino, Jerry Grandenetti, Leonard Starr, Sheldon Moldoff, George Papp, Gene Colan, Bernard Baily, and others.
- Cover art and framing-sequence cover lettering were provided by Neal Adams and Gaspar Saladino, respectively.
- The DC Special series ran as a quarterly reprint anthology from 1968 to 1971, then resumed from 1975 to 1977, focusing primarily on DC's Golden Age output with only rare original material.
Full credits
Reprints
↩ Reprints House of Mystery #2 (1952), House of Mystery #5 (1952), House of Mystery #9 (1952), Sensation Mystery #114 (1953), House of Mystery #15 (1953), House of Mystery #19 (1953), House of Mystery #26 (1954), House of Mystery #30 (1954), Tales of the Unexpected #1 (1956), Tales of the Unexpected #16 (1957), Tales of the Unexpected #17 (1957), House of Secrets #62 (1963), House of Secrets #63 (1963)
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