House of Mystery #12
In "The Devil's Chessboard," chess master Alan Blake finds himself trapped in a sinister game on a cursed board where each captured piece exacts a real-life toll. When his queen is taken and his fiancée collapses, only a desperate pawn promotion offers a fragile hope. Leonard Starr handles both art and inks for the eerie interior, while Curt Swan and George Klein deliver the chilling cover.
In "The Devil's Chessboard," chess master Alan Blake finds himself trapped in a sinister game on a cursed board, where each captured piece exacts a real-world toll. When his queen falls, his fiancée collapses—only to cling to life as long as Blake holds the power to promote a pawn to a queen.
In "Black Future," Jud Taylor lives under the weight of a chilling truth: every prediction made by a mysterious fortune teller from the future unfolds with terrifying precision. As his life unravels in real time, the line between fate and foresight blurs, leaving him trapped in a timeline he can't escape.
In "The Secret of the Matador's Sword!" from House of Mystery #12 (1953), Jose Pinto wields a mysterious blade that grants him victory in the ring—until the final, fateful bullfight reveals the sword’s deadly price. Written with a chilling pulse and illustrated with shadow-drenched precision, this tale unfolds the cost of power earned through peril.
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Reprinted in Five-Score Comic Monthly #12 (1959), Superboy #6/1970 (1970), House of Mystery #226 (1974), Showcase Presents: The House of Mystery #3 (2009), Horror #59
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