House of Mystery #175
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeHouse of Mystery #175 is the pivot point that transformed a struggling superhero anthology back into the horror showcase DC had originally intended, and it did so by giving the title something it had never had before: a permanent, character-driven host. The debut of Cain — sardonic caretaker of the eponymous House — established the framing-device model that would define DC's entire Bronze Age horror line for the next fifteen years and inspire a wave of similar hosts across the publisher's sister titles. Decades later, Neil Gaiman cited these Joe Orlando–era anthologies as formative childhood reading, and he wove Cain directly into the architecture of The Sandman, making this issue an indirect ancestor of one of the most critically acclaimed comic runs in the medium's history. The issue also quietly introduces Gregory the Gargoyle, Cain's reptilian companion, who would become a recognizable fixture of the Dreaming in Gaiman's work.
In "The Gift of-- Doom," Roger Steele receives a mysterious diamond from a stranger who warns it carries a curse that could destroy him. Though he tries to rid himself of it, the gem always returns—until it’s stolen, and the thief meets a sudden, deadly end.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
When EC Comics veteran Joe Orlando took over as editor beginning with issue #174, the series had spent years cycling through science-fiction placeholders and superhero tenants — J'onn J'onzz and then Dial H for Hero had occupied the book while the Comics Code kept true horror off the table. With the Code's authority increasingly being questioned by both DC and Marvel in 1968, Orlando saw an opening to restore the anthology's original identity and drew on his EC experience to design a host character in the EC tradition. He wrote and drew the brief Cain introduction page himself, enlisted Neal Adams for the eye-catching cover, and brought in Sergio Aragonés for recurring humor filler pages — an editorial recipe that proved durable enough to run until 1978 under Orlando's watch. Cain's gaunt, angular look was deliberately modeled on a then-unknown young writer named Len Wein.
Trivia · 7 facts
- First appearance of Cain, the biblical-figure-inspired caretaker and horror host of the House of Mystery, created by writer Bob Haney, artist Jack Sparling, and editor Joe Orlando.
- First appearance of Gregory the Gargoyle — Cain's large green gargoyle companion — who debuts as a baby in the story 'The House of Gargoyles' and later becomes a recurring figure in Neil Gaiman's The Sandman.
- Cover art by Neal Adams, brought aboard by editor Joe Orlando specifically to elevate DC's relaunched horror anthology line.
- Interior contributors include Joe Orlando (Cain introduction page, text story 'All Alone'), Jack Oleck (script for 'The House of Gargoyles'), Jack Sparling (art for 'The House of Gargoyles'), George Roussos (art for the reprinted 'The Gift of Doom' from House of Mystery #137), and Sergio Aragonés (the 'Page 13' humor feature and 'Cain's Game Room' cartoon panels).
- The story 'The House of Gargoyles' was later reprinted in DC Special #11 (March–April 1971) and Limited Collectors' Edition C-23 (Winter 1973).
- The entire early horror-revival era beginning with this issue is collected in DC's Showcase Presents: House of Mystery Vol. 1 (2006), a black-and-white trade paperback collecting issues #174–194.
- Cain's physical appearance was modeled on Len Wein, who was just beginning his writing career at DC at the time; both the character and the anthology he debuted in were later cited by Neil Gaiman as foundational influences on The Sandman, in which Cain became a resident of the Dreaming.
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↩ Reprints House of Mystery #137 (1963)
Reprinted in DC Special #11 (1971), Limited Collectors' Edition #C-23 (1973), Showcase Presents: The House of Mystery #1 (2006), Classici DC: House of Mystery #2 (2009), House of Mystery: The Bronze Age Omnibus #1 (2019)
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