| The Witching Hour | |
|---|---|
 The Witching Hour #1 (February–March 1969), art by Nick Cardy. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Schedule | Bimonthly, then monthly |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | List
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| No. of issues | List
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| Main character(s) | The Three Witches (Morded, Mildred, and Cynthia) |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | List
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| Penciller(s) | List
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| Inker(s) | List
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| Editor(s) | List
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The Witching Hour is an American comic book horror anthology published by DC Comics from 1969 to 1978.
The series was published for 85 issues from February–March 1969 to October 1978. [1] [2] Its tagline was "It's 12 o'clock... The Witching Hour!" and was changed to "It's midnight..." from issue #14 onwards. [3] The series was originally edited by Dick Giordano, [4] who was replaced by Murray Boltinoff with issue #14. [3] Nick Cardy was the cover artist for The Witching Hour for issues #1–6, 11–12, 15–16, 18–52, and 60. [5] Stories in the comic were "hosted" and introduced by three witches, Mordred, Mildred, and Cynthia, initially designed by artist Alex Toth. [6]
After The Witching Hour's cancellation as a result of the "DC Implosion", the title was merged with The Unexpected [7] until issue #209. The witches were later revived along with the hosts of the companion series House of Secrets and House of Mystery as important characters in Neil Gaiman's The Sandman .
Vertigo published an unrelated The Witching Hour limited series by writer Jeph Loeb and artists Chris Bachalo and Art Thibert in 1999–2000. [8]
The Witching Hour title was revived for a one-shot anthology by Vertigo in 2013. [9] [10]
Wonder Woman & Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour is a five–part weekly crossover storyline published in two one-shots and the main Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark series. The crossover featured Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark teaming up to defeat Hecate. The entire crossover received positive reviews. [11] [12]
According to Comic Book Roundup, the 2018 series received a score of 8.2 out of 10 based on 98 reviews. [13]
The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC's premier superheroes in the Justice League. The original team later becomes known as the Titans when the members age out of their teenage years, while the Teen Titans name is continued by subsequent generations of young heroes. First appearing in 1964 in The Brave and the Bold #54, the team was formed by Kid Flash, Robin, and Aqualad (Garth) before adopting the name Teen Titans in issue 60 with the addition of Wonder Girl to their ranks.
Richard Joseph Giordano was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics.
The Phantom Stranger is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, of unspecified paranormal origins, who battles mysterious and occult forces, sometimes under their Vertigo imprint. The character first appeared in an eponymous comics anthology published in August/September 1952.
All Star Comics is an American comic book series from All-American Publications, one of three companies that merged with National Periodical Publications to form the modern-day DC Comics. While the series' cover-logo trademark reads All Star Comics, its copyrighted title as indicated by postal indicia is All-Star Comics, with a hyphen. With the exception of the first two issues, All Star Comics told stories about the adventures of the Justice Society of America, the very first team of superheroes. It also introduced Wonder Woman.
The House of Mystery is the name of several horror, fantasy, and mystery comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It had a companion series, The House of Secrets. It is also the name of the titular setting of the series.
The House of Secrets is the name of several mystery, fantasy, and horror comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It is notable for being the title that introduced the character the Swamp Thing. It had a companion series titled The House of Mystery.
The Superman Family is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1974 to 1982 featuring supporting characters in the Superman comics. The term "Superman Family" is often used to refer to the extended cast of characters of comics books associated with Superman. A similarly titled series, Superman Family Adventures, was published in 2012.
Richard Allen Dillin was an American comics artist best known for a 12-year run as the penciler of the DC Comics superhero-team series Justice League of America. He drew 115 issues from 1968 until his death in 1980.
Nicholas Viscardi, known professionally as Nick Cardy and Nick Cardi, was an American comics artist best known for his DC Comics work on Aquaman, the Teen Titans and other major characters. Cardy was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2005.
The Unexpected is a fantasy-horror comics anthology series, a continuation of Tales of the Unexpected, published by DC Comics. The Unexpected ran 118 issues, from #105 to #222. As a result of the so-called DC Implosion of late 1978, beginning in 1979 The Unexpected absorbed the other DC horror titles House of Secrets, The Witching Hour, and Doorway to Nightmare into its pages. Horror hosts featured in The Unexpected included The Mad Mod Witch, Judge Gallows, Abel, and the Witches Three.
Sword of Sorcery was an American sword-and-sorcery comics anthology featuring Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, heroes and rogues created by Fritz Leiber. Published bi-monthly by DC Comics, it ran for five issues in 1973, with a cover price of 20¢. The title was written by Denny O'Neil and featured art by Howard Chaykin, Walt Simonson, and Jim Starlin. The book was cancelled after five issues due to bad sales.
Cliff Chiang is an American comic book artist. Formerly an assistant editor at DC Comics, he is now an illustrator, known for his work on Human Target, Beware the Creeper and Crisis Aftermath: The Spectre, Green Arrow/Black Canary, Wonder Woman and Paper Girls.
Ghosts is a horror comics anthology series published by DC Comics for 112 issues from September–October 1971 to May 1982. Its tagline was "True Tales of the Weird and Supernatural", changed to "New Tales of the Weird and Supernatural", as of #75, and dropped after #104.
DC 100 Page Super Spectacular is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1971 through 1973, featuring only reprints initially and later including new stories. The "100 Page" count included both sides of the front and back covers as pages. Each numbered issue appearing under this title featured a wrap-around cover with all editorial content and no advertisements. Versions after late 1973 included advertisements.
Justice League Dark, or JLD, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team would make their debut appearance in Justice League Dark #1. The Justice League Dark team features some of the more supernatural characters in the DC Universe, handling mystical threats and situations deemed outside the scope of the traditional Justice League. Similarly to the Justice League title, the team features well-known characters such as John Constantine, Zatanna, Doctor Fate, and Wonder Woman while also bringing exposure to lesser-known supernatural characters.
Limited Collectors' Edition is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1972 to 1978. It usually featured reprints of previously published stories but a few issues contained new material. The series was published in an oversized 10" x 14" tabloid format.
Time Warp is the name of an American science fiction comic book anthology series published by DC Comics for five issues from 1979 to 1980. A Time Warp one-shot was published by Vertigo in May 2013.
James T. Tynion IV is an American comic book writer. He is best known for his work on the Batman franchise at DC Comics, his DC Black Label series The Nice House on the Lake and his independent series The Department of Truth and Something Is Killing the Children.
Steve Orlando is an American comic book writer, known for his work for DC Comics writing characters such as Batman, Martian Manhunter, and Wonder Woman, and two series starring Midnighter, which were nominated for a GLAAD Media Award.
Editor Dick Giordano conjured up a triumvirate of witches to host an anthology series produced by some of comics' biggest names.
Following #85, The Witching Hour was merged with House of Secrets and Doorway to Nightmare in The Unexpected, beginning with #189.
The Witching Hour will feature supernatural stories from creators including Kelly Sue DeConnick, Cliff Chiang, Lauren Beukes, Emily Carroll, [Lilah] Sturges, Shawn McManus and Tula Lotay.