The Witching Hour (DC Comics)

The Witching Hour is an American comic book horror anthology published by DC Comics from 1969 to 1978.

For other uses, see Witching hour (disambiguation).

The Witching Hour
The Witching Hour #1 (February–March 1969), art by Nick Cardy.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
ScheduleBimonthly, then monthly
Genre
Publication date
List
  • Vol. 1
    February–March 1969 – October 1978
    Vol. 2
    1999–2000
    One-shot
    December 2013
No. of issues
List
  • Vol. 1: 85
    Vol. 2: 3
    One-shot: 1
Main character(s)The Three Witches
(Morded, Mildred, and Cynthia)
Creative team
Written by
List
Penciller(s)
List
Inker(s)
List
Editor(s)
List

Publication history

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 limited series

Vertigo published an unrelated The Witching Hour limited series by writer Jeph Loeb and artists Chris Bachalo and Art Thibert in 1999–2000.[8]

2013 one-shot

The Witching Hour title was revived for a one-shot anthology by Vertigo in 2013.[9][10]

2018 crossover storyline

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]

Critical reception

According to Comic Book Roundup, the 2018 series received a score of 8.2 out of 10 based on 98 reviews.[13]

Collected editions
  • Showcase Presents: The Witching Hour collects The Witching Hour #1-19, 544 pages, March 2011, ISBN 1-4012-3022-9

References
  1. The Witching Hour at the Grand Comics Database
  2. Overstreet, Robert M. (2019). Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide (49th ed.). Timonium, Maryland: Gemstone Publishing. p. 1161. ISBN 978-1603602334.
  3. Kingman, Jim (October 2016). "Midnight Ramblings: 13 Years in the 'Terrorific' Life of DC's Witching Hour". Back Issue!. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing (#92): 24–25.
  4. McAvennie, Michael (2010). "1960s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.). DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. Editor Dick Giordano conjured up a triumvirate of witches to host an anthology series produced by some of comics' biggest names.
  5. Coates, John (1999). "Art Index". The Art of Nick Cardy. Coates Publishing. pp. 171–172. ISBN 1-887591-22-2.
  6. Wells, John (2014). American Comic Book Chronicles: 1965-1969. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 241. ISBN 978-1605490557.
  7. Wells, John (October 24, 1997), "'Lost' DC: The DC Implosion", Comics Buyer's Guide, Iola, Wisconsin, no. 1249, p. 134, Following #85, The Witching Hour was merged with House of Secrets and Doorway to Nightmare in The Unexpected, beginning with #189.
  8. The Witching Hour vol. 2 at the Grand Comics Database
  9. Armitage, Hugh (July 2, 2013). "Suiciders, Witching Hour: Vertigo unveils full revival title details". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2013. 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.
  10. The Witching Hour one-shot at the Grand Comics Database
  11. Sava, Oliver (October 1, 2018). "This The Witching Hour exclusive reveals Wonder Woman's childhood horrors". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on October 29, 2018.
  12. "Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour". Grand Comics Database.
  13. "Witching Hour Comic Book Reviews". ComicBookRoundup.com. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
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