Hello, my friends. The air continues to reach its peak chill for the season, the spirits are beginning to stir ever so faster within the autumn air and the treats are reaching their final preparations towards being handed out towards the costumed youngsters. As for what’s going on around here, this digital celebration is about to reach its spooky climax as I once again welcome you to another entry of the…
Throughout our time covering this “Oops! All Anthology” Edition, we’ve tackled various short stories within a small handful of horror-themed anthology comics. From the former imprint called WildStorm and the major company known as Image Comics to a small-scale independent operation called Comicsburgh, we’ve seen several tales over the course of three weeks. For this week, we’ll be returning to a famous publisher that had a prior horror anthology comic that we’ve previously covered back in 2018. As such, let us tackle an early 2020s entry called…
Published in October 2022, it ended up selling fairly well during this timeframe. However, it’s unknown how many copies were initially sold due to Diamond Comics Distributors no longer releasing monthly sales charts after April. Despite that modern annoyance, we have a whopping eight stories to delve into for this book. As such, let’s discover what kinds of chronological chills awaited its readers.
Our first story features the Phantom Stranger in a time-spanning tale called “The Longest Night” (Writer: Paul Levitz, Artist: Raúl Fernández, Colorist: Santi Arcas). We open with our main hero getting the reader ready as he invites them to learn about the fearful secrets that conflict the human race about the dark. Throughout his “tortured” and “endless” quest that began before calendars were invented, he’s constantly dreaded a certain day when the daylight grew short and darkness became longer, thus leading to the growth of fear. As we transition to a village at night, he walks through a graveyard while narrating about how he must constantly “walk the shadowland” every evening within every year while observing mankind’s slow progress. While the good people give thanks towards life via various rituals and religions, the struggle between light and darkness is kept at a constant pace. Because the small town that he’s walking by is near the River Wye, All Hallow’s Day has arrived as he comes across an empty grave while mentioning how this day brings about “a conjunction of planes that brings the dead close to the world they have lost and to which they may return”. At that moment, a young pair named William and Agnes are relaxing underneath the nighttime sky before she suddenly notices a living corpse coming towards them. Fortunately, the Phantom Stranger is able to cast the undead figure back into its grave while the twosome become baffled by what just happened given his invisible nature. We then shift ahead in time where he narrates about how this certain day would eventually become known as Halloween and that it became “a holiday for children”, yet it does nothing to calm the restless spirits. From there, we have a group of kids as one of the boys tells a young girl named Mary that they can reach the fancier houses if they simply make their way through the cemetery. However, she doesn’t want to do so while the boys make fun of her cowardice. Suddenly, the Phantom Stranger appears in front of them and assures them that he’s here to keep them safe before telling them to return to their homes. Afterwards, he uses a pendant to attract the nearby restless spirits before he proceeds to combat and defeat them.
We then move to an early 20th Century cityscape where our hero briefly narrates about how children need to be kept safe in order for their potential to be reached along with them delivering some wondrous beauty onto the world. From there, we focus on a pair of brothers named Carmine and Jimmy as they sneak out of their apartment at night in order to hopefully acquire some additional candy. Fortunately, the Phantom Stranger was following fairly close by in order to protect them from some spiritual arrows being shot from some opposing spirits that used to call this area of land their home. From there, he’s able to fend off the opposing souls while the young lads are able to retreat. We then shift over to Japan as our hero narrates about how despite the spreading of different customs, the conjunction of the different worlds doesn’t know any customary bounds. The Phantom Stranger then approaches a soldier guarding a Self-Defense Forces base and tells him that he’s here to protect him, yet the soldier tries to explain that this fortress is armed with the most modern of technology. However, they’re then approached by a Yokai as our hero is able to use his mystical powers in order to shrink the demon down to a harmless size before casting him towards “a barren corner of the darkest depths”. From there, the story ends with one last bit of narration about how he’s done his duty all across the world over several nights across several years. As he observes the sunrise from the Arlington National Cemetery, he feels comfort from this despite being an eternal warrior. He then mentions how there’s so many things that he still doesn’t understand, such as his own fate or whether he’ll ever find any kind of peace. He even wonders why this certain night constantly opens up for the dead to return to the world of the living, along with why he’s responsible as the lone guardian. Despite all of that, he wraps things up by mentioning how regular men can know “the peace of the grave” while he must eternally walk the Earth without any kind of home or any form of peace.
Our next story features the Super Sons as they embark on a different kind of door-to-door candy venture before it takes them on a surprising turn in “Trick Or Treat” (Writer: Sholly Fisch, Artist: Luciano Vecchio, Colorist: Wendy Broome). We begin with our two main lads suiting up before it’s revealed that they’re wearing each other’s outfits. It turns out that Jon Kent a.k.a. Superboy managed to convince Damian Wayne a.k.a. Robin to forgo Halloween patrol duty in order to go trick-or-treating instead. After they briefly poke fun at each other’s opposite personalities, they head as Jon picks up Damian before they fly off on their predetermined flight route. They initially arrive at the Fortress of Solitude, yet Superman isn’t answering his front door despite Jon mentioning that he’s always there on Wednesdays. Damian offers to break into the nigh-impenetrable building, yet Kent tells him that he wouldn’t be able to with his dad’s construct along with the fact that illegally entering other people’s home isn’t part of the trick-or-treating experience. As such, they take their leave as they try other familiar places. However, Batman isn’t around in the Bat Cave, Aquaman isn’t present within his undersea kingdom of Atlantis and the island of Themyscira was a bust for them since the Amazons have their long-standing rule of forbidding any males from setting foot upon their land.
Eventually, they arrive at the Hall of Justice before they surprisingly discover that not only have their dads been captured, but also Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman and Green Arrow as they’re all under the mystical imprisonment of Rath, Abnegazar and Ghast a.k.a. the Demons Three. Jon wants to immediately help them, but Damian tells him that they can’t just blindly rush in before he reminds him of his own weakness to magic. As for the Demons Three, they tell the captured heroes that they couldn’t be contained within the “infernal put” for all eternity since Halloween night allowed the boundaries between worlds to weaken and provided them with a temporary means to escape in order to acquire their vengeance. Once Midnight strikes, they’ll intend to have their mystical leashes drag our heroes to Hell in their place while the Demons Three will be free to conquer the world. During this, they notice that Batman our two youthful heroes and tried to order them to run away. However, this allowed the demons to notice them as they quickly surround the boys. Superman tries to fire his Heat Vision at the demons, but their otherworldly magic is able to properly shield them. Robin then decides to take up his youthful comrade’s regular role as Superboy in order to draw their attention with his swiftness. This allows Jon to properly strike, yet he and Damian get immediately captured. Fortunately, this whole commotion managed to distract the Demons Three long enough for Midnight to roll around before they’re immediately dragged back to the Underworld-based imprisonment. With our regular heroes now freed, they check up on the boys as Batman says that he wanted them to flee, yet Wonder Woman reminds him that they did divert the Demons Three’s attention long enough for their plans to be spoiled. Superboy also mentions how it’s not actually Midnight since while his youthful teammate distracted their otherworldly foes, he super-sped over to the clock in order to set it back slight before 12 AM in order to properly confuse them as to what time it actually is. After Robin tells both Batman and Superman that swapping each other’s outfits worked for them and that they should consider doing so at some point, the story ends with Flash deciding to help the young lads with some much-deserved candy.
For our next tale, we have a 1990s period piece involving the Gotham City Sirens as Peter V. Nguyen writes and draws a venture for our three main ladies where their time in the Aloha State sees them tackling a certain terror within their tropical settings in “The Pueo Promise”. We open within Hawaii in 1995 where our central protagonists are enjoying different parts of the island experience. With Pamela Isley a.k.a. Poison Ivy, she’s enjoying the lava-enriched soil within Ka’au Crater, South Side since it’s letting her enjoy some plants that she’s never seen back in Gotham City and are also thriving. Over in Mermaid Cove, West Side, Dr. Harleen Quinzel a.k.a. Harley Quinn is naively looking for actual mermaids within the natural structure. Back over at the Turtle Bay Resort on the island’s north side, Selina Kyle a.k.a. Catwoman is relaxing despite the intense humidity. Eventually out in the marketplace, all three of them come across each other as Pamela asks Selina what she’s doing here. Kyle explains that a traveling ruby & mineral show is being held at the Bishop Museum and that she’s planning a heist on it. Harley then tells her that she should meet up with her and Isley this evening since they’re going to watch the sunset from a secret spot that they just learned about from a local ice-shaver clerk. Ultimately, Selina decides to forgo her jewel theft before Quinn mentions how there seems to be lots of cats around here. After a black cat proceeds to cuddle itself with Kyle, a local woman tells her that it’s a runt and that its mother turned up deceased only a couple days ago. Even though there’s been several dead animals popping up, the local cat population has been increasing due to something is causing its natural predators to get wiped out. Harley then mentions that the cat lady’s story is ringing true with her since she discovered a deceased baby monk seal while she was scuba diving over at Cockroach Cove. Pamela even brings up how she found several dead birds along the Three Peaks Ridge Trail during her first day here, to which Quinn gets excited at the prospect of all three of them investigating a “vacation island murder mystery”. Later, our three ladies are taking in the sunset within a pick-up truck that’s been naturally elevated thanks to Isley. As night falls and they take in the vast number of stars in the sky, they suddenly hear an odd noise before it scares off Selina’s new cat. From there, the women proceed to don their costumes in order to properly investigate. Eventually, they come across an old man who wearily tells them to leave since this sacred valley is protected by the Pueonuiakea. Harley assures him that they’re only trying to find “a little friend”, but the man tells him that it “must pay the price” before he suddenly vanishes. Even though Pamela mentions that her connection to nature would allow her to open up the forest path a bit in order for the moonlight to illuminate their way, she senses the forest resisting her as if a “non-organic structure” is fighting her back from a nearby thicket patch, yet Kyle is able to notice a trail of dead birds for them to follow. They eventually venture past a decent-sized waterfall as Isley feels her connection towards the local planet life getting weaker as they get closer towards the familiar structure. Once they arrive, Poison Ivy loses control over herself and becomes possessed.
It turns out that she’s being control by the Owl Prince named Pueo who protects this sacred land. Not only that, but “the broken warrior of the Mauka” also has King Kamehameha’s undead army called the Night Marchers at his command. Pueo then mentions how humans are always intruding and that they’re constantly disrupting the balance of nature upon this island. For his means of making our ladies pay, he takes Catwoman’s new cat and mystically mutilates it. As Selina retaliates against the ancient spirit, Quinn reaches Pamela and uses her hand-zapper in order to snap her friend back into consciousness while telling her that they need her help since she a vital connection to the island. Pamela manages to form a Ti Leaf shield for protection while Harley heads out to help Selina with her assault. Just then, Isley manages to get a good glimpse at Pueo and discovers that he’s an ancient being who has absolute control over the whole valley and that his Marchers are fueled by his rage. She’s then able to use her connection to nature in order to disrupt his order as Kyle recovers for her rough encounter. Just as Quinn begins to realize that their foe is full of grief instead of anger, Pueo appears in front of our ladies in human form before Catwoman chastises him for harming “an innocent creature”. However, Pueo says that the overabundance of cats being brought onto the island by the human race is the main reason why so many birds are turning up dead, especially since some of those deceased aviaries are winding up in the ocean. Poison Ivy then says that he’s right since humanity brought the cat infestation onto the island and it’s suffering as a result. She then brings up Harley’s earlier encounter with a dead seal and that it helped her realize that the Gondii Parasite that comes from cats ended up harming the Monk Seals, thus alerting her that the island’s natural balance was off. Afterwards, Selina tells him that he has every right to be mad, but eradicating cats shouldn’t be his solution. As such, she offers to take the cats over to Gotham City as Pueo ultimately agrees to her deal and frees her from his wooden grasp before he disappears. Not only that, but Kyle’s new cat returns to her alive with some new markings on it as she decides to finally name it “Promise”. While Pamela considers commandeering a cruise ship in order to take the excessive number of cats back to Gotham, Quinn mentions how they all worked wonderfully together as a team. From there, the tale ends with her narrating about how this was their first adventure as a team-forged trio before explaining that about two million stray cats were brought over from Hawaii to Gotham “thanks to Miss Kyle and crew”.
Time for us to reach the half-way point as the Avatar of the Green becomes a key defender to a certain human in a narrative called “Half-Life” (Writer: Zac Thompson, Artist: Andy McDonald, Colorist: Mike Spicer). We begin within the Washington Exclusion Zone at some time in the 22nd Century where a father and son team are traveling across a swamp-filled wasteland. Within the narration captions, it mentions a contamination that took hold and managed to spread until only “a world at war with itself” remained for “the stillborn, the stunted and the stubborn”. Just then, the father’s sensors go off as he realizes that they’re in Helios’ territory. As such, they’re forced to run away as the two-faced, mutated being chases after them. After they retreat into a dilapidated building, they’re suddenly met upon by Swamp Thing. Despite the massive green being saying that he’s not going to harm them, the dad and son are still afraid of him as the former mentions that the Helios is after them and that its own beta radioactive nature will doom them if it even touches them. As Helios smashes its way inside, Swamp Things tells them to find a safe place to hide in while he deals with the creature. From there, a tussle ensues before Helios quickly pins the green being. While the father and son are able to escape from the building in time, the creature fires an energetic beam from its chest and blasts Swamp Thing.
Afterwards, the area goes quiet as several years proceed to pass while the building and its surrounding area gets covered in green foliage. Eventually, the fully-grown son returns as he picks some ripe berries. However, the Helios emerges to attack him. Fortunately, Swamp Thing emerges and is able to properly fight back against the radioactive creature. Realizing that its internal radiation is dwindling, the green being punches the creature’s chest and strikes its mechanical power source in order to finally take it down for good. After the grown boy offers his thanks for being saved twice, the story ends with Swamp Thing appreciating the sentiment before taking his leave while the narration mentions how the Green will always be there to “transmute filth into forest” while leaving behind “the faint trace of an abandoned future”.
Next up, we have the Justice Society of America looking to prevent an ancient darkness from becoming man’s truly darkest hour in a Golden Age yarn called “The Darkest Hour”. We open in 1944 within the Philadelphia-based University of Pennsylvania as our featured team arrive on campus in order to track down some Nazi agents. Even though Jay Garrick a.k.a. Flash offers to use his super-speed in order to scout ahead, Carter Hall a.k.a. Hawkman tells him to stay put for now since they don’t know they their foes could be hiding or where they’re keeping an artifact called the Skull of Zosimos. Dinah Drake a.k.a. Black Canary then asks about the specific figure connected to the skull as Kent Nelson a.k.a. Doctor Fate explains that Zosimos was a Greco-Egyptian mystic and alchemist who lived during the early 4th Century. Not only that, but the guy believed that alchemy was a transformative and religious process who also delved into the supernatural as his beliefs evolved. Following his death, the Skull of Zosimos would become a powerful occult artifact and that Adolf Hitler is looking to get his devious hands on it in order to turn the tides of this massive war. Al Pratt a.k.a. Atom says that they’re already aware of the Führer’s obsession with the occult while he’s just eager to punch some Nazi goons. Suddenly, Doctor Fate keels over in pain due to him mystically sensing that the Skull of Zosimos’ power has been unleashed. Atom tries to head into an adjacent room, only for some tentacles to emerge and ensnare him in its grasp. Charles McNider a.k.a. Doctor Mid-Nite proceeds to dash into the dimly-lit room in order to save his comrade before he comes across the same otherworldly being and attacks the creature as Al gets freed as a result. As for Black Canary, she comes across a scarecrow-looking figure and initially fends him off. However, the being quickly covers before he begins to strangle her. Back with Atom and Doctor Mid-Nite, they discover Hawkman having already been captured by some occult figures as they look to sacrifice him in a ritual. Fortunately, they’re able to fight the opposing figures off before Charles is able to cut his comrade to freedom.
Afterwards, Carter joins the fight against his captors before they’re all properly dealt with. McNider then wonders where those opposing figures came from as well as how their team wound up getting separated in the first place, to which Hall says that they’ll worry about it later and that they should find their teammates. Meanwhile, Dinah is nearly suffocated at the hands of a fiendish foe. Flash manages to arrive in time as he unleashes a barrage of swift strikes, yet the adversary recovers and delivers a fierce punch that knocks him over. Just as he’s about to strike back at Jay, Drake was able to recover herself as she smacks him with a mace and knocks him out. Afterwards, the whole team is able to regroup before Black Canary notices that Doctor Fate is still missing. Hawkman then says that he has an idea since he recalls hearing something from the occult priests while he was recently captured. Specifically, he heard two precise words from them: “The Sphinx”. He then realizes that based on what he knows about this on-campus museum, those black robed men were referring to the feature exhibit known as the Granite Sphinx of Ramses II. As such, the group proceeds to head out towards the Sphinx Gallery. As they arrive in said room, they discover that Kent has been captured by the ghoulish fiends while they mystically tap into the Skull of Zosimos. While our heroes proceed to fend them off, Carter reaches Nelson before trying to contact his teammate’s power-providing god-like being Nabu through his Helmet of Fate and mentioning that “Prince Khufu” is in dire need of help. Fortunately, Doctor Fate regains his consciousness before he uses his magic to break free from his chain linked bonds and destroy the mystic skull, causing the opposing foes to dissipate. He then says that he going to take the remaining skull fragment back to the Tower of Fate in order to prevent it from falling into devious hands. From there, this narrative ends with his creating a portal for him and his teammates so that they can take their leave, unaware that a single ghoul still remains disguised as a janitor.
Going from the vast scope of time, we now transition to wide void of outer space for next story where a pair of Green Lanterns find themselves going up against a unique kind of terror in “A New Darkness” (Writer: Jeremy Haun, Artist & Colorist: Juan Doe). We begin within the Ethow Sector set in the far-futuristic year of 2447 as a pair of Emerald Knights named Jan and Kar-Von are attempting to locate a beacon where the latter mentions that this was the general area that Superman and a group of other Green Lanterns managed to replace a power generator within the heart of a dying star. Jan then brings up how this action was supposed to help the sector thrive, yet it ultimately didn’t. From there, they manage to find the beacon as it brings them to an unearthly formation. Despite it being something that they’ve never seen before, they proceed to head inside in order to fulfill their mission. We then learn that Jan is currently partnered up with the green & red ring-wielding Kar-Von due to it being part of her probation due to her losing her temper. Suddenly, they hear some eerie chanting as they discover a group of alien cultists preparing to sacrifice some innocent aliens in a ritual. Jan is eager to help them out, yet Kar-Von wants to get in contact with any available members of the Green Lantern Corps in order for them to have some proper back-up before they engage. However, they don’t get the chance to do so as they’re suddenly surrounded by several otherworldly creatures, forcing them to use their power rings in order to fight their way out.
After smiting those savage beasts, they soon notice that the ritual is meant to open up a gateway as a towering alien monster begins to come through. As such, they begin to fight it and attempt to force it back to its point of origin. However, it’s mainly able to fend off their attacks before Kar-Von suddenly gives into the rage that’s fueled by his red ring. Shortly after he reengages the creature, it captures him within its tentacle. He then tells Jan that he can push the monster back while she destroys the gateway. Even though she’s hesitant to do so since the being is dragging Kar-Von into the portal while he’s managing to force it back, Jan ultimately manages to destroy the entryway as the whole alien construct collapses and explodes. Thankfully, she managed to escape in time before briefly mourning the loss of her teammate. Afterwards, her ring informs her that it’s detected six more beacons that all contain a similar signature. From there, the story ends with her deciding to inform the Corps in order to have some proper back-up to help her deal with this, thus allowing Kar-Von’s sacrifice to not be meaningless.
For our comic’s penultimate tale, we have a Winter-filled venture where a familiar transformative hero finds himself with preventing a terror from cruelly separating a small-knit family in “Blood Lost & Found” (Writer: Matthew Levine, Artist: Jorge Corona, Colorist: Sara Stern). We open within a snow-covered mountain region as a hooded figure makes his way through the various peaks before coming across a village nestled in the area. Inside one of the houses, a mother is putting her son to bed as the latter becomes worried that “it” will come along to take him. She assures him that the being that he’s worrying himself over is only a myth and that even though the Webber sisters are currently missing, they’ve constantly ran away before and will ultimately turn up again. As the cloaked figure enters the village, the mother gives her son a knight figurine for protection while he sleeps. Sometime after he dozes off however, something has broken into the house and has reached the kid. Meanwhile, the hooded person reaches the local pub before pulling off his hood as he’s revealed to be the eternally living Jason Blood. An elderly person then tells him that “new ones” don’t fare too well around here since there’s a “demon” that comes from the shadows in order to take people away during the night and that several people fear it, to which another local says that he shouldn’t be taken too seriously. Suddenly, the mother bursts in and says that her son named Emil was taken from her and that she needs help in saving him. With the regular folk too afraid to do anything, Jason decides to be the one who helps her. As he embarks on his rescue mission, he narrates about how those people are understandable driven by the fear of their own mortalities and that he used to share that dread. As for how he’s able to locate Emil, Blood has used a pathfinder spell as it ultimately leads him towards a mountain-based cavern. As he ventures inside, he then wonders within his narration if his true purpose is to constant keep the wicked forces at bay since he’s spent lots of his eternal life looking for an answer to that question. Alas, he decides to put it aside in order to properly help a mother recover her son. He soon discovers Emil along with several other captured children trapped within a demonic cage as he promises to free them all. He then notices the boy’s knight figurine before he narrates if Merlin ultimately wanted him to become a knight who stands up against the darkness. Suddenly, the towering monster appears and attacks him before announcing its intention of capturing him as well.
Fortunately, Jason speaks his familiar chant in order to transform into the heroic demon himself: Etrigan. He then orders the massive beast to stand down while he frees the kids, yet the creature refuses before resuming its assault. A fight breaks out as Etrigan manages to toss the monster aside before smashing the cage in order for the children to escape. From there, he resumes his struggle against the monster before deciding to cause a cave-in and seal the cavern from the outside world. The beast tells him that it won’t work since it’s already devoured several unfortunate beings in order to nourish itself towards the upcoming centuries and that it vows to rise again once our heroic demon is no more. Despite the being’s warning, Etrigan ultimately completes his self-intended cave-in. Back in the village, Emil manages to reunite himself with his mother as he tells her that his knight kept him safe. From there, the tale ends half-a-century later as Jason had long-since survived the whole ordeal before he comes across the familiar cave. With the entrapped monster stunned by the fact that his foe is still alive, Blood begins to transform into Etrigan in order to finish the fiend off for good.
For our last story within this featured comic, we have our already-featured Robin returning as he’ll find himself teaming up with a heroic, possessive and acrobatic spirit in order to deal with the otherworldly horrors within his home in “The Haunting Of Wayne Manor” (Writer: Tim Seeley, Artist: Kelley Jones, Colorist: Michelle Madsen). We begin with Boston Brand a.k.a. Deadman introducing this narrative at Wayne Manor where Damian is hanging out within the study. Suddenly, he hears some odd noises as he decides to go investigate. Just then, he spots some sinister looking being behind a suit of armor as he runs upstairs and hides within a closet. Suddenly, Deadman appears above him while mentioning that he followed a spirit that came from the Underworld up to this mansion and that he’s previously been here before, to which Damian responds by jamming his spoon into Boston’s left eye. Brand manages to remove the utensil from his unnatural eye socket before he catches up to the boy and properly introduces himself to the current Robin. Damian then mentions how he’s already learned about him from his dad’s files while he gets out his domino mask & cape. Afterwards, he demands to know what kind of otherworldly spirit has invaded his home. Deadman explains that a vengeful spirit called a Lemure has returned to enact some revenge upon whom he assumes to be Bruce. Robin then asks for the spirit’s name, to which Boston tells him that it’s Hazaz Saber. Damian explains that he’s heard of said man since he was part of Moroccan Mafia who was also a practitioner of witchcraft was also an enemy towards Ra’s Al Ghul. Not only that, but Robin even mentions that he killed the guy. Brand then tells him that Hazaz’s spirit has returned to claim Damian’s soul since his own was forcibly taken from his body. Suddenly, Deadman gets approached by an otherworldly being as it makes a sound that Robin recognizes from outside a Casablanca-based club at the same time that he ambushed Saber and his guards. Specifically, it was last sound that Hazaz ever made after begging for his life before he was executed.
As he forces his way into the dumb waiter, Damian tells the vengeful spirit that he understands his overwhelming anger, yet he only carried out his executing order in the name of his grandfather without question since Saber was Al Ghul’s competition. It was only after he met his actual father that he began to rethink his past ways. However, the monstrous Hazaz manages to catch up and capture him as it intends to claim the boy’s soul. Fortunately, Boston is able to possess the being long enough in order to relinquish its grasp upon Robin. However, he begins to fall down the dumb waiter as Brand manages to reach the boy and possess his body in order to use his own acrobatic skills once they reach the Bat Cave in order to safely land. Unfortunately, Saber catches up and forces Deadman out of Damian’s body before beginning to claim it. Boston tries to tell him that Robin’s soul has already been claimed by “The Accursed” and that it’s something that he shouldn’t mess with. Fortunately, Hazaz buys his bluff and leaves as Damian is impressed by his successful wit. Suddenly, they’re met upon by Batman who expresses some fury towards Boston due to an opposing spirit making its way into his home. Brand ultimately decides to take his leave as the story and the comic itself ends with him narrating about how “the dearly departed see things the living don’t”. With powerful entities bidding their time within otherworldly levels, he mentions that Damian’s soul has been claimed and is “destined for the evilest of evils” and that he better hope that Bruce learns about what he personally invited to his mansion before we properly close on a small tribute to the late Neal Adams.
Overall, this is less of a horror anthology with familiar DC characters and more of an anthology book containing famous DC figures embarking on various supernatural-influenced ventures. “The Longest Night” essentially sees the Phantom Stranger protecting innocent people (mainly children) from various otherworldly beings across various time periods. Just like from his DC Showcase animated short film, he’s not bothered by his eternal job as a heroic being who operates within certain situations that’re this kind of spiritual or unnatural. The horror elements are fairly strong since they terrify the living mortals, yet our central hero handles these numerous terrors with professional confidence every time. While taking the time to properly delve into an ongoing series starring this character would absolutely bring up some bigger stakes that he’s had to dealt with over a longer period of time and can serve as some greater drama, this is still an engaging venture handled by good pacing, skilled artwork and a color palette that’s mostly muted, yet is bright enough to fit the mood along with allowing its reader to understand what’s going on. As such, this helps the comic get off to a nice start courtesy of John Broome & Carmine Infantino’s creation. With “Trick Or Treat”, it’s mainly light-hearted since it deals with two young heroes. The idea of them swapping their costumes does make for a compelling idea of our two main leads learning to walk a mile in each other’s shoes within a regular setting, yet their primary goal was to embark on a candy-gathering venture that regular humans would be physically unable to embark on. It’s only when they come across the Demons Three magically holding some famous heroes at their Wim does this finally get around to some semblance of a horror-filled landscape. During the climactic fight, Damian & Jon do use their own skills to somewhat emulate each other in order to trick their foes back to their imprisoning realm, so there is a moment where they do act like their respective teammate. While I do wish that it was noticeable that this technique allowed Wayne & Kent to appreciate what they each bring to the superhero table, the presented narrative is still a comforting read with a coherent flow, wholesome artwork and a properly bright color palette. All-in-all, this was a fun outing for this duo and can possibly inspire others to either check out their animated movie and/or their Super Sons comic series to see what else they can get themselves in. In terms of “The Pueo Promise”, this Aloha State-based venture is the most spiritual out of the presented stories. This does have an environmental message due to the Owl Prince being furious with the human race being responsible for the surging cat population having a negative side-effect on the island’s natural order. In addition, this can serve as its own origin story for how Pamela, Harley and Selina would set the groundwork for their trio team, especially since their 26-issue series wouldn’t come around until 2009. All three ladies play off of each other as they ultimately learn about the true trouble within paradise before Isley finds herself in spiritual trouble and Kyle winds up within some physical danger. In the end, the situation gets dissolved when all presented parties agree to a compromise which always serves as a good lesson for humanity in order to deal with some historic fires. The tale moves at a good clip as the details get revealed within a proper rate, the artwork has something of a sketchbook look to it at times yet is still nicely displayed and while the color palette has some good range, there were a few moments during the key nighttime setting where it was difficult to make out certain images. Despite that minor hiccup, the ladies get a well-told tropical tale filled with harrowing degrees of sights and sounds, all culminating into a satisfying end. Moving on to “Half-Life”, this one is similar to Phantom Stranger and Death’s DC Showcase short since Swamp Thing is somewhat a supporting player while we mainly follow a human character during the bulk of the narrative. The wholly original person helps to bookend the story as this seems to be a certain kind of apocalyptic landscape that’s entirely covered in swamps, thus has this person working within nature to some degree. With the opposing creature named Helios, it’s backstory remains untold in order for it to strive as a mysteriously antagonistic creature for Swamp Thing to tangle with. Given how this future shows a different kind of ravaged landscape, it’s possible that Helios could’ve been created by man’s attempt to use technology in order to help save nature, but this beast was one of the consequential results of said intention. As for Swamp Thing, it turns out that there’s been multiple individuals who’ve taken on the natural mantle and not just Alec Holland whom I’ve previously covered in the past, especially in “Batman & Harley Quinn”. It’s ultimately for the best that we don’t learn who this Swamp Thing actually is, since its primary purpose is to fight Helios while also serving as some kind of inspirational protector to the kid who grows up into a young adult. The tale does have some narration within it, but I didn’t really cover it since it didn’t seem to tie in too much with the presented events. Besides that, this was still an effective entry thanks to two connected timeframes presented within some proper pacing, artwork that ranged from mostly moody to optimistically bright and characters who all serve their roles to help this entry understandably stand out. “The Darkest Hour” mainly has its Golden Age heroics, yet this team hasn’t shied away from opposing figures who’ve delved into supernatural means. From the onset, we’re told that Nazi agents are using a mystical artifact in order to help their infamous leader turn the tied of battle against the Allied side. Because they’re mainly shown in a dimly lit room that’s only glowing from the light the mystic skull and the otherworldly magic that they’re trying to harness, there isn’t any noticeable outfits that makes them stand out as Nazis. Also, their faces are somewhat demonic looking and look like they’re wearing masks even though it’s never explained that they truly are. Other than those sets of side details, the situation nicely fits with our heroic group as the featured members get a fair amount of things to do, their mission is small-scale for this story while being large-scale in its implications and the artwork is comprehensibly strong while containing a strong color palette. As such, it’s another story that’s light on the terror yet heavy on the action-packed thrills. In terms of “A New Darkness”, we have a pair of Emerald Knights that (as far as I know from my limited research) are completely made up for this tale. Jan seems to be the Earth-based Green Lantern here while her experienced comrade Kar-Von surprisingly wields a pair of power rings that each come from different color spectrums. Because we learn that Jan’s personal temper is the reason why she’s required to pair up with another member of the Corps, maybe she could’ve somehow gained access to his red ring and combined it with her own training in order for her to properly aim her anger into somehow helping them defuse the sadistic ritual. Instead, Kar-Von is the veteran teammate of the group and is able to combine his two power rings into a self-sacrificial act that prevents an otherworldly monstrosity cross over into their universe. Of course, the summoning cult and the monster serve as the lone horror-themed elements within this story while the opposing alien beasts and the odd-looking setting that serves as our main location for this tale provide a fairly neat and unsettling atmosphere that’s necessary within this kind of book. While Jan does have the potential to get fleshed out in a later story, her establishing role suits this narrative pretty well alongside the moody color palette, the well-oiled pacing and the intense action in order to provide its reader with a decent thrill amongst the stars. For “Blood Lost & Found”, the mountain-based and Wintery setting gives off a sense of Norse/Viking-like dread over the main village. That familiar dread continues to escalate once a mother’s son becomes a figure amongst several other children who’ve been snatched away by the main monster. It seems that it wants to ultimately devour those kids at some point, but it’s not clear how many younglings it needs to capture before consuming every last one of them. If that was made clearer, then it could’ve set up a ticking clock feeling in the background for Jason/Etrigan to race against in order to provide some semblance of tension. Aside from that criticism, the situation was developed pretty well upon the page, the artwork had a tiny smidge of rough inking yet was still comprehensive enough to display its events and our main character’s longevity made for a tight-knit bookend with his narration about his concern towards his own immortality while also returning to the long-lasting monster that he bested several centuries later in order to deliver the final strike. As such, its horror usage was a little bit higher than some of the other presented tales, yet the superheroics still shined bright to provide a hopeful outcome. Finally, there’s “The Haunting Of Wayne Manor” where the spiritual horror shines the brightest here due to the soul of someone whom Damian had previously murdered in the name of his infamously long-lasting grandfather looks to take full claim over his body in the name of revenge. Fortunately for Robin, Deadman has the necessary expertise in order to help the Boy Wonder evade this dreadful fate. As for why Boston doesn’t explain the entire situation to Batman once it eventually passes, maybe his sudden angry appearance spooks Brand enough for him in order to convince him into simply leaving. Despite that, it was a surprising change of pace that the main way for a supernatural foe to be defeated was to be told that Damian’s soul has already been claimed by a higher form of an evil being. Little does the reader know at the end of this tale is that it turns out to be true. Whether or not this dangling thread was eventually addressed, this is still among the best stories to come from this anthology comic. With a solid cast of characters, artwork that uses the right amount of colors while also using its ink-based shadows in a greatly effective way and some good thrills, it closes this book out on a strong note with a strong balance of superheroics and horror. In the end, all eight stories have their own unique flaws yet are still worth checking out. On that note, this comic is worth giving a read for some superpowered struggles combined with some decent chronological chills. As for the anthology book that I’ll cover for Halloween, come back next time as I prepare one final concoction within my critical cauldron for all of us to consume.
All featured characters are owned by DC Comics.
