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Published by DC Comics in the summer of 1972, House of Secrets #98 is a classic Bronze Age horror anthology featuring iconic cover art by legendary comic creator Michael Wm. Kaluta. The 52-page issue is celebrated by fans for its chilling suspense tales and unique behind-the-scenes trivia.

Fascinating Facts About Issue #98:

Classic Homage: The lead story, "Happy Birthday, Herman!", was directly inspired by John Collier's famous twisted short story "Back for Christmas," where a husband plots the perfect murder of his wife while pretending to plan a vacation.

The Kaluta Touch: Famed artist Michael Wm. Kaluta (whose distinct, highly detailed style defined this era of DC horror) handled the eerie cover art and provided interior pencils for the story "Born Losers".

Hosted by Abel: This issue features host Abel, the trembling caretaker of the house and brother to House of Mystery host Cain. Abel was introduced during DC's 1971 horror revamp and has since become a staple of DC's dark, mystical lore.

The "Death Train": Aside from the lead story, issue #98 also features "The Night Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore!"—a classic EC Comics-style tale about a murderer who unknowingly boards a train to the underworld

FRONT

Corner wear - both bottom corners, 1/4 inch each

Edge wear - right edge, light, full length; cleaning candidate

Bend - lower right area, 1 inch; pressing candidate

BACK

Soiling - scattered light, edges, cleaning candidate

Tanning - edges, band inward, 1/4 inch

Corner blunting - top right corner, small

SPINE

Spine stress lines - multiple, top and bottom thirds, 1/8-1/4 inch each

Spine wear - along full spine, light color loss, full length, color breaking

INTERIOR

Page quality - interior pages, warm tan tone

Main Assessment

Bright, glossy front with a strong Wrightson-era cover; defects are light spine stress at top and bottom, corner wear at both bottom corners, and light edge/spine wear along the left. Back cover shows light edge tanning and soiling with slight corner blunting; interior paper is noticeably warm/tan-tinged compared to references.