House of Secrets #58 is an issue of the series House of Secrets (Volume 1) with a cover date of January, 1963.
Synopsis for Mark Merlin: "Trial by Fire"
Appearing in Mark Merlin: "Trial by Fire"
Featured Characters:
- Mark Merlin (Origin)
Supporting Characters:
- Elsa Magnusson (Flashback and main story)
Antagonists:
- Count Myro (Dies in flashback)
Other Characters:
- Captain Reeves (Single appearance)
- "The Mighty Merlin", a stage magician & Mark's Uncle (Dies in flashback)
- Swami Maharab (Flashback only) (Single appearance)
Locations:
Items:
- Myro Medallion
Synopsis for "Time Bomb from 1500 A.D."
Dan Summers and Hal Breese discover an old Cryptogram in which the famous renaissance genius recounts the story of one of his deadliest inventions. A king and his castle are under siege and Leonardo agrees to develop a weapon for him to drive off the attacking army. In a sudden turn of events, an approaching army appears, and the attackers flee. The siege is lifted, and Leonardo dumps his secret weapon into the sea. The two journalists realize that the weapon must still lie off the coast and they are determined to find it. They fly to Rome and search the Italian coast with their equipment. As luck would have it, they discover a capsule containing a statue of a standing javelin thrower. Unbeknownst to the two Journalists, they are secretly being watched by a mysterious figure that is interested in their find. They remove the statue to a secluded area for study and find that it is loaded with chemicals and a primitive propulsion engine. They speculate that the statue is some kind of rocket. They notice that the javelin points straight up in the air but they locate a lever that allows them to adjust the javelin so that it can be aimed at an enemy. At that point the journalists are abducted by a group of gangsters. They steal that statue and load it into a truck. Summers and Breese waste no time in searching for the stolen masterpiece. Using their helicopter, they spot a marble quarry from the air. They find that they have arrived at the site of the castle that Leonardo was defending. They spot the statue but are abducted by the gangsters. They find that the gangsters plan to use the rocket statue to rob a train full of gold bullion. They begin to aim the javelin at the train, but the statue suddenly explodes. Summers and Breese are unharmed as they realize that Leonardo had rigged the statue to prevent it from being used as a weapon by modern man. The statue could be fired without exploding as long as the javelin was horizontal. Once the javelin was changed to a horizontal position it exploded because that meant it was being used for evil purposes. Summers inquires as to how Breese knew that the statue was been booby trapped. Breese explains that while they were in the air, he noticed an irrigation canal shaped like the statue and it warned that the statue would explode if the position of the javelin was changed horizontally.
Appearing in "Time Bomb from 1500 A.D."
Featured Characters:
- Hal Breese (Single appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Dan Summers (Single appearance)
Antagonists:
- "Sport" Lascar (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Leonardo da Vinci (Flashback only)
- Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan (Flashback only)
Locations:
Items:
- Da Vinci's rocket-lance statue (Destroyed)
Vehicles:
- Fishing Trawler
Synopsis for "The Wondrous Witch's Cauldron"
An enchanted witches cauldron lies at the bottom of a river as it proclaims that it can bring wealth and fame to its possessor. The cauldron was originally created in England by a witch named Drusilla. She orders the cauldron from a blacksmith, but she never gets the chance to pick it up. The witch is apprehended and is drowned by locals in an effort to see if she was really a witch. The cauldron is then sold and used as part of a kitchen service. It is owned by an inventor who is presumed to be James Watt. Watt sits by his fireplace as he struggles to come up with a way to power his machinery. The cauldron beckons Watt to listen as it show him that steam has the ability to provide energy. Watt follows the idea and becomes world famous for his invention of the steam engine. Centuries later the cauldron finds itself in the Italian Valley during World War II. A group of American soldiers are fending off a group of Germans. The Americans are holed up in a church at the top of a hill as the Germans try to sneak up on them. A shower of rocks falls on top of the cauldron as it lies on the ground and makes a metallic bells sound. The sound is enough to warn the American soldiers who come out and defeat the Germans. The cauldron is then shipped to America where it serves as a collection kettle for charity. A thief attempts to hide his cash by dumping it in the cauldron with the intention of returning for it later, but he is then arrested by the police and the charity gets to keep the cash after six months of no one stepping forward to claim it. The cauldron is then dumped in a river where it lies to this day proclaiming that it can bring fame, fortune and long life.
Appearing in "The Wondrous Witch's Cauldron"
Featured Characters:
- Drusilla, an old witch (Single appearance; dies)
- James (Single appearance)
- US Army soldiers
Supporting Characters:
- Mary (Single appearance)
Antagonists:
- Nazi Party
- A crook (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- A blacksmith (Single appearance)
Locations:
Items:
- A witch's cauldron
Notes
- "The Wondrous Witch's Cauldron" is reprinted in the following:
- Other features appearing in this issue of House of Secrets include:
- "Touchdown for Picasso!", a PSA written by Jack Schiff, drawn by Sheldon Moldoff, and lettered by Ira Schnapp.
- "The Magic Genie" by Henry Boltinoff.
- "Varsity Vic" by Henry Boltinoff. This strip originally appeared in House of Mystery #47.
- This issue contains a letters page.
See Also
Links and References
Look at how sad this is making Batman. You did this.