Cover rating House of Mystery #174

[HarryTrotter]

A bit of history first,House of Mystery was a DC horror anthology that started in 1951,then the Code happened and it switched to superheroes,namely Martian Manhunter and Dial H for Hero. By 1968 the CCA was a bit looser so a return to horror was in order.So with #174 Joe Orlando of EC comics fame took over as the editor of House of Mystery,and a new direction truly starts in #175 with the introduction of Cain as the host/caretaker of the House.

Looks inviting? 

[Tomato]

Mehh... I appreciate what it's trying to do, but there are some noticeable flaws in it that hurt any enjoyment I might have. For one, that arm is wildly misplaced... The intent seems to be that it's attached to whatever creature those eyes belong to, but it's so far down it honestly looks more like it's attached to the thing's crotch than to the shoulder. It does not help that, rather than coming from the upper left of the doorframe (since it's the right hand), the forearm seems to be coming up from the ground.

Also, why did the purple background of the logo need to cut off the castle imagery? It would have looked better if it had just continued for the entire cover, since most of the interesting aspects of the background that the logo would have covered are below it. As it is, that shade of purple actually takes away from the rest of the cover, as it both pulls your eye away from the scene, AND matches the color of the kids and thus makes them pop out less.

[HarryTrotter]

Because the didnt have photoshop back in 1968?

[Tomato]

They would, however, have had pencils and erasers and half of what I mentioned could have and should have been caught before it ever got to the inking stage.

So much of this cover would be more acceptable to me if A. the eyes were moved down (which could have been done with a couple lines) or B. the forearm wasn't drawn so it looked like it's pointing straight down. Heck, drawing JUST the hand would have been LESS work to ink, color, and deal with back in 1968.

[HarryTrotter]

You could also imagine its some ghoulish creature with ape like proportions,thus its arm is lower. 
I really cant say why the kids are this shade of purple.
Also,just for fun,I would like you to find a 1968 cover you consider awesome.

[daglob]

I can't tell without looking back at a bunch of contemporary comics, but both Marvel and DC have gone through phases of changing the logos so that were on a solid color. Tomato's right that this is one case (probably of many, many more)  where the policy hurts the composition. 'Why did they do this?', you ask... probably money. Does anyone remember when marvel had a three-sided framework for the covers with the art inserted? Does anyone remember when Marvel had the artist turn one page on its side and draw the action that way? This was mostly reprints, and GDC credits the cover to infnatino, Orlando, and Roussos. The anatomy of the critter in the house might could be worked out, but it would really be better if the hand were higher.

Of course, its main function is to get a kid to plunk down 12c to read the stories inside, and for that it isn't bad.

[Tomato]

I found at least one I liked with a google search (X-men 50, polaris' introduction stood out) but there were plenty of better covers from the years before 1968 and plenty iconic ones in the decades prior with even worse printing methods. Good art is dependent on the artist, not the tools he has. As someone told me once, if you know what you're doing, you can do amazing work in MS Paint.

That said, I don't think it's a BAD cover either, just not a great one. I raz on the art because it's the thing that jumps out to me most, but the cover DOES do what it's supposed to do. I'll even say that everything is actually very well drawn (above the standards of the industry for the time), it's just the COMPOSITION which causes me to look at it sideways. Heck, I probably would have given it a 4 if the purple background of the logo had been a more muted color so it wasn't as distracting.

[HarryTrotter]

Well,nothing is perfect,and I didnt claim it was perfect.
On the banner part,keep in mind this was something of a reboot for the title(before renumbering was a thing),so it was probably a way to say this was a new thing;issue #0(next issue is the really new thing so it would be #1) if you will.And EC comics had a similar thing,so it could have been a homage by Orlando.
All that,I like the central idea of something creepy invinting the kids in its haunted house.Thats the reason I single out these covers.They have some central idea that I liked,or that is pretty unique.Like name-shirts in a different example.

[Podmark]

I like it, but like others said there's some issues.
The base concept - creepy figure beckoning from the doorway - is great. The positioning of the figure is off, but it still works.
I'd prefer if the kids were removed. The cover would be more effective in my mind if the creepy figure was beckoning the reader instead.
Lastly that title block just ruins the effect of the cover.

I think an artist could take this idea and easily make a pretty effective cover.