''Tales of the Unexpected'' was a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

, and horror

comics anthology A comics anthology collects works in the medium of comics, typically from multiple series, and compiles them into an anthology or magazine. The comics in these anthologies range from comic strips that are too short for standalone publication t ...

series published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

from 1956 to 1968 for 104 issues. It was later renamed '' The Unexpected'' although the numbering continued and it ended at issue #222 in 1982. The title was revived as a limited series in 2006.

Publication history

Original series

In response to the restrictions imposed by the

Comics Code Authority The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA allowed the comic publishers to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. ...

, DC began a new science-fiction series in 1956. The series featured artwork by

Murphy Anderson Murphy C. Anderson Jr. (July 9, 1926 – October 22, 2015) was an American comics artist, known as one of the premier inkers of his era, who worked for companies such as DC Comics for over fifty years, starting in the Golden Age of Comic Books in ...

Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day versio ...

, and many others, with stories by John Broome,

Gardner Fox Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC ...

, and additional writers. It was an anthology comic for many years, publishing a variety of science fiction stories. The series featured

Space Ranger Space Ranger (Rick Starr) is a science fiction hero who was published by DC Comics in several of their 1950s and 1960s anthology titles. He first appeared in ''Showcase (comics), Showcase'' #15 (July 1958) and was created by writers Edmond Hamil ...

as of issue #40 and running through #82 (April–May 1964). Other features included the "Green Glob" (issues #83–98, 100, 102, 103) and "Automan" (issues #91, 94, 97). The series' last issue as ''Tales of the Unexpected'' was #104 (December 1967–January 1968). As of issue #105 (February–March 1968), the title was shortened to '' The Unexpected''.

2006 limited series

DC revived the title for an eight-issue miniseries in 2006, focusing on the

Crispus Allen Crispus Allen is a fictional character in the DC Comics fictional universe, universe, mostly commonly depicted in association with Batman. The character appeared on the first season of ''Gotham (TV series), Gotham'' and was played by Andrew Stewar ...

incarnation of the

Spectre Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to: Religion and spirituality * Vision (spirituality) * Apparitional experience * Ghost Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and writ ...

, with a back-up series featuring

Doctor Thirteen Dr. Terrance Thirteen (sometimes Terrence), known simply as Doctor Thirteen, Dr. 13 and The Ghost-Breaker, is a fictional character in comic books set in the DC Universe. The character's first published appearance is in ''Star Spangled Comics'' # ...

. The back-up feature starred a team made up of Thirteen and his daughter Traci, I…Vampire,

Genius Jones Genius Jones is a comic book character from the Golden Age of Comic Books who first appeared in the DC Comics published, ''Adventure Comics'' #77 (August 1942). He was created by Alfred Bester and Stan Kaye. Johnny "Genius" Jones, a young boy, is ...

, Captain Fear,

Infectious Lass Legion of Substitute Heroes is a group of fictional characters in the future of the DC Comics universe. The "Subs", as they are often called, are a group of rejected applicants to the Legion of Super-Heroes who band together, hoping to prove to ...

Anthro Anthro may refer to: * Anthropo-, a prefix meaning human, humanoid, human-like * Anthro, short for: **Anthroposophy **Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, ...

, the

Primate Patrol This is a list of fictional non-human primates in comics. It is a subsidiary to the list of fictional primates. References

{{Fictional biology Lists of fictional primates, Comics Lists of fictional animals in comics, Primates ...

, and the

Haunted Tank The Haunted Tank is a comic book feature that appeared in the DC Comics anthology war title ''G.I. Combat'' from 1961 through 1987. Publication history The Haunted Tank was created by writer and editor Robert Kanigher and artist Russ Heath in ...

. It was written by

Brian Azzarello Brian Azzarello (born August 11, 1962 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American comic book writer and screenwriter who first came to prominence with the hardboiled crime series ''100 Bullets'', published by DC Comics' mature-audience imprint Vertigo. ...

and drawn by

Cliff Chiang Cliff Chiang is an American comic book artist. Formerly an assistant editor at DC Comics, he is now an illustrator, known for his work on ''Human Target'', '' Beware the Creeper'' and ''Crisis Aftermath: The Spectre'', '' Green Arrow/ Black Canar ...

Collected editions

* ''

Showcase Presents ''Showcase Presents'' was a line of black-and-white paperback books published by DC Comics (from 2005 - 2016) at an average rate of two per month. Much like Marvel Comics' '' Essential Marvel'' volumes, each book usually included over 500 pages of ...

: Tales of the Unexpected'' collects ''Tales of the Unexpected'' #1–20, 512 pages, August 2012, * ''The

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gr ...

Omnibus'' Volume 1 includes stories from ''Tales of the Unexpected'' #13, 15–18, and 21–24, 304 pages, August 2011, * '' Crisis Aftermath: The Spectre'' includes the Spectre lead stories from ''Tales of the Unexpected'' vol. 2 #1–3, 144 pages, May 2007, * ''Spectre: Tales of the Unexpected'' collects the Spectre lead stories from ''Tales of the Unexpected'' vol. 2 #4–8, 128 pages, December 2007, * ''Doctor 13: Architecture and Mortality'' collects the Doctor 13 backup stories from ''Tales of the Unexpected'' vol. 2 #1–8, 144 pages, September 2007,

References

External links

* *
''Tales of the Unexpected''
at Cover Browser
''Tales of the Unexpected''
an
''Tales of the Unexpected'' vol. 2
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics {{DC Comics Mystery Titles, state=collapsed 1956 comics debuts 1968 comics endings 2006 comics debuts 2006 comics endings Comics anthologies Comics by Arnold Drake Comics by Brian Azzarello Comics by Carl Wessler Comics by George Kashdan Comics by Jack Kirby Comics magazines published in the United States DC Comics titles Defunct American comics Defunct magazines published in the United States Fantasy comics Horror comics Magazines disestablished in 1968 Magazines disestablished in 2006 Magazines established in 1956 Magazines established in 2006 Monthly magazines published in the United States Science fiction comics