"The Brush that Could Haunt Men's Souls" and "The Mark of X"

Today we'll diverge a bit from the usual 'music' related comic book stories in this series and look at two tales from the 1950s run of the DC book "House of Mystery" that involve, first, a comic book artist and an art brush, and second, a television writer who discovers an interesting solution to writer's block.

"It was only a brush -- an ordinary painter's brush ... but in its soft and yielding bristles was hidden the power to force from men the truth!  Lies perished in their hearts ... Falsehoods froze on their lips ... and once their innermost secrets were revealed, found themselves teetering on the very brink of doom!"

Thus begins our first thrilling story from House of Mystery #10, January 1953, unfurling for you right after the jump!

The art for this tender tale comes via Jim Mooney, a very prolific DC and later Marvel artist who did many memorable stories savored by me as a child, the DC things often short 'backup' pieces coming behind the main feature in a book. The writer is unknown. The ending is truly a hoot. Enjoy!

--?????--  Oh, yeah - he's a dead ringer for Hitler alright! I bet you didn't see THAT peculiar twist coming!
Below is the lovely cover for this issue, by DC stalwarts Curt Swan and George Klein.

Next up - the real star of today's lineup, with another Swan cover, this time (possibly) inked by Ed Smalle, and the interior art by Swan and Klein, well-known for their many Superman family illustrations. Again, no credit available for the author. Fans of the famous comic book characters The Heap, Swamp Thing and his imitator Man-Thing will notice a familiar character shambling about in this chilling tale from the second issue of House of Mystery, March 1952.