{"id":26718,"date":"2022-10-16T17:00:22","date_gmt":"2022-10-16T17:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=26718"},"modified":"2022-10-16T14:04:18","modified_gmt":"2022-10-16T14:04:18","slug":"showcase-presents-the-witching-hour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2022\/10\/16\/showcase-presents-the-witching-hour\/","title":{"rendered":"Showcase Presents The Witching Hour"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nBy Alex Toth<\/strong>, Bob Haney<\/strong>, George Kashdan<\/strong>, Ed Herron<\/strong>, Jack Miller<\/strong>, Carl Wessler<\/strong>, Dennis O\u2019Neil<\/strong>, Steve Skeates, Len Wein<\/strong>, Marv Wolfman<\/strong>, Gerry Conway<\/strong>, Jack Oleck<\/strong>, Mike Friedrich<\/strong>, Alan Riefe<\/strong>, Dave Kaler<\/strong>, Phil Seuling<\/strong>, Jack Phillips<\/strong>, Murray Boltinoff<\/strong>, Sergio Aragon\u00e9s<\/strong>, Nick Cardy<\/strong>, Carmine Infantino<\/strong>, Jack Kirby<\/strong>, Gil Kane<\/strong>, Neal Adams<\/strong>, Mike Sekowsky<\/strong>, George Tuska<\/strong>, Wally Wood<\/strong>, Dick Giordano<\/strong>, Joe Orlando<\/strong>, Bob Brown<\/strong>, Gray Morrow<\/strong>, Murphy Anderson<\/strong>, Pat Boyette<\/strong>, Bill Draut<\/strong>, Howard Sherman<\/strong>, Howard Post<\/strong>, Jerry Grandenetti<\/strong>, John Celardo<\/strong>, Art Saaf<\/strong>, Jack Sparling<\/strong>, Michael Wm. Kaluta<\/strong>, Jos\u00e9 Delbo<\/strong>, Lee Elias<\/strong>, Sid Greene<\/strong>, Jeff Jones<\/strong>, Tony DeZu\u00f1iga<\/strong>, Bernie Wrightson<\/strong>, Jim Aparo<\/strong>, John Calnan<\/strong> & many & various (DC Comics)
\nISBN: 978-1-4012-3022-7 (TPB)<\/p>\n

American comic books struggled until the creation of superheroes unleashed a torrent of creative imitation and invented a new genre. Implacably vested in World War II, the Overman swept all before him (and the far too occasional her) until the troops came home and more traditional genres supplanted the Fights \u2018n\u2019 Tights crowd.<\/p>\n

Although kids (of all ages) kept buying, much of the previous generation also retained a four-colour habit, but increasingly sought more mature themes in the reading matter. The war years altered the psychology of the world, and as a more world-weary, cynical public came to see that all the fighting and dying hadn\u2019t really changed anything, their chosen forms of entertainment (film and prose as well as comics) reflected this.<\/p>\n

As well as Western, War and Crime comics, escapist comedy and anthropomorphic animal features were immediately resurgent, but gradually another periodic revival of spiritualism and interest in the supernatural led to a wave of increasingly impressive, evocative and even shocking horror comics.<\/p>\n

There had been a sector of supernatural stars before; even a pantheon of ghosts, monsters and wizards draped in mystery-man garb and trappings: The Spectre<\/strong>, Dr. Fate<\/strong>, The Heap<\/em>, The Heap<\/em>, Mr. Justice<\/em>, Sgt. Spook<\/em>, Frankenstein<\/strong> and dozens of others). However, these had been individualistic victims of circumstance, with the vague force of \u201cThe Unknown\u201d acting as a power source for super-heroics. Now the focus shifted to ordinary mortals thrown into a world beyond human ken or control with the intention of unsettling, not vicariously empowering the reader.<\/p>\n

Almost every publisher jumped on an increasingly popular bandwagon, with B & I (which became the magical one-man-band Richard E. Hughes\u2019 American Comics Group<\/em>) launching the first regularly published horror comic in the Autumn of 1948 – although Adventures Into the Unknown<\/strong> was technically pipped by Avon, who had released an impressive single issue entitled Eerie<\/strong> in January 1947 before launching a regular series in 1951.<\/p>\n

By this time Classics Illustrated<\/strong> had already long-milked the literary end of the medium with adaptations of The Headless Horseman<\/strong>, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde<\/strong> (both 1943), The Hunchback of Notre Dame<\/strong> (1944) and Frankenstein<\/strong> (1945) among others.<\/p>\n

If we\u2019re keeping score this was also the period in which Joe Simon & Jack Kirby identified another \u201cmature market\u201d gap and invented the Romance comic (via Young Romance<\/strong> #1, cover-dated September 1947). They too saw the sales potential of spooky stories, resulting in the seminal Black Magic<\/strong> (1950) and boldly obscure psychological drama anthology Strange World of Your Dreams<\/strong> (1952).<\/p>\n

National Periodicals\/DC Comics also bowed to the inevitable, and in 1951 launched a comparatively straight-laced anthology that nevertheless became one of their longest-running and most influential titles – The House of Mystery<\/strong>. When the hysterical censorship scandal which led to witch-hunting hearings was curtailed by the industry adopting a castrating straitjacket of self-regulatory rules, HoM<\/strong> and sister title House of Secrets<\/strong> were dialled back into rationalistic, fantasy adventure vehicles, which nevertheless dominated the market. This was the status quo until the 1960s when superheroes (which had started to creep back after Julius Schwartz began the Silver Age of comics by reintroducing The Flash<\/strong> in Showcase<\/strong> #4, 1956) finally overtook them.<\/p>\n

Green Lantern<\/strong>, Hawkman<\/strong>, The Atom<\/strong> and an avalanche of other costumed characters became a gaudy global bubble of masked madness which forced even dedicated anthology suspense titles to transform into super-character split-books.<\/p>\n

However, nothing combats censorship better than falling profits and Silver Age superhero boom stalled and crashed as the 1960s ended, leading to surviving comics publishers agreeing to loosen their self-imposed restraints against crime and horror comics. Nobody much cared about gangster titles at that time, but since the liberalisation coincided with another bump in global interest in the supernatural, a resurrection of scary stories was a foregone conclusion\u2026<\/p>\n

Even ultra-wholesome Archie Comics re-entered the field with their rather tasty line of Red Circle Thrillers<\/strong>\u2026<\/p>\n

With Tales of the Unexpected<\/strong> #105 and House of Mystery <\/strong>#174, National\/DC switched back to anthology horror material, before creating an all-new title to further exploit our morbid fascination with all thingies fearsome and spooky (even resurrecting the cancelled House of Secrets<\/strong> in late 1969) for those heady days when it was okay – and profitable – to scare the heck out of little kids by making them laugh.<\/p>\n

Edited until #14 by Dick Giordano, The Witching Hour<\/strong> first struck with a February\/March 1969 cover-date (actually on-sale from December 19th<\/sup> 1968) and from the outset was an extremely experimental and intriguing beast. This amazingly economical Showcase Presents<\/strong> collection reprints the first 19 issues, covering the first three years as a fear fad grew to become the backbone of DC\u2019s sales. It is perhaps the most talent-stuffed title of that entire period\u2026<\/p>\n

In this graphic grimoire, the cool and creepy horror-hosts who traditionally introduce the entertainment are three witches. Based as much on Macbeth<\/strong> as the ancient concept of Maiden<\/em>, Mother<\/em> & Crone<\/em>, this torrid trio constantly strove to outdo and out-gross each other in the telling of terror tales. Moreover, Cynthia<\/em>, Mildred<\/em> and Mordred<\/em> – as well as shy monster man-servant Egor<\/em> – were designed by and initially delineated by master illustrator Alex Toth, making framing sequences between yarns as good as and sometimes better than the stories they brazenly bracketed.<\/p>\n

One minor quibble: records from the period are not complete and occasionally a creator is unknown, but this volume also sadly misattributes the artist too. I\u2019ve attempted to correct the mistakes when I\u2019m certain, but please be warned and beware – I\u2019m not always right either\u2026<\/p>\n

Following a stunning Nick Cardy cover, Toth started the ball rolling by introducing the sinister sisters and their ongoing contest before Dennis O\u2019Neil & Pat Boyette relate the story of a time-travelling tap-dancer in \u2018Save the Last Dance for Me\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Toth wrote and limned a compelling period piece of peril in \u2018Eternal Hour!\u2019 <\/em>and Jack Sparling related the eerie fate of wave-obsessed Stanley<\/em>\u2019s search for \u2018The Perfect Surf\u2019.<\/em><\/p>\n

Toth\u2019s scary sisters closed out the premier issue (with, I suspect, additional inks from Neal Adams), but still found room for \u2018Silk Gauze\u2019<\/em>, an informational page by persons unknown which first appeared in Tales of the Unexpected<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Although attributed to Toth, #2\u2019s introductory episode is by his old Standard Comics stable-mate Mike Sekowsky (inked by Giordano), leading into Sparling\/s dream-chiller \u2018Scream!\u2019<\/em>, after which Jos\u00e9 Delbo delineates a shocking period tale of slavery and vengeance \u2018The Trip of Fools!\u2019 <\/em>before Sid Greene\u2019s ghost story \u2018The Beat Goes On!\u2019 <\/em>and Sparling\u2019s \u2018Once Upon a Surprise Ending!\u2019 <\/em>end an issue regrettably short on writer credits.<\/p>\n

Following another Sekowsky\/Giordano intro, Toth & Vince Colletta illustrate Don Arneson\u2019s medieval mood masterpiece \u2018The Turn of the Wheel!\u2019 <\/em>whilst Alan Riefe & Sparling tell a decidedly different ghost-story in \u2018The Death Watch\u2019<\/em>, after which Steve Skeates & Bernie Wrightson debut a decidedly alterative fantasy hero in \u2018\u2026And in a Far-Off Land!\u2019<\/em>, followed by the first of a series of short prose vignettes: anonymous fright-comedy \u2018Potion of Love\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Toth illustrates the sisters\u2019 \u2018Witching Hour Welcome Wagon\u2019 <\/em>(a useful identifying rule of thumb for the uninitiated is that the master usually signed his work – and was allowed to\u2026) after which new kid Gerard Conway scripted spectral saga \u2018A Matter of Conscience\u2019 <\/em>for art veterans Sparling & George Roussos. Anonymous prose piece \u2018If You Have Ghosts\u2019 <\/em>precedes smashing yarn entitled \u2018Disaster in a Jar\u2019<\/em> (Riefe & Boyette) before Conway scripts period witchfinder thriller \u2018A Fistful of Fire\u2019 <\/em>for Delbo – a vastly underrated artist who was on the best form of his career at this time.<\/p>\n

Toth\u2019s Weird Sisters close out that issue and eerily, hilariously open #5 before Wrightson lavishly embellishes a nifty but uncredited (as is every script in this one) nautical nightmare \u2018The Sole Survivor!\u2019<\/em>, followed by text-teaser \u2018The Non-Believer! <\/em>and Boyette\u2019s stunning, clownish creep-feature \u2018A Guy Can Die Laughing!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Stanley Pitt & Giordano\u2019s dating dilemma \u2018The Computer Game\u2019 <\/em>was one of the first to explore that now-hoary plot and, after Toth signs off the witches, there\u2019s an added single-page black-comedy bonus from Sid Greene in \u2018My! How You\u2019ve Grown!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Sekowsky & Giordano limned Dave Kaler\u2019s take on the sisters\u2019 intro for The Witching Hour <\/strong>#6, after which a far darker horror debuts as \u2018A Face in the Crowd!\u2019 <\/em>(Conway, Mike Roy & Mike Peppe), wherein Nazi war-criminal and concentration camp survivor meet in an American street; Marv Wolfman & Delbo described a tale of neighbourly intolerance in \u2018The Doll Man!\u2019 <\/em>and \u2018Treasure Hunt\u2019 <\/em>by Skeates, John Celardo & Giordano show why greed isn\u2019t always good. Also included were Conway\u2019s prose tale \u2018Train to Doom\u2019<\/em>, \u2018Mad Menace\u2019 <\/em>– a half-page gag strip by John Costanza, and \u2018Distortion!\u2019<\/em>; another Greene-limned one-pager.<\/p>\n

Toth & Mike Friedrich were on spectacular form for #7\u2019s intro and bridging sequences, whilst Bill Draut was compulsively effective in prison manhunt saga \u2018The Big Break!\u2019<\/em>, with scripter Skeates also writing modern-art murder-mystery \u2018The Captive!\u2019 <\/em>for Roussos. Friedrich & Jack Abel then advise a most individual baby to \u2018Look Homeward, Angelo!\u2019<\/em>, Whilst text piece \u2018Who Believes Ouija?\u2019 <\/em>and Jack Miller & Michael Wm. Kaluta\u2019s Gothically delicious \u2018Trick or Treat\u2019 <\/em>round out the sinister sights in this issue.<\/p>\n

Sergio Aragon\u00e9s & Neal Adams provide the witch-bits for #8, bracketing their satanically sardonic \u2018Above and Beyond the Call of Duty!\u2019<\/em>, as well as \u2018Three Day Free Home Trial!\u2019 <\/em>(Aragon\u00e9s & Cardy) and staggeringly inventive \u2018ComputERR\u2019 <\/em>by that man again and Toth.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Career Man\u2019 <\/em>is a witty but anonymous prose piece and the issue closes with a Twice Told Tale<\/strong> by Ron Whyte & Sparling, as an urban myth is exposed at \u2018The Sign of the Hook!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Toth & Draut began #9, after which Bob Brown & Murphy Anderson illustrate ghostly tale \u2018The Long Road Home!\u2019 <\/em>and, after text story \u2018The Dark Well\u2019 <\/em>peripatetic, post-apocalyptic, ironic occasional series \u2018The Day after Doomsday\u2019 <\/em>(Len Wein & Sparling) makes a welcome appearance.<\/p>\n

Delbo delightfully delineated a terrifying tale of Old China in \u2018The Last Straw\u2019 <\/em>and, after George Tuska takes over the Weird Sisters link-segments, a doomsday debacle closes the dramas with a \u2018Trumpet Perilous!\u2019 <\/em>as drawn by Sparling & Abel.<\/p>\n

The witches opening issue #10 are once more by Toth & Draut, promptly followed by a magnificent illustration job by Gray Morrow on regrettably uncredited \u2018A Warp in Time \u2026Loses Everything!\u2019 <\/em>after which the all-word \u2018I\u2019ll See You in My Dreams\u2019 <\/em>precedes Conway & Toth\u2019s superb forbidden romance \u2018Hold Softly, Hand of Death!\u2019. <\/em>Tuska handles the Sisters before Sparling\u2019s faux-fact page \u2018Realm of the Mystics\u2019 <\/em>ends this excursion into outer darkness.<\/p>\n

Toth drew the intro and Jack Oleck\u2019s The Mark of the Witch\u2019 <\/em>(inked by Draut) in #11, whilst – following text-tale \u2018Retired Undefeated!\u2019 –<\/em> Tuska inspirationally illustrates creepy chronal conundrum \u2018The Sands of Time, the Snows of Death!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

TWH <\/strong>#12 was similarly blessed as, after a sinisterly sexy Skeates\/Toth intro, the devilish duo then describe an horrific \u2018Double Edge\u2019 <\/em>battle between witch-queens and valiant mortals, followed by a Machiavellian actor\u2019s \u2018Double Take\u2019 <\/em>(Skeates & Tuska) and a demonic duel and \u2018Double Cross!\u2019 <\/em>by Skeates & Gil Kane. The ever-anonymous prose piece is mordantly merry \u2018The Dead Can\u2019t Talk But\u2026\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Giordano\u2019s last issue as editor was #13, opening in grand style as fellow comic book hosts Cain<\/em>, Abel<\/em> and the Mad Mod Witch<\/em> (from Houses of Mystery<\/strong> and Secrets<\/strong> and The Unexpected<\/strong>, dis-respectively) attend \u2018New Year\u2019s Eve at the Witching Hour\u2019 <\/em>(illustrated by Adams), followed by a marvellously experimental psycho-thriller by Alan Gold & Gray Morrow entitled \u2018The Maze\u2019<\/em>; a far more traditional but no less scary story \u2018The Accursed Clay!\u2019 <\/em>(Miller, Sparling & Frank Giacoia) and just plain strange tale of \u2018The Rush-Hour Ride of Abner Pringle!\u2019 <\/em>by Wein & Delbo.<\/p>\n

As an added treat the text token is \u2018The Witching Hour Mistree\u2019 <\/em>by that shy but not retiring rogue Egor and what looks like Sal Amendola\u2026<\/p>\n

When veteran editor Murray Boltinoff assumed the reins with #14 (April-May 1971), an element of experimentalism was surrendered but more conventional material was no less welcomed by the horror-hungry readership: more proof, if any were needed, that artistic endeavour and envelope-pushing aren\u2019t to everybody\u2019s taste. Tuska replaced Toth as regular illustrator of introductory and bridging sections, but otherwise most fright-seeking kids could hardly tell the difference.<\/p>\n

The all-science fiction issue opens with a beautiful yet oddly-stilted yarn from Conway & Jeff\/Catherine Jones exploring the solitary burdens of \u2018Fourteen Months\u2019<\/em> in deep space, and \u2018Which Witch is Which?\u2019<\/em> (Kaler and Stanley & Reg Pitt) depicts the comeuppance of an intergalactic Lothario.<\/p>\n

As \u201cAl Case\u201d, editor Boltinoff provides text feature \u2018Dead Letter Office\u2019 <\/em>before the issue ends on a classic visual high with \u2018The Haunted House in Space!\u2019 <\/em>illustrated by dream team Al Williamson & Carlos Garzon.<\/p>\n

After the usual grisly graphic girl-talk, #15 starts with a murder masterpiece from George Kashdan & Wally Wood, revealing \u2018Freddy is Another Name For Fear!\u2019<\/em>, after which Al Case scripts \u2018End of a World\u2019 <\/em>before Phil Seuling & Gray Morrow steal the show with fearsome fable \u2018Bayou Witch\u2019 <\/em>and Case & Art Saaf ring down the curtain with \u2018I Married a Witch!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Issue #16 saw TWH <\/strong>expand from 32 to 52 pages – as did all DC titles for the next few years – opening doors to a superb period of new material and the best of DCs prodigious archives to an appreciative, impressionable audience. The magic began after Tuska\u2019s punchy prelude with cautionary \u2018Never Kill a Witch!\u2019 <\/em>by Carl Wessler, John Calnan & Bernie Case, after which Boltinoff (as Bill Dennehy) provides a slick, edgy reinterpretation of a classic fairy tale for Morrow to lavishly limn in \u2018The Spell of Sinner Ella!\u2019<\/em>, before switching back to his Case persona for the Tony DeZu\u00f1iga illustrated duelling drama \u2018You Can\u2019t Hide From Death\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Classic reprints began with \u2018The Wondrous Witch\u2019s Cauldron\u2019 <\/em>(drawn by Lee Elias from House of Secrets <\/strong>#58), followed by Joe Orlando illustrated, Charles King scripted text piece \u2018Last Meal\u2019 <\/em>and Howie Post & Draut\u2019s ghoulish period parable \u2018The Curse of the Cat\u2019<\/em>: both originally seen in House of Mystery <\/strong>#177.<\/p>\n

Kashdan & Heck opened #17 with a modern magic myth \u2018This Little Witch Went to College\u2019<\/em>, after which a classic 1950\u2019s fear-feature from Sensation Mystery Comics<\/strong> #109 saw Carmine Infantino & Joe Giella devastatingly depict the \u2018Fingers of Fear!\u2019 <\/em>whilst – from House of Secrets<\/strong> #46 – Howard Sherman delineated \u2018The Second Life of Simon Steele\u2019<\/em>. Dennehy, Calnan & Colletta provided new yarn with an old moral \u2018The Corpse Who Carried Cash!\u2019 <\/em>before Wessler & mood-master Jerry Grandenetti fantastically finished the fear-fest with \u2018The Man in the Cellar\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The same team opened #18 with \u2018The Worm that Turned to Terror\u2019<\/em>, a schizophrenic slice of domestic hell followed by \u2018The Diggers!\u2019<\/em>: a nasty, vengeful yarn from Bobs Haney & Brown with Giacoia inks, encompassing half a century of French war and regret.<\/p>\n

Tales of the Unexpected<\/strong> #13 was the original source of both the Ed Herron\/Jack Kirby conundrum \u2018The Face Behind the Mask\u2019<\/em> and the Herron\/Cardy creepy-crime caper \u2018I Was a Prisoner of the Supernatural\u2019<\/em>, after which modernity resumes with Jim Aparo\u2019s \u2018Hypnotic Eye\u2019<\/em> and Kashdan, Calnan & Colletta\u2019s cautionary tale \u2018When Satan Comes Calling!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

The final issue in this superbly spooky compendium is The Witching Hour <\/strong>#19 which – after the customary Tuska drawn kaffeeklatsch<\/em> with Mordred, Mildred and Cynthia – commences in a stylish, sparkling Jack Phillips & Grandenetti chiller \u2018Tomb for the Winning!\u2019<\/em>, followed by \u2018The Four Threads of Doom\u2019<\/em> (by anonymous & Cardy, from Tales of the Unexpected<\/strong> #12) after which another anonymous & Tuska provide fresh new thriller \u2018Stop Beating, Heart! You\u2019re Killing Me!\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n

One final Cardy reprint – \u2018The Lamp That Changed People!\u2019 <\/em>(House of Mystery<\/strong> #20) – follows before this glorious volume of witchy wonderment concludes with Kashdan\/Elias shocker \u2018What Evil Haunts This House?\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

These terror-tales captivated reading public and critics alike when they first appeared, and it\u2019s indisputable that the supernatural sector saved DC during one of the toughest downturns in comics publishing history. Now their blend of garish mordant mirth, classic horror scenarios and suspense set-pieces are most familiarly seen in shows like Goosebumps<\/strong>, Stranger Things<\/strong> and many, many others.<\/p>\n

This volume – like so many others – is unavailable digitally, and hard to find in print, but with a growing taste for horror stories manifesting in comics again, perhaps it won\u2019t be long before we can shiver and giggle to classic chillers once more. If you crave beautifully realised, tastefully gore-free sagas of tension and imagination, not to mention a huge supply of bad-taste, kid-friendly cartoon comedy chaos, stay up past The Witching Hour <\/strong>as long and as often as you possibly can\u2026
\n\u00a9 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 2011 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alex Toth, Bob Haney, George Kashdan, Ed Herron, Jack Miller, Carl Wessler, Dennis O\u2019Neil, Steve Skeates, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, Gerry Conway, Jack Oleck, Mike Friedrich, Alan Riefe, Dave Kaler, Phil Seuling, Jack Phillips, Murray Boltinoff, Sergio Aragon\u00e9s, Nick Cardy, Carmine Infantino, Jack Kirby, Gil Kane, Neal Adams, Mike Sekowsky, George Tuska, Wally Wood, … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Showcase Presents The Witching Hour”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[66,125,132],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-horror-stories","category-humour","category-older-kids"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-6WW","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26718"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26720,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26718\/revisions\/26720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}