Old-fashioned Comics

Thursday, 5 November 2026

Merlo the Magician from Boy's World - Compiled and edited by H. C.

Merlo the Magician was a popular adventure feature in the British

weekly boys' comic Boy's World, which launched

in January 1963 by Odhams Press.

Character & Concept

• Double Life: Merlo was both an internationally famous stage magician
and a top-secret Interpol agent.
• Missions: He used his mastery of illusion, sleight of hand, and
stagecraft to combat high-powered criminal syndicates and fantastic threats.

Merlo the Magician

A spy created by Harry Harrison, Merlo the Magician
was originally intended to be named Merlin, until
someone higher up in Boys' World's management
decided it needed changed. Initially he appeared in a
twelve part text story, The Spell of Magic (Boys'
World #11-23), before transitioning to a comic strip.
Harrison wrote the first two Merlo comic strips, Men
Without Faces (Boys' World #24-43) and The Army
of Crime (Boys' World #44-vol.2 #17), before
handing over to another writer for the remaining two
stories, Danger in the Desert (Boys' World #18-27)
and Operation Rescue (Boys' World #28-40). All
parts had art by Garcia Pizarro. Merlo retumed in the
Boys' World Annuals with four stories: 1964's Smash
and Grab; 1965's Death in Venice, 1966's Payroll
Raid, and 1967's Man Overboard.

114 pages

http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/b/boysworld.htm

https://harryharrison.wordpress.com/2008/12/09/merlo-the-magician/

Compiled and edited by H. C.

We thank H. C. for his courtesy in offering our reader

this magnificent compilation.

Sensation Mystery (1952-1953) - Compiled by Voltaire57

Sensation Mystery was an American comic book anthology series published
by DC Comics that ran for seven issues from 1952 to 1953.

The title was a direct continuation and rebranding

of the long-running Sensation Comics. Originally launched in 1942

as the primary home for Wonder Woman,

Sensation Comics faced declining superhero sales by the late 1940s.

DC initially shifted the book into a romance format, and later into

a supernatural/mystery

format with issue #107. Following issue #109, DC officially changed

the title of the series to Sensation Mystery, continuing the original

numbering starting with issue #110 (dated July–August 1952).

📘 Publication History & Format

Publisher: DC Comics
Run History: Issues #110 to #116
Publication Dates: July–August 1952 – July–August 1953
Frequency: Bi-monthly
Genres: Fantasy, supernatural, horror, and suspense

🕵️‍♂️ Key Characters & Creative Talent

With Wonder Woman completely absent, the primary recurring feature of the book became Johnny Peril, an adventurer and investigator of the supernatural who originally debuted in Just Imagine and Comic Cavalcade. Alongside his companion Sandra Shaw, Peril investigated paranormal anomalies, curses, and bizarre occurrences.

The remainder of each 36-page issue consisted of short, twist-ending horror and sci-fi anthology stories. Legendary comic industry figures worked on the book under editor Julius Schwartz, including creators like Robert Kanigher, Gil Kane, Carmine Infantino, Frank Giacoia and Murphy Anderson.

🗓️ Issue Checklist

Issue	Cover Date	Lead Story / Notable Feature
#110	July–August 1952	"Nightmare Island" (Art by Carmine Infantino)
#111	September–October 1952	"The Spectre in the Flame"
#112	November–December 1952	"Death Has Five Guesses"
#113	January–February 1953	"The End of Death"
#114	March–April 1953	"The Haunted Diamond" (Featuring Johnny Peril & Sandra Shaw)
#115	May–June 1953	"The Phantom Castle"
#116	July–August 1953	"The Toy Assassins" (Final Issue)

🛑 Cancellation

The series was short-lived, lasting only a year under its mystery title. The final issue was Sensation Mystery #116, which hit newsstands in May 1953 with a cover date of July–August 1953. Its cancellation came right on the cusp of the industry-wide backlash against horror comics that eventually led to the creation of the Comics Code Authority in 1954.

https://comicvine.gamespot.com/sensation-mystery/4050-1474/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensation_Comics

https://www.comics.org/series/870/