Abel
(Created by Mark Hanerfield, Bill Draut and Joe Orlando)
I've always liked this guy, despite my having never been a fan of horror comics. Tales From the Crypt, Creeper, House of Mystery and House of Secrets never made it to my longboxes. In fact, I hadn't even heard of him until I read 
the Sandman: The Doll's House trade.
Hell of a story, but Abel only appeared in a handful of pages. A background character within the grand scope. As a result, I paid him no mind. Then came my big purchase:
Who's Who in the DC Universe (1990) #1. Because, hey. Superman.
But it also brought Abel
(and Cain, who I'll talk about at some point despite being constantly grouped together)
to the forefront of my comic awareness. According to Abel's entry, he...- may or may not be the biblical Abel - as in the first murder victim.
- is killed by his brother. Repeatedly. For fun. Then simply returns to life without any explanation as to why or how.
- is a compassionate coward who loves to tell horror stories to pass the time.
- has a pet gargoyle.
Who's Who in the DC Universe #1. The 1985 version.
And while this older issue does mention Abel's extreme cowardice and extraordinary storytelling skills, four of the five paragraphs are about the House of Secrets...which should have had its own entry. There's nothing on Abel's ability to resurrect, and he doesn't have a pet at this point. Instead, he has "an invisible, imaginary companion called Goldie."
But both versions have Abel's physical attributes the same: blue eyes, black hair, 5' 7 " tall, 396 and-a-quarter pounds.
What can I say? It was the late sixties.
No. I can't explain the "quarter pound". Just roll with it.
Being the kind of guy I am, I sought out his first appearance:
which (I'm guessing) features Abel already in the House of Secrets. I have no idea, because DC Special #4 is not only difficult to find, but wicked expensive...and not reprinted anywhere.
So instead, I shopped his first chronological appearance -
which, once again, is rare and not cheap.
Interesting side note: both Who's Who (Who's Whos?) list House of Secrets #81 as Abel's first appearance. But ComicVine and ComicBookdb (great websites by the way) say it's DC Special #4. Based on the calendar, the sites have it right. DC Special #4 is cover dated July/September 1969 whereas HoS #81 is cover dated August/September 1969. Weird.
Anyhoo,
this series has been reprinted. Relatively recently too.
At this point, I have to confess that I like black and white reprints like Showcase and Marvel's Essentials about as much as I like horror comics. Coloring a comic is highly underrated art form. Andy Yanchus set the standard for me, and seeing all that hard work basically erased in order to make these collections "more affordable" makes me mad. Having said that, I have to swallow my newly created pill of bitterness...because I purchased Showcase: House of Secrets Vol.1.
Before anyone calls me a hypocrite (which I totally understand), let me say that reading a horror anthology series in black and white works for me. It reminds me of reruns from The Addams Family and The Munsters that I watched as a kid. To me, Black and White + Horror = Fun.
Which this is.
Over the series, the creators had Abel interact with the House as much as the reader. I like that. It gave the House its own character (another reason why it should have had its own Who entry) while showing Abel's almost innocent behavior. He fell for pranks and was subjected to teasing (like being locked out...by the House) all while sharing stories about death, crime and revenge.
Another thing I like about him is that he was always portrayed as a perfect gentleman and a gracious host. He'll invite you in, offer you a hot beverage and/or snack and sit you by the fireplace. Then he'll scare the crap out of you, passing the time with his stories.
Then that happened.
Well, yeah...
...okay, okay.
Abel appeared in Alan Moore's (Saga of the) Swamp Thing, released around the same time as Crisis.
Yeah, there too, but I don't have that issue and I've never read it.
Oh, right. Like you've got all the money and time in the world.
I've got Swamp Thing #'s 49 and 50 in the Saga of the Swamp Thing Book Four trade. But again he (and Cain, Christ doesn't that guy ever leave him alone?) was a secondary character, simply there to witness what I can only describe as "the supernatural/biblical battle of good-versus-evil over dominance of the Post-Crisis Earth and its single universe".
Meanwhile, Crisis on Infinite Earths itself didn't mention him at all.
I guess the argument could be made that Moore brought Abel (et al.) from the backwoods of Kentucky to a more supernatural location...
...but it was Neil Gaiman who brought Abel (et al.) to The Dreaming.
This fit together so well it's ridiculous. Gaiman made it seem like Abel always resided in Morpheus' realm - going all the way back to House of Secrets #81/DC Special #4. And when I read those older stories now, it still works.
For someone who never read horror comics until his early forties (and has developed at least an appreciation for them since), I'm grateful that it was Abel who introduced me to the genre. He invited me in, offered me a warm beverage and a snack...and then scared the crap out of me with his stories.
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