Svengoolie is America’s premier horror show icon and host who is celebrating 45 years of bringing viewers scary good entertainment. Rich Koz became Svengoolie in 1979 when Jerry G. Bishop retired from the role, introducing great (and enjoyably bad) horror movies. Svengoolie also entertains before and after commercial breaks with skits, jokes, song parodies, and more.

The horror host is often joined in his comedic bits by the Sven Squad. Zallman T. Tombstone is a disembodied skull who plays the straight man in Svengoolie skits. Boddy Sorrell is the face on Svengoolie’s coffin, who was based on the character Buddy Sorrell in The Dick Van Dyke Show. Kerwyn is an impudent rubber chicken that reviews mail with Svengoolie and Durwood the Dummy is a ventriloquist’s dummy.

The Spawn of Svengoolie talent search produced a few favorite characters in the Sven Squad. Gwengoolie is a glamourous, pinup ghoul from Hollyweird, Nostalgiaferatoo is a comedic vampire inspired by Nosferatu, and Ignatius Malvolio Prankenstein, aka IMP, is a clever, devilish trickster.

Members of the Sven Squad appear in the Svengoolie 45th Anniversary BOO-Nanza from Dan DiDio and Gemstone Publishing. The issue features multiple stories written by Sven and the members of the Sven Squad, with art by Bill Morrison, Scott Shaw, Joe Staton, Liam Martin, and Dan Parent. Sven and a new set of ghoulish heroes confront “The Day of the Doorbell Demons” while Nostalgiaferatoo, Gwengoolie, and IMP each appear in their own solo stories.

The book arrives in comic shops on October 2, 2024.