Comic Title: Detective Comics #164
Publisher: DC
Cover Date: October 1950
Approx. On Sale Date: August 23, 1950 Copyright Date August 21, 1950
Source: Library of Congress, Periodicals 1950
Until 1958 DC did not report actual on sale dates to the copyright office
The publication dates listed in LoC records are NOT release dates.

Cover Price: $0.10
Page Count: 48
Editor: Jack Schiff

Title: "The Case of the Talking Dead"
Pages: 8

Feature(s):
Roy Raymond (of Earth-1)

Artist: Dan Barry

Feature Character(s)

• Roy Raymond (last appearance in Detective Comics #163; next appearance in Detective Comics #165)

Supporting Character(s)

• Karen Duncan (last appearance in Detective Comics #163; next appearance in Detective Comics #165)

Villain(s)

• Marvella the Mystic and Bruno (no further appearances)

Other Character(s)

• Peter Simmonds and Mr. Landry (no further appearances)
• Phil Wolfe (a make-up artist; no further appearances)

Synopsis:
Roy Raymond meets Marvella the Mystic who claims to possess the ability to speak with the dead. Marvella proves her ability by speaking two the dead relatives of two men and revealing the location of hidden gold. Roy challenges Marvella to speak with one of his relatives. Marvella succeeds in speaking to Roy's late uncle and relating a story from Roy's boyhood.

Marvella's performance convinces Roy, until Karen mentions a diary. Roy realizes that Marvella must have learned about his uncle from his diary. He returns to the mystic disguised as a crook. She offers to help him find buried loot hidden by his dead partner. Roy uses his own hoax to fool Marvella and her assistant Bruno into revealing their scheme. The police arrive to arrest her, since the recovered gold was stolen. The mystic hoax was used to help smuggle in the gold.