[2] Cain and Abel are one of many key figures in DC's "Mystery" line-up referred to as horror hosts of the late 1960s and 1970s, which later became a part of the mature-readers imprint Vertigo.

[3] In 1993, host characters like Cain, Abel, Eve and Lucien were retconned as a part of the Dreaming in the critically acclaimed Sandman comic books.

In 1968, Cain was created to "host" the EC-style horror comic anthologies The House of Mystery (which had begun publishing in 1950).

Cain, "the Able Care-Taker", created by Bob Haney, Jack Sparling and Joe Orlando, first appeared in The House of Mystery #175 (July–August 1968),[6] modeled on writer Len Wein, who was new to the field.

The final issue showed Cain in front of the House for sale, with his bags packed, and Gregory, his pet gargoyle, behind him.

In the mid-1980s, Cain became a supporting character in Blue Devil (as caretaker of the "House of Weirdness"), with Abel and Gregory making occasional appearances as well.

[10] In 1969, Abel was created to "host" the companion EC-style horror anthology The House of Secrets (which in its Silver Age run, was published from 1956 to 1966).

[12] Abel's first comics appearance was in DC Special #4 (July–September 1969), ironically written by Hanerfeld and illustrated by Bill Draut.

Abel stammeringly took abuse from Cain and the House of Secrets, and had an "imaginary" (always in quotes) girlfriend named Goldie who berated him too.

He is often cruel to Abel, but he is jovial and a friendly storyteller to children and does everything he can to help Superman; he has no qualms about trapping innocent people inside his television set, however,[17] and he was employed by a vicious mink furrier.

[18] Abel is a nervous, stammering, kind-hearted man, also with a tufty beard and black hair that comes to points above his ears.

In The House of Mystery #257 (April 1978), asylum escapee "Killer" Cowan kills six people on Christmas Eve.

This could be a post-Crisis retcon, however, as Destiny claimed in Weird Mystery Tales #3 that they were not the same as the Biblical Cain and Abel.

The nature of reality in the Dreaming is often multiple and when Cain, Abel, and Eve are telling young Daniel Hall three stories, Cain objects to Abel's "Lil' Endless" style retelling of their origin claiming that "they [the Endless] didn't even look remotely human, none of us did!"

Abel later responds to Matthew the Raven's query about whether they are their biblical namesakes or not by stating: "...oh, none of this happened on Earth..." before being interrupted by Cain.

[26] This would also allow Joe Kubert's DC Comics adaptation of the Cain and Abel story from the Bible, in which he ignored their "Mystery" likenesses, to fit neatly into the canon.

[27] Cain frequently kills Abel in a kind of macabre form of obsessive-compulsive disorder, re-enacting the first murder.

Cain seems unable to control his frequent murders of Abel, and occasionally expresses remorse over them; there is a genuine bond between the two, beneath the surface contempt.

In turn, in the graphic novel The Sandman: The Wake, Cain is so distraught when Abel is murdered permanently by the Kindly Ones, he sinks into a rambling mess when asking the new Dream to restore him.

However, the two play significant (though not key) roles at several points in the series; it is they who take Morpheus in until his strength is restored following his 72-year-long imprisonment.

Cain and Abel also aid The Corinthian with the child Daniel during The Kindly Ones, the penultimate story arc of the series.

Eventually, Cain was able to broker a deal to become the co-manager of the House of Mystery's current incarnation as a bar, and both he and Abel have become regular members of the series' cast.

He later appears in Blackest Night defending Scandal Savage, the new owner of the House of Mystery, from the Suicide Squad.

[29] She is one of four recurring hosts of horror / suspense anthologies that were revived in The Sandman that are part of the Dreaming, with the other three being Cain, Abel and Lucien.

[23] Eve originally appeared in Secrets of Sinister House #6 (August–September 1972); she was the series' principal host, often in stock images, usually with her raven.

[34] In Weird Mystery Tales #3 (November – December 1972), Destiny insisted that Eve, Cain, and Abel are not their Biblical eponyms.

2 #2, Lucien's comment about her addresses her unfriendly nature prior to Dream's return, stating that she confines herself to nightmares.

[39] Lavi talked about her role as the character: "I think personally the most interesting thing about Eve was the concept of sin and how she's considered to be the original sinner.

[41] Within the comics, Abel is depicted as a more meek man who is commonly a victim of Cain’s murders in various gruesome ways, much like a recurring dark comedy trope.