Last
updated 03 July 05. The latest version of this document can always be found at www.enjolrasworld.com. See last page for legal & © information.
Additions?
Corrections? Contact Richard J. Arndt: rarndt39@hotmail.com.
The
The
The Comics Code Authority, established in 1955 to ‘clean up’ comics, had demolished the EC empire of quality horror comics as well as most of the lesser publishers of horror comics and forced those publishers who survived to water down the content to near pablum. You couldn’t use vampires, zombies, skeletons, ghouls, etc as characters in a comic book. You couldn’t show blood or horrific details. Nor could you use such words as horror or terror in titles. As the comic industry existed in 1964, a revival of EC-type comics wouldn’t have been possible.
Besides,
Plus, the Comics Code Authority had no authority over magazines, since nobody had ever published a comic book in magazine form. EC had, in its dying days, published what they called Picto-Fiction. Prose stories dealing with crime and horror with a heavy amount of art in comic book style. However, this experiment was a failure. They also changed their humor comic, Mad, into a magazine. They promptly stopped calling it a comic, however. It was now a humor magazine.
So Warren decided to publish his comic stories in a format he was comfortable with, for a distribution system he understood and in a style that allowed him a great deal of freedom. Then he aimed those stories at the exact same audience that the regular four-color comics had targeted—12-14 year old boys. It was a smart and, as it turned out, profitable end run around the Comics Code.
The
The success of Warren, a major
portion of which can be laid at Goodwin’s door, gave Marvel, DC & Charlton the desire to reenter the
horror field, which helped spark the changing of the comics code and directly
lead to the horror boom that comics went through from 1971-1975.
Recently, while reading a
collection of Al Sarrantonio’s stories (a strong writer and probably the
major editor in the horror field today), I was pleasantly shocked to
recognize that his major influence appeared to be the Archie Goodwin Warren
stories. In fact, there wasn’t a story
in that collection that would not have fit handsomely in a
But even beyond the solid foundation and literary influence that Goodwin built were his rock solid stories month after month. This, along with the respect, care and extra effort that every artist seemed to strive for when working on them and coupled with the obvious joy Goodwin took in tailoring stories for their particular skills, created an extremely high quality of magazine. Re-reading this three-year stretch of stories was just a joy.
By the end of 1967 however, Goodwin
and almost all of the artists he had worked with left, victims of the money
crunch that forced Warren Publishing to drastically cut page rates, launching
The end of the dark age was
highlighted by the launch of Vampirella, a new comic magazine with a sexy
vampiress hosting it. From 1969-1973,
In 1973, two events occurred that
completely changed the look of a
Beginning in 1976, Louise Jones, former wife of artist Jeff Jones and future wife of artist Walt Simonson, headed the editorial staff, maintaining much of the best of the innovations that DuBay introduced and pulling back into the Warren fold some of the artists that had vanished from the pages of a Warren magazine back in 1967.
After Jones left in 1980, the magazines entered a slow decline under a series of different editors. Bill DuBay came back twice, once using the non-de-plume of Will Richardson, but the quality of the magazines took a sharp dive both times. The Spanish artists largely left and were replaced by artists from the Phillipines. Mind you, these were not bad artists, but, with the notable excepations of Alex Nino, Alfredo Alcala and Vic Catan, stylistically they tended to be rather dull. By 1983, when the line collapsed, Creepy seemed to be just plodding along, while Eerie had abandoned horror completely and was a tottering shell of the fine magazine it had used to be. Only Vampirella was showing signs of life. Under the editorship of Timothy Moriarty, it was staging a comeback when the axe fell.
What caused the collapse? There were a number of different reasons. A major one being that publisher James Warren had fallen ill some years earlier and had little to do with the day to day operations of the company any longer. The independent comic shop boom had just begun with new comic companies seemingly springing up overnight. Many of Warren’s best writers and artists were gone, either working for the big two comic companies or for the new independents. The remaining writers, many of whom had delivered fine work over the years, seemed burnt out. The editorial revolving door insured that no strong hand was at the helm. The horror boom of the early 1970s was over. The newsstands, drug stores and supermarkets were dropping comic books and magazines from their inventories and the new comic shops were none too interested in the Warren books, which appeared old fashioned and tired (and didn’t fit into spinner racks!). After 18 years the line ended, not with a whimper or bang, but largely with a yawn.
For much of the 20 years since,
there seemed to be few who cared. Harris
Publications bought up the assets of
It’s my hope that this checklist is
also a worthy addition to those fans and readers interested in that
history. For your added pleasure,
there’s an interview with
The Goodwin Era
1. cover: Jack Davis (Jan. 1965)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Welcome [Russ Jones?/Jack Davis]
1p [frontis]
2) Voodoo! [Bill Pearson/Joe Orlando] 6p [story credited to Russ Jones & Bill
Pearson]
3) H2O World! [Larry Ivie/Al Williamson & Roy G.
Krenkel] 6p
4) Vampires Fly At Dusk! [Archie Goodwin/Reed
Crandall] 6p
5) Werewolf! [Larry Ivie/Frank Frazetta] 6p
6) Bewitched! [Larry Ivie/Gray Morrow] 6p
7) The Success Story [Archie Goodwin/Al Williamson]
6p
8) Pursuit Of The Vampire! [Archie Goodwin/Angelo
Torres] 6p
9) Creepy Ad [illustrated: Frank Frazetta] 1p
Notes: Publisher: James
Warren. Editor: Russ Jones. 35 cents.
48 pages. No cover date but in keeping with the dates on the 3rd
issue, this would probably have been dated Jan. or Winter 1965. Jack Davis provides several head shots of
Uncle Creepy for story introductions.
Bill Pearson has stated in print his displeasure over Russ Jones’
claiming of writing credit for the lead off story. Pearson insists it’s all his work. Apparently this first issue was originally
intended to be an ‘all EC artists’ effort with the story ‘Bewitched’ intended
to be Wally Wood’s contribution. Somehow
the story was sent to artist Gray Morrow instead, making him the only non-EC
artist included. The Frazetta story was
his last comic art, except for two Creepy’s Loathsome Lore pages, which may
have been done prior to the art for this story.
The best story in this issue, Goodwin’s ‘The Success Story’, was based
on an actual comic strip artist who conned his ghost penciler, inker & writer,
who were unaware of each other, into doing the entire strip while the original
artist claimed credit for it. Characters
in the story are based on Goodwin, Williamson, Angelo Torres & Al
McWilliams. All in all, a very good
first issue.
2. cover: Frank Frazetta (Apr. 1965)
1)
Uncle Creepy’s Introduction [Archie Goodwin?/Angelo Torres] 1p [frontis]
2) Fun And Games! [Archie
Goodwin/Joe
3) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Vampires! [Archie Goodwin/Bob Lubbers]
1p
4) Spawn Of The Cat People
[Archie Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 6p
5) Wardrobe Of Monsters! [Otto
Binder/Gray Morrow & Angelo Torres] 8p
6) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Werewolves! [Archie Goodwin/Frank Frazetta] 1p
7) Welcome Stranger [Archie
Goodwin/Al Williamson] 7p
8) I, Robot [Otto Binder/Joe
Orlando] 7p from the story by Otto
Binder
9) Ogre’s Castle [Archie
Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 6p
10) Creepy Ad [illustrated: Jack
Davis] 1p
Notes: Goodwin is now listed as
story editor. Again, no cover date but
this would have been the Apr. or Spring 1965 issue. It is also the first bi-monthly issue. The
‘I, Robot’ adaptation by Otto Binder was his third attempt to present this
series in comic form. The first was for
EC comics in the 1950s {
3. cover: Frank Frazetta (June 1965)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: Ghouls! [Archie
Goodwin/Jack Davis] 1p [frontis]
2) Swamped! [written: Archie Goodwin/Angelo Torres]
8p
3) Tell-Tale Heart! [Archie Goodwin/Reed Crandall]
8p from the story by Edgar Allan Poe
4) Howling Success! [Archie Goodwin/Angelo Torres]
7p
5) Haunted! [Archie Goodwin/Gray Morrow] 6p
6) Incident In The Beyond! [Archie Goodwin/Gray
Morrow] 6p
7) Return Trip! [Arthur Porges/Joe Orlando] 8p
8) Uncle Creepy Ad [Jack Davis] 1p [on inside back cover]
Notes: Frazetta’s cover depicts a
ghoul entering a castle. Again no cover date but this would be the June issue.
A very good issue with ‘Swamped!’ and the ‘Tell-Tale Heart’ adaptation holding
the honors for best stories. The art is
at a high level throughout with a special tip of the hat to Crandall’s Poe
adaptation. Morrow employs very
different art approaches for his two stories.
4. cover: Frank Frazetta (Aug. 1965)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Corpses! [Archie Goodwin/Al Williamson] 1p
[frontis]
2) Monster Rally! [Archie
Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 8p
3) Blood And Orchids! [Archie
Goodwin/Al McWilliams] 7p
4) The Damned Thing! [Archie
Goodwin/Gray Morrow] 6p from the story
by Ambrose Bierce
5)
6) Curse Of The Full Moon!
[Archie Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 8p
7) The Trial Of Adam Link! [Otto
Binder/Joe Orlando] 7p from the story
by Binder
8) Creepy Ad [Angelo Torres]
1p [on inside back cover]
Notes: Goodwin is now listed as editor. The magazine increased to 56 pages but most
of that is given over to Captain Company ads.
No cover date but this is the Aug. 1965 issue. Frazetta’s cover is his best yet--a man is
confronted by a werewolf while traveling over the moors. Just beautiful and the first true classic
5. cover: Frank Frazetta (Oct. 1965)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Zombies! [Archie Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 1p
[frontis]
2) Family
3) Blazing Combat Ad [John
Severin] 1p
4) Untimely Tomb! [Archie
Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 7p [title is
credited to Anne T. Murphy]
5) Creepy Fan Club Ad [Frank Frazetta & Angelo
Torres] 1p [Torres art is a reprint,
Frazetta’s
art is a B&W repo of the
Uncle Creepy portrait which was one of the fan club’s
offerings.]
6) Sand Doom [Archie Goodwin/Al
Williamson] 6p
7) The Judge’s House! [Archie
Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 8p from the
story by Bram Stoker
8) Grave Undertaking [Archie
Goodwin/Alex Toth] 6p
9) Revenge Of The Beast! [Archie Goodwin/Gray
Morrow] 7p
Notes: Frazetta’s vampire cover is
ok, but not his best work. The interior,
however, is an absolute blast!
Williamson’s best art job for the early Warren issues, Toth’s debut and
solid efforts from Orlando, Torres, Crandall & Morrow make this an art
fan’s delight. Shoot, even the ads have
great art! Severin’s Blazing Combat ad
has the same art as Blazing Combat’s #1’s frontis. All of the stories are by Goodwin and there’s
not a clinker in the lot, with high points probably going to his Stoker
adaptation. Anne T. Murphy was Goodwin’s
wife.
6. cover: Frank Frazetta (Dec. 1965)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: Mummy’s Curse! [Archie
Goodwin/Roy G. Krenkel] 1p [frontis]
2) The Thing In The Pit! [Larry Ivie/Gray Morrow] 8p
3) Thumbs Down! [Anne T. Murphy/Al Williamson] 6p
4) Adam Link In Business! [Otto Binder/Joe Orlando]
7p from the story by Binder
6) The Cask Of Amontillado! [Archie Goodwin/Reed
Crandall] 8p from the story by Edgar
Allan
Poe
6) Eerie Ad [Angleo Torres] 1p
[Uncle Creepy is featured.]
7) The Stalkers [Archie Goodwin/Alex Toth] 6p
8) Abominable Snowman! [Bill Pearson/John Severin]
6p
9) Gargoyle [Archie Goodwin & Roy G.
Krenkel/Angelo Torres] 8p
Notes: Frazetta’s gargoyle cover was
laid out by Roy G. Krenkel. Krenkel did
this for several other Frazetta covers.
In fact, he did quite a lot of work in the background for Warren but
rarely appeared front & center for a solo art job. Much of his cover layouts were printed for
the first time in the EC fanzine Squa Tront #7 in 1974. Size increase to 64 pages. Anne T. Murphy does her only story for Warren
and it is quite good, with snazzy Williamson art. The Poe adaptation is the high point for this
issue, both storywise & artwise. Future
comic pro Frank Brunner has a letter published.
A rubber Uncle Creepy mask is used on the back cover for an ad.
7. cover: Frank Frazetta (Feb. 1966)
1) The Duel Of The Monsters! [Archie Goodwin/Angelo
Torres] 8p
2) Image Of Bluebeard! [Bill Pearson/Joe Orlando] 7p
3) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: Werebeasts! [Archie
Goodwin/Frank Frazetta] 1p
4) Rude Awakening! [Archie Goodwin/Alex Toth] 6p
5) Drink Deep! [Otto Binder/John Severin] 7p
6) The Creepy Fan Club: Frank Frazetta Profile
[Archie Goodwin/Roberto Oqueli] 1p
[text
article w/photo]
7) The Body-Snatcher! [Archie
Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 8p from the
story by Robert Louis
Stevenson
8) Blood Of Krylon! [Archie
Goodwin/Gray Morrow] 6p
9) Hot Spell! [Archie
Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 7p
Notes: The second classic Frazetta
cover features Dracula & the Werewolf in a battle royal! The layout was by Roy G. Krenkel. Best art job was Reed Crandall’s ‘Hot Spell’
with a stunning detailed splash page.
Special note should be made here of Angelo Torres’ exceptional high
quality of art during the Goodwin Years.
He had a story (& sometimes two) in every issue of the early
Creepys’ & Eeries’ and also appeared in Blazing Combat. Each story was strongly paced and beautifully
drawn. The fellow who only appeared on
the fringes during EC’s run had, by the mid 1960s, developed into a damn fine
artist in his own right. I don’t mean to
slight the other folks here. Frazetta,
Toth, Severin, Morrow & a second fine job by Crandall make this a dynamite
issue for art freaks. Stories aren’t bad
either. The Creepy Fan Club page
debuts. This was Goodwin’s attempt (and
it worked) to foster a fan base for the magazine, similar to the one that he,
and Warren writers like Ron Parker, John Benson, Bill Parente, Bhob Stewart and
others had done for EC’s horror comics in the 1950s. Many future pros would make their comic
debuts here.
8. cover: Gray Morrow (Apr. 1966)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Vampire Traps! [Archie Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 1p [frontis]
2) The Coffin Of Dracula [Archie
Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 10p
3) Death Plane [Larry
Ivie/George Evans] 6p
4) The Mountain [Johnny Craig]
6p [story & art credited to Jay
Taycee]
5) The Invitation [Larry
Englehart, Russ Jones & Maurice Whitman/Manny Stallman] 7p
6) The Creepy Fan Club: Gray Morrow Profile [Archie
Goodwin/Kirk Henderson] 1p [text
article w/photo]
7) Adam Link’s Mate! [Otto
Binder/Joe Orlando] 8p from the story
by Binder
8) Vested Interest [Ron Parker/George Tuska] 6p
9) Fitting Punishment [Archie Goodwin/Gene Colan] 8p
Notes: With two horror magazines
coming out, Frazetta was now too busy to do every cover so Gray Morrow stepped
in with a fine cover for Warren’s new serial, ‘The Coffin Of Dracula’, which
takes place directly after the events in Stoker’s novel. The art highpoint is Johnny Craig’s
beautifully shaded pencil art for his own story. The story highpoints are the Dracula serial
& Craig’s work, although none of the stories are bad. Wish I could say the same about the art. Stallman’s work is fair, at best, and Tuska’s
(generally a pretty good artist) effort is pretty limp. EC great George Evans does his only horror
work for Warren. It ain’t bad but that’s
about the best you could say about it.
9. cover: Frank Frazetta (June 1966)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: Giant Man-Apes! [Archie
Goodwin/Roy G. Krenkel] 1p [frontis]
2) Dark Kingdom! [Archie Goodwin/Gray Morrow] 8p
3) The Castle On The Moor! [Johnny Craig] 6p [story & art credited to Jay Taycee]
4) Adam Link’s Vengeance! [Otto Binder/Joe Orlando]
8p from the story by Binder
5) Overworked! [Archie Goodwin/Wally Wood & Dan
Adkins] 6p
6) The Creepy Fan Club: Alex Toth Profile [Archie
Goodwin/Berni Wrightson] 1p [text
article
w/photo]
7) The Coffin Of Dracula, part 2 [Archie
Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 8p
8) Out Of Time [Archie Goodwin/Alex Toth] 6p
9) The Spirit Of The Thing! [Archie Goodwin/Steve
Ditko] 8p
10) Easy Way To A Tuff Surfboard! [Archie
Goodwin/Frank Frazetta] ½p
[anti-smoking ad]
Notes: Frazetta’s cover of a
swordsman attacked by flying vampires is only fair although the vampires are
cool. Morrow’s lead character in his
story appears to be the same character he used in his ‘Edge Of Chaos’ comic for
Pacific Comics in the early 1980s. The
Wood/Adkins art is not very impressive but then neither is the story. Berni Wrightson makes his comics debut with a
pin-up showing a man being dragged into a grave by three ghouls. The tombstone in the foreground reads “Berni
Wrightson Dec. 15, 1965”. All in all,
this is not a very impressive issue with even the great artists appearing to
have an off day and Goodwin’s stories feeling rushed and uninspired. Best efforts are the conclusion to ‘Coffin Of
Dracula’ & the Morrow story.
10. cover: Frank Frazetta (Aug. 1966)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Witchcraft! [Archie Goodwin/John Severin] 1p
[frontis]
2) Brain Trust [Archie
Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 6p
3) Into The Tomb! [Archie Goodwin/Joe Orlando] 8p
4) The Creepy Fan Club: Reed Crandall Profile/Fate’s
Verdict/Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: Old
Scratch! [Archie Goodwin,
Arnold Bojorquez & Ed Lahmann/Frank Brunner, Ed
Lahmann & Brant Withers]
2p [text article/story w/photo]
5) Monster! [Archie Goodwin/Rocco Mastroserio] 8p
6) Midnight Sail [Johnny Craig] 6p [art & story credited to Jay Taycee]
7) Backfire! [Archie Goodwin/Gray Morrow] 6p
8) Thing Of Darkness! [Archie Goodwin/Gene Colan] 8p
9) Collector’s Edition! [Archie Goodwin/Steve Ditko]
8p
Notes: What a difference an issue
makes! From Frazetta’s classic Frankenstein’s
Monster cover (with a version of the monster specially designed by Frazetta) to
the incredible art job by Ditko that closes out this issue there’s just one
triumph after another. ‘Brain Trust’
would have been a feather in anyone’s cap & easily have been the best story
in the issue except that Goodwin outdoes himself with ‘Collector’s
Edition’. Joe Orlando’s art on ‘Into The
Tomb’ reminds anyone who didn’t like the art or the concept of Adam Link (like
me, for instance) that he was as good as anybody in the business. Frank Brunner makes his comic debut on the
fan page with a nice skeleton bursting from a grave scene. The headstone therein is entitled ‘Tales From
The Tomb’. Fan Ed Lahmann writes &
illustrates a Creepy’s Loathsome Lore page for the fan page. It’s pretty good too! Gray Morrow has a tasty art job too but the
undeniable classic here is the Goodwin/Ditko story ‘Collector’s Edition’! From the slanted splash page to the slowly
closing eyes running along the bottom of each page to the character design
(check out the old fat guy with one blind eye and the other obscured behind a
coke-bottle lens!), this may well be Ditko’s finest hour! It’s as impressive in its own way as
Krigstein’s ‘Master Race’ or Eisner’s ‘Sand Saref’. (And yes, I have seen all the Spiderman &
Dr. Strange stories, thank you very much!)
This is the kind of art that makes and sustains a reputation and any
praise you can hand him, Ditko richly deserves.
Goodwin’s story is classic Goodwin and matches Ditko every step of the
way. Strong, concise and memorable.
11. Frank Frazetta (Oct. 1966)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Rochester Rappings! [Ron Parker/John Severin] 1p [frontis]
2) Hop-Frog [Archie Goodwin/Reed
Crandall] 8p from the story by Edgar
Allan Poe
3) Sore Spot [Archie Goodwin/Joe
Orlando] 7p
4) The Doorway! [Archie
Goodwin/Dan Adkins] 6p
5) The Black Death! [Ron Parker/Manny Stallman] 8p
6) Beast Man! [Archie Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 8p
7) The Devil To Pay! [Archie Goodwin/Donald Norman]
6p
8) Skeleton Crew! [Archie Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 7p
Notes: Nice giant ape cover by
Frazetta. The issue’s highpoint is the
moody and effective ‘Hop-Frog’. Probably
the best Poe adaptation Goodwin & Crandall did. Solid art and stories throughout the issue.
12. cover: Dan Adkins (Dec. 1966)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: Sea
Monsters! [Archie Goodwin/Dan Adkins] 1p
[frontis]
2) Dark House Of Dreams [Archie
Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 6p
3) Turncoat! [Archie Goodwin/Bob
Jenney] 6p
4) Maximum Effort! [Ron
Parker/Rocco Mastroserio] 7p
5) Voodoo Doll! [Archie Goodwin/Jerry Grandenetti]
6p
6) Blood Of The Werewolf! [Archie Goodwin/Steve
Ditko] 8p
7) The Creepy Fan Club: Joe Orlando Profile/Tropical
Twilight [Archie Goodwin & Ty Bizony/
Dick Mosso, Bill
DuBay, Donna L. Austin & Jim Pinkoski] 2p
[text article/story
w/photo] 2p
8) Idol Hands! [Archie Goodwin/Manny Stallman] 6p
9) Adam Link, Robot Detective [Otto Binder/Joe
Orlando] 8p from the story by Binder
Notes: A rather ho-hum issue, with
Adkins’ cover being no match for the covers that Frazetta and Morrow had been
delivering. Grandenetti & Ditko’s
art jobs were good and most of the stories were fair. Bill DuBay makes his comics debut on the fan
page with a science fiction pin-up that was heavily influenced by Wally
Wood.
13. cover: Gray Morrow (Feb. 1967)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: Becoming A Werewolf!
[Archie Goodwin/Gray Morrow] 1p
[frontis]
2) The Squaw! [Archie
Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 8p from the
story by Bram Stoker
3) Early Warning! [Archie
Goodwin/Jerry Grandenetti] 6p
4) Scream Test! [John Benson
& Bhob Stewart/Angelo Torres] 7p
5) Madness In The Method! [Carl
Wessler/Rocco Mastroserio] 7p
6) The Creepy Fan Club: Angelo Torres
Profile/Pipeline [Archie Goodwin & Geoffrey R.
Lucier/Danny Chadbourne,
Barry Hoffman & Doyle Sharp] 2p
[text article/story
w/photo]
8) Fear In Stone [Archie Goodwin/Gene Colan] 8p
9) Adam Link, Gangbuster! [Otto Binder/Joe Orlando]
8p from the story by Binder
10) Second Chance! [Archie Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 6p
Notes: Morrow’s cover is just fine
although that’s got to be the ugliest & skinniest werewolf I’ve ever
seen! ‘The Squaw’ is the best story here
while Crandall & Ditko share best art honors. Future artist Leslie Cabarga delivers a
letter.
14. cover: Gray Morrow (Apr. 1967)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Magicians! [Archie Goodwin/John Severin] 1p
[frontis]
2) Where Sorcery Lives! [Archie Goodwin/Steve Ditko]
8p
3) Art Of Horror [Archie Goodwin/Jerry Grandenetti]
6p
4) Snakes Alive! [Clark Dimond & John
Benson/Hector Castellon] 7p
5) The Creepy Fan Club: Archie Goodwin Profile/Train
To The Beyond [Archie Goodwin &
Glenn Jones/Randall Larson,
Frank Brunner & Joseph J. Dukett] 2p
[text article/text
story w/photo]
6) The Beckoning Beyond! [Archie Goodwin/Dan Adkins]
8p
7) Piece By Piece [Archie Goodwin/Joe Orlando] 8p
8) Castle Carrion! [Archie Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 8p
9) Curse Of The Vampire! [Archie Goodwin/Neal Adams]
8p
Notes: Morrow’s sword & sorcery
cover is probably his best Warren cover.
Good stories and generally good artwork throughout, although Castellon’s
art doesn’t do much for me. The voodoo
king in that Dimond-Benson/Castellon was supposed to be a black man. Frank Brunner’s second appearance on the fan
page depicts an ancient & vampiric Batman!
Neal Adams makes his comics debut
here {although he’d been doing the Ben Casey comic strip for at least 3
years}, and quite nicely too! Joe
Orlando has a strong art job also.
15. cover: Frank Frazetta (June 1967)
1) Thane: City Of Doom! [Archie Goodwin/Steve Ditko]
8p
2) Adam Link, Champion Athlete! [Otto Binder/Joe
Orlando] 7p from the story by Binder
3) The Adventure Of The German Student! [Archie
Goodwin/Jerry Grandenetti] 8p from the
story by Washington Irving
4) The River! [Johnny Craig] 6p
5) The Creepy Fan Club: Sink And Fade Swiftly
[Archie Goodwin & Mike DeLong/Richard
Morgan, Roger Hill, John Hall & Ron Lukas]
2p [text article/story]
6) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: Monsters Of Mythology!
[Archie Goodwin/Gil Kane] 1p
7) The Terror Beyond Time! [Archie Goodwin/Neal
Adams] 16p
Notes: Frazetta returns with one of
his best covers, painted on plywood in six hours! The price goes up to 40 cents per issue. Thane was a very irregular series about a
Conan-like swordsman. The character
appeared only four times between 1967-1979 and was unique in that he never had
the same artist twice. His physical
appearance was also quite different from story to story. The Adams/Goodwin
story was the longest tale that Warren had published to date. The best art & story, however, is the
Goodwin/Grandenetti adaptation. Some of
Grandenetti’s best work. Adam Link appears
for the last time, his series apparently a victim of the upcoming money crunch
that would deal a near fatal blow to the Warren comics line.
16. cover: Frank Frazetta (Aug. 1967)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Spirits! [Archie Goodwin/Gil Kane] 1p
[frontis]
2) A Curse Of Claws! [Archie
Goodwin/Neal Adams] 6p
3) Frozen Fear! [Archie
Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 6p
4) Thane: Angel Of Doom! [Archie
Goodwin/Jeff Jones] 6p
5) The Frankenstein Tradition!
[Archie Goodwin/Rocco Mastroserio] 8p
6) There Was An Old Lady [Daniel
Bubacz & Archie Goodwin/Sal Trapani] 6p
7) The Creepy Fan Club: Rocco Mastroserio Profile/A
Stroke Of Genius [Archie Goodwin & Tim
Stackline/Dan Gosch, Louie
Estrada & Philip Marcino] 2p [text
article/story w/photo]
8) Haunted Castle! [Archie Goodwin/Donald Norman] 6p
9) The Sands That Change! [Clark Dimond & Terry
Bisson/Steve Ditko] 8p
Notes: Frazetta’s classic cover
features a largely naked blonde with glowing eyes surrounded by a pride of
leopards and a single black panther.
Jeff Jones makes his comics (and possibly professional) debut here. Adams & Crandall’s art jobs were
noticeably lackluster. Clark Dimond
mentions that Steve Ditko didn’t really like ‘The Sands That Change!’ but
turned out a professional job nonetheless.
Mastroserio takes the art honors here.
17. cover: Frank Frazetta (Oct. 1967)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Werewolves! [Archie Goodwin/Frank Frazetta] 1p
[frontis]
reprinted from
Creepy #2 (Apr. 1965)
2) Zombie! [Archie Goodwin/Rocco
Mastroserio] 6p
3) Thundering Terror! [Clark
Dimond & Terry Bisson/John Severin] 6p
4) Mummy’s Hand [Russ Jones/Joe
Orlando] 7p [story is credited to
Orlando alone] from the
1940 Universal
movie, reprinted from Monster World #2 (Jan. 1965)
5) Heritage Of Horror [Archie
Goodwin/Donald Norman] 6p
6) The Creepy Fan Club: Goodwin’s Departure/”Miaow”
Said The Pussycat [Archie Goodwin,
James
Warren & Richard Mills/R. David Duvall, Robert Sankner & Craig Thorton]
2p
[text article/story]
7) Image In Wax! [Archie Goodwin/Tom Sutton] 6p
8) A Night’s Lodging! [Rhea Dunne/Maurice Whitman]
7p [Lodging is misspelled in the title]
9) The Haunted Sky! [Archie Goodwin/Roger Brand] 6p
Notes: Frazetta’s classic cover
depicts an executioner holding a bloody axe.
This would be his last cover for two years. The money crunch that nearly crippled Warren
begins to show its effects as Goodwin’s departure is announced. (Although he’s not listed as the editor of
Eerie #12, he clearly had a hand in it & I’ve decided that issue is the
final Goodwin Era title.) Other effects
include the massive use of reprints, which begin in this issue, as well as the
near-devastating loss of Goodwin’s stories, and the mass exodus of artists due
to page rate cuts. In fact, all of the
original artists introduced during Goodwin’s run would leave, with the
noticeable exceptions of Rocco Mastroserio {who died in 1968} & Tom
Sutton. Russ Jones, Creepy’s first
editor and the adaptor of ‘Mummy’s Hand’, routinely had his credits dropped or
erased by James Warren after he and Warren had the falling out that led to his
departure from Warren Publications.
‘Thundering Terror!’ was originally entitled ‘Buffaloed’ {a title
actually used for another Severin story in 1974} and was retitled by Archie
Goodwin.
Warren’s Dark Age
18. cover: Vic Prezo (Jan. 1968)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Giant Man-Apes! [Archie Goodwin/Roy G. Krenkel] 1p [frontis]
reprinted from
Creepy #9 (June 1966)
2) Mountain Of The Monster Gods!
[Ron White/Roger Brand] 8p
3) The Rescue Of The Morning
Maid! [Raymond Marais/Pat Boyette & Rocco Mastroserio] 10p
[art is credited
solely to Mastroserio.]
4) Act, Three! [Johnny Craig] 8p
5) Footsteps Of Frankenstein!
[Archie Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 8p
reprinted from Eerie #2 (Mar.
1966)
6) Out Of Her Head! [Clark
Dimond & Terry Bisson/Jack Sparling] 8p
Notes: Editor: James Warren,
although Clark Dimond states that both this and Eerie were ghost edited during
this time by an editor friend of Jim Warren’s at Gold Key. This came out a month late but, actually,
this isn’t too bad of an issue. The
amount of content vs. ads is clearly down but the new material here is quite
good. Raymond Marais’ story is easily
the best story so it’s too bad he only wrote one other script for Warren. He did do quite a number of stories for DC’s
mystery books. The Boyette/Mastroserio
art team was a good combo as well. Most
of the stories were leftovers from the Goodwin Era since Warren had initiated a
freeze on buying new stories or art until his finances became less shaky. However, the Dimond/Bisson was purchased by
the nameless Gold Key editor. The
headless woman named Rachel in that story was based on Dimond’s fiancé! Terry Bisson would edit the Warren rival Web
Of Horror in 1969-1970 and later would become a major award-winning science
fiction writer. Cover artist Vic Prezio
had done a number of covers for Famous Monsters Of Filmland and would be the
main cover artist during the Dark Age.
Future comic writer Tony Isabella sends in a letter stating he “was less
than wildly enthusiastic about Tom Sutton’s art while noting that he was a
talented newcomer”.
19. cover: Vic Prezo (Mar. 1968)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Mummy’s Curse! [Archie Goodwin/Roy G. Krenkel] 1p [frontis]
reprinted from
Creepy #6 (Dec. 1965)
2) The Mark Of The Beast! [Craig Tennis/Johnny
Craig] 9p from the story by Rudyard Kipling,
reprinted
from Christopher Lee’s Treasury Of Terror (Sept. 1966)
3) Carmilla [John Benson/Bob
Jenney] 20p from the story by Sheridan
Le Fanu
4) Monsterwork! [Archie
Goodwin/Rocco Mastroserio] 6p
reprinted from Eerie #3 (May 1966)
5) Eye Of The Beholder! [Archie
Goodwin/Johnny Craig] 6p reprinted from
Eerie #2 (Mar.
1966)
Notes: Prezo’s cover for the Kipling story is one of
his best. Magazine size reduced to 48
pages. This is largely a reprint issue.
‘Carmilla’ was the longest stand alone story that Warren would publish
for many years and was originally intended for the never published second
collection of Christopher Lee’s Treasury Of Terror, packaged by Warren’s
persona non grata former editor, Russ Jones.
All the stories from that paperback collection were reformatted for the
larger magazine size.
20. cover: Albert Nuetzell (May 1968) reprinted from Famous Monsters Of Filmland
#4 (Aug. 1959)
1) Thumbs Down! [Anne T.
Murphy/Al Williamson] 6p reprinted from
Creepy #6 (Dec. 1965)
2) Inheritors Of Earth [Hector
Castellon] 8p
3) Beauty Or The Beast! [Len
Brown/Dick Giordano & Sal Trapani] 8p
[art credited solely to
Trapani]
4) The Cask Of Amontillado!
[Archie Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 8p from
the story by Edgar Allan
Poe, reprinted
from Creepy #6 (Dec. 1965)
5) The Damned Thing! [Archie
Goodwin/Gray Morrow] 8p from the story
by Ambrose Bierce,
reprinted from
Creepy #4 (Aug. 1965)
6) A Vested Interest [Ron
Parker/George Tuska] 6p reprinted from
Creepy #8 (Apr. 1966)
Notes: The first new stories since
the freeze appear but neither were particularly good. The Castellon story was originally written by
by Clark Dimond & Terry Bisson but Castellon didn’t understand the script
and changed the story so drastically that Bisson & Dimond’s names were
dropped. The Ms. Corey mentioned in the
story was based on Terry Bisson’s fiancé.
As the money crunch continued, it became clear that Warren had two
horror magazines to publish but only enough of a budget for one, so each issue
between here and early 1970 was half or more reprinted stories. The Nuetzell cover appears to be a tree-frog,
with an arm growing out of one eye.
Pretty dreadful image (and not in a good way).
21. cover: Gutenberg Monteiro (July 1968)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Trees! [Bill Parente/Bob Jenney] 1p
[frontis]
2) The Rats In The Walls [Bill
Parente?/Bob Jenney] 10p from the story
by H. P. Lovecraft
3) Room With A View! [Archie
Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 6p reprinted from
Eerie #3 (May 1966)
4) The Immortals! [Ron
Parker/Sal Trapani] 8p
5) The Creepy Fan Club: Bill
Parente Profile/The Choice [Bill Parente & Bill Eddy/Nicola Cuti,
Steve
Smith, Doyle Sharp & Louie Estrada] 2p
[text article/story w/photo]
6) A Reasonable Doubt [Ron Parker/Bill Fraccio &
Tony Tallarico] 6p [all of the
Fraccio/Tallarico art done
for Warren was credited to Tony Williamsune]
7) Swamped! [Archie Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 8p reprinted from Creepy #3 (June 1965)
8) Timepiece To Terror! [Bill Parente/Gutenberg
Mondiero] 7p
Notes: Editor: Bill Parente. Parente was an EC fan (as were Goodwin,
Jones, Ivie, Dimond, Benson, Parker & many other of the early writers) and
his appearance as editor was a sign of growing stability for the company after
several very shaky months. Like Goodwin,
he would write many of the stories during his time as editor but there was only
one Archie Goodwin and Parente’s stories did not have the quality of the
Goodwin Era. The cover for this issue
was probably the worse single cover Warren published on their comic
magazines. Absolutely awful. ‘The Rats In The Walls’ is not from the
Christopher Lee paperback series of adaptations so I’m assuming Bill Parente
did the adaptation. New editions of
Creepy’s Loathsome Lore & The Creepy Fan Club appear for the first time
since Goodwin’s departure. Future writer
& artist Nicola Cuti appears on the Fan Club pages. Fan Louie Estrada’s art is quite nice, both
here and in future editions, and one wonders why he wasn’t offered an art
assignment. The Fraccio {pencils} &
Tallarico {inks} art debut as Tony Williamsune {a combo of their first names}
would begin a long run of stories for Warren and although their artwork was
usually sneered at by fans, on occasion they were quite good. If you accepted that all of their monsters
and aliens tended to look like melted candle figures, that is.
22. cover: Tom Sutton (Aug. 1968)
1) Home Is Where… [Ron Parker/Pat Boyette] 8p
2) Monster Rally! [Archie Goodwin/Angelo Torres]
8p reprinted from Creepy #4 (Aug. 1965)
3) “No Fair!” [Bill Parente/Tom Sutton] 6p
4) Strange Expedition [Bill Parente/Ernie Colon] 7p
5) The Creepy Fan Page: Ernie Colon Profile/Unseen
Tenants [Bill Parente & Gary Carson/
Richard Morgan] 1p
[text article/story]
6) The Judge’s House! [Archie
Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 8p from the
story by Bram Stoker,
reprinted from
Creepy #5 (Oct. 1965)
7) Perfect Match [Ron Parker/Sal Trapani] 8p
Notes: Very nice cover by
Sutton. Sutton did beautiful painted
covers for Charlton between 1972 and 1976 but only a handful for Warren during
the Dark Age. Pity, as those covers he
did do were all pretty darn good. The
only three regular artists who contributed during the Dark Age are present
here: Boyette, Sutton & Colon. I’ve
already discussed Sutton. Boyette had
only broken into comics a couple of years before over at Charlton. His best work seemed to be with medieval
stories, a genre where he really shone.
Colon was the artist for Caspar, The Friendly Ghost & Richie Rich
over at Harvey. Doing Warren’s gruesome
monsters must have been a welcome change!
23. cover: Tom Sutton (Oct. 1968)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: The
Changeling! [Bill Parente/Tony Tallarico] 1p
[frontis]
2) Way Out! [James
Haggenmiller/Donald Norman] 10p
3) Gargoyle [Archie Goodwin
& Roy G. Krenkel/Angelo Torres] 8p
reprinted from Creepy #6
(Dec. 1965)
4) Jack Knifed! [Bill
Parente/Barry Rockwell] 8p
5) Quick Change! [Bill Parente/Tom Sutton] 7p
6) Rude Awakening! [Archie
Goodwin/Alex Toth] 6p reprinted from
Creepy #7 (Feb. 1966)
7) The Creepy Fan Club: Rendered Helpless [Larry
Goldin/Ed Quimby, Frank Brunner & Scott
Grenig]
1p [text story]
8) Cat Nipped [Bill Parente/Bill Fraccio & Tony
Tallarico] 6p
9) Uncle Creepy And Cousin Eerie’s Cauldron Contest
[Bill Parente/Ernie Colon] 1p [writer’s
contest, on back cover]
Notes: Tom Sutton’s best Warren cover is a
beauty. A huge moon hangs over a house
on a cliff so undercut that it threatens to dump the entire dwelling into the
abyss. Meanwhile a werewolf howls in the
foggy valley below. New artist Barry
Rockwell & Sutton share the best art honors for this issue. Frank Brunner’s third appearance on the fan
page shows the head of Universal’s Frankenstein’s Monster. The Cauldron Contest offers new writers a
chance to have their story illustrated and published.
24. cover: Gutenberg Monteiro (Dec. 1968)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: Becoming A Werewolf!
[Archie Goodwin/Gray Morrow] 1p
[frontis]
reprinted from Creepy #13 (Feb. 1967)
2) Black Magic [Archie
Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 8p reprinted from
Eerie #5 (Sept. 1966)
3) You Do Something To Me [Bill
Parente/Tom Sutton] 6p
4) The Day After Doomsday!
[Archie Goodwin/Dan Adkins] 8p
reprinted from Eerie #8 (Mar.
1967)
5) Room For A Guest [Bill Parente/Reed
Crandall] 6p
6) The Creepy Fan Club: Who Are
We? [Robbie Edwards/Brian Clifton] 1p
[text story]
7) Typecast! [Archie
Goodwin/Jerry Grandenetti] 7p reprinted
from Eerie #8 (Mar. 1967)
8) A Silver Dread Among The Gold [George Hagenauer
& Bill Parente/Bill Fraccio & Tony
Tallarico] 6p
9) Uncle Creepy And Cousin
Eerie’s Cauldron Contest [Bill Parente/Ernie Colon] 1p [on back
cover]
Notes: Reed Crandall is the first
Goodwin Era artist to return, indicating once again the easing of Warren’s
money problems.
25. cover: Richard Conway (Feb. 1969)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Exorcists! [Bill Parente/Ernie Colon] 1p
[frontis]
2) Keep Your Spirits Up [Bill Parente/Reed Crandall]
7p
3) Witches’ Tide [Archie Goodwin/Gene Colon] 8p reprinted from Eerie #7 (Jan. 1967)
4) Their Journey’s End [Bill Parente/Ernie Colon] 7p
5) It That Lurks! [Archie Goodwin/Dan Adkins]
6p reprinted from Eerie #7 (Jan. 1967)
6) The Creepy Fan Club: Black Books!/Park Bench
[Bill Parente & Joseph Alaskey/D. Cabrera]
1p [text article/story]
7) Deep Ruby! [Archie
Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 6p reprinted from
Eerie #6 (Nov. 1966)
8) An Unlikely Visitor [Bill Parente/Bill Fraccio
& Tony Tallarico] 7p
Notes: Conway’s (Parente’s asst.
editor) cover was interesting. He
photographed a model wearing the Creepy rubber mask, dressed in a shabby Santa
coat & hat—then set 12 identical poses in the form of Christmas seals. Other than that, this was a fairly average
issue, with the Crandall story being the best of the new stuff.
26. cover: Basil Gogos (Apr. 1969) reprinted from Famous Monsters Of Filmland
#20 (Nov. 1962)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: Sasquatches! [Bill
Parente/Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico] 1p
[frontis]
2) Stranger In Town [Bill
Parente/Tom Sutton] 7p
3) Second Chance! [Archie
Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 6p reprinted from
Creepy #13 (Feb. 1967)
4) The Creepy Fan Club:
Demons!/The Beginning Of The End [Bill Parente, Sam Lambroza &
David
Jablin/Jose Velez] 1p [text
article/story]
5) Completely Cured [Bill
Parente/Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico]
7p
6) Untimely Meeting [Bill Parente/Ernie Colon]
8p
7) Backfire! [Archie Goodwin/Gray Morrow] 6p reprinted from Creepy #10 (Aug. 1966)
8) Voodoo Doll! [Archie Goodwin/Jerry Grandenetti]
6p reprinted from Creepy #12 (Dec.
1966)
Notes: Gogos’ reprint cover depicts
Lon Chaney in his 1925 role as the vampire from the film London After
Midnight. The Parente/Colon story
‘Untimely Meeting’ is quite good as is the Parente/Sutton’s tale ‘Stranger In
Town’.
27. cover: Frank Frazetta (June 1969)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: Boris Karloff [Forrest
J. Ackerman/Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico]
1p [frontis]
2) Collector’s Edition [Archie
Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 8p reprinted from
Creepy #10 (Aug. 1966)
3) Make Up Your Mind [Bill
Parente/Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico] 6p
4) The Coffin Of Dracula, part 2
[Archie Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 8p
reprinted from Creepy #9
(June 1966)
5) Thane: Barbarian Of Fear
[Bill Parente/Tom Sutton] 9p
6) The Creepy Fan Club:
Embalming [Bill Parente/Ken Kelly] 1p
[text article]
7) Brain Trust! [Archie
Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 6p reprinted
from Creepy #10 (Aug. 1966)
8) Surprise Package [Bill Parente/Ernie Colon] 7p
Notes: Frazetta’s first cover in
two years is a revised version of his ‘Mongul’ painting. For some reason, the second half of ‘The
Coffin Of Dracula’ was reprinted without including the first half! Future Warren cover artist (and Frank
Frazetta’s son-in-law) Ken Kelly makes his comics debut on the fan page. The barbarian Thane makes his first appearance
in two years. He won’t appear again for
another nine! Uncle Creepy & Cousin
Eerie cameo in the story ‘Surprise Package’.
The back cover features an ad for a 3’ tall monster poster that would
border and display a photograph the readers would send in of themselves, with
the surrounding art illustrated by Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico.
28. cover: Vic Prezo (Aug. 1969)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Fakirs! [Bill Parente/Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico] 1p [frontis]
2) Madness In The Method! [Carl
Wessler/Rocco Mastroserio] 7p reprinted
from Creepy #13
(Feb. 1967)
3) The Creepy Fan Club:
Ghoul/Reuben Reid Profile [Bill Parente & Reuben Reid/David Fletcher]
2p [text articles w/photo]
4) In The Subway [Reuben
Reid/Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico] 7p
5) The Worm Is Turning [Kim
Ball/Ernie Colon] 8p
6) Grub! [Nicola Cuti/Tom
Sutton] 6p
7) Valley Of The Vampires [Ron Haycock/Bhob Stewart
& Steve Stiles] 6p [Haycock’s
story
credited to Arnold Hayes.]
8) The Doorway! [Archie Goodwin/Dan Adkins] 6p reprinted from Creepy #11 (Oct. 1966)
9) The Adventure Of The German Student! [Archie
Goodwin/Jerry Grandenetti] 8p from the
story
by Washington Irving, reprinted from Creepy #15 (June 1967)
10) Vampirella Is Coming! Ad [Bill Parente/Tony
Tallarico] 1p
Notes: Cost of magazine rises to 50
cents. Reuben Reid was the Cauldron
Contest winner for Creepy. Best story
& art is ‘The Worm Is Turning’.
Nicola Cuti makes his professional debut with ‘Grub!’. The ad at the end shows Uncle Creepy &
Cousin Eerie reacting in fear to the coming of an unseen Vampirella.
Warren’s Rebuilding!
29. cover: Vic Prezo (Sept. 1969)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Ghouls! [Archie Goodwin/Jack Davis] 1p
[frontis] reprinted from
Creepy #3 (June
1965)
2) The Summer House [Barbara
Gelman/Ernie Colon] 8p
3) Thane: Angel Of Doom! [Archie
Goodwin/Jeff Jones] 6p reprinted from
Creepy #16 (Aug.
1967)
4) Spellbound [Ron Haycock/Bhob
Stewart, Will Brown & Mike Royer] 7p
[Haycock’s story
credited to Arnold Hayes]
5) Bloody Mary [Buddy
Saunders/Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico] 7p
6) The Devil Of The Marsh [Don
Glut/Jerry Grandenetti] 6p
7) The Creepy Fan Club: So
Speaks The Book [C. A. Howard/Anthony Kowalik] 1p [text story]
8) The Frankenstein Tradition!
[Archie Goodwin/Rocco Mastroserio] 8p
reprinted from Creepy
#16 (Aug. 1967)
9) The Last Laugh [Archie Goodwin/Ernie Colon] 4p
10) Vampirella Is Here! [Bill Parente/Bill Fraccio,
Tony Tallarico & Frank Frazetta] 1p
Notes: The beginning of a long
period of regrowth & rebuilding begins here, even though reprints would
continue for several more issues. A good
cover by Prezo. Artist Jerry Grandenetti
is the second Goodwin Era artist to return while Goodwin himself shows up with
his only non-Vamprella original story for Warren between 1967 and 1974. Pretty darn good story too! The other story highlight is ‘The Summer
House’, which, like the Goodwin story, was illustrated by Ernie Colon. The Vampirella ad features Bill Fraccio
& Tony Tallarico’s art on Uncle
Creepy & Cousin Eerie while Vampirella herself is rendered by
Frazetta. The Frazetta art is the same
drawing that appears as Vampirella #1’s frontis. Mike Royer makes his {uncredited} Warren debut
by drawing the female heads in the story ‘Spellbound’.
30. cover: Bill Hughes (Nov. 1969)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Exorcism! [Tom Sutton] 1p [frontis]
2) The Mind Of The Monster! [R.
Michael Rosen/Ernie Colon] 6p
3) Drop In! [Don Glut/Tom Sutton]
6p
4) The Haunted Sky! [Archie
Goodwin/Roger Brand] 6p reprinted from
Creepy #17 (Oct. 1967)
5) The River! [Johnny Craig]
6p reprinted from Creepy #15 (June
1967)
6) To Be Or Not To Be A Witch
[Bill Parente/Carlos Prunes] 7p
7) The Creepy Fan Club: The Man In The Monkey Suit
[Sam Bellotto, Jr./Brant Withers & Bill
Black]
2p [text story, Black’s art is credited
to Bill Schwartz, his real name?]
8) Piece By Piece [Archie Goodwin/Joe Orlando]
8p reprinted from Creepy #14 (Apr.
1967)
9) Dr. Jekyll’s Jest [R. Michael Rosen/Mike Royer]
6p
10) Easy Way To A Tuff Surfboard! [Archie
Goodwin/Frank Frazetta] ½p reprinted
from Eerie
#3
(May 1966) [on inside back cover]
Notes: Bill Hughes’ cover features
one of the stupidest looking Frankenstein’s monsters I’ve ever seen! The Loathsome Lore section was always at its
best when Sutton wrote & illoed it, and this example is no
exceptation. The letters’ page features
an explanation by Jim Warren about the recent price hike. The future Spanish invasion of artists is
previewed here by S.I. artist Carlos Prunes’ appearance. Future comic artist & publisher Bill
Black makes his comics debut on the fan page.
Mike Royer, best known in comics as the inker for Jack Kirby’s 1970s
& 1980s artwork, delivers a great art job for his official Warren debut
{see #29 for his unofficial debut}.
While his figures are occasionally somewhat stiff, his women were some
of the most beautiful to ever appear in the Warren magazines.
31. cover: Vaughn Bode & Larry Todd (Feb.
1970)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Torture! [Bill Parente/Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico] 1p [frontis]
2) In The Face Of Death [Al
Hewetson/Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico] 4p
3) Telephoto Troll! [R. Michael
Rosen/Roger Brand] 6p
4) A Night’s Lodging! [Rhea Dunne/Maurice Whitman]
7p reprinted from Creepy #17 (Oct.
1967)
5) Snowmen! [Tom Sutton] 8p
6) The Creepy Fan Page: The
Master [Marc Rendleman] 1p [text story]
7) A Wooden Stake For Your Heart! [Don Glut/Bill
Black] 6p
8) Death Of A Stranger [T. Casey Brennan/Ernie
Colon] 6p
9) Laughing Liquid [Kevin Pagan/William Barry] 8p
Notes: Underground artists Vaughn
Body & Larry Todd would do a number of covers for Warren over the next
couple of years. This first one depicts
an odd chicken-like alien, who’s apparently just ripped in half a very human
looking robot. The original version of
this cover was too bloody, with too many entails {making one suspect the
gentleman torn in half was originally an actual human}, so before publication the
original painting was amended by the Warren production department. Reprints begin to be eased out, perhaps in
response to the advent of Web Of Horror, a rival B&W magazine with all
original stories, which was published by Major Publications, who were also the
publishers of the humor magazine Cracked.
Both Eerie Publications and Stanley Publications had copied Warren’s
lead in publishing B&W magazines in the mid 1960s but Warren, quite
rightly, never considered them a threat as those magazines were mostly composed
of pretty lousy retouched 1950s horror reprints. Web Of Horror wouldn’t last long {only three
issues} but clearly their use of former Warren writers (Otto Binder & Clark
Dimond) and artists {Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico {with a new penname},
Jeff Jones, Donald Norman, Roger Brand and more}, along with the brightest
young turks from the fanzines {Berni Wrightson, Michael Kaluta, Bruce Jones,
Ralph Reese, Frank Brunner, etc.} had an effect on Warren. In fact, a letter by one-time Warren editor
J. R. Cocharan, that appeared in Canar #21-22 (May-June 1974), stated clearly
that Warren’s infamous “war letter” to writers & artists that basically
declared that one could either work for the B&W competition or you could
work for Warren but you couldn’t work for both, was a direct result of the
existence of Web Of Horror. Along with a
story in the Jan. issue of Vampirella, this is future Skywald editor Al
Hewetson’s professional writing debut.
‘Snowmen!’ by Tom Sutton is quite good and would win the first Warren
award for best story. After several
appearances on the fan pages, Bill Black makes his professional art debut on ‘A
Wooden Stake For Your Heart!’ Kevin
Pagan also makes his professional writing debut.
32. cover: Frank Frazetta (Apr. 1970)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Androids! [Tom Sutton] 1p [frontis]
2) The Story Behind The Rock God
[Bill Parente?/Frank Frazetta & Neal Adams] 1p [text
article]
3) Rock God [Neal Adams]
13p from the story by Harlan Ellison
4) Death Is A Lonely Place [Bill
Warren/Bill Black] 7p
5) I…Executioner [Don Glut/Mike
Royer] 6p
6) A Wall Of Privacy [Nicola
Cuti/Ernie Colon] 6p [art credited to
David Sinclair]
7) The Creepy Fan Page: To Uncle
Creepy/Brief Impulse/The Clock/The Horror At Midnight/
News
Item [Michael Paumgardhen, Christopher Laube, Paul J. DeBlasio, Steve Casaw,
G. S. Boyde
& Bill Parente/Kenneth Smith, George Hrycun & Ken Johnson] 2p [poems
& text
stories]
8) V.A.M.P.I.R.E. [Bill Warren/Bill Fraccio &
Tony Tallarico] 8p
9) Movie Dissector! [R. Michael Rosen/Bill DuBay] 6p
10) The 3:14 Is Right On Time! [Ken Dixon/Billy
Graham] 7p
Notes: The first all-new issue of
Creepy since #16 and it’s pretty darn good too!
Frazetta’s cover, which is supposed to depict Ellison’s gigantic Rock
God, actually appears to be a human-size monster or troll, looking down at a
European village. I’ve heard various
reasons for this—both that Frazetta only had a paragraph of Ellison’s prose
story to fashion his cover from (which seems likely) or that this was actually
an inventory cover from 1967. I’d tend
to discount the inventory cover version since it’s hard to imagine Jim Warren
leaving a bought and paid for Frazetta cover sitting on the shelf for two years
except for one thing. Warren actually
did that with a 1971 Frazetta cover done for a proposed Warren magazine
entitled POW! That cover, depicting
‘Queen Kong’, went unpublished for seven years!
It should also be noted that my giving Neal Adams credit for the
adaptation of Ellison’s story is taking into account that Ellison wrote his prose story with the full intent that it
be adapted (specifically by Adams) for the Warren line. Not the usual state of affairs for
adaptations at all. Regardless, it’s a
darn fine story. Adams uses Jim Warren
himself as the model for the villain of the tale. Kenneth Smith, an underground & fanzine
artist makes his mainstream debut on the fan page. Brant Withers, a fan page artist, suggests on
the letters’ page that an artist contest, similar to the previous year’s
writer’s contest, take place but it never happens. Bill DuBay makes his professional art
debut. After ‘Rock God’, the best story
& art is ‘The 3:14 Is Right On Time!’ by Dixon & Graham.
33. cover: Pat Boyette (June 1970)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Mermaids! [Tom Sutton] 1p [frontis]
2) One Too Many [Buddy
Saunders/William Barry] 6p
3) Royal Guest [Pat Boyette] 6p
4) Blue Mum Day [R. Michael
Rosen/Reed Crandall] 6p
5) Dr. Jekyll Was Right [Bill
Warren/Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico] 7p
6) I’m Only In It For The Money
[Al Hewetson/Juan Lopez] 7p
7) The Full Service! [Nicola
Cuti/Jack Sparling] 6p
8) The Creepy Fan Page: Pat
Boyette Profile/More Poetry/Rockets To Terror/I Love Her/Message
From The Dead
[Bill Parente,Joseph Westbrook, L. Alain Portnoff, David Martin, Allan
Feldman &
Mark Aubry] 2p [poems & text
stories w/photo]
9) Boxed In! [Tom Sutton] 6p
Notes: Boyette’s cover &
interior story are quite good, as is the Rosen/Crandall tale. The best story & art, however, are from
Tom Sutton’s homage to Will Eisner—‘Boxed In!’
34. cover: Ken Barr (Aug. 1970)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: The
Makara! [Dan Adkins] 1p [frontis]
2) X-Tra…”X” [R. Michael
Rosen/Jack Sparling] 7p
3) Lifeboat! [Bill Parente/Ken
Barr] 7p
4) The Creepy Fan Page: The
Doomed/The Movie Critic/Lost: A Life/The Search For The
Phasimara Plant
[Thomas Isenberg, Steven Hart, Anthony Kowalik & John Scorfani/
Mondini
Gianluigi, Gerald Colucci, Brant Withers, Scot Cassman & Carole MacKinnon]
2p [text stories]
5) The Cool Jazz Ghoul [Al
Hewetson/Ken Kelly] 7p
6) Minanker’s Demons [Buddy
Saunders/John G. Fantuccio] 6p
7) Forgotten Prisoner Of
Castlemare [R. Michael Rosen/Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico] 6p
8) The Swamp In Hell! [Al
Hewetson/Don Vaughn] 6p
9) Ando! [R. Michael Rosen/Syd Shores] 6p
10) Easy Way To A Tuff Surfboard! [Archie
Goodwin/Frank Frazetta] ½p reprinted
from Eerie
#3
(May 1966)
Notes: Editor: James Warren. Ken Barr was a Scottish artist who did quite
a lot of work for DC’s war comics as well as Warren over the next several
years. He was a very good cover artist
but strangely his best cover work never appeared for Warren. Instead, his Warren work often appeared muted
and was overshadowed by just about everybody else’s covers. Future underground & ‘Garbage Pail Kids’
artist John Pound appears on the letters’ page.
Future cover artist Ken Kelly makes his professional debut by rendering
a rare comic story. It’s pretty good
too! The ‘Forgotten Prisoner Of
Castlemare’ was based on the Aurora model kit, regularly advertised in the back
of each Warren issue.
35. cover: Kenneth Smith (Sept. 1970)
1) An Editorial To The President Of The United
States And All The Members Of Congress
[James
Warren] 1p [frontis]
2) Tough Costumers! [R. Michael
Rosen/Tom Sutton] 6p
3) Legend In Gold [R. Michael
Rosen/Roger Brand] 6p
4) Polly Want A Wizard [Howard
Waldrop/Ernie Colon] 6p
5) Army Of The Walking Dead! [R.
Michael Rosen/Syd Shores] 7p
6) The Creepy Fan Page: Ken Barr
Profile/Rock God/The Littered Trash-Can Of Humanity/The
Fool’s March
[Archie Goodwin?, Bradley Burke, Jessica Clerk & Ted Dasen/Winsor
McNemo] 2p [poem/text article & stories]
7) Godslayer [Bill Stillwell] 6p
8) It’s Grim… [Al Hewetson/Syd
Shores] 7p
9) The Druid’s Curse [Buddy Saunders/the Bros.
Ciochetti] 6p
10) Gunsmoke Charly! [Alan Weiss] 8p
11) Justice! [Pat Boyette] 6p
Notes: Archie Goodwin returns,
listed as Associate Editor. Cost of the
magazine goes up to 60 cents. This issue was a brief experiment with all
stories/no ads format, usually suggested as a response to the first issue of
Skywald’s rival B&W magazine, Nightmare.
But Nightmare’s first issue is cover dated Dec. 1970 so it was more
likely that this was in reaction to Major’s Web Of Horror magazine, which had
that format (although the magazine itself had been recently cancelled) than to
the upcoming Nightmare or Skywald.
Warren’s anti-war editorial was the first in only two attempts to use
his magazine line as a bully pulpit. The
fact that he was confident in being blatantly anti-war in the editorial
underscores the massive changes the country had undergone socially and
politically in the four years since conservative elements had forced Blazing
Combat off the stands. Future gonzo SF
writer Howard Waldrop makes his professional writing debut, while fan artists
Bill Stillwell and Alan Weiss also make their mainstream debuts. A good, solid issue.
36. cover: Kenneth Smith (Nov. 1970)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: The
Body Snatchers Who Stole A Giant! [Tom Sutton] 1p [frontis]
2) One Way To Break The Boredom
[James Haggenmiller/Jack Sparling] 9p
3) Weird World [Nicola Cuti/Tom
Sutton] 7p
4) The Creepy Fan Page: Creepy
Poems/Tunnel Of Terror/Doomsday Monsters [Harry Balmforth,
Paul
E. King & Rodney E. Hammack/Larry Dickison] 2p [poem & text stories]
5) Frankenstein Is A Clown [Bill
Warren/Carlos Garzon] 8p
6) On The Wings Of A Bird [T.
Casey Brennan/Jerry Grandenetti] 7p
7) Forbidden Journey! [Greg
Theakston/Rich Buckler] 7p
8) If A Body Meet A Body [R.
Michael Rosen/Jack Sparling] 7p
9) Frozen Beauty [Richard Corben] 6p
Notes: Price decrease to 50 cents.
Rich Buckler makes his professional art debut while major underground artist
Richard Corben makes his mainstream debut with a very good story. Best art is by Corben and Jerry
Grandenetti. Best story honors go to
Corben, Bill Warren & T. Casey Brennan.
37. cover: Ken Barr (Jan. 1971)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: I
Was Buried Alive! [Tom Sutton] 1p
[frontis]
2) The Cadaver [Chris
Fellner/Bill Stillwell] 8p
3) King Keller [Nicola Cuti/Syd
Shores] 7p
4) I Hate You! I Hate You! [Bill
Warren/Mike Royer] 9p
5) Tender Machine 10061 [Ernie
Colon] 6p
6) The Creepy Fan Page: To Fill
A Bottle Of Blood/The Anniversary/Ghouls Power/The Ape Man
[Paul E. King,
Jr., Brad McEwen, Howard Williams & Jim Erskine/Tony Boatwright, Jim
Erskine &
Charles Jones] 2p [text stories]
7) Coffin Cure [Doug Moench/Don
Brown] 7p
8) The Castle [Pat Boyette] 8p
9) The Cut-Throat Cat Blues [T.
Casey Brennan/Ernie Colon] 7p [last
page on inside back cover]
Notes: The first use of interior
color appears on the last page of ‘The Cut-Throat Cat Blues’. Chris Fellner makes his professional
debut. ‘I Hate You! I Hate You!’ is a pretty
good story which dealt with an early treatment of child abuse. Pat Boyette’s
‘The Castle’ is also nicely done.
38. cover: Ken Kelly (Mar. 1971)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Killer Plants! [Clif Jackson] 1p
[frontis]
2) Wooden Cross! [Steve Skeates/Rich
Buckler] 6p
3) The Vengeance Of The Hanged!
[Chris Fellner/Syd Shores] 8p
4) Sticks And Stones To Break
Their Bones [Stu Schwartzburg/Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico] 5p
5) The Way Home! [T. Casey
Brennan/Mike Royer] 8p
6) Sleepwalker! [Gerry Conway/Mike
Royer] 7p
7) Secret Of The Haunted Room
[Bill Warren/Ernie Colon] 9p
8) The Creepy Fan Page: Alpha 3
[Dan Thost/John Cornell, Gary Kaufman, Loper Espi, Jim
Pinkoski &
Steve Leialoha] 2p [text story]
9) The Cosmic All [Wally Wood]
8p
Notes: Warren publishes new artist
Gary Kaufman’s submission letter on the letters’ page and previews his art on
the fan page. Future Marvel editor &
writer John D. Warner also sends in a letter.
A fine art job by Ernie Colon enhances ‘Secret Of The Haunted
House’. Mike Royer & Syd Shores also
contribute some nice art. Like Phillipe
Druillet, Loper Espi was a professional artist whose submissions, for unknown
reasons, were printed on the fan pages next to amateur submissions. Fan artist Jim Pinkoski also appears on this
issue’s fan page, as does future comic artist Steve Leialoha, making his comics
debut. The big news, though, was the
return of Wally Wood with an excellent little SF number.
39. cover: Basil Gogos (May 1971)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: The
Evil Eye! [Richard Grose/Clif Jackson] 1p
[frontis]
2) Uncle Creepy: Where Satan
Dwells… [Al Hewetson/Sal Trapani] 8p
[gueststars Cousin Eerie]
3) C.O.D.—Collects On Death!
[Dave Wood/Dave Cockrum] 8p
4) The Water World! [Buddy
Saunders/Pablo Marcos] 6p
5) Death Of The Wizard [Pat
Boyette] 6p
6) Harvest Of Horror! [Phil
Seuling/Frank Brunner] 7p
7) The Dragon-Prow! [Steve
Skeates/Richard Bassford] 7p
8) Puzzling Monsters: Who Drew
What? [?/Carlos Garzon, Pat Boyette, Tom Sutton, Jack Davis,
Jerry
Grandenetti, Bill Fraccio--Tony Tallarico, Syd Shores, Ernie Colon, Billy
Graham,
James Warren & William
Barry] 2p [match the artist page]
9) The Creepy Fan Club: The Lesson/The
Gravekeeper/The Year 2,000/The Voice Of Death/
Little Miss
Muffet [Billy Rand, Danuta Kwapisz, Mark Rone, William Buchanan & John
Leho/Harry
Glienke, Edgar Maggiani, Daniel Smeddy, Sam Park & Randy Williams] 2p
[text stories
& poems]
10) Mad Jack’s Girl [Gary
Kaufman] 8p
Notes: When the Uncle Creepy story
was first announced, Ernie Colon was listed as the artist. The art there is so much better than
Trapani’s usual stuff that it might just be Colon pencils with Trapani
inks. Dave Cockrum makes his
professional debut while Pablo Marcos makes his North American one. Although ‘Dual Dragon’ was supposed to be
Kaufman’s professional debut, ‘Mad Jack’s Girl’ actually appeared first. Richard Bassford makes his professional art
debut here after many years in the fanzines. The Who Drew What page features
partly new & partly old illos with
the readers encouraged to guess ‘who drew what’.
40. cover: Larry Todd & Vaughn Bode (July
1971)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: The
Loch Ness Monster [Al Hewetson/Clif Jackson] 1p [frontis]
2) The Fade-Away Walk [Don McGregor/Tom
Sutton] 12p
3) The Impersonation! [Steve
Skeates/Pablo Marcos] 6p
4) Swamp Demon [Dave Cockrum] 7p
5) Disintegrator [Nicola
Cuti/Ken Barr] 7p
6) Lost And Found [Steve
Skeates/George Roussos] 5p
7) The Creepy Fan Page: The Last
Tomorrow [?/?, Scott Rogers, Kenneth Tutton, Tony DeSensi
& R.
Goodwin] 2p [text story, author/artist
for the story didn’t sign his name]
8) Annual Warren Awards At The
New York Comicon… [Martin Greim/Ernie Colon] 2p [text
article] reprinted from Martin Greim’s Comic Crusader
#10 (1970)
9) Dual Dragon [Gary Kaufman] 7p
Notes: Billy Graham becomes editor
and turns in a pretty solid issue. In an
artistic slight-of-hand, the muzzle of the gun on the cover seems to follow you
no matter where you are in the room, which is, well—let’s fact it, pretty
creepy. Don McGregor makes his
professional debut. Nice art & story
work from Dave Cockrum and Gary Kaufman.
The first Warren Awards gave ‘The Ray Bradbury Award’ for best story to
Tom Sutton for ‘Snowman’ from Creepy #31, ‘The Frank Frazetta Cup’ for best
illustrated story to Neal Adams for ‘Rock God’ from Creepy #32, ‘The Jack Davis
Cup’ to Frank Frazetta for best cover from Eerie #23, a special award to Harlan
Ellison for ‘Rock God’, best all-around artist to Ernie Colon, best all-around
writer to Nicola Cuti and an honorable mention for artwork to Billy
Graham. There is a bizarre mention in
the Award article where James Warren says he wrote his anti-war editorial of
the previous year for business reasons!
Seems every time there was a riot or violent anti-war demonstration in
an area, sales in surrounding stores plunged, including Warren magazines
sales!
41. cover: Kenneth Smith (Sept. 1971)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: The
Hangman Of London [Richard Bassford] 1p
[frontis]
2) The Thing In Loch Ness [Bruce
Jones] 8p
3) Skipper’s Return! [Ernie
Colon] 6p
4) The Final Ingredient! [Bill
DuBay] 7p
5) Prelude To Armageddon [Nicola
Cuti & Wally Wood/Wally Wood] 12p
6) Extra Censory Perception
[Steve Skeatess/Gary Kaufman] 5p
7) The Creepy Fan Club: Gary
Kaufman Profile/Poem/The Duplicating Machine/Blood River!
[Gary Kaufman,
Darrell McKenney, Steven Semiatin & ?/Gary Kaufman, William
Fugate, James
Boehmer & Martin Greim] 2p [text
article/stories & poem]
8) A Tangible Hatred [Don
McGregor/Richard Corben] 10p
Notes: Future Marvel editor &
writer John D. Warner sends in a letter.
Bruce Jones makes his Warren debut.
The lead character in Don McGregor’s ‘A Tangible Hatred’, police detective
Dave Turner, would appear in two more McGregor scripted stories over the next
three years. Fanzine writer Martin
Greim & fanzine artist Bill Fugute
do illos for the fan page. Pretty
impressive issue with good (although not great) art and stories from everyone
involved.
42. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Nov. 1971)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Captain Kidd! [T. Casey Brennan/Ken Kelly] 1p
[frontis]
2) The Quaking Horror [Gardner
Fox/Rafael Auraleon] 6p
3) A Change Of Identity! [Don
Glut/Dave Cockrum] 6p
4) The Amazing Money-Making
Wallet [Steve Skeates/Joe Staton] 6p
5) Spacial Delivery [R. Michael
Rosen/Larry Todd] 7p
6) A Chronicle! [Steve
Skeates/Jorge B. Galvez] 4p
7) Escape From Nowhere World [T.
Casey Brennan/Jerry Grandenetti] 8p
8) The Creepy Fan Page: Jerry
Grandenetti Profile/The Demon/The Old Lady And The Cats/The
Problem [Jerry
Grandenetti, Jim Fadler, Randy Kirk & Robert Nason/Donald
MacDonald]
2p [text article/stories]
9) Ice Wolf [Gary Kaufman] 10p
Notes: Although it wasn’t completely
apparent from this issue, the Spanish invasion of artists had begun a couple of
months earlier in Eerie, which resulted in most of the American artists being
driven from the Warren pages. The
professional artists and writers’ debuts, which had highlighted the previous
two years also began to dry up. The sorceress in Sanjulian’s first Creepy cover
was largely naked and while an effort was made to cover up her breasts with a
yellow bra overlay, the technique used clearly didn’t work. ‘Escape From
Nowhere World’ was a sequel to the earlier ‘On The Wings Of A Bird’ from
#36. Brennan says he wrote the original
story but the version here is not that story.
His original script was apparently rewritten by various Warren
staffers. Ernie Colon has a letter reprinted
from the New York Times while future writer/artist Frank Miller also
contributes to the letters’ page. ‘Ice
Wolf’ is the best story.
43. cover: Ken Kelly (Jan. 1972)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: The Golden Sun Disk Of
The Incas [T. Casey Brennan/Richard
Corben] 1p
[frontis]
2) Three-Way Split [Dennis P. Junot/Jorge Galvez] 8p
3) The Mark Of Satan’s Claw [Fred Ott/Jaime Brocal]
10p
4) The Men Who Called Him Monster [Don McGregor/Luis
Garcia] 14p
5) 1971 Comicon Awards Go To Frazetta And Goodwin…
[?/?] 3p [text article w/photos]
6) Quest Of The Bigfoot [R. Michael Rosen/Jerry
Grandenetti] 6p
7) Creepy’s Fan Club: Richard Corben Profile/The
Last Vampire/Now I Know/Friend Or
Fiend?/The Realm Of The Mind/Wanted: A
Husband/Unwelcome Visitor [Richard
Corben, David Yeske, Rich Cook, Joe Letts,
Christopher Caliendo, James Olcott, L. T.
Simon & Wayne Carter/Richard Corben, Atherton,
Steven Assel, Solano Lopez, Ramiro
Bujeiro & Tim Boxell] 2p [text article/stories]
8) Mirage [Gerry Conway/Felix
Mas] 8p
Notes: The highlight of this issue
is Don McGregor’s script and Luis Garcia’s {in his Warren debut} artwork for
‘The Men Who Called Him Monster’. The
story may also have featured the first inter-racial kiss in comic history. The lead character is physically modeled
after actor Sidney Poitier. The 1971 Warren Awards went to Frank Frazetta for
best cover from Vampirella #7, best script to T. Casey Brennan for ‘On The
Wings Of A Bird’ from Creepy #36, best art to Jose Gonzalez for ‘Death’s Dark
Angel’ from Vampirella #12, best all around writer to Archie Goodwin for his
work on Vampirella and best all around artist to Wally Wood. Solano Lopez was already a South American
professional when his sample work ended up on the fan page. The fan page also undergoes a slight
retitling while Tim Boxell, who would do quite a lot of underground and
alternative comics, makes his comics debut there.
44. cover: Vincente Segrelles (Mar. 1972)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: The
Stars [T. Casey Brennan/Richard Corben] 1p
[frontis]
2) With Silver Bells, Cockle
Shells And… [F. Paul Wilson/Irv Docktor] 6p
3) Something To Remember Me By!
[Tom Sutton] 9p
4) A Certain Innocence [Steve
Skeates/Nebot] 6p
5) The Last Days Of Hans Bruder
[T. Casey Brennan/Frank Bolle] 8p
6) Like A Phone Booth, Long And
Narrow [Jan Strnad/Jose Bea] 8p
7) The Ultimate High! [Steve Skeates/Martin
Salvador] 6p
8) Creepy’s Fan Club: Jan Strnad
Profile/A Bullet For The Wolf/The Mausoleum/Nightmare/
It’s In The Bag!
[Jan Strnad, William S. Groginsky, John Ayella, Benjamin Williams &
David
Michelinie/Gregory R. Suriano] 1p [text
article/stories]
9) Dorian Gray: 2001 [Al
Hewetson/William Barry] 8p
10) Sleep [Kevin Pagan/Mike
Ploog] 8p
Notes: Size & price increase to
72 pages & 75 cents. New Uncle Creepy intro faces by Richard Corben
appear. Steve Skeates explains his story
‘A Chronicle’ to a reader on the letters’ page, leading to a short-lived
feature, ‘The Story Behind…’, where writers explained the origins of their
stories. Future comic writer David
Michelinie makes his comics debut on the fan page. Kevin Pagen & Mike Ploog contribute the
best story with ‘Sleep’. The Strnad/Bea
story is quite good too.
45. cover: Enrich Torres (May 1972)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: The
Chiklil Tablets! [Bill DuBay] 1p
[frontis]
2) Creepy Comments/The Story
Behind ‘The Men Who Called Him Monster!’ [J. R. Cochran &
Don McGregor]
1p [text articles on the letters’ page]
3) What Rough Beast [Jan
Strnad/Frank Brunner] 8p
4) Targos [Jack Katz/Jack Katz
& Nebot] 10p
5) And Horror Crawls…From Out Of
The Sea! [Kevin Pagan/Tom Sutton] 8p
6) For The Sake Of Your
Children! [Ed Fedory/Jaime Brocal] 11p
7) Dungeons Of The Soul [T.
Casey Brennan/Felix Mas] 8p
8) Creepy’s Fan Club: Jose Bea Profile/Remember
Yesterday/The Cold Earth/Hybrid Of Hell/The
Viewer/Out
Of The Sea/The Gift/Stare [J. R. Cochran, Tony Boatright, Edgar Dejesus,
Randy Williams, Jerome Herskovits, Kevin Schaffer,
Barry Aydelotte & Jerry Bradman/Jose Bea, R. Taylor & Surn Iil Oh] 2p [text article/stories]
9) The Picture Of Death [Jose
Bea] 11p
Notes: Editor: J. R. Cochran. A short article entitled ‘Creepy Comments’
appeared on the letters’ page, as did the official beginning of ‘The Story
Behind…’ series. A ‘Little Orphan Annie’
strip from Dec. 1971, featuring a Prof. Creepy (who looked nothing like
Warren’s Uncle Creepy) is reprinted on the letters’ page. Future artist R. G. Taylor could be the R.
Taylor on the fan page. A pretty good
issue with nice work from Frank Brunner and Tom Sutton, and interesting stories
from Jan Strnad, Jack Katz, Ed Fedory & Kevin Pagan. Best story though is Jose Bea’s ‘The Picture
Of Death.’
46. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (July 1972)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: The
Undertaker’s Model [Jack Butterworth/Luis Garcia] 1p
[frontis]
2) Inside 46/The Story Behind
The Story: Like A Phone Booth, Long & Narrow [J. R. Cochran &
Jan Strnad]
½p [text articles on letters’ page
3) Cross Of Blood [Doug
Moench/Esteban Maroto] 10p
4) Behold The Cybernite! [Rich
Margopoulos/Tom Sutton] 8p
5) On The Ninth Day Of Satan
[Kevin Pagan/Felix Mas] 8p
6) I, Invisible [Jose Bea] 6p
7) Spellbound [Lynn Marron/Luis Garcia] 8p
8) Night Watch [Ed Fedory/Jorge Galvez] 7p
9) Creepy Book Reviews: The Panic Boardcast/The
Great Radio Heroes/All In Color For A Dime
[Doug
Moench] 1p [text articles]
10) Creepy’s Fan Club: Lynn Marron Profile/Instant
Replay/After Nightfall/The Spice Of Life/
Perpetual
Search/The Story Behind The Story: Something To Remember Me By!/
Creepy’s
Catchall [Lynn Marron, John C. Salzano, Chris Monzert, Lee Breakiron,
George
B. Evans, Tom Sutton & J. R. Cochran/Tom Sutton, Terry Harrison & Jack
Davis] 2p [text articles/stories w/photos]
11) Friedheim The Magnificent
[Greg Potter/Richard Corben] 8p
12) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Monsters Of The Id! [Clif Jackson] 1p
[on inside back cover]
Notes: Behind a second rate cover
was a decent issue. Best stories were
from Doug Moench, Lynn Marron, Ed Fedory and Greg Potter while best art was from
Esteban Maroto, Luis Garcia and Richard Corben.
Fedory’s story had originally appeared as a fan page submission. J. R. Cochran liked it enough to encourage
Fedory to rework it into a comic script.
To my knowledge, this is the only time that a fan page story directly
led to a professional writing career.
Rich Margopoulos makes his professional debut with Tom Sutton (again!)
doing the debut art honors.
47. cover: Ron Cobb (Sept. 1972) reprinted from Famous Monsters #43 (Mar.
1967) [miscredited to
Manuel Sanjulian]
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: Not
Sherlock by A Long Shot [Doug Moench/Jose Bea] 1p
[frontis]
2) Inside 47/The Story Behind
The Story: The Picture Of Death [J. R. Cochran & Jose Bea] ½p
[text articles
on the letters’ page]
3) The Land Of Bone [Buddy
Saunders/Esteban Maroto] 8p
4) Mark Of The Phoenix [T. Casey
Brennan/Reed Crandall] 8p
5) The Law And Disorder [Dennis
Junot/Luis Garcia] 6p
6) The Eternity Curse [John
Thraxis/Martin Salvador] 6p
7) Creepy’s Fan Club: Reed Crandall
Profile/The Scarlet Knife/The Shrinking Man/A Moment!/
Grin At The Grim
Reaper [J. R. Cochran, Jody Gilmore, Terry W. Cloud, Horace Heard
& Steve
Clement/Reed Crandall, Marc Bilgrey & Pat Boyette] 2p [text articles/stories]
8) Point Of View [Steve
Skeates/Luis Dominguez] 6p
9) This Burden—This
Responsibility! [Steve Skeates/Jerry Grandenetti] 10p
10) Futurization Computation! [Bill DuBay] 3p
11) Creepy Book Reviews: Dick Tracy/Horror Comics Of
The 1950s/The Comix [Tom Sutton,
Bill
DuBay & Greg Potter] 1p [text
articles]
12) The Beginning! [Steve Skeates/Tom Sutton] 6p
Notes: Manuel Sanjulian’s cover
came in too late for this issue, resulting in it not appearing until Eerie
#123, nine years later. Cobb’s reprinted
cover was a last minute substitute. Reed
Crandall returns after almost three years, but his art had sadly deteriorated a
great deal since his last appearance.
‘The Land Of Bone’ by Saunders & Maroto is the best story &
art. The Skeates/Sutton work is also
good.
48. cover: montage/back cover: Jack Davis
(Oct. 1972) front cover reprints 12
covers from different eras
of Creepy while the back
cover is reprinted from Creepy #1 (Jan. 1965)
1) What Can You Say About An
Eight-Year Old Creepy? [J. R. Cochran] 1p
[text article, frontis]
2) The Coffin Of Dracula [Archie
Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 16p reprinted
from Creepy #8 & 9
(Apr. & June
1966) [2 pages edited out from the
second part]
3) The Castle On The Moor!
[Johnny Craig] 6p reprinted from Creepy
#9 (June 1966)
4) Moon City! [Larry
Englehart/Al McWilliams] 6p reprinted
from Creepy #4 (Aug. 1965)
5) Swamped! [Archie
Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 8p reprinted
from Creepy #3 (June 1965)
6) Thumbs Down [Anne T.
Murphy/Al Williamson] 6p reprinted from
Creepy #6 (Dec. 1965)
7) The Cosmic All [Wally Wood]
8p reprinted from Creepy #38 (Mar.
1971)
8) Drink Deep! [Otto Binder/John
Severin] 7p reprinted from Creepy #7
(Feb. 1966)
9) The Adventure Of The German
Student! [Archie Goodwin/Jerry Grandenetti] 8p
reprinted
from Creepy #15
(June 1967)
Notes: The Creepy Annual now
becomes part of the regular numbering.
The DuBay Era, Take 1
49. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Nov. 1972)
1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: No
(Horse) Laughing Matter [Doug Moench/Rafael Auraleon] 1p
[frontis &
on inside back cover]
2) Inside 49/The Story Behind
The Story: ‘Behold—The Cybernite!’ [Bill DuBay & Rich
Margopoulos]
½p [text articles on letters’ page]
3) Buried Pleasure [Doug
Moench/Esteban Maroto] 10p
4) The Severed Hand [Fred
Ott/Rafael Auraleon] 12p
5) The Third Night Of Mourning
[James Stenstrum/Jaime Brocal] 12p
6) The Accursed Flower [Jose
Bea] 10p
7) Creepy’s Book Reviews: The
Pulps/Superman/Batman/Mandrake [Doug Moench, Greg Potter
& Tom
Sutton] 1p [text articles]
8) Creepy’s Fan Club: James Stenstrum Profile/Hour
For Rest/Mr. Grave’s Giant Step/End Of The
Corridor/Murder
Is Not A Fun Game!/Who Can Say? [Jim Stenstrum, George Acevedo,
George
Hennessey, Calvin L. Cox, Allen Sliwinski, Jack Hennigar/Jim Stenstrum, Victor
Kally
& Esteban Maroto] 2p [text
article/stories w/photos]
9) Wedding Knells [Doug Moench/Jose Gual] 8p
Notes: Editor: Bill DuBay. The DuBay era starts with a great issue! Sanjulian’s cover is top notch and its cover
story within, ‘The Third Night Of Mourning’, is even more impressive—especially
considering that this was author Jim Stenstrum’s professional debut (but second
story--#50’s ‘Forgive Us Our Debts’ was his first sale). Brocal’s artwork is exactly right for the
story’s French Revolution setting, as well.
Jose Bea’s bizarre ‘The Accursed Flower’ is almost as good as the
Stenstrum/Brocal entry and the remaining tales are more than satisfactory. The Spanish invasion of artists and their
artistic takeover of Warren’s magazines was now complete, with most of the
American artists, with rare exceptations, gone to greener pastures.
50. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Jan. 1973)
1) Odd Worm! [Al Hewetson/Rafael
Auraleon] 1p [frontis]
2) Inside 50/The Story Behind
The Story: ‘Futurization Computation’ [Bill DuBay] ½p [text
articles on
letters’ page]
3) Forgive Us Our Debts [Jim
Stenstrum/Esteban Maroto] 18p
4) Frog God! [Ed Fedory/Adolfo
Abellan] 7p
5) The Critic’s Crypt: Buck
Rogers/Flash Gordon: Water World/Flash Gordon: Ice Kingdom/
Terry & The
Pirates [Bill DuBay & Al Milgrom] 1p
[text articles]
6) Side-Show [Fred Ott/Jose Bea]
8p
7) Sum Of Its Parts [Doug Moench/Reed Crandall] 10p
8) Creepy’s Fan Club: Esteban Maroto Profile/One Of
Our Policemen Is Missing/Good Morning/
The
Quarry/Guilty, Guilty, Guilty… [Bill DuBay, Sandra Chaney, Douglas W. Justice,
Don
Robers & Nathan Garmon/Bill DuBay, Esteban Maroto, Leslie Fish &
Michael
Arman] 2p [text article/stories]
9) The Climbers Of The Tower [T. Casey Brennan/Felix
Mas] 7p
Notes: After the high quality of
the previous issue, this one was a big let-down, especially for a special 50th anniversary issue. The Sanjulian cover shows Uncle Creepy,
Cousin Eerie, Vampirella, the moronic version of Dracula {currently appearing
in Vampirella} and Frankenstein’s monster along with other various creepy
characters sitting around a 50th birthday cake with skull
frosting. It was a nice idea that just
doesn’t work. After Stenstrum’s
powerhouse debut the previous issue, this issue’s ‘Forgive Us Our Debts’ comes
off as long and unfocused, although the Maroto art was nice. With one exception, the remainder of the
stories are rather lame, with Brennan’s philosophical story in particular
showing he had run into a creative corner.
The exception was Moench’s ‘Sum Of Its Parts’, a good story which
suffered from Crandall’s art. It wasn’t
so much that the art was bad as that it was so far below the quality of the art
Crandall had routinely delivered in the 1960s that it made the story look
slightly foolish. Fans noticed the drop
in quality for the entire issue and heavily critized this issue, pointing out
Crandall’s art and Brennan and Stenstrum’s stories in particular. The series’ title ‘Creepy’s Loathsome Lore’
is dropped from the frontis story.
51. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Mar. 1973)
1) Possessed From Beyond The Grave [Fred Ott/Rafael
Auraleon] 2p [frontis & on inside
back
cover]
2) Déjà vu [Doug Moench/Esteban
Maroto] 9p
3) Star-Slaughter [Rich
Margopoulos/Ramon Torrents] 8p
4) Death Wish! [John D.
Warner/Adolfo Abellan] 8p
5) Package Deal [Martin
Pasko/Jose Bea] 7p
6) Dracula Ad [Esteban Maroto]
1p [color]
7) The Viyi [Esteban Maroto]
6p [color]
8) Dracula Ad [various] 1p [color]
9) His Brother’s Grave [Kevin Pagan/Rafael Auraleon]
10p
10) The Critic’s Crypt: Horror Times Ten/Masters Of
Horror/Warlocks And Warriors/Wizards
And
Warlocks [Chuck McNaughton?] 1p [text
articles]
11) Creepy’s Fan Club: John D. Warner
Profile/Monster/Image In A Puzzle/A Very Lovely
Ghost/Him [John D. Warner, J. C. Bartholomew Del
Galzo, Paul G. Ellis, Randall Holmberg & L. R. Slater/Chad Draber] 2p [text article/stories w/photo]
12) Bed Of Roses [Doug
Moench/Felix Mas] 9p
Notes: Price increase to $1.00
& size increase to 80 pages. A much
better issue that the previous one. The
first color section appears, reprinting Maroto’s ‘The Viyi’ story from the
Dracula color collection. The Dracula
color album was 120 pages of horror stories that had been previously published
in the Europeon magazine entitled Dracula.
The reprint book was heavily advertised by Warren for several
years. This particular color section
also appeared in Vampirella, the only time the color sections were
repeated. The ads show only Maroto and
Jose Bea artwork. The best story &
art in this issue is easily Doug Moench’s and Esteban Maroto’s ‘Déjà Vu’.
52. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Apr. 1973)
1) The Story Behind The Story:
‘Forgive Us Our Debts’/’Climbers Of The Tower’/’The Accursed
Flower’ [Jim
Stenstrum, T. Casey Brennan & Jose Bea] ½p
[text articles on the letters’
page]
2) A Most Private Terror [Budd
Lewis/Esteban Maroto] 12p [story
miscredited to Doug Moench]
3) The Last Hero! [Steve
Skeates/Ramon Torrents] 10p
4) Halve Your Cake And Eat It
Two [Doug Moench/Adolfo Abellan] 10p
5) Them Thar Flyin’ Things!
[Greg Potter/Jose Bea] 7p
6) The Man With The Brain Of
Gold [George Henderson/Reed Crandall] 6p
from the story by ?
7) The Killer [Steve Skeates/Felix Mas] 8p
8) Creepy’s Catacombs: Steve Skeates Profile/What’s
News!/Fanzine Reviews: Comic & Crypt/
Rockets Blast
Comicollector/The Creative Adventure [Steve Skeates, Bill DuBay &
Chuck McNaughton?/Steve
Skeates] 1p [text articles]
Notes: Back to 75 cents & 72
pages. DuBay continues to revamp the
magazines, dropping the fan page, and with it, fan participation, replacing
them with a feature page {in this case, titled Creepy’s Catacombs} which
focused on reviews, profiles and mini-editorials. Unlike the fan pages, which were unique to
each magazine, the feature page was the same in Creepy, Eerie or
Vampirella. The magazines also upped
their frequency to 9 issues per year.
Budd Lewis makes his professional debut with a great story, easily the
best in the issue, only to have it miscredited to Doug Moench! Maroto’s art for Lewis’ icy winter tale is
spot on! Crandall delivers a much better
art job than in #50, wrapped around an interesting story adaptation, the first
one Warren had done in some time.
53. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (May 1973)
1) A Scream In The Forest [Greg Potter/Esteban
Maroto] 12p
2) The Stone Of Power! [Steve Skeates/Ramon
Torrents] 8p
3) Freedom’s Just Another Word [Bill DuBay/Adolfo
Abellan] 13p
4) The Creature Of Loch Ness! [Doug Moench/Jose Bea]
10p
5) The Night The Creatures Attacked [Fred Ott/Rafael
Auraleon] 2p
6) It! [Tom Sutton] 9p
7) Creepy’s Catacombs: Gerry Boudreau Profile/What’s
News!/Fanzine Reviews: Phase/Comic
Reader/Heritage [Gerry
Boudreau, Bill Dubay & Chuck McNaughton?/Reed Crandall] 1p
[text articles]
Notes: A great Sanjulian cover of a
corpse rising from the swamp {with an odd teddy bear in the foreground}, that
would have been just as much at home over at Skywald’s Horror-Mood. ‘A Scream In The Forest’ has great artwork. Bill DuBay’s ‘Freedom’s Just Another Word’ is
a decent story marred by poor artwork and a somewhat troubling use of racial
slurs, especially when one considers some of the stories dealing with
African-Americans that DuBay would write in the future. ‘It!’ by Tom Sutton was a fine story that
would spawn a series, beginning in Eerie #56.
54. cover: montage of interior panels (July
1973)
1) A Guest Editorial By Phil
Seuling [Phil Seuling] ½p [text article
on letters’ page]
2) Creepy’s Catacombs: Jaime
Brocal Profile/What’s News/Fanzine Reviews: File
Forty/Remember When/Maxor
[Bill DuBay & Chuck McNaughton?/Jaime Brocal] 1p
[text articles]
3) The Slipped Mickey Click Flip
[Doug Moench/Richard Corben] 10p
4) This Graveyard Is Not
Deserted [Don McGregor/Reed Crandall] 13p
5) Descent Into Hell [Kevin
Pagan/Esteban Maroto] 8p [color]
6) Dead Man’s Race [Jack
Butterworth/Martin Salvador] 10p
7) Little Nippers! [R. Michael
Rosen/Tom Sutton] 8p
Notes: Possibly as a cost cutting
measure or perhaps because the increase in frequency had left them short on
covers, Creepy & Vampirella had montage covers composed of interior
panels. The response must not have been
too good as this was never repeated.
‘The Slipped Mickey Click Flip!’ is a great humorous story. Richard Corben who, up to this point, had
done some great work in the undergrounds and respectable work for Warren, now
gives fair warning to the eye-opening, legendary artwork that would be coming out
in the next few years. Den, Mutant World,
Jeremy Brood, A Boy And His Dog, Banner, The House On The Borderlands, etc. are
all clearly forecast by the exceptional work he’d be doing for Warren over the
next three years.
55. cover: montage of 12 previous covers
(Aug. 1973)
1) The Creepy-Crawley-Castle
Game! [Bill DuBay] 3p [game; frontis,
one interior page & on
inside back cover]
2) Brain Trust! [Archie
Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 6p reprinted
from Creepy #10 (Aug. 1966)
3) Welcome Stranger [Archie
Goodwin/Al Williamson] 7p reprinted from
Creepy #2 (Apr. 1965)
4) Act Three! [Johnny Craig]
8p reprinted from Creepy #18 (Jan.
1968)
5) Thundering Terror! [Clark
Dimond & Terry Bisson/John Severin] 6p
reprinted from Creepy
#17 (Oct. 1967)
6) Incident In The Beyond!
[Archie Goodwin/Gray Morrow] 6p
reprinted from Creepy #3 (June
1965)
7) Prelude To Armegeddon [Nicola
Cuti & Wally Wood/Wally Wood] 12p
reprinted from
Creepy #41
(Sept. 1971)
8) The Law And Disorder [Dennis
P. Junot/Luis Garcia] 6p reprinted from
Creepy #47 (Sept.
1972)
Notes: The 1973 annual. $1.00 price and 80 pages.
56. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Sept. 1973)
1) The Creepy Monster Match
[Bill DuBay] 2½p [game; frontis,
interior page & on inside back
cover]
2) Creepy’s Catacombs: Paul
Neary Profile/What’s New/Fanzine Reviews: The Collector/Graphic
Story
World/Menomonee Falls Gazette [Bill DuBay & Chuck McNaughton?/Paul Neary]
1p [text articles]
3) In My Father’s House! [Doug
Moench/Rafael Auraleon] 10p
4) Innsmouth Festival [John
Jacobson/Adolfo Abellan] 12p
5) Consumed By Ambition [Jack
Butterworth/Martin Salvador] 9p
6) Lycanklutz [Richard Corben]
8p [color]
7) The Way Of All Flesh [Doug Moench/Jose Bea] 10p
8) The Bell Of Kuang Sai [George Henderson/Isidro
Mones] 8p from the story by ?
Notes: Decent issue with the
humorous ‘Lycanklutz’ having the best story & art. Isidro Mones’ art was credited to Munes for
his first dozen or so appearances. The
Henderson/Mones’ adaptation is quite good as well. Bill DuBay is finally listed as editor
{previously his credit had been managing editor}.
57. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Nov. 1973)
1) Werewolf! The Exciting Game
Of Detective Skill! [Bill DuBay] 2p
[frontis & on inside back
cover]
2) Creepy’s Catacombs: Bruce
Bezaire Profile/The Editor’s Box/Fanzine Reviews: Barney’s
Comix/Rocket’s
Blast/Etcetera [Bill DuBay & Chuck McNaughton?/Rich Buckler] 1p
[text articles]
3) The Destructive Image [Don
McGregor/Ramon Torrents] 11p
4) The Hope Of The Future [Doug
Moench/Jaime Brocal] 8p
5) The Bloodlock Museum [Jack
Butterworth/Martin Salvador] 5p
6) The Low Spark Of High Heeled
Noise! [Doug Moench/Richard Corben] 8p
[color]
7) The Red Badge Of Terror [Doug Moench/Jose Bea] 7p
8) Sense Of Violence [Doug Moench/Isidro Mones] 8p
Notes: Buckler’s artwork on the
feature’s page is from the story ‘Snow’which wouldn’t appear until 1975. The sample panel that we see is clearly inked
by Buckler as well, although the actual story has inking by Wally Wood. Brocal’s art is reproduced from his pencils
and it’s very classy looking. Moench
& Corben go for another humorous horror story but come up a bit short. None of the stories really jump out at you
but all are good, solid tales. A Brad
Bird (the future movie director?) sends in a letter.
58. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Dec. 1973)
1) The Old School [Steve
Skeates/Vicente Alcazar & Bill DuBay] 2p
[frontis & on inside back
cover]
2) Creepy’s Catacombs: Manuel
Sanjulian Profile/Preview: 3 New Warren Series/Fanzine
Reviews: Imagination/Fright &
Fantasy/Wonderworld [Bill DuBay & Chuck McNaughton?/Manuel Sanjulian]
1p [text articles]
3) Change…Into Something
Comfortable [Doug Moench/Richard Corben] 8p
4) An Excuse For Violence [Don
McGregor/Adolpho Abellan] 10p
5) Shriek Well Before Dying! [W.
Eaton/Jose Bea] 8p
6) Soul And Shadow [Gardner
Fox/Reed Crandall] 10p
7) The Waking Nightmare! [Don McGregor/Isidro Mones]
12p
8) Two Vampirella’s Stun 5,500 At 1973 Comic Art
Convention [Gerry Boudreau] 1p [text
article w/photos]
Notes: Future comic writer/artist
Fred Hembeck & current Warren writer Greg Potter send in letters. Moench & Corben deliver a great Halloween
tale! The Fox/Crandall fantasy is quite
nice. The Vampirella text page featured
stripper Angelique Trouvere, who did quite of lot of costume work for 1970s era
conventions and 14 year old (!) Heidi Saha, daughter of fantasy editor Arthur
Saha, in Vampirella costumes! Both
ladies looked quite nice although Vampi’s skimpy costume on a very young girl
is rather disturbing. The Saha writeup
was the beginning of a rather bizarre publishing venture by Warren Publications
in which James Warren published a B&W photo fan magazine and a life-size
wall poster of the teen-aged Heidi Saha dressed in quite revealing
costumes. Saha’s cover & poster shot
featured her dressed as Sheena of the Jungle.
One wonders whether the target audience for such a product might have
been the dirty old men brigade.
59. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Jan. 1974)
1) A Few Words And Pictures About Our Brand New
Comic Magazine [Bill DuBay/Will Eisner
& Bill DuBay] 2p
[color text article, frontis & on inside back cover]
2) Destiny’s Witch [John
Jacobson/Ramon Torrents] 12p
3) A Dark And Violent Place [Don
McGregor/Adolfo Abellan] 14p
4) Spare That Tree! [Jack
Butterworth/Martin Salvador] 7p
5) Bless Us, Father… [Bill
DuBay/Richard Corben] 7p [color]
6) Curiosity Killed The Cat
[Doug Moench/Paul Neary] 8p
7) Not A Creature Was Stirring
[Don McGregor/Tom Sutton] 13p
8) Creepy’s Catacombs: W. R. Mohalley
Profile/Warren Magazines Questionnaire [Bill DuBay]
1p [text articles w/photo]
Notes: Price increase to $1.00. The killer Santa cover began something of a
tradition for Warren, which ran several of these as covers for their Christmas
specials over the years. I suspect that
the controversial batch of killer Santa Claus movies that provoked protest
lines in the early 1980s were directly inspired by these Warren covers. The new magazine mentioned on the frontis is
The Spirit. It’s also advertised on the
back cover. W. R. Mohalley was Warren’s
head of production and his appearance on the features page marked the first
time the background staffers were profiled. The best story & art belong to
Bill DuBay & Richard Corben’s inspired Christmas tale of a lonely police
officer and an crazy Santa Claus killer (well, what did you expect?). It was top notch, even though the
reproduction caused the color pages to appear quite muddy. But even that worked to the story’s
advantage, making the grim, dingy city seem even more ugly. The parallel storyline, with half of each
page (separated cheerfully by mistletoe & candy canes!) telling the
separate tales of the cop & the kook until they combine tragically (?) in
the finale, clearly inspired many future comic writers, including Alan
Moore. The rest of the issue is pretty
good too, with solid stories from everyone and another excellent one from Don
McGregor & Tom Sutton. ‘Not A
Creature Was Stirring’ is a great story with top notch art. It was also the third and last story to
feature police detective Dave Turner.
60. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Feb. 1974)
1) The Exorcist [Bill DuBay]
1p [frontis]
2) Creepy’s Catacombs: Ramon
Torrents Profile/You’re Paying More For Warren Magazines This
Month. We Think You Ought To Know Why/Fanzine
Reviews: Dark
Fantasy/Quintessence/CPL [Bill DuBay & Ramon
Torrents/Ramon Torrents] 2p [text
articles w/photo]
3) Slaughter House [Rich
Margopoulos/Adolfo Abellan] 16p
4) A Most Precious Secret [Rich
Margopoulos/Jose Gual] 12p
5) The Hero Within [Steve
Skeates/Richard Corben] 8p [color]
6) Monsieur Fortran’s Hoax!
[John Jacobson/Martin Salvador] 6p
7) The Other Side Of Hell! [Bill DuBay/Gonzalo Mayo]
8p
8) Presenting The 1973 Warren Awards [Bill DuBay]
2p [text article]
Notes: The $1.00 price is made
permanent. A rather disappointing issue,
with only the Skeates/Corben stories being particularly memorable. Gonzalo Mayo makes his Warren debut. His artwork was quite beautiful, although
often overwrought. The 1973 Warren
Awards go to Manuel Sanjulian for best cover, Esteban Maroto for best art on ‘A
Scream In The Forest’, Bill DuBay for best story with ‘Freedom’s Just Another
Word’, best writer/artist to Richard Corben for ‘Lycanklutz’, best all around
artist to Ramon Torrents, best all around writer to Steve Skeates, and special
awards for excellence to Enrich Torres and Richard Corben.
61. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Apr. 1974)
1) Child Of Hell [Bill DuBay]
1p [frontis]
2) Creepy’s Catacombs: Isidro
Mones Profile/The Return Of Archie Goodwin/Fanzine Reviews:
Sword And
Fantasy/Funnyworld/European Cartoonist [Bill DuBay, Archie Goodwin &
Chuck McNaughton?] 1p [text articles w/photo]
3) A Stranger In Eternity [T. Casey Brennan/Adolfo
Abellan] 9p
4) Advent Of The Scrap-Heap! [Rich Margopoulos/Jose
Gual] 10p
5) The Ghouls! [Carl Wessler/Martin Salvador] 6p
6) Terror Tomb [Richard Corben] 8p [color]
7) The Blood-Colored Motorbike [Jose Bea] 8p
8) Twisted Medicine [Steve Skeates/Leo Summers] 7p
9) Encore Ghastly [Tom Sutton] 6p
Notes: Archie Goodwin, fresh from
his landmark DC editorial turns on Detective Comics & various war comics,
returns as editor for a short-lived stint.
‘A Stranger In Eternity’ is a sequel to ‘A Stranger In Hell’ from Eerie
#38. Richard Corben’s latest attempt at
a humorous horror story is considerably better than his last. The highlight of the issue is the
controversial ‘Twisted Medicine’ from Skeates & Summers (in his Warren
debut). Apparently readers disliked the
notion of using a maimed Vietnam vet as a cornerstone to a gory fantasy
tale. Tom Sutton turned in some of his
best work on ‘Encore Ghastly’, a sort of valentine to EC artist Graham
‘Ghastly’ Ingels.
62. cover: Ken Kelly (May 1974)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction
[Archie Goodwin/Berni Wrightson] 1p
[frontis]
2) Creepy’s Catacombs: Martin
Salvador Profile/Alcazar, Corben, Mayo, Mones, Severin,
Summers And
Wrightson!/Fanzine Reviews: Le Beaver/Exotic Fantasy/The Comic
Crusader [Archie Goodwin
& Chuck McNaughton?] 1p [text
articles w/photo]
3) The Black Cat [Berni
Wrightson] 12p from the story by Edgar
Allan Poe
4) Buffaloed [Larry Herndon/John
Severin] 8p
5) Firetrap [Jack
Butterworth/Vicente Alcazar] 8p
6) Judas [Rich
Margopoulos/Richard Corben] 8p [color]
7) Survivor Or Savior! [Steve Skeates/Gonzalo Mayo]
7p
8) The Maze [Steve Skeates/Leo Summers] 8p
9) The Demon Within! [Steve Skeates/Isidro Mones] 7p
Notes: Behind a gory Ken Kelly
cover {depicting the hatcheted head of the gal from ‘The Black Cat’} were clear
signs that Archie Goodwin was back in control.
Strong stories {with the exception of the rather weak ‘Judas’}, the
return of John Severin from the Goodwin era, and the arrival of Berni
Wrightson, fresh from his fabled run on DC’s Swamp Thing, make up an excellent
issue. Hard to complain about anything,
really. Just a fine fine issue. Sign of trouble ahead—Bill DuBay is listed as
senior editor, over Goodwin.
63. cover: Ken Kelly (July 1974)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction
[Archie Goodwin/Berni Wrightson] 1p
[frontis]
2) Creepy’s Catacombs: Vicente
Alcazar Profile/What Do They Have In Common?/1974 New
York Comic Art Convention Ad
[Archie Goodwin/Vicente Alcazar & Berni Wrightson]
1p [text articles]
3) Jenifer [Bruce Jones/Berni Wrightson] 10p
4) A Touch Of Terror [Rich Margopoulos/Adolfo
Abellan] 12p
5) …A Ghost Of A Chance [T. Casey Brennan/Vicente
Alcazar] 6p
6) Demon In The Cockpit [Rich Margopoulos/Richard
Corben] 8p [color]
7) Fishbait [Larry Herndon/Leo Summers] 9p
8) The Clones! [Martin Pasko/Jose Gual] 9p
Notes: A study in contrasts! ‘Jenifer’ is one of the undeniable classics
of this period, with a great Bruce Jones story and top drawer Wrightson
art. Yet it’s stuck behind a sub-par Kelly
cover, with, at best, fair to downright poor stories surrounding it {please
note that the art is generally pretty good in all of these stories}. In fact, ‘The Clones’ ranks as one of the
worst stories Warren would ever publish.
To be fair, the Alcazar and Corben stories weren’t too bad, although the
color on ‘Demon In The Cockpit’ seemed to be all of a rather ghastly yellow
hue.
64. cover: Larry Todd & Vaughn Bode (Aug.
1974)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction
[Archie Goodwin/Berni Wrightson] 1p
[frontis]
2) Creepy’s Catacombs: Fernando Fernandez
Profile/The Face That Launched An Issue Of
Creepy!/1974 New York Comic
Art Convention Ad [Fernando Fernandez & Archie
Goodwin/Fernando Fernandez]
1p [text articles w/photo]
3) Forgotten Flesh [Doug
Moench/Vicente Alcazar] 8p
4) Mates [Doug Moench/Esteban
Maroto] 8p [color]
5) High Time [Steve Skeates/Paul
Neary] 7p
6) Only Losers Win! [Rich Margopoulos/Howard
Chaykin] 8p
7) One Autumn At Arkham [Tom Sutton] 8p
8) To Sleepy Hollow…Returned [Jeff Rovin/Leo
Summers] 8p
9) Hard John Apple: An Angel Shy Of Hell! [Jim
Stenstrum/Richard Corben] 8p [color]
Notes: The first of Warren’s themed
specials—this one centered around the Todd/Bode cover, which had been done two
years prior. Each of the stories (with
one exception) had a character who ended up looking like the cover
painting. The exception was ‘Forgotten
Flesh’, which was substituted at the last minute when the Archie Goodwin/Jim
Starlin story, ‘Avenger!’, missed its deadline.
That story wouldn’t see print until Eerie #128, 8 years later! This is Goodwin’s last issue as editor, as he
leaves for Marvel, after alleged tension between him and Bill DuBay. The best stories are ‘An Angel Shy Of Hell!’
and ‘One Autumn At Arkham’, both in story & art. However, all the stories are good, not a
clinker in the bunch. Hard John Apple
would return in a series for Eerie, beginning in #83 (May 1977). Goodwin writes a lengthy reply on the
letters’ page to Micheal Oliveri’s complaint about Warren’s increasing reliance
on gore in general and on the stories ‘Twisted Medicine’ & ‘Bless Us,
Father…’ in particular. Price increase
to $1.25 and page increase to 80 pages.
65. cover: Ken Kelly/back cover: Albert
Michini (Sept. 1974)
1) The Land Of Bone [Buddy
Saunders/Esteban Maroto] 8p reprinted
from Creepy #47 (Sept.
1972)
2) Star-Slaughter [Rich
Margopoulos/Ramon Torrents] 8p
reprinted from Creepy #51 (Mar.
1973)
3) The Men Who Called Him
Monster [Don McGregor/Luis Garcia] 14p
reprinted from Creepy
#43 (Jan. 1972)
4) Tell-Tale Heart [Archie
Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 8p [color] reprinted from Creepy #3 (June
1965)
5) The Quaking Horror [Gardner
Fox/Rafael Auraleon] 6p reprinted from
Creepy #42 (Nov.
1971)
6) Bed Of Roses [Doug
Moench/Felix Mas] 9p reprinted from
Creepy #51 (Mar. 1973)
7) The Accursed Flower [Jose
Bea] 10p reprinted from Creepy #49
(Nov. 1972)
8) A Chronicle! [Steve
Skeates/Jorge B. Galvez] 4p reprinted
from Creepy #42 (Nov. 1971)
9) The Third Night Of Mourning
[Jim Stenstrum/Jaime Brocal] 12p
reprinted from Creepy #49
(Nov. 1972)
Notes: Size increase to 96
pages. Editor: Bill DuBay. The 1974 Creepy Annual.
66. cover: Ken Kelly (Nov. 1974)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Berni Wrightson] 1p
[frontis]
2) Creepy’s Catacombs: Gonazlo
Mayo Profile/In Defense Of A Name!/The Creative Man—Ken
Kelly: Doodling Cover
Artist! [Bill DuBay/Gonzalo Mayo & Ken Kelly] 1p [text
Articles w/photo]
3) Desecration [Doug Moench/Jose Ortiz] 10p
4) Portrait Of Death [Budd Lewis/Vicente Alcazar] 8p
5) Solitude! [Archie Goodwin/Martin Salvador] 10p
6) Pinball Wizard! [Doug Moench/Richard Corben] 7p
7) Relatively Axe-Cidental [Greg Potter/Adolfo
Abellan] 12p
8) Nightmare! [Gerry Boudreau & Isidro
Mones/Isidro Mones] 8p
Notes: $1.00 cover price, with 72
pages. Kelly’s clumsy cover shows an
executioner chopping off a head {with an axe movement that would have split the
guy’s head in half, not chopped off his head}, an image for which Kelly forgets
to paint the rest of the victim’s body!
The cover art & the interior story from Potter & Abellan closely
resembles {even down to the page count} Jim Stenstrum & Jaime Brocal’s much
better story ‘The Third Night Of Mourning’ from Creepy #49, which had just been
reprinted the previous issue. Due to
scheduling problems Archie Goodwin hadn’t had a story of his own appear during
his short run as editor. The first of
them shows up now and it’s a beaut of a Western werewolf story! One of Martin Salvador’s best art efforts as
well. ‘Pinball Wizard’ by Moench &
Corben is also quite good. Jose Ortiz
makes his Warren debut.
67. cover: Ken Kelly (Dec. 1974)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Berni Wrightson] 1p
[frontis]
2) Creepy’s Catacombs: Once Upon
A Time At Warren…/Controversy In The Comics/The
Creative Man—Gerry Boudreau:
Portrait Artist? [Bill DuBay/Gerry Boudeau] 1p
[text
articles]
3) Excerpts From The Year Five! [Budd Lewis/Jose
Ortiz] 10p
4) The Haunted Abbey [Budd Lewis/Vicente Alcazar]
10p
5) The Happy Undertaker [Carl Wessler/Martin
Salvador] 7p
6) Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven [Richard Corben]
8p [color] from the poem by Edgar Allan
Poe
7) Holy War [Budd Lewis/Adolfo Abellan] 11p
8) Oil Of Dog! [Jack Butterworth/Isidro Mones]
8p from the story by Ambrose Bierce
Notes: More scheduling
problems. The Ken Kelly cover was
supposed to illustrate the interior color section story ‘Bowser’ by Jan Strnad
& Richard Corben. However, that
story was skipped {it eventually appeared in Vampirella} in favor of Corben’s solo
adaptation of E. A. Poe’s ‘The Raven’.
Ironically, the feature page profiled the production staff, including
Sherry Berne, future editor Louise Jones (nee Simonson), Michele Brand &
Bill Mohalley. For all the mixups
however, this is a very good issue. Budd
Lewis shows off his writing chops with an excellent ‘Excerpts From The Year
Five!’ as well as ‘The Haunted Abbey’.
His ‘Holy War’ is an uncredited adaptation of the song ‘One Tin
Soldier’. Corben’s adaptation of ‘The
Raven’ is gorgeous, with truly beautiful artwork. However, the best work here is Jack
Butterworth & Isidro Mones’ adaptation of Ambrose Bierce’s sly masterpiece
‘Oil Of Dog’. This was my first encounter
with that gleefully savage story of abortion, family ties and
salesmanship. I looked everywhere to
find the original, but it took me years in that pre-internet day. Much to my satisfaction, the original story
and the Butterworth/Mones’ adaptation are pure horrific black humor, watered
down nary a bit! This adaptation’s never
been reprinted and that’s a damn shame!
68. cover: Ken Kelly/back cover: Manuel
Sanjulian (Jan. 1975)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Berni Wrightson] 1p
[frontis]
2) Creepy’s Catacombs: Berni
Wrightson Profile/Accept No Substitutes! [Bill DuBay] 1p [text
articles w/photo]
3) The Stars My Salvation [Doug Moench/John Severin]
11p
4) Christmas Eve Can Kill You [Gerry
Boudreau/Vicente Alcazar] 8p
5) Reflections In A Golden Spike [Gerry
Boudreau/Martin Salvador] 8p
6) Anti-Christmas [Gerry Boudreau/Richard Corben]
8p [color]
7) A Gentle Takeover [Budd Lewis/Adolfo Abellan] 8p
8) Christmas Visit [Budd Lewis/Isidro Mones] 8p
9) The Christmas Gnome Of Timothy Brayle! [Budd
Lewis/Leopold Sanchez] 8p
Notes: One of Creepy’s nastier
covers, with a howling Santa and his elves placing chopped off parts of what
looks to be a child into Christmas stockings.
Lots of intestines. The back
cover wasn’t much cheerier—a very long nail is stuck through a bloke’s neck—the
sharp end covered in blood. This was the
first totally Christmas themed special.
Price was $1.25 for 80 pages. The
Wrightson art on the frontis is reprinted from an earlier ad for the New York
Comicon. Perhaps reflecting on the
imminent collapse of Skywald, caused by Marvel’s flooding of the market with
horror B&W magazines, a tactic which was also hurting Warren, this month’s
editorial pleads with readers to stay the course and keep buying Warren
magazines. The non-holiday Moench/Severin story was a last minute substitute
for the DuBay/Ortiz Christmas tale ‘Once Upon A Miracle’, which missed the
deadline for this issue. That story
eventually appeared in Creepy #77. The
trouble with a Christmas themed issue was that the stories tended to cancel
each other out. Even if they were good, and
most of these are, the repetition of the holiday theme blunted the horror of
the situations. Best story & art go
to Boudreau & Corben’s ‘Anti-Christmas’ with ‘Reflections In A Golden
Spike’ also being quite a good story. More fine art was provided by Vicente
Alcazar and Isidro Mones.
69. cover: Ken Kelly (Feb. 1975)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Berni Wrightson] 1p
[frontis]
2) Everything You Always Wanted
To Know…About The Comics!: The Story [Bill Dubay] 1p
[text article]
3) The Pit And The Pendulum
[Rich Margopoulos/Jose Ortiz] 10p from
the story by Edgar Allan
Poe
4) Premature Burial [Rich
Margopoulos/Vicente Alcazar] 8p from
the story by Edgar Allan Poe
5) The Fall Of The House Of
Usher [Rich Margopoulos/Martin Salvador] 8p
from the story by
Edgar Allan Poe
6) The Oval Portrait [Rich
Margopoulos/Richard Corben] 8p from the
story by Edgar Allan Poe
7) Ms. Found In A Bottle! [Rich
Margopoulos/Leo Summers] 10p from the
story by Edgar Allan
Poe
8) Facts In The Case Of M.
Valdemar [Rich Margopoulos/Isidro Mones] 8p
from the story by
Edgar Allan Poe
Notes: Back to a $1.00 price and 72
page length. Strnad writes in to wonder what happened to his ‘Bowser’ story for
#67. The reply states that the printer
confused the two different color sections—not hard, I suppose, as both were by
Corben. This was a special Edgar Allan
Poe issue. Since Al Hewetson at Skywald
had mentioned several times that Skywald planned to do a EA Poe magazine,
perhaps this was Warren’s attempt at heading them off, as they did with Eerie
Publications by rush publishing the Eerie ashcan edition in 1965. Whatever, this was a pretty good issue, with
interesting adaptations and great art.
As noted in the reply to Strnad’s letter, Corben’s story ‘The Raven’,
that mistakedly appeared in #67, was originally intended as a color section for
this issue. As it turned out, no color
section appeared. Best art is from Richard
Corben & Leo Summers, with Corben showing a quite subtle blend of airbrush and
pen & ink work that really helped the storyline. All the adaptations are by Margopoulos and he
does a fine job. As a whole, this
special worked much better than the Christmas special. The usual feature page is dropped for a
series detailing how a Warren magazine is put together.
70. cover: Ken Kelly (Apr. 1975)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Berni Wrightson] 1p
[frontis]
2) Everything You Always Wanted
To Know…About The Comics!: Lettering [Bill DuBay] 1p
[text article]
3) The Murders In The Rue Morgue
[Rich Margopoulos/Jose Ortiz] 12p from
the story by Edgar
Allan Poe
4) Man Of The Crowd [Rich
Margopoulos/Luis Bermejo] 8p from the
story by Edgar Allan Poe
6) The Cask Of Amontillado!
[Rich Margopoulos/Martin Salvador] 8p from the story by Edgar
Allan Poe
7) Shadow [Rich
Margopoulos/Richard Corben] 8p from the
story by Edgar Allan Poe
8) A Descent Into The Maelstrom!
[Rich Margopoulos/Adolfo Abellan] 10p
from the story by
Edgar Allan Poe
9) Berenice [Rich Margopoulos/Isidro
Mones] 8p from the story by Edgar Allan
Poe
Notes: Another remarkably gory
cover, with the orangatang from “Murders In The Rue Morgue’ slashing a very
deep cut across the largely naked bosom of a young lady. The second and last of the Poe specials
although leftover Poe adaptations would appear over the next year. Very nice artwork by Wrightson for the
frontis. This issue is even more
impressive than the previous one.
Sterling adaptations by Margopoulos, particularly on the lesser known Poe
stories ‘Man Of The Crowd’, ‘Shadow’ and ‘Berenice’ with great art jobs from
all concerned. Bemejo’s Warren debut
desplays gorgeous, delicate penwork.
Just a fine, fine job from all concerned.
71. cover: Ken Kelly (May 1975)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Berni Wrightson] 1p
[frontis]
2) Room For One More [Doug
Moench/Luis Bermejo] 11p
3) But When She Was Bad [Gerry
Boudreau/Luis Bermejo] 10p
4) His Name Was John! [Budd
Lewis/Luis Bermejo] 12p
5) The Song Of Alan Bane [Gerry
Boudreau/Luis Bermejo] 12p [poem]
6) The Minotaur [Rich
Margopoulos/Luis Bermejo] 10p from the
story by Nathaniel Hawthorne
7) Presenting the 1974 Warren
Awards [Bill DuBay] 2p [text article]
Notes: Another excellent themed
issue! This time the spotlight was on
the artist Luis Bermejo and he delivers in all respects. Beautifully rendered artwork enhancing each
story. The best was probably ‘The Song
Of Alan Bane’ or ‘The Minotaur’ but everything here is good. This year’s Warren Awards went to Manuel
Sanjulian for best covers, Jose Gonzalez for best art on ‘Sultana’s Revenge’
{the voters must have been visited by that shrieking Santa from a few issues
earlier}, Budd Lewis for best story for ‘Excerpts From The Year Five’, Berni
Wrightson for best writer/artist, Jose Ortiz for best all around artist, Budd
Lewis for best all around writer & a special award for Ken Kelly.
72. cover: Ken Kelly (July 1975)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Jose Ortiz] 1p [frontis]
2) Everything You Always Wanted To Know…About The
Comics!: The Art [Bill DuBay] 1p
[text article]
3) Vendetta [Rich Margopoulos
& Gerry Boudreau/Jose Gual] 12p
4) Malocchi! [Don McGregor/Jose
Gual] 11p
5) Like The Sky Red [Doug
Moench/Jose Gual] 9p
6) It: The Terror-Stalked Heiress! [Carl
Wessler/Jose Gual] 10p
7) The Bite [Jeff Rovin/Jose Gual] 7p
8) Labyrinth [Gerry Boudreau/Jose Gual] 6p
Notes: Another issue centered
around an artist—this time, Jose Gual.
It didn’t work as well as the previous issue simply because, while Gual
was a good artist, he just wasn’t in Bermejo’s league. Best story is the two year old
‘Malocchi!’. The dead guy called It
moves back from Eerie for his finale.
Great, tender cover of a lost looking robot by Ken Kelly.
73. cover: Ken Kelly (Aug. 1975)
1) Everything You Always Wanted
To Know…About The Comics!: Production [Bill DuBay] 1p
[text article]
2) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Berni Wrightson] 1p
3) Playpen Of A God! [Bill
DuBay/Jose Ortiz] 4p [framing story]
4) The Argo Standing By! [Budd
Lewis/Paul Neary] 10p
5) A Beast Within! [Budd
Lewis/John Severin] 12p
6) Unprovoked Attack On A Hilton
Hotel [Jim Stenstrum/Richard Corben] 8p
7) Purge! [Bruce Bezaire/Jose
Ortiz] 8p [color]
8) Last Light Of The Universe [Budd
Lewis/Esteban Maroto] 17p
Notes: Yet another special
issue—this time centered on science fiction.
Price increase to $1.25 and size increase to 80 pages. The Lewis/Maroto story is a takeoff on Edgar
Allan Poe’s ‘The Masque Of The Red Death’.
Stories are pretty much on the grim side, except for the extremely funny
and beautifully done ‘Unprovoked Attack On A Hilton Hotel’. Where Stenstrum had been for the last year, I
don’t know, but his return was much appreciated. Corben’s art was also right on target.
74. cover: montage of interior panels (Oct.
1975)
1) Vampires Fly At Dusk! [Archie
Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 6p reprinted
from Creepy #1 (Jan.
1965)
2) Curse Of The Full Moon!
[Archie Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 8p
reprinted from Creepy #4
(Aug. 1965)
3) The Cask Of Amontillado!
[Archie Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 8p from
the story by Edgar Allan
Poe, reprinted from Creepy
#6 (Dec. 1965)
4) Hot Spell! [Archie
Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 8p reprinted
from Creepy #7 (Feb. 1966)
5) The Beast On Bacon Street
[Budd Lewis/Reed Crandall] 7p
[color] art reprinted from
Eerie
#24 (Nov. 1969)
6) Hop-Frog! [Archie
Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 8p from the
story by Edgar Allan Poe, reprinted
from Creepy #11
(Oct. 1966)
7) The Squaw! [Archie Goodwin/Reed
Crandall] 8p from the story by Bram
Stoker, reprinted
from Creepy #13
(Feb. 1967)
8) Frozen Fear! [Archie
Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 6p reprinted
from Creepy #16 (Aug. 1967)
9) Keep Your Spirits Up [Bill
Parente/Reed Crandall] 7p reprinted from
Creepy #25 (Feb. 1969)
[story miscredited to Archie
Goodwin]
Notes: The 1975 Creepy Annual &
a Reed Crandall Special. Budd Lewis
wrote a new script for ‘The Beast On Bacon Street’, replacing the original Bill
Parente script entitled ‘Wrong Tennant’ from Eerie #24. Crandall’s art here is so strong and vibrant
that it’s somewhat heartbreaking to see the decline that occurred in his work
throughout the 1970s.
75. cover: Ken Kelly (Nov. 1975)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Berni Wrightson] 1p
[frontis]
2) The Escape Chronicle [Budd Lewis/Jose Ortiz] 18p
3) Phantom Of Pleasure Island [Gerry Boudreau/Alex
Toth] 8p
4) Snow [Bruce Bezaire/Rich Buckler & Wally
Wood] 7p
5) Death Expression [Jim Stenstrum/John Severin] 10p
6) Thrillkill [Jim Stenstrum/Neal Adams] 8p
Notes: Down to 64 pages for
$1.00. This is the first issue since #67
not to be a special of some sort. The
letters’ page is cut to one page. The
horror magazine wars had concluded with Skywald gone and Marvel canceling all
of its horror magazines {although they retained a place on the B&W shelves
with The Savage Sword Of Conan and a few non-horror books}. Warren had survived, but the cost was steep. The beneficial compitition with Skywald was
gone, the threat from Marvel was gone and Warren, the cutting edge of horror
comics for so long, began to slowly stagnate.
Still, much of that was in the future.
Even with cost-cutting measures clearly beginning to show up here,
remarkably, this issue was probably the best single issue Warren had published
since the heady days of 1967. Alex Toth
& Neal Adams return, along with new work from John Severin & Wally
Wood. Rich Buckler & Jose Ortiz
provided good work as well. Powerful
stories from all concerned. ‘Snow’ had
been previewed almost two years earlier on the features page with Buckler than
supplying the inks but Wood’s inking was a great addition to the story. ‘The Escape Chronicle’ was apparently quite
popular with readers as a sequel was done for it. A special essay could be written about
‘Thillkill’ all on its own. It is as
powerful and influencial in its own way as any story ever published in
comics. If DuBay’s ‘Bless Us, Father…”
was the prototype for parallel storylines in comics than ‘Thrillkill’ was the
first fully realized engine. Every
writer, every artist who’s used that particular story technique owes this
story, as well as Jim Stenstrum & Neal Adams, a debt of graditude. In one storyline, a young man sits on a
highrise roof, eating an apple while calmly picking off the people in the
streets below with a high-powered rifle while the other storyline shows a
neighborhood priest, after the fact, attempting to explain to a reporter why
the ‘nice young man’ would have done such a thing. And it’s not just the storytelling technique
that’s a triumph, the story itself is great.
Stenstrum’s script is one of the most powerful narratives in
comicdom--violent, grim, disturbing, poignant and oddly tender. It provides no clear answers or solutions but
will stay, as any great story should, in your memory for years. Dynamic and shocking art by Adams—some of the
best of his career. For years I thought
the young killer was physically modeled after writer Harlan Ellison but Adams
recently confirmed that the model was artist Paul Kirchner, at the time an
assistant of Wally Wood’s. A beautiful
story and a great issue.
76. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Jan. 1976)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Walt Simonson & Berni Wrightson] 1p [frontis]
2) Goodbye, Mr. Lincoln [Bill
DuBay/Jose Ortiz] 12p
3) Ensnared [Rich Margopoulos/Alex Toth] 7p
4) A Flash Of Lightning [Gerry Boudreau/John Severin] 9p
5) My Monster…My Dad [Jan Strnad/Martin Salvador] 8p
6) In Darkness It Shall End! [Doug Moench/Vicente
Alcazar] 9p
7) The Imp Of The Perverse! [Rich Margopoulos/Luis
Bermejo] 8p from the story by Edgar
Allan Poe
8) 1976 Warren Calendar Ad
[Manuel Sanjulian] 1p [on inside back
cover]
Notes: Although the issues were
smaller, for a time this actually seemed to increase the quality of the
stories. Sanjulian delivers a striking
cover of a colonial clad skeleton galloping on a stallion while holding a
headless female corpse. There are no
great stories in this issue but no poor ones either. The best art could be split between Alcazar
& Severin while the best stories were probably the Poe adaptation and
Boudreau’s ‘A Flash Of Lightning’. Toth
did at least three or four different splash pages for ‘Ensnared’ before he
settled on the published version. The
Poe adaptation was clearly intended for a possible third all-Poe special. There were several more of these adaptations
scattered over the next year. The first
Warren calendar consisted of reprinted covers.
77. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Feb. 1976)
1) Santa Claus’ Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Berni Wrightson] 1p
[frontis]
2) Once Upon A Miracle [Bill
DuBay/Jose Ortiz] 10p
3) Tibor Miko [Alex Toth] 6p
4) The Final Christmas Of Friar
Steel [Budd Lewis/John Severin] 8p
5) Clarice [Bruce Jones/Berni
Wrighton] 5p [poem]
6) The Believer [Budd
Lewis/Richard Corben] 8p [color]
7) First Snow, Magic Snow [Budd
Lewis/Leopold Sanchez] 6p
8) Final Gift [Bill DuBay/Paul
Neary] 8p
9) The Final Christmas [Budd
Lewis/Isidro Mones] 8p
10) Uncle Creepy’s Catacombs
[Louise Jones?] 1p [questionaire]
Notes: An all Christmas story
special. Face it, there’s nothing like
seeing Santa shotgunned in half on the roof {in living color!} to build
Christmas cheer. $1.25 price and 80
pages in length. Future comic artist
Brent Anderson sends in a letter. The
story ‘Once Upon A Miracle’ was originally intended for Creepy #68. The title for ‘Tibor Miko’ does not appear on
the actual story. It is on the
titlepage, however. The Jones/Wrightson
poem ‘Clarice’ is the most effective narrative here. It’s quite a haunting effort.
78. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Mar. 1976)
1) The Horseman [Bruce
Bezaire/Miguel Quesada] 10p
2) Unreal! [Alex Toth] 6p
3) Creeps [Archie Goodwin/John Severin & Wally
Wood] 8p
4) Lord Of Lazarus Castle [Gerry
Boudreau & Carl Wessler/Jorge Moliterni] 6p [miscredited to
Claude Moliterni]
5) The Nature Of The Beast [Budd
Lewis/Martin Salvador] 10p
6) God Of Fear [Jeff
Rovin/Vicente Alcazar] 7p
Notes: Back to 64 pages and
$1.00. The cover was a little static but
all in all, a very good issue with one great urban paranoia story by the superb
team of Goodwin/Severin/Wood. ‘Creeps’
leaves the reader feeling every bit of the urban rot the story deals with. ‘The Horseman’, one of Bezaire’s last stories
for Warren, is pretty good but the Quesada art doesn’t really do it
justice. Martin Salvador turns in one of
his best jobs for Budd Lewis’ ‘The Nature Of The Beast’.
The Louise Jones Era
79. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (May 1976)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Jose Ortiz] 1p [frontis]
2) As Ye Sow… [Bruce Jones/Luis Bermejo] 10p
3) Kui [Alex Toth] 6p
4) The Super-Abnormal Phenomena Survival Kit! [Jim
Stenstrum/John Severin] 8p
5) The Shadow Of The Axe! [Dave Sim/Russ Heath] 6p
6) Visitation At Pliny Marsh [Gerry Boudreau/Martin
Salvador] 8p
7) The Pit In The Living Room Floor! [Budd
Lewis/Joaquin Blasquez] 8p
8) Presenting The 1975 Warren Awards! [Bill DuBay]
2p [text article]
Notes: The Louise Jones’ era begins
with one of Creepy’s best single issues!
With DuBay gone, there is no actual editor listed, rather James Warren
is listed as editor-in-chief while Jones is still listed as associate
editor. In fact, Warren was nervous
about promoting Jones to the editor’s position and she challenged him to let
her do the job secretly for a time in order to convince him. She is actually functioning as the editor
here. Sanjulian turns in his best cover
for Warren Publications, depicting a lovely young blonde standing in front of a
gravestone, clutching a bloody, severed hand tightly to her bosom. All the stories are good but two of them are
easily ranked among the top twenty Warren stories. ‘The Super-Abnormal Phenomena Survival Kit!’
by Stenstrum & Severin was a very funny spoof of the sort of ads that
Warren itself, among others, ran in the back of their magazines. In fact, this spoof reportedly bothered Jim
Warren somewhat for its lampooning of those ads until someone pointed out that
readers who enjoy the story might just check out the ads a little more
closely. John Severin was the perfect
choice to illustrate this story, as he’d done hundreds of comic spoofs for the
likes of Mad, Cracked or Sick!
Stenstrum’s script is spot on and actually rather savage in raking the
often silly ads over the coals. It must
have been a very popular story for both the writer and readers as from this
point on, Stenstrum’s scripts tended to be more humorous than serious. The other great story, and my personal
favorite of all Warren stories, was ‘The Shadow Of The Axe!’. Again, the perfect artist was chosen for this
grisly tale of a late 19th century axe-murderer, his wife and their
young son. The son slowly becomes aware
that something is seriously wrong with daddy, while mom appears to be wasting
away with the same knowledge. Russ Heath
was the perfect choice for illustrating this story, rapidly establishing the
locale, characters and living conditions appropriate for the time period. In a mere six pages you got an accurate
depiction of the family, the chores, the daily life of a 19th
century farm and town and the son’s slow dawning of awareness regarding the
circumstances surrounding a serial killer’s rampage, all the while still
telling a clear story that left no doubt in the reader’s mind what was happening,
when it was happening and why. Sim, the
future Cerebus writer/artist, was then just starting out {his professional
debut was just the year before in a Skywald magazine} but you’d never know it
from the witty, clever script. This,
along with ‘Gamal And The Cockatrice’ and ‘Thrillkill’ are probably the best
three scripts that Warren ever bought.
The last three panels of the story take everything you expected from the
story and give them, not so much an O. Henry twist, but rather a subtle
tweak. Delicious and thoroughly
satisfying. The 1975 Warren Awards went
to Ken Kelly for best covers, Berni Wrightson for best art with ‘The Muck
Monster’, best writer/artist to Fernando Fernandez for ‘Good-Bye, My Love, Good-Bye!’,
best story to Jim Stenstrum for ‘Thrillkill’, best all around artist to John
Severin, best all around writer to Bruce Bezaire and special awards for
excellance to Manuel Sanjulian and Alex Toth.
80. cover: Ken Kelly (June 1976)
1) Benjamin Jones And The
Imagineers [Budd Lewis/Luis Bermejo] 6p
2) Second Genesis [Gerry
Boudreau/Esteban Maroto] 8p
3) The Fable Of Bald Sheba And
Montebank The Rogue! [Bill DuBay/Jose Bea] 6p
4) Proof Positive [Alex Toth] 8p
5) Ain’t It Just Like The Night
[Doug Moench/Martin Salvador] 8p
6) The Axe-Man Cometh [Gerry
Boudreau & Carl Wessler/Jorge B. Galvez] 5p
7) The Last Chronicle [Budd Lewis/Jose Ortiz] 8p
Notes: ‘The Last Chronicle’ was a
sequel to ‘The Escape Chronicles’ from Creepy #75, but it had none of the
impact that story did. The title for
Toth’s ‘Proof Positive’ is not located on the story itself but is listed on the
titlepage. It also has the best story
& art in the issue. It was also
printed sideways. A good cover by Ken
Kelly graces this issue but storywise this is somewhat of a disappointment
after the previous issue. ‘Second
Genesis’ wastes Maroto’s skills and he must have agreed as his art seemed
phoned in anyway. Bermejo’s art is nice
but the rest of the contents are rather mediocre. ‘Benjamin Jones And The Imagineers’ began a
series of unconnected stories from Warren, usually written by DuBay, with
rather Victorian sounding titles, although the contents were often not
Victorian at all.
81. cover: Ken Kelly (July 1976)
1) Warren Publishing Company
Will Pay A $500 Reward… [James Warren/Jack Davis] 1p [text
article/frontis]
2) Brannigan’s Gremlins [Bill
DuBay/Luis Bermejo] 10p
3) The Comic Books [Joe
Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
4) Wings Of Vengeance [Bill
DuBay & Esteban Maroto/Esteban Maroto] 8p
5) The War! [Roger McKenzie/Paul
Neary] 8p
6) Close Shave [Roger
McKenzie/Martin Salvador] 6p
7) Battle Rot [Bill DuBay/John
Severin] 6p
8) Billicar And The
Momblywambles Of Glass [Steve Clement/Isidro Mones] 8p
Notes: Louise Jones is listed as
Senior Editor with Bill DuBay listed as contributing editor. Joe Brancatelli, a longtime fan writer,
begins his opinion page on the state of the comic industry. Nice artwork by Severin & Maroto in a
rather average issue. The frontis
article is Jim Warren’s response regarding the matter of counterfeit copies of
the Eerie Ashcan #1 being sold to collectors for big bucks.
82. cover: montage of interior panels (Aug.
1976)
1) Forgive Us Our Debts [Jim
Stenstrum/Esteban Maroto] 18p reprinted
from Creepy #50 (Jan.
1973)
2) The Comic Books [Joe
Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
3) A Most Private Terror [Budd
Lewis/Esteban Maroto] 12p reprinted
from Creepy #52 (Apr.
1973)
4) Deju Vu [Doug Moench/Esteban
Maroto] 8p [color, one page edited
out] reprinted from
Creepy #51 (Mar. 1973)
5) Relatives! [Bruce
Bezaire/Esteban Maroto] 6p reprinted
from Vampirella #35 (Aug. 1974)
6) A Scream In The Forest [Greg
Potter/Esteban Maroto] 12p reprinted
from Creepy #53 (May
1973)
Notes: The 1976 Creepy Annual. An Esteban Maroto special issue. $1.25 price & 72 page length. Edited for this issue only by Bill DuBay,
perhaps because this issue was done before his departure from the editor’s
chair.
83. cover: Frank Frazetta (Oct. 1976) reprinted from Creepy #15 (June 1967)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction
[Louise Jones/Berni Wrightson] 1p
[frontis]
2) The Strange, Incurable Hauntings Of Phineas Boggs
[Bill DuBay/John Severin] 9p
3) The Comic Books [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
4) Process Of Elimination [Bruce Jones/Russ Heath]
10p
5) Country Pie [Bruce Jones/Carmine Infantino &
Berni Wrightson] 6p
6) In Deep [Bruce Jones/Richard Corben] 10p [pgs 2-9 in color]
7) Harvey Was A Sharp Cookie [Bill DuBay/Jose Ortiz]
9p
8) Now You See It… [Bruce Jones/Al Williamson] 8p
9) The Last Super Hero [Cary Bates/Carmine
Infantino] 7p
Notes: Price increase to #1.50 and
size increase to 80 pages. A Richard
Corben cover was done to accompany his story ‘In Deep’ but not used, possibly
due to deadline problems. It surfaced as
the cover to #101 in 1978. The apparent
last minute substitution of Frazetta’s cover started a trend of reusing his
classic covers over the next several years, presumably to pump up sales at the
newsstand. Some fans liked this but a
very vocal minority did not. Outside of
the old cover, this was a very good issue with strong stories from Bill DuBay
& Bruce Jones, along with great art from Severin, Infantino, Heath,
Wrightson, Corben, Ortiz & Williamson.
Infantino makes his first comics appearances outside the DC books since
his firing from his publisher’s position there in January 1976. Best story & art here was probably the
Jones/Heath tour de force of ‘Process Of Elimination’ but Jones also scored with
the terrifying ‘In Deep’, graced with beautiful Corben art as well as the fun
‘Now You See It…’, featuring Al Williamson’s welcome return to Warren with a
story originally intended for Marvel’s cancelled Unknown Worlds Of Science
Fiction. DuBay’s funny ‘Phineas Boggs’
was jauntily illustrated by John Severin, and Jose Ortiz’s work on ‘Harvey Was A Sharp Cookie’ was quite good,
although his sharply styled artwork was a bit of a contrast to all the American
artists. The Infantino/Wrightson artwork
on ‘Country Pie’ was a good combination.
84. cover: Ken Kelly (Nov. 1976)
1) Hitter’s Wind! [Roger McKenzie/Carmine Infantino
& Walt Simonson] 8p
2) The Comic Books: Tarzan’s Travails [Joe
Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
3) The Mummy’s Victory [Roger McKenzie/Richard
Corben] 5p
4) Till Hell Freezes Over! [Steve Englehart/Carmine
Infantino & Dick Giordano] 11p
5) Home Stretch [Roger McKenzie/Leopold Sanchez] 8p
6) Menace, Anyone…? [David Michelinie/Carmine
Infantino & Al Milgrom] 9p
7) Relic [Roger McKenzie/Carmine Infantino &
John Severin] 8p
Notes: An all-sports special,
apparently inspired by DC’s Strange Sports Stories title. Gene Day sends in a letter rooting for his
good buddy Dave Sim’s stories. Infantino
pencils four out of six stories in this issue.
In fact, there have been suggestions that the Spanish artists’
domination of Warren magazines began to wane as the direct result of
Infantino’s speed in completing artwork.
Clearly Roger McKenzie was the go to guy for this issue’s stories. This is a good issue, but not great.
85. cover: Ken Kelly (Jan. 1977)
1) 1977 Warren Calendar Ad
[Enrich Torres] 1p [frontis]
2) Like Icarus, Quickly Falling
[Roger McKenzie/Leopold Sanchez] 8p
3) The Comics Books: One Down…
[Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
4) Hide And Go Mad [Budd Lewis/Carmine
Infantino & Walt Simonson] 6p
5) The Thing In The Well [Roger
McKenzie/Leopoldo Duranona] 8p
6) Orem Ain’t Got No Head
Cheese! [Bill DuBay/Jose Ortiz] 9p
7) The Terrible Turnip Of Turpin
County [Roger McKenzie/Martin Salvador] 9p
8) A Way In The Woods [Bruce
Jones/Luis Bermejo] 10p
Notes: Billed on the cover as a
monster special, although from the stories you’d be hardpressed to notice it
since about half the monsters were the human, psycho kind. I remember back in 1976 when my mom picked up
this issue, flipped to ‘Orem Ain’t Go No Head Cheese’, started to read it and
then asked me with some concern (and a certain amount of fear, I suspect) if I
honestly thought reading a story about eating human brains was what I called
entertainment. Believe me, there’s just
no good way to go with a question like that.
The Orem story may be the first in an apparent effort by Warren, headed
by Bill DuBay in particular, to write extreme gross-out horror stories. The 1977 calendar, like the 1976 one, were
reprints of covers. Only this time, the
covers were all of and from Vampirella.
86. cover: Ken Kelly (Feb. 1977)
1) A Noggin At Mile End [Budd
Lewis/Leopold Sanchez] 10p
2) The Comic Books: Less Is More
[Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
3) Dick Swift And His Electric Power Ring! [Bill
DuBay/Carmine Infantino & Berni Wrightson]
9p
4) The Greatest Christmas Of All
[Roger McKenzie/Leopoldo Duranona] 8p
5) Mother Knows Best [Bruce
Jones/Al Williamson] 8p
6) Bloodstone Christmas [Gerry
Boudreau/Carmine Infantino & John Severin] 8p
7) Season’s Grievings [Bruce
Jones/Gonzalo Mayo] 8p
8) A Gift For Momma [Roger
McKenzie/Luis Bermejo] 8p
Notes: Future writer/artist Fred
Hembeck sends in a letter. The third
Christmas special is priced at $1.50 & is 80 pages in length. Kelly’s cover is noticeably less grisly than
in previous years. Although there is no
full color section, both ‘Mother Knows Best’ and ‘Bloodstone Christmas’ are
colored in red. Best story here is the
delightful ‘Dick Swift And His Electric Power Ring!’ from Bill DuBay while best
art is from Al Williamson on ‘Mother Knows Best’. Gonzalo Mayo displays a slightly different,
less elaborate, art style on his story which also seems to enhance his
storytelling abilities. All the stories
are decent and the art is quite nice. A
superior issue.
87. cover: montage of interior panels [from
Berni Wrightson] (Mar. 1977)
1) Four Classic Martians [Berni
Wrightson] 1p
2) A Warped Tale [Al Sirois/Gray
Morrow] 8p
3) A Martian Saga [Nicola
Cuti/Berni Wrightson] 6p [poem]
4) Those ‘Orrible Passions Of
’78 [Bill DuBay/Carmine Infantino & Dick Giordano] 8p
5) The Last [Roger McKenzie/John
Severin] 8p
6) They Come Out At Night [Bruce
Jones/Martin Salvador] 8p
7) Warmonger Of Mars [Wally
Wood/Ralph Reese] 7p
Notes: $1.25 & 72 pages. Nicola Cuti guest edits this Science Fiction
special issue. ‘Warmonger Of Mars’ had
been done several years previously and was probably intended for an underground
comix. That this was an older story can
be seen by the re-appearance of Reese’s early detailed rendering style—which by
this time had been replaced by a pallid version seemingly styled after Dick
Giordano {as may be obvious, I much prefer his earlier style., which seemed
influenced in equal parts by Gil Kane & Wally Wood}. Gray Morrow hadn’t been in a Warren magazine
since 1967 yet his return went oddily unheralded. Wrightson’s art is quite beautiful, however
the best story & art go to the DuBay/Infantino/Giordano story ‘Those
‘Orrible Passions Of ‘78’, which tied in with the then-recent Viking I & II
spacecrafts’ visit to Mars and the strange, human-looking face formed by hills
and shadows that was photographed on the Martian surface. This was, perhaps, the first use of that odd
formation in a fiction tale.
88. cover: Steve Hickman (May 1977)
1) Castles Made Of Sand [Gerry
Boudreau/Jose Ortiz] 8p
2) The Comic Books [Joe
Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
3) Eye For Eye, Fang For Fang [Doug Moench/Carmine
Infantino & Ernie Chan] 8p
4) Do You Believe In Sinsigs! [Gerry Boudreau/Luis
Bermejo] 8p
5) Temple Of Seilos [Bruce Jones/Leopold Sanchez]
10p
6) Iron Man [Bill DuBay/Esteban Maroto] 6p
7) Second Childhood [Bruce Jones/Ramon Torrents] 8p
Notes: Hickman’s only cover for
Warren is quite lovely. Cover priced at
$1.50. Ken Meyer, Jr. sends in a
letter. A fairly average issue for this
period. Good but not great.
89. cover: Frank Frazetta (June 1977) reprinted from Blazing Combat #1 (Oct.
1965)
1) Blood Brothers [Bruce Jones/Jose
Ortiz] 10p
2) The Comic Books [Joe
Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
3) The Windmill [Lou
Rossin/Leopoldo Duranona] 5p
4) Angel Of Jaipur [Bill
DuBay/John Severin] 6p
5) The Hungry Dragon [Nicola
Cuti/Carmine Infantino & Alex Nino] 8p
6) The Door-Gunner [Larry Hama
& Cary Bates/Leopold Sanchez] 8p
7) Coggin’s Army [Roger
McKenzie/Martin Salvador] 9p
Notes: Warren begins its irritating
use of reprinted covers on a regular basic.
Except on Vampirella, almost all the reprinted covers were Frazetta’s. Although fans of the Warren books may dispute
it, this marks the first real signs of the long decline & fall of the
Warren books. This was an all-war
stories special. Still $1.50 but the
page count drops to 64 pages. Best story
& art here is the nifty ‘Angel Of Jaipur’ by DuBay & Severin.
90. cover: Enrich Torres (July 1977)
1) Warrior On The Edge Of
Forever [Bill DuBay/Jose Ortiz] 9p
2) The Comic Books [Joe
Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
3) The Wash Out [Bruce
Jones/Leopoldo Duranona] 8p
4) The Search [Roger
McKenzie/Carmine Infantino & Gonzalo Mayo] 8p
5) Please…Save The Children
[Bill DuBay/Martin Salvador] 10p
6) The Sacrifice [Jose
Toutain/Rafael Auraleon] 4p
7) Dollie [Roger
McKenzie/Leopold Sanchez] 10p
Notes: The first issue not listed
as a special of some sort in quite a while.
Enrich’s cover of a young girl holding a vampire dollie while blood
dribbles down her neck is quite effective.
Back up to 72 pages. The story
‘Warrior On The Edge Of Forever’ was a leftover for the previous issue’s war
special. The story ‘Dollie’ was a
leftover from the Christmas special. The
odd pairing of Infantino & Mayo on ‘The Search’ was surprisingly good and
provided the best art for the issue.
Best story honors go to Bill DuBay for ‘Please…Save The Children’.
91. cover: Frank Frazetta (Aug. 1977) reprinted from Vampirella #11 (May 1971)
1) Nightfall [Bill DuBay/Berni
Wrightson] 8p reprinted from Eerie #60
(Sept 1974)
2) The Comic Books: The Worst
And The Dullest [Joe Brancatelli] 1p
[text article]
3) Creeps [Archie Goodwin/John
Severin & Wally Wood] 8p reprinted
from Creepy #78 (Mar.
1976)
4) Phantom Of Pleasure Island
[Gerry Boudreau/Alex Toth] 8p reprinted
from Creepy #75 (Nov.
1975)
5) Benjamin Jones And The
Imagineers [Budd Lewis/Luis Bermejo] 6p
reprinted from Creepy
#80 (June 1976)
6) Cold Cuts [Berni
Wrightson/Jeff Jones] 6p reprinted from
Vampirella #34 (June 1974)
7) Thrillkill [Jim
Stenstrum/Neal Adams] 8p reprinted from
Creepy #75 (Nov. 1975)
8) Gamal And The Cockatrice
[Bruce Bezaire/Rafael Auraleon] 12p
reprinted from Vampirella
#47 (Dec. 1975)
9) The Shadow Of The Axe! [Dave
Sim/Russ Heath] 6p reprinted from
Creepy #79 (May 1976)
Notes: The 1977 Creepy Annual. $1.50 price with 88 pages. If Warren had reserved their use of reprinted
cover to the annuals it would have made a great deal more sense. This particular issue is one of the best buys
of a Warren magazine you can make. Not a
single dud story, exceptionally fine artwork and at least six geninue classics
{‘Nightfall’, ‘Creeps’, ‘Thrillkill’, ‘Gamal And The Cockatrice’, ‘Cold Cuts’
& ‘The Shadow Of The Axe!’} appear here.
The other two stories are simply very good. Great value for your dollar (and a half)!
92. cover: Frank Frazetta (Oct. 1977) reprinted from Eerie #23 (Sept. 1969)
1) A Toast To No Man’s Memory [Len Wein/John
Severin] 8p
2) The Comic Books [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
3) Mrs. Sludge And The Pickled Octopus Raid [Bill
DuBay/Luis Bermejo] 9p
4) Instinct [Nicola Cuti/Richard Corben] 7p
5) Towards High Places [Bruce Jones/Ramon Torrents]
10p
6) The Executioner [Russ Heath & Cary Bates/Russ
Heath] 8p
7) Goddess In A Kingdom Of Trolls [Gerry
Boudreau/Esteban Maroto] 8p
8) Everybody And His Sister [Jim Stenstrum/Leopold
Sanchez] 8p [art miscredited to Jose
Sanchez]
9) The Generations Of Noah
[Roger McKenzie/Leopoldo Duranona] 9p
Notes: With this issue, at least,
an attempt was made to justify the Frazetta cover reprint, namely by ordering
up a new story, ‘Towards High Places’ {and it’s a pretty good story, too!} to
accompany it. Cover price was $1.75
(just 10 years previously it had been 35 cents!) for 96 pages. The story ‘Instinct’ was an inventory story
done in 1970. Since 1975 Warren had been
making an effort to insure that the late summer issue of new stories would be a
special one. This one was no
exceptation. Very good stories appeared
from the teams of Wein/Severin, Jones/Torrents, Bates/Heath and Boudreau/Maroto
but all the stories were of generally high quality.
93. cover: Don Maitz (Nov. 1977)
1) The Replacement [Roger
McKenzie/Carmine Infantino & Dick Giordano] 10p
2) The Comic Books [Joe
Brancatelli] 2p [text article]
3) The Return Of Rah [Roger
McKenzie/Carmine Infantino & John Severin] 6p
4) The Great Black Cheese [Bill
DuBay/Carmine Infantino & Alfredo Alcala] 9p
5) Elixer [Roger
McKenzie/Leopold Sanchez] 8p
6) Running Wild [Roger
McKenzie/Carmine Infantino & Alex Nino] 9p
7) Cold Blooded Murder [Bill
Mohalley & Nicola Cuti/Leopoldo Duranona] 8p
Notes: Noted SF & Fantasy
artist Don Maitz makes his Warren debut.
This was the second all-sports special.
A third was planned for 1978 but abandoned at some point and the stories
were scattered among the three main Warren titles. Price back down to $1.50 with 72 pages. The story ‘The Return Of Rah’ was a sequel to
‘The Mummy’s Victory’ from Creepy #84.
94. cover: Don Maitz (Jan. 1978)
1) 1978 Warren Calendar Ad [Jose
Gonzalez] 1p [frontis]
2) Etran To Fulsing [Nicola
Cuti/Dick Giordano] 8p
3) The Comic Books: Superman
Versus Soccer [Joe Brancatelli] 1p
[text article]
4) Bad Tommy [Roger McKenzie
& Nicola Cuti/Martin Salvador] 9p
5) Bad Ada [Bill Pearson/Alfredo
Alcala] 8p
6) Bessie [Gerry
Boudreau/Leopoldo Duranona] 8p
7) Sacrifice [Roger
McKenzie/Luis Bermejo] 8p
8) Backwaters And Timing Circles
[Budd Lewis/Alex Nino] 9p
Notes: For the first and only time
the Warren Calendar featured new artwork from Rafael Auraleon, Luis Bermejo, Richard
Corben, Leopoldo Duranona, Jose Gonzalez, Russ Heath, Esteban Maroto, Jose
Ortiz, John Severin, Ramon Torrents, Alex Toth & Berni Wrightson. Wrightson’s calendar art was from his
upcoming Illustrated Frankenstein volume.
Corben’s would later appear as the cover to The Odd Comic World Of
Richard Corben. The Toth & Heath
contributions are particularly nice. Nicola Cuti is listed as editor for this
issue only while Jones remains senior editor.
This is an all-weird children’s special.
Maitz’s cover is quite attractive.
For some reason, at this time, the price of an issue of Creepy began to
jump all over the place, in this instance down to $1.25. Bill Pearson returns with a story for the
first time since the mid 1960s. The best
story is ‘Sacrifice’ by McKenzie/Bermejo.
When someone pointed out that ‘Backwaters And Timing Circles’ had the
same plot as Ray Bradbury’s famous ‘A Sound Of Thunder’, Warren rather lamely
explained the story was a “tribute” to Bradbury’s original.
95. cover: Don Maitz (Feb. 1978)
1) The Star Saga Of Sirius Sam
[Nicola Cuti/John Severin] 8p
2) The Laughing Man [Bruce Jones/Berni Wrightson] 6p
3) Murder On The Vine [Cary Bates/Esteban Maroto]
8p [color]
4) The Empire Of Chim-Pan-Zee [Nicola Cuti/Luis
Bermejo] 8p
5) The Comic Books: Patent Medicine Profits? [Joe
Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
6) The Oasis Inn [Bob Toomey/Jose Ortiz] 10p
7) The Old Ways [Roger McKenzie/Leopoldo Duranona]
9p
Notes: An all-apes special. Cuti is again listed as assistant editor. $1.75
price. ‘The Laughing Man’ was
Wrightson’s last illustrated story for Warren, although he did do some
incidental work for them for future issues.
It was also the best story of the lot.
‘Murder On The Vine’ was a decent Tarzan spoof, marred by dreadful
coloring.
96. cover: Kim McQuaite (Mar. 1978)
1) Predation [Bruce Jones/Rudy
Nebres] 10p
2) The Comic Books: Kiss And
Tell [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text
article]
3) Trilby And The Star Rovers
[Budd Lewis & Bill DuBay/Luis Bermejo] 6p
4) Bonga And Me [Nicola
Cuti/Esteban Maroto] 8p
5) Alien! [Bill DuBay/Martin
Salvador] 9p
6) The Green [Bruce Jones/Luis
Bermejo] 6p
7) Alien Strain [Bill DuBay/Alex
Nino] 8p
Notes: McQuaite’s cover looked as
if it had wandered over from Famous Monsters or a Star Wars style movie
magazine. With the horror boom of the
early 1970s over and Star Wars mania in full force, Warren began to lean more
and more on covers with science fiction themes.
This was the Alien Encounters special.
$1.25 cover price. The story ‘Bonga
And Me’ was originally intended for Eerie #78.
97. cover: Frank Frazetta (May 1978) reprinted from Eerie #3 (May 1966)
1) Momma Is A Vampire [Nicola Cuti/Leopoldo
Duranona] 8p
2) The Comic Books: Safe At Home? [Joe Brancatelli]
1p [text article]
3) The Wax Werewolf [Bob Toomey/Jose Ortiz] 8p
4) Black Death [Bruce Jones/Leopold Sanchez] 10p
5) Snaegl or How I Conquered The Snail That Ate
Tokyo [Nicola Cuti/Martin Salvador] 8p
6) Dragon Lady [Bill DuBay/Esteban Maroto] 8p
7) Sisters [Bill DuBay/Alex Nino] 8p
8) Presenting The 1977 Warren Awards [Louise
Jones/Frank Frazetta, Bruce Jones, Bill DuBay,
Alex Nino & Ramon
Torrents] 2p [text article]
Notes: This issue is of slightly
higher quality than usual. ‘Momma Is A
Vampire’ is the best story with Maroto’s art on ‘Dragon Lady’ being the
highpoint on the illustration front.
Duranona has some excellent pages here as well. The 1977 Warren Awards went to Frank Frazetta
for best cover on Eerie #81; best story to Bruce Jones for ‘Yellow Heat’, Russ
Heath for best art on ‘Yellow Heat’, best cover artist to Richard Corben, best
all around writer to Bruce Jones, best all around artist to Alex Nino and
special awards for excellance to Ramon Torrents as well as Bill DuBay &
Luis Bermejo for the Rook.
98. cover: Attilla Hejje (June 1978)
1) The Alien Factor [Budd
Lewis/Jose Ortiz] 8p
2) The Comic Books: Classics
Illustrated: R.I.P. [Joe Brancatelli] 1p
[text article]
3) Helen Horror Hollywood [Gerry
Boudreau/Leopoldo Duranona] 8p
4) Graveyard Shift [Bruce
Jones/Leopold Sanchez] 11p
5) Starlet, Starlet, Burning
Bright [Gerry Boudreau/Carmine Infantino & Dick Giordano] 8p [art
miscredited to Ramon
Torrents]
6) The Image Makers [Nicola Cuti/Jose Ortiz] 8p
Notes: An all-media horror special. Cover price $1.50
99. cover: Bob Larkin (July 1978)
1) An Old Game [Nicola Cuti/Pepe
Moreno] 8p
2) The Comic Books: Still More
Kiss [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text
article]
3) Ssshh! [Cary Bates/Joe
Vaultz] 8p
4) Brothers [Bill DuBay/Jose Ortiz]
10p
5) A Slight Case Of Overkill
[Bill DuBay/Leopold Sanchez] 8p
6) There Shall Come A Great
Darkness [Bob Toomey/Alfredo Alcala] 8p
7) One Hell Of A War [Roger
McKenzie/Leopoldo Duranona] 9p
Notes: Disaster special. Cover price $1.25. ‘A Slight Case Of Overkill’ was an overflow
story from Creepy’s all-ape issue.
Rather average issue with the sole bright spot being the Warren debut of
Pepe Moreno, a fine Spanish artist.
100.
cover: Bob Larkin (Aug. 1978)
1) The Pit At The Center Of The
Earth! [Gerry Boudreau/Pablo Marcos] 8p
2) The Comic Books: Death By The
Numbers [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text
article]
3) Professor Duffer And The Insuperable Myron Meek!
[Bill DuBay/John Severin] 6p
4) Tale Of A Fox [Nicola Cuti/Jose Ortiz] 8p
5) Nobody’s Home [Cary Bates/Joe Vaultz] 5p
6) Winner Take All! [Len Wein/Luis Bermejo] 8p [color]
7) Hell Hound [Bruce Jones/Russ Heath] 10p
8) Wisper Of Dark Eyes [Gerry Boudreau/Rafael
Auraleon] 8p
9) They’re Going To Be Turning Out The Lights [Bill
DuBay/Alex Nino] 9p
Notes: Cover price at $1.75 with 88
pages. An effort was made to make this a
very special anniversary issue but, although it’s considerably better that the
lackluster #50, most of this issue seems…well, a little bit tired. It’s better than the average issue, but for
Creepy’s 100th issue, you were hoping for something a little more
kickass. From the cover to the last
story, there’s nothing like that here.
The best story is Cuti’s ‘Tale Of A Fox’, which became a series starting
with Vampirella #95. ‘Hell Hound’ is
beautifully drawn and the story ain’t bad but it seemed a little familiar. The rest of the issue was simply ok. ‘They’re Going To Be Turning Out The Lights’
is printed sideways.
101.
cover: Richard Corben (Sept. 1978)
1) In Deep [Bruce Jones/Richard
Corben] 10p reprinted from Creepy #83
(Oct. 1976)
2) In Deep, part 2 [Bruce
Jones/Leopoldo Duranona] 9p
3) A Boy And His Thing [Bill
DuBay/Alex Nino] 10p
4) Waterbabies [Louise
Jones/Pablo Marcos] 8p [color]
5) The Seven Sisters Of The Sea
[Gerry Boudreau/Alfredo Alcala] 9p
6) Alternate Paths [Chris Adames/Pepe Moreno] 8p
Notes: You’ve got a great cover, a
really great cover, that was intended to be the cover for #83. It was meant for a story so vivid that you
couldn’t possibly use that cover to highlight any other issue or story without
it being very apparent that you screwed up two years earlier. What do you do? Well, you reprint the story, ask the writer
to pen a sequel and cross your fingers that nobody says nothin’. Unfortunately you picked Leopoldo Duranona to
follow Rich Corben. Both fine artists
but about as incompatible as any two artists you could look at. Best art on an original story goes to Alex
Nino for ‘A Boy And His Thing’. $1.50
cover price.
102.
cover: Patrick Woodroffe (Oct. 1978)
1) Pantomime At Sea [Cary
Bates/Joe Vaultz] 10p
2) The Comic Books: What Hath
Congress Wrought? [Joe Brancatelli] 1p
[text article]
3) Almost Shangri-La [Bruce
Jones/Leopoldo Duranona] 11p
4) The Thing In The Haunted
Forest [?/Abel Laxamana] 7p
5) Killer Claw [Mark Lasky/Walt
Simonson & Klaus Janson] 10p
6) Night Eyes [Bruce
Jones/Alfredo Alcala] 10p
7) Fair Prey [Bruce Jones/Isidro Mones] 10p
Notes: An all-monster issue. Another lack-luster issue with the best work
done by Bruce Jones & Alfredo Alcala on ‘Night Eyes’. Isidro Mones returns with a new art
style. $2.00 cover price.
103.
cover: Walt Simonson & Kim McQuaite (Nov. 1978)
1) Thane: Angel Of Doom [Archie
Goodwin/Jeff Jones] 6p reprinted from
Creepy #16 (Aug.
1967)
2) Bookworm [Gerry
Conway/Richard Corben] 7p reprinted
from Eerie #32 (Mar. 1971)
3) The Comic Books: Roll Over,
Brancatelli [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text
article]
4) On Little Cat Feet! [John
Jacobson/Rafael Auraleon] 11p reprinted
from Vampirella #38
(Nov. 1974)
5) Thumbs Down! [Anne T.
Murphy/Al Williamson] 6p reprinted from
Creepy #6 (Dec. 1965)
6) Lucky Stiff [Gerry Boudreau & Carl
Wessler/Ramon Torrents] 5p reprinted
from Vampirella
#38 (Nov. 1974)
7) The Black Cat [Berni
Wrightson] 12p from the story by Edgar
Allan Poe, reprinted from
Creepy #62 (May 1974)
Notes: The 1978 Creepy Annual. $1.50 cover price. This issue borne all the signs of being
assembled by someone just picking up random issues from the file shelves. Not a single story from Creepy’s 1976-1977
run. In fact, most of the stories didn’t
even appear in Creepy. This was, at least,
the third go around for the Williamson story and the second for the Thane
tale. Only the reprinting of Wrightson’s
adaptation of ‘The Black Cat’ was really worthy of an annual placement. Great cover by Simonson & McQuaite,
though.
104.
cover: Ken Kelly (Jan. 1979) reprinted
from the back cover of Eerie #63 (Feb. 1975)
1) The Games [Roger McKenzie/Pablo Marcos] 8p
2) The Comic Books: Notes On Comix People [Joe
Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
3) The Caretaker [Bob Toomey/Alfredo Alcala] 8p
4) Mother Park [Roger McKenzie/Jose Ortiz] 10p
5) Wolfer O’Connel: In The City Of Gold [Budd
Lewis/Pepe Moreno] 10p
6) Holocost [Steve Englehart/Terry Austin] 6p
7) Keep Kool [Bob Toomey/Alex Nino] 8p
Notes: $1.25 cover price. Kelly’s reprinted cover features Exterminator
One. This is an all-robot stories
special. Wolfer O’Connel’s previous story
was in Eerie #76 (Aug. 1976). This story
is also the best one in the issue.
105.
cover: Esteban Maroto (Feb. 1979)
1) Shrivel [Bob Toomey/Val
Mayerik] 8p
2) The Comic Books: The Party
[Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
3) Night Life [Bob Toomey/Rafael
Auraleon] 8p
4) Dime Novel Hero! [Nicola
Cuti/Russ Heath] 8p
5) Always Leave ‘em Laughing!
[Len Wein/Alex Nino] 8p
6) The Sign [Roger McKenzie/Pepe
Moreno] 8p
7) Visit To A Primitive Planet
[Bill DuBay/John Severin] 6p
8) The Summoning [Bruce
Jones/Gonzalo Mayo] 11p
Notes: Great cover from Maroto,
which also appeared as the cover to a later issue of Heavy Metal. $1.50 cover price. This is a very good issue with some great
stories in it! ‘Shrivel’, by Toomey
& Mayerik, is an amusing little jape. The delightful ‘Dime Novel Hero!’ by
Cuti & Heath was a rewrite & expansion of a two-pager Cuti wrote &
published in July 1973 for The Monster Times.
That version, entitled ‘Werewolf Goes West’, was illustrated by Frank
Brunner. The final page has a nifty and
oh-so-obvious-that-I-should-have-thought-of-it-myself story twist that leaves
you with a big grin on your face. About
half the horror stories I’ve seen involving clowns have some variation on the
‘Always Leave ‘em Laughing’ title. Very
much a cliché, as is this story itself.
‘The Sign’ is a neat Christmas story and a definite nod to the old
Warren Christmas specials. The
DuBay/Severin story was a triumph of subtle storytelling while the Jones/Mayo
team delivered a fine little shocker. In
fact, the Bruce Jones/Gonzalo Mayo story/art team delivered some of Warren’s
best stories during 1978-1979.
106.
cover: Romas Kukalis (Mar. 1979)
1) Quimby The Barbarian [Bob
Toomey/Pablo Marcos] 9p
2) The Comic Books: Going For
The Bucks [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text
article]
3) Fangs [Laurie Sutton/Leopoldo
Duranona] 9p
4) Swords In The World Series
[Ken Gale/Jim Starlin & Joe Rubinstein] 8p
5) Primal Equation [Budd Lewis
& Jon Sinsky/Isidro Mones] 6p
6) Sudden Death Playoff [Bob
Toomey/Pepe Moreno] 8p
7) The Art Of Killing [Larry
Hama/Val Mayerik] 10p
Notes: This is cover artist Romas
Kukalis’ professional debut. Both
‘Swords In The World Series’ and ‘Sudden Death Playoff’ were originally
intended to be part of the third all-sports stories special, probably intended
for Creepy #102. That special issue was
cancelled and the stories parceled out over different magazines for the next
couple of years. The best story here is
the Hama/Mayerick samurai story ‘The Art Of Killing’, clearly inspired by the
long-running Japanese series ‘Lone Wolf & Cub’, which hadn’t been seen by
the general U.S. public when this story came out. This is a quite good tribute, with Mayerick’s
art seeming to take a giant leap of quality from the often lumpy-looking art
he’d been doing for Marvel. This story
led to a series for the young samurai warrior that appeared in Eerie.
107.
cover: Romas Kukalis (May 1979)
1) The Rubicon [Budd Lewis/Pepe
Moreno] 10p
2) The Comic Books: The
Inevitable Superman Story [Joe Brancatelli] 1p
[text article]
3) Family Ties [Bruce Jones/Val
Mayerik] 10p
4) Presenting The 1978 Warren
Awards [Louise Jones/Ruby Nebres, Leopoldo Duranona, Jordi
Penlavi, Kim McQuaite, et
al] 2p [text article]
5) The World From Rough Stones
[Jean Michel Martin/Joe Vaultz] 4p
6) Stainless Steel Savior [Len
Wein/Leopoldo Duranona] 8p
7) Quirks [Bob Toomey/Walt
Simonson & Terry Austin] 8p
8) Mindquake [Jim
Stenstrum/Garcia Pizarro] 9p [story
credited to Alabaster Redzone]
9) The Rook Ad [Rudy Nebres]
1p [color, on inside back cover]
Notes: Due to an error, all credits
were missing from the actual stories.
The credits were given on the letters’ page of #110. Best story here probably belongs to Bruce
Jones’ ‘Family Ties’ while ‘Quirks’ had the best art. The story ‘Stainless Steel Savior’ was
overflow from Creepy #104’s all-robot stories special. The 1978 Warren Awards went to Jordi Penlava
for best cover from Eerie #96, Bruce Jones for best story for ‘Hell Hound’ from
Creepy #100, best art to Rudy Nebres for ‘Predation’ from Creepy #96, best
cover artist to Richard Corben, best all around writer to Bruce Jones, best all
around artist to Leopoldo Duranona, and special awards of excellance went to
Gonzalo Mayo & Kim McQuaite.
108.
cover: Terrence Lindall (June 1979)
1) Hole In The Head [Frank
Salvatini/Alex Nino] 9p
2) The Comic Books: So Much For
Traditions [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text
article]
3) Camelot Crosstime [Jean
Michel Martin/Val Mayerik] 8p
4) Sultana [Budd Lewis/Pepe
Moreno] 10p
5) Going By The Book [Kevin
Duane/Alfredo Alcala] 8p
6) House Of Magic [Gerry
Boudreau/Pablo Marcos] 8p
7) Hell’s Playground [Jean
Michel Martin/Leopoldo Duranona] 8p
Notes: This was Terrence Lindall’s
professional debut and his gruesome medieval-styled art caused quite a bit of
controversy when it first appeared.
Myself, I quite liked it. Lindall
also contributed a self-portrait on the letters’ page. Cover price is $1.75. ‘Sultana’ had very good artwork by the always
impressive Pepe Moreno and a fine story by Budd Lewis. In addition, Alex Nino contributed a superior
artjob and ‘House Of Magic’ was also well done.
109.
cover: Jim Laurier (July 1979)
1) Vampire Dawn [Archie Goodwin/Pepe Moreno] 12p
2) The Comic Books: Notes On
Comix People [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text
article]
3) The Organizer [Bruce
Jones/Leopoldo Duranona] 10p
4) The Ravenscroft Affair [Bill
DuBay/Paul Neary] 6p
5) Alien Affair [Cary Bates/Val
Mayerik] 12p
6) Heart Of Darkness [Bill
Mantlo/Luis Bermejo] 8p
Notes: Jim Laurier’s spaceship
cover looked a lot like a repainted hair dryer or perhaps a flashlight or a
lady’s pleasure toy. What it didn’t look
like was an actual working spaceship.
Cover price at $1.50. Between
editing jobs at Marvel, Archie Goodwin returns to Warren and will contribute
ten or so stories over the next year and a half. ‘Vampire Dawn’ was a welcome and strong
return and has easily the best story and art of the issue. ‘The Ravenscroft Affair’ was also quite
good. Luis Bermejo contributed probably
his worst art job for Warren with the dreary and heartless ‘Heart Of Darkness’.
110.
cover: Patrick Woodroffe (Aug. 1979)
1) Snapper [Bill Kelly/Leopoldo
Duranona] 10p
2) The Comic Books: The
Corporate Mad [Joe Brancatelli] 1p
[text article]
3) Sunset Farms [Gerry Boudreau
& Alex Southern/Rudy Nebres] 8p
4) Take Your Child, Please!
[Cary Bates/Jose Ortiz] 8p
5) The Demon Hater [Nicola
Cuti/Rafael Auraleon] 8p
6) Horror Is A Highrise [Archie
Goodwin/Leopoldo Duranona] 10p
7) A Knightmare To Remember [Cary
Bates/Joe Vaultz] 6p
8) The Clockmaker [Bob
Toomey/Jesus Blasco] 9p [story credited
to Gary Null and art
miscredited to Jesus
Blasquez]
Notes: Patrick Woodroffe’s tight
closeup of Pan’s head was the most striking cover image Creepy had seen since
Corben’s excellent cover to #101. Price
bounced up again to $1.75 with 80 pages of story. The rest of the issue didn’t hold up to the
promise of the great cover but ‘Snapper’ would have fit right in with the
stories from the Goodwin Era, while Goodwin’s own story is quite good. Joe Vaultz’s airbrush art was quite crude
when he tried to draw human beings but with the right subject matter it was
often quite effective and ‘A Knightmare To Remember’ is actually well worth
remembering. ‘The Clockmaker’ is an
unacknowledged rewrite by Toomey of a Europeon adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s
‘The Tell-Tale Heart’. This was
celebrated European artist Jesus Blasco’s Warren debut but he would never
receive credit for his work as he was always miscredited as former Warren
artists Jesus Blasquez or Jaime Brocal.
I don’t know why this confusion happened. Their artwork really looks nothing like
Blasco’s. Perhaps Blasco was ghosting
art for for the two? Toomey would use
the penname Gary Null for European stories that he provided rewrites
for—perhaps the same reason Jim Stenstrum began to use the penname Alabaster
Redzone.
111.
cover: Duane Allen (Sept. 1979)
1) Dreams Of Grandeur [Budd
Lewis/Val Mayerik & Klaus Janson] 10p
2) The Comic Books: Still
Collecting After All These Years [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
3) A Stiff Named Sczynsky [Bob
Toomey/Rafael Auraleon] 8p
4) Heart Of The Warrior [Bill
DuBay/Alejandro Sanchez] 8p
5) Blood-Lust [Cary Bates/Leopoldo Duranona] 12p
6) Night Wind [Masanabo Sato & Gary
Null/Masanabo Sato] 9p
7) A Switch In Dime [Nicola Cuti/Leopoldo Duranona]
11p
Notes: Another good cover from a
newcomer, although this would be Duane Allen’s only Warren appearance. This is a fair-to-middlin’ issue. Nothing particularly notable or awful.
112.
cover: Richard Corben (Oct. 1979)
1) The Homecoming [Archie
Goodwin/Al Williamson] 9p
2) The Comic Books: The
Comic-Book Gravevine [Joe Brancatelli] 1p
[text article]
3) Warrior’s Ritual [Archie
Goodwin/John Severin] 10p
4) Nobody’s Kid [Bob
Toomey/Leopoldo Duranona] 8p
5) Relic [Bob Toomey/Walt
Simonson] 8p
6) Beastslayer [John Lakey/Val Lakey] 10p
7) Sunday Dinner [Larry Hama/Rafael Auraleon] 8p
8) The Rook Ad [Pablo Marcos] 1p
9) Thane: The Last Sorcerer [Archie Goodwin/Alex
Nino] 12p
Notes: $2.00 cover price with 88
pages. A spectacular Corben cover of the
Phantom Of The Opera leads off the last truly great issue that Warren would
produce. There’d be some good ones done
down the line but none that hit this level of quality. Much of that quality can be attributed to one
man—Archie Goodwin, who contributed three stories here, the most he’d had in
any one issue since 1967. All three of
them are gems. ‘The Homecoming’ had
originated from a script by Bruce Jones but Williamson, who had completed the
art, decided he didn’t like the script and asked Goodwin to write a new
one. Jones was (and is) a good writer
but Goodwin’s SF script is so good that one would have a hard time imagining a
better version. The last appearance of
Thane {three previous stories had appeared from 1967-1969} also graced this
issue and it too is a winner, taking the Conan-like Thane and giving him a send
off story that was considerably better than most of the Marvel sword &
sorcery adaptations of that time. And I
say that despite the fact that I quite enjoyed Roy Thomas’ work on Conan. Alex Nino’s art is also impressive on this
story. The cream of the crop here,
however, is the impressive ‘Warrior’s Ritual’ with great artwork by John
Severin. This French Foreign Legion
story is about as good a horror takeoff on Beau Geste as you could ask
for. Good as the artwork for all three
Goodwin stories were though, the best art this issue belongs to Val Lakey’s
Warren debut with ‘Beastslayer’. Her
retouched photos & artwork combo was very impressive. I don’t know if John Lakey was her brother or
husband {she later appeared in Heavy Metal with a different last name} but his
story was quite good as well. ‘Relic’ is
a sequel to #107’s ‘Quirks’and it’s just as good a tale as the first. I also like ‘Nobody’s Kid’ which had a good
story & fine artwork by the team of Toomey & Duranona. The only story I didn’t like was the rather
rancid ‘Sunday Dinner’. Just a fine,
fine issue.
113.
cover & titlepage: Berni Wrightson (Nov. 1979)
1) The Muck Monster [Berni
Wrightson] 7p reprinted from Eerie #68
(Sept. 1975)
2) The Comic Books: Lies Our
Forefathers Told Us [Joe Brancatelli] 1p
[text article]
3) The Laughing Man [Bruce
Jones/Berni Wrightson] 6p reprinted
from Creepy #95 (Feb. 1978)
4) The Pepper Lake Monster
[Berni Wrightson] 10p reprinted from
Eerie #58 (July 1974)
5) Clarice [Bruce Jones/Berni
Wrightson] 5p reprinted from Creepy #77
(Feb. 1976)
6) Cool Air [Berni Wrightson]
7p from the story by H. P. Lovecraft,
reprinted from Eerie #62
(Jan. 1975)
7) Country Pie [Bruce
Jones/Carmine Infantino & Berni Wrightson] 6p reprinted from Creepy
#83 (Oct. 1976)
8) A Martian Saga [Nicola
Cuti/Berni Wrightson] 6p reprinted from
Creepy #87 (Mar. 1977)
Notes: The 1979 Warren Annual. A Berni Wrightson issue. $1.50 cover price with 64 pages. Very nice reprint issue.
114.
cover: Kirk Reinhart (Jan. 1980)
1) Rats [Bob Toomey/Pepe Moreno]
10p
2) The Comic Books: Notes On
Comix People [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text
article]
3) Charnel Combat [Pierce
Askegren/Danny Tallerno] 6p
4) Heat [Gerry Boudreau/Leopoldo
Duranona] 8p
5) Small War [Roger McKenzie/Jim
Starlin & Pablo Marcos] 8p
6) The Reaper [Archie
Goodwin/Alex Toth] 10p
7) An Android Affair [Mark Laskey/Rafael Auraleon]
8p
Notes: 72 pages. Nice cover and nice solid issue with a
chilling story from Archie Goodwin and interesting work from Gerry Boudreau and
Bob Toomey. Best art was Pepe Moreno on
‘Rats’ with good work from Alex Toth, Jim Starlin, Pablo Marcos & Leopoldo
Duranona.
115.
cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Feb. 1980)
1) Gabriel’s Horn [Roger McKenzie/Leopoldo Duranona]
16p
2) The Comic Books: Some Thoughts On What Has Gone
Before [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text
article]
3) 1979 Warren Awards Ballots
[Chris Adames] 1p [text article]
4) The Last Labor Of Hercules
[Budd Lewis/Delando Nino] 10p [art
credited to A2-120]
5) Cyrano [Bob Toomey/Michael
Saenz] 8p
6) Rapid Fire Angel [Gerry
Boudreau/Axel Laxamana] 8p
7) Et Tu Brutus [Nicola Cuti/Val
Mayerik & Rudy Nebres] 8p
8) War Children [Gerry
Boudreau/Val Mayerik] 8p
Notes: $1.75 cover price with 80
pages. Sanjulian’s first cover since #79
was clearly intended as a ‘Beastworld’ cover for Eerie. New Berni Wrightson art adorned the letters’
page for this issue only. For the first
time, the Warren Awards were open to voting & nominations by the
readers. Saenz provided the best art
while Roger McKenzie’s ‘Gabriel’s Horn’ is the best story.
116.
cover: Terrence Lindall (Mar. 1980)
1) Endangered Species [Gerry
Boudreau/Fred Carrillo] 10p
2) The Comic Books: Building A
New Marvel [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text
article]
3) The Highway [Nicola Cuti/Val
Mayerik & Rudy Nebres] 8p
4) Day Of The Locust [Jordan
Black/Masanabu Sato] 6p
5) The Greatest Editor Alive!
[Bill DuBay/Alex Nino & Delano Nino] 11p
[DuBay’s story
credited to Will Richardson]
6) Graduation Day [Bruce
Jones/Val Mayerik & Jeff Easley] 11p
7) Never Again [James Warren]
1p [text article, on back cover]
Notes: 72 pages. For only the second time in Warren history,
James Warren penned a political editorial, this time denouncing revolutionary
Iran for taking over the U.S. embassy.
The accompanying photo showed two Iranians carrying garbage in an American
flag. This was the last appearance of
Joe Brancatelli’s column. At this point
Bill DuBay began using the penname Will Richardson, which would appear for the
next several years. Best story & art
goes to ‘Graduation Day’ by Jones/Mayerik/ Easley.
The Decline & Fall
117.
cover: Ken Kelly (May 1980)
1) Scream [Bob Toomey/Leopoldo
Duranona] 19p
2) A Noble Gesture [?/Adolfo
Abellan] 7p
3) The Beast [Michael
Fleisher/Isidro Mones] 10p
4) Nightmare Highway [Gerry
Boudreau/Carmine Infantino & Steve Leialoha] 10p
5) The Silkie [Nicola Cuti/Val
Mayerik & Jeff Easley] 10p
Notes: DuBay, as Will Richardson,
returns as editor while Louise Jones {nee Simonson} heads off to Marvel. The logo changes to a new, more modern
lettering. Kelly’s cover originally
appeared as a T-shirt design in 1976. The letters’ page claims that Enrich
Torres was the cover artist for Creepy #115 but it certainly appears to be
Sanjulian’s work. ‘Scream’ seemed to end
quite abruptly, without an actual climax.
It was originally intended to be a ‘Gary Null’ story.
118.
cover: Enrich Torres (June 1980)
1) Nursery School [Bob
Toomey/Leopoldo Duranona] 15p
2) Epitaph [Len Wein/Joaquin
Blasquez] 7p
3) The Curse Of The Binderwoods
[Mark Laidlaw/Isidro Mones] 8p
4) Junior Was A Momma’s Boy
[Gerry Boudreau/Carmine Infantino & Jorge Benuy] 13p
5) Process Of Elimination [Bob
Toomey/Val Mayerik & Pablo Marcos] 10p
Notes: Enrich’s best cover in some
time highlights a solid issue. Good work
from just about everybody here. ‘Nursery
School’ was intended to be one of Toomey’s ‘Gary Null’ stories. Duranona, who wrote the original story, was
reportedly astounded at Toomey’s rewrite.
119.
cover: Jim Laurier (July 1980)
1) A Boy And His Thing [Bill
DuBay/Alex Nino] 10p reprinted from
Creepy #101 (Sept. 1978)
2) Eerie Ad [Esteban Maroto] 1p
3) Keep Kool [Bob Toomey/Alex
Nino] 8p reprinted from Creepy #104
(Jan. 1979)
4) Always Leave ‘em Laughing!
[Len Wein/Alex Nino] 8p reprinted from
Creepy #105 (Feb.
1979)
5) Sisters [Bill DuBay/Alex
Nino] 8p reprinted from Creepy #97 (May
1978)
6) Backwaters And Timing Circles
[Budd Lewis/Alex Nino] 9p reprinted
from Creepy #94 (Jan.
1978)
7) Alien Strain [Bill DuBay/Alex
Nino] 8p reprinted from Creepy #96
(Mar. 1978)
8) The 1979 Warren Awards! [Bill
DuBay] 2p [text article]
Notes: Warren begans having
multiple reprint issues during a given year.
Previously, only the annual had featured reprints. For Warren, this was a sure sign of trouble
behind the scenes. This was an Alex Nino
special. The Warren Awards went to Kirk
Reinert for best cover on Creepy #114 {cover dated Jan. 1980}, Archie Goodwin
for best story for ‘The Night Willa Jane Gornley Went Home’ from Vampirella
#82, Val Lakey for best art on ‘Beastslayer’ from Creepy #112, Patrick
Woodroffe for best cover artist, Bob Toomey for best all around writer, Abel
Laxamana for best all around artist and special awards for excellance to
Terrence Lindall and Lee Elias.
120.
cover: Jeff Jones (Aug. 1980)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction [Bill DuBay/Rudy
Nebres] 1p
2) Deathwatch [Roger McKenzie/Leopoldo Duranona] 8p
3) The Rook Ad [Jordi Penalva] 1p [cover to The Rook #3]
4) Hell House [Jim Stenstrum/Jesus Blasco] 6p [story credited to Alabaster Redzone, art
miscredited to Jaime Brocal]
5) Black Rainbow [Budd
Lewis/Rueben Yandoc] 8p
6) One Mind, Closed For
Alterations! [Gerry Boudreau/Jess Jodloman] 8p
7) A Taste For Heroes! [Gerry
Boudreau/Carmine Infantino & Pablo Marcos] 10p
8) Winterbeast [Budd Lewis/Val
Mayerik] 8p
9) Black Snow [Jeff Rovin/Herb
Arnold] 8p
Notes: Jones’ cover was done in
1975 and was originally intended for Seaboard/Atlas’ magazine Weird Tales Of
The Macabre. By this point most of the
Spanish artists from SI had left the three horror titles, with the notable
exceptions of Jose Ortiz, Jose Gonzalez and Rafael Aurleon, and had been
replaced by Flipino artists. The Flipino
artists tended to be more conservative in story layouts (except for Alex Nino)
and their depictions of nudity. Not to
say the Flipino artists didn’t use nudity, they actually used it quite a bit,
but the SI artists from Spain could draw naked women in a sexy manner and the
majority of the Flipino artists just drew naked women. There’s a difference. That said, this was a darn fine issue, from
the snazzy Jones cover to the generally very good stories within. ‘Deathwatch’ had the best story, while
Duranona, Mayerik & Arnold shared honors for best art. ‘A Taste For Heroes!’ was probably done in
1978 and originally intended for the never published 3rd all-sports
stories special for Creepy.
121.
cover: Jim Laurier (Sept. 1980)
1) A Toast To No Man’s Memory
[Len Wein/John Severin] 8p reprinted
from Creepy #92 (Oct.
1977)
2) The Strange, Incurable
Hauntings Of Terrible Phinneas Boggs! [Bill DuBay/John Severin] 9p
reprinted from
Creepy #83 (Oct. 1976)
3) The Star Saga Of Sirius Sam
[Nicola Cuti/John Severin] 8p reprinted
from Creepy #95 (Feb.
1978)
4) Battle Rot [Bill DuBay/John
Severin] 6p reprinted from Creepy #81
(July 1976)
5) Professor Duffer And The
Insuperable Myron Meek! [Bill DuBay/John Severin] 6p reprinted
from Creepy #100 (Aug. 1978)
6) Angel Of Jaipur [Bill
DuBay/John Severin] 6p reprinted from
Creepy #89 (June 1977)
7) Visit To A Primitive Planet
[Bill DuBay/John Severin] 6p reprinted
from Creepy #105 (Feb.
1979)
8) Warrior’s Ritual [Archie
Goodwin/John Severin] 10p reprinted
from Creepy #112 (Oct. 1979)
Notes: The 1980 Creepy Annual. A John Severin special. Two of the last three issues had been all
reprints. A new Uncle Creepy head by
Berni Wrightson appears on the letters’ page.
122.
cover: Lee Katz (Oct. 1980)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction [Bill DuBay/Rudy
Nebres] 1p
2) The Killing! [Roger McKenzie/Leopoldo Duranona
& Alex Toth] 12p
3) The Watcher [Bob Toomey/Leopoldo Duranona] 9p
4) The Perfect Specimen [Budd Lewis/Steve Gan] 5p
5) Midnight In Chinatown [Gerry Boudreau/Carmine
Infantino & Alfredo Alcala] 8p
6) Routine [Carl Wessler/Martin Salvador] 4p
7) Magic Man [Gerry Boudreau/Fred Carrillo] 8p
8) Roomers [Bruce Jones/Mike Zeck] 10p [miscredited to Budd Lewis]
Notes: Katz’s cover had originally
been intended for Eerie, probably for the ‘Samurai’ serial. Another solid issue. The art team of Duranona & Toth was a
surprising success and provided the best art in the issue. “Routine’ featured Uncle Creepy drawn onto
the splash page, something that hadn’t happened since 1974 or thereabouts so
this story may have been an inventory story from that period. Bruce Jones wrote a prose version of
‘Roomers’ that appeared in his short story collection ‘Twisted Tales’ in 1986
so I believe the Budd Lewis writing credit on that story to be incorrect.
123.
cover: Ken Kelly (Nov. 1980)
1) Kiss Of The Plague! [Doug Moench/Leo
Summers & Alex Toth] 6p
2) Hands Of Fate [Carl
Wessler/Martin Salvador] 7p
3) They Don’t Make Movies [Gerry
Boudreau/Carmine Infantino & Alfredo Alcala] 10p
4) The Slave [Jim
Stenstrum/Jesus Blasco] 5p [story
credited to Alabaster Redzone, art
miscredited to Jaime Brocal]
5) Harriman’s Monsters! [Greg
Potter/Dan Adkins] 8p
6) Always Leave Them Laughing
[Michael Fleisher/Val Mayerik & Rudy Nebres] 8p
7) Jelly [Nicola Cuti/Herb Arnold] 4p
Notes: 64 pages. Best story and art goes to Doug Moench,
Carmine Infantino & Alfredo Alcala for ‘They Don’t Make Movies’. ‘Harriman’s Monsters!’ was written years
earlier when writer Potter was a regular at Warren and was to have been
illustrated by Alex Toth. Toth either
never finished or never started the story and it was finally illustrated by
Adkins for its appearance here. ‘Always
Leave Them Laughing’ was another clown story with the same clichéd title. This one, at least, was a bit more original
in its storyline.
124.
cover: Vicente Segrelles (Jan. 1981)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Rudy Nebres] 1p
2) Malphisto’s Illusion [Nicola
Cuti/Romeo Tanghal & Alex Toth] 8p
[Tanghal’s pencils
credited to Alexis Romeo]
3) Cult [Archie Goodwin/Martin
Salvador] 11p
4) Paydirt [Roger
McKanzie/Carmine Infantino & Alfred Alcala] 8p
5) Mayhem Museum [Carl
Wessler/Aldolpho Buylla] 8p
6) The Prometheus [Rich
Margopoulos/John Garcia & Rudy Nebres] 6p
7) A Slight Case Of Madness!
[Bill DuBay/Herb Arnold] 8p [story
credited to Will Richardson]
Notes: Segrelles’ cover had been
done in 1976 as part of the presentation art for the never published magazine
Yesterday, Today…Tomorrow. ‘Mayhem
Museum’ gives the impression of having been done years earlier. ‘The Prometheus’ has the identical plot &
layout to #126’s ‘Hot Bob’ story.
Although Creepy would never reach the dreary levels of boredom that the
latterday Eerie sank to, the tired stories, even from old established
favorites, and the lack of variety in the artwork {the Filipino artists, with
the notable exceptions of Alex Nino, Vic Catan & Nestor Redondo, often
tended to layout and illustrate their stories in very similar fashions} ensured
that the glory days of Warren were behind them.
125.
cover: Ken Kelly (Feb. 1981)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction [Bill DuBay/Rudy
Nebres] 1p
2) Once Upon A Christmas Eve! [Bill DuBay/Martin
Salvador] 12p [story credited to Will
Richardson]
3) His Own Private Demon! [Roger McKenzie/Anton
Caravana] 9p
4) Top Dog! [Roger McKenzie/Alex Nino] 8p
5) Jacque Couteau’s Circus Of The Bizarre [Roger
McKenzie/Carmine Infantino & Alex Toth] 5p
6) The Tempered Sword! [Manuel Auad/Alfredo Alcala]
6p
7) Living Death Camp! [Roger McKenzie/Rafael
Auraleon] 7p
8) Knight Errant [Roy Kinnard/Michael Saenz] 8p
Notes: Kelly’s Christmas-themed
cover was a shot of nostalgia for the old Christmas specials. However, it’s noticeable that the cover is
nowhere near as violent or gory as the mid-1970s versions. The best art was from Michael Saenz. The stories, however, were at best so-so.
126.
cover: Ken Kelly (Mar. 1981)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Rudy Nebres] 1p
2) Parasite [Budd Lewis/Martin
Salvador] 9p
3) Nevada Moon [Steven
Grant/Bill Draut] 8p
4) …And God Created Woman!
[Bruce Jones/Anton Caravana] 12p
5) Ragged Man [Budd Lewis/Romeo
Tanghal & Alfredo Alcala] 10p
[Tanghal’s pencils credited
to Alexis Romeo]
6) Dreamer! [Nicola Cuti/Fred
Carrillo] 8p
7) Hot Bob [Budd Lewis/Herb
Arnold] 6p
Notes: $2.00 cover price for 72 pages. Kelly’s cover instantly invoked visual
memories of the great DuBay/Wrightson story, ‘Nightfall’ from 1975, as well as
Windsor McKay’s ‘Little Nemo In Slumberland’ comic strip. The accompanying
story, ‘Dreamer’, was also the best story this issue, although certainly not in
either of those stories’ league. The
best art belonged to Romeo Tanghal & Alfredo Alcala for ‘Ragged Man’. As noted above, ‘Hot Bob’ had the same plot
& layout as ‘The Prometheus’ from #124, but this version was better
scripted & drawn.
127.
cover: Terrence Lindall (May 1981)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction [Chris Adames/Rudy
Nebres] 1p
2) Hoodoo The Magnificent! [Bill DuBay/Martin
Salvador] 6p [story credited to Will
Richardson]
3) Forbidden Fruit! [Bruce
Jones/Luis Bermejo] 13p
4) Prism Second Generation Blues
[Gerry Boudreau/Noly Panligan] 9p
5) Daddy Is A Werewolf [Nicola
Cuti/Fred Carrillo] 8p
6) Wind [Roger McKenzie/Val
Mayerik] 8p
7) Escape [Steven Dietrich/Herb
Arnold] 7p
Notes: Chris Adames becomes the
editor. Lindall’s cover is certainly a
nasty little torture cover. The best art
is by Val Mayerik although Noly Panligan also delivers a nice job.
128.
cover: Frank Frazetta (June 1981)
reprinted from Creepy #10 (Aug. 1966)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction
[Chris Adames/Rudy Nebres] 1p
2) Whatever Happened To Orem?
[Bill DuBay/Martin Salvador] 10p [story
credited to Will
Richardson]
3) Outcast Of Euthanasia [Bill
DuBay/Bill Draut] 10p [story credited
to Will Richardson]
4) Old Man At The Morgue [Mark
Lasky/Fred Carrillo] 7p
5) Frankenstein Invades The
Universe [Budd Lewis/Romeo Tanghal & Alfredo Alcala] 12p
[Tanghal’s
pencils credited to Alexis Romeo]
6) Abelmar Jones: Lord Of The
Flies [Bill DuBay/Luis Bermejo] 8p
[story credited to Will
Richardson]
Notes: ‘Whatever Happened To Orem?’
was a sequel to ‘Orem Ain’t Got No Head Cheese’ from Creepy #85. Abelmar Jones moves from Eerie, where he was
last seen in Eerie #95. An attempt to
justify the reprinted cover was made by commissioning the story ‘Frankenstein
Invades The Universe’ to link with that cover.
129.
cover: Jeff Easley (July 1981)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction
[Chris Adames/Rudy Nebres] 1p
2) The Terrible Truth About
Danny! [Bill DuBay/Martin Salvador] 10p
[story credited to Will
Richardson]
3) The Saga Of Popeye Jackson!
[Gerry Boudreau/Paul Neary] 8p
4) Working Class Hero [Roger
McKenzie/Carmine Infantino & Alfredo Alcala] 8p
5) The Last Voyage Of Sinbad
[Budd Lewis/Fred Carrillo] 8p
6) He Who Lives! [Budd
Lewis/Danny Bulanadi] 6p
7) Strategic Retreat [John Ellis
Sech/Herb Arnold] 8p
130.
cover: Richard Courtney (Aug. 1981)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction
[Chris Adames/Rudy Nebres] 1p
2) The Vampire On The Hill [John
Ellis Sech/Martin Salvador] 7p
3) Dual Nature [Laura
Buscemi/John Lakey & Val Lakey] 8p
[Val Lakey credited as Artifact]
4) Screaming In The Rain [Don
McGregor/Alfredo Alcala] 8p
5) Mythologia [Nicola Cuti/Fred
Carrillo] 9p
6) Missing Love [Brian
Jacobs/Pepe Moreno] 7p
7) Small Dreams [Maggie Pierce/Herb
Arnold] 8p
Notes: The original logo
returns. Richard Courtney was a good
find for Warren, delivering some of the best of their latterday covers. ‘Dual Nature’ was the best written &
illustrated story. Good work was also
delivered by Pepe Moreno, Herb Arnold and Don McGregor.
131.
cover: Frank Frazetta (Sept. 1981)
reprinted from Creepy #4 (Aug. 1965)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction
[Chris Adames/Rudy Nebres] 1p
2) The Nut [Budd Lewis/Delando
Nino] 10p
3) Son Of The Nut! [Bill
DuBay/Martin Salvador] 7p [story
credited to Will Richardson]
4) Lycanthropist [Budd
Lewis/Bill Draut] 8p
5) Possession Is Nine Pounds Of
The Soul [John Ellis Sech/Danny Bulanadi] 6p
6) Bella Donna [Nicola Cuti/Fred
Carrillo] 8p
7) Mindwar [John Ellis Sech/Noly
Panaligan] 13p
132.
cover: Richard Corben (Oct. 1981)
reprinted from Eerie #90 (Feb. 1978)
1) A Tangible Hatred [Don McGregor/Richard Corben]
10p reprinted from Creepy #41 (Sept.
1971)
2) Bright Eyes! [Doug
Monech/Richard Corben] 7p reprinted
from Eerie #43 (Nov. 1972)
3) A Woman Scorned [Bruce
Jones/Richard Corben] 8p reprinted from
Eerie #90 (Feb. 1978)
4) Bowser [Jan Strnad/Richard
Corben] 8p reprinted from Vampirella
#54 (Sept. 1976)
5) The Pest! [Al
Hewetson/Richard Corben] 8p reprinted
from Eerie #33 (May 1971)
6) The Mummy’s Victory [Roger
McKenzie/Richard Corben] 5p reprinted
from Creepy #84
(Nov. 1976)
7) The Butcher: Forgive Us Our
Trepasses [Bill DuBay/Richard Corben] 8p
reprinted from Eerie
#62 (Jan. 1975)
8) The Butcher: Bye-Bye, Miss
American Dream [Bill DuBay/Richard Corben] 8p
reprinted
from Eerie #64 (Mar. 1975)
Notes: $2.25 cover price with 80
pages. The 1981 Creepy Annual, a Richard
Corben special. Great buy if you like
Corben.
133.
cover: Jeff Easley (Nov. 1981)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction [Bill DuBay/Rudy
Nebres] 1p
2) Junior [Bill DuBay & Timothy Moriarty/Abel
Laxamana] 12p [DuBay’s contribution
credited
to Will Richardson]
3) The Dead Remember [Bruce
Jones/Martin Salvador] 10p
4) Kobold [Budd Lewis/Romeo
Tanghan & Alfredo Alcala] 8p
6) Bring On The Clowns! [Michael Fleisher/Fred
Carrillo] 9p
7) Savage Cargo! [Jim Stenstrum/Paul Neary] 8p [story credited to Alabaster Redzone]
Notes: Chris Adames leaves for
Archie Comics and Bill DuBay returns as the editor with Timothy Moriarty as
managing editor. $2.00 for 72 pages
134.
cover: Ken Kelly (Jan. 1982)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Rudy Nebres] 1p
2) Guardians Of The Universe!
[Budd Lewis/Delando Nino] 8p
3) Hear The Organ Grinder Play
[Mark Willard/Martin Salvador] 7p
4) Soul Sucker! [Gerry
Boudreau/Fred Carrillo] 8p
5) Wreck Of The Vendigo Shafter!
[Rich Margopoulos/Gene Day & Rudy Nebres] 9p
6) Nefites [Bruce Jones/Jun
Lofamia] 10p
7) Orson Who? [Nicola
Cuti/Carmine Infantino & Wayne Howard] 4p
8) War Is Hell! [Roger
McKenzie/Val Mayerik] 6p
9) The City Of God [Budd
Lewis/Steve Gan] 4p
Notes: This was Ken Kelly’s last
cover for Warren but, like the contents of the magazine itself, it was a pale
shadow of his work during Warren’s prime.
The best story here was probably Bruce Jones’ ‘Nefites’, although it
revisited themes that he’d explored before.
‘War Is Hell!’ might have been a pretty good story except that McKenzie
has the U.S. Marines landing on Omaha Beach.
The artwork is pretty drab throughout.
One wishes that Gene Day had been able to ink his own pencils.
135.
cover: Richard Courtney (Feb. 1982)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction [Bill DuBay/Rafael
Auraleon] 1p
2) The Wedding Gift! [Budd Lewis/Fred Carrillo] 10p
3) …For We Have Sinned! [Bill DuBay/Martin Salvador]
8p
4) Angel Hair Wine! [Gerry Boudreau/Jun Lofamia] 8p
5) Strange In A Stranger Land! [Rich
Margopoulos/Peter Hsu] 10p
6) Morbid Love Story [Michael Fleisher/Rafael
Auraleon] 11p
7) Yonder Star [Budd Lewis/Steve Gan] 7p
Notes: “…For We Have Sinned!’ is a
sequel to the far superior Christmas story ‘Bless Us, Father…’ from Creepy #59
(Jan. 1974). ‘Strange In A Stranger
Land’ copies the opening sequence of ‘The Iron Man’ {better known by its movie
title, ‘The Iron Giant’}, where the Iron Giant crash-lands out to sea, only to
rise up out of the water by a fishing boat.
136.
cover: Richard Courtney (Mar. 1982)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction [Timothy
Moriarty/Rafael Auraleon] 1p
2) All The Time In The World! [John Ellis Sech/Fred
Carrillo] 8p
3) Never Say Die! [Gerry Boudreau/Martin Salvador]
9p
4) The Consumers [Gerry Boudreau/Jun Lofamia] 6p
5) Day of The Cliché [Greg Potter/Nebot] 9p
6) Eyewitness News [Gerry Boudreau & Rich
Margopoulos/Carmine Infantino & Pablo Marcos]
8p
7) Mother Zenobia And The Satan Glass! [Gerry
Boudreau & Rich Margopoulos/Gonzalo Mayo] 8p
8) Daddy’s Gone A-Hunting [Steven Grant/Joe Staton]
8p
Notes: Timothy Moriarty becomes
editor with David Allikas as his assistant.
Courtney’s cover is very colorful.
‘Never Say Die!’ & ‘Eyewitness News’ were both sports/horror
stories, probably done in 1978 for the never published third all-sports stories
issue of Creepy.
137.
cover: Rudy Nebres (May 1982)
1) Al Williamson Biography
[Timothy Moriarty/Al Williamson] 1p
[text article, Williamson’s
art from interior panels.]
2) H2O World! [Archie Goodwin/Al
Williamson & Roy G. Krenkel] 6p
reprinted from Creepy
#1 (Jan. 1965)
3) The Success Story [Archie
Goodwin/Al Williamson] 6p reprinted
from Creepy #1 (Jan. 1965)
4) Welcome Stranger [Archie
Goodwin/Al Williamson] 7p reprinted
from Creepy #2 (Apr. 1965)
5) Sand Doom [Archie Goodwin/Al
Williamson] 6p reprinted from Creepy #5
(Oct. 1965)
6) Now You See It… [Bruce
Jones/Al Williamson] 8p reprinted from
Creepy #83 (Oct. 1976)
7) Mother Knows Best [Bruce
Jones/Al Williamson] 8p reprinted from
Creepy #86 (Feb. 1977)
8) The Homecoming [Archie
Goodwin/Al Williamson] 9p reprinted from
Creepy #112 (Oct.
1979)
Notes: For the first time, Creepy
sported a pen & ink illustrated cover rather than a painted one. An Al Williamson special. $2.00 for 64 pages. Although Creepy was coming out ten times a
year at this point, in reality it was largely a bi-monthly, since the
additional three or four issues tended to be reprints.
138.
cover: Manuel Sanjulian (June 1982)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction
[Timothy Moriarty/Berni Wrightson] 1p
2) Lamb To The Slaughter [John
Jacobson/Delando Nino] 13p
3) Derelict! [Danielle
DuBay/Fred Carrillo] 8p
4) Fools And Kings! [Gerry
Boudreau/Martin Salvador] 8p
5) Dreamworld [Gerry
Boudreau/Jun Lofamia] 8p
6) The Cry Of The Glipins [Dan Hallassey/John Garcia
& Rudy Nebres] 9p
139.
cover: Rudy Nebres (July 1982)
1) Creepy’s Capacious Caucus
[Timothy Moriarty] 1p [text article]
2) Daddy And The Pie [Bill
DuBay/Alex Toth] 8p reprinted from
Eerie #64 (Mar. 1975)
3) The Monument [Archie
Goodwin/Alex Toth] 6p reprinted from
Creepy #3 (June 1965)
4) Grave Undertaking [Archie
Goodwin/Alex Toth] 6p reprinted from
Creepy #5 (Oct. 1965)
5) Rude Awakening! [Archie
Goodwin/Alex Toth] 6p reprinted from
Creepy #7 (Feb. 1966)
6) Survival! [Alex Toth &
Archie Goodwin/Alex Toth] 6p reprinted
from Blazing Combat #3
(Apr. 1966) [Toth’s story contribution is uncredited]
7) Phantom Of Pleasure Island
[Gerry Boudreau/Alex Toth] 8p reprinted
from Creepy #75 (Nov.
1975)
8) Unreal! [Alex Toth] 6p reprinted from Creepy #78 (Mar. 1976)
Notes: Another pen & ink cover
illo, this one featuring Pie. An Alex
Toth special. The letters’ page is
dropped in favor of a feature’s page that was identical in all Warren comic
magazines.
140.
cover: Richard Corben (Aug. 1982)
1) Creepy’s Capacious Caucus
[Timothy Moriarty] 1p [text article]
2) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction
[Timothy Moriarty/Rafael Auraleon] 1p
3) The Big Itch! [Roger McKenzie/Delando Nino] 9p
4) The Silver Stallion
Conspiracy [Gerry Boudreau/Fred Carrillo] 15p
5) There Is No Werewolf [Mark
Willard/Martin Salvador] 7p
6) Mummy, Jr. [Gerry
Boudreau/Jun Lofamia] 3p
7) One Good Turn… [Victor de la
Fuente] 5p
8) Spidership Season [Bob
Toomey/Peter Hsu] 8p
Notes: Among other Warren tidbits
listed on the feature’s page, it was announced that Creepy would serialize A.
E. Van Vogt’s story ‘Space Beagle’ in five parts. Unfortunately, that never happened. The adaptation did appear complete in the
last issue of Eerie. ‘The Big Itch!’ is
a homage to Will Eisner’s ‘The Spirit’.
141.
cover: Richard Corben (Sept. 1982)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction [Timothy
Moriarty/Rafael Auraleon] 1p
2) I Created The…Gargoyle! [Danielle DuBay/Delando
Nino] 10p
3) The Pupper Master [John Ellis Sech/Fred Carrillo]
8p
4) The Check-Out Counter [Timothy Moriarty/Alfonso
DeLeon] 7p
5) Covering All Bases [Kevin Duane/Martin Salvador]
9p
6) Candle In The Wind [Gerry Boudreau/Jun Lofamia]
9p
7) Moral Blood [Don McGregor/Al Sanchez] 11p
Notes: $2.25 for 72 pages. The letters’ page returns. McGregor’s ‘Moral Blood’ was at least an
attempt at forceful storytelling but the cookie-cutter art tended to undercut
the story’s effectiveness.
142.
cover: Richard Courtney (Oct. 1982)
1) Creepy’s Capacious Caucus
[Timothy Moriarty] 1p [text article]
2) Monster Rally! [Archie
Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 8p reprinted
from Creepy #4 (Aug. 1965)
3) One For De-Money [E. Nelson
Bridwell/Angelo Torres] 7p reprinted
from Eerie #2 (Mar.
1966)
4) The Duel Of The Monsters!
[Archie Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 8p
reprinted from Creepy #7
(Feb. 1966)
5) Brain Trust! [Archie
Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 6p reprinted
from Creepy #10 (Aug. 1966)
6) The Swamp God! [Archie
Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 6p reprinted
from Eerie #5 (Sept. 1966)
7) Howling Success! [Archie
Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 7p reprinted
from Creepy #3 (June 1965)
8) Untimely Tomb! [Anne T.
Murphy & Archie Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 7p
reprinted from
Creepy #5 (Oct.
1965) [Anne T. Murphy’s title credit
is dropped.]
9) Soul Of Horror! [Archie
Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 8p reprinted
from Eerie #3 (May 1966)
10) Skeleton Crew! [Archie
Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 7p reprinted
from Creepy #11 (Oct. 1966)
11) Night Drop! [Archie
Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 7p reprinted
from Blazing Combat #4 (July
1966)
12) Kasserine Pass! [Archie
Goodwin/Angelo Torres & Al Williamson] 6p
reprinted from
Blazing Combat #2 (Jan.
1966) [Williamson’s credit is
dropped.]
Notes: Courtney’s best cover for
Warren graces an excellent reprint issue.
$2.75 for 96 pages. The letters’ page
vanishes again. The 1982 Creepy Annual
and an Angelo Torres special with beautiful art and great Archie Goodwin
{mostly} stories. Well worth collecting.
143.
cover: Tony Roberts (Nov. 1982)
1) The Spectator Who Wept [Don
McGregor/Isidro Mones] 26p
2) Creepy’s Capacious Caucus
[Timothy Moriarty] 1p [text article]
3) Moral Blood, part 2 [Don
McGregor/Al Sanchez] 10p
4) Welcome Home Stranger! [Gerry
Boudreau/Martin Salvador] 13p
5) The Continuing Story Of H. G.
Wells’ The Invisible Man [Gerry Boudreau/Alex Nino] 8p
Notes: $2.50 for 72 pages. The
‘Invisible Man’ story is a sequel to the H. G. Wells’ novel. McGregor’s ‘The Spectator Who Wept’ is a good
SF tale, told mostly in full page panels.
144.
cover: Frank Frazetta (Jan. 1983) reprinted
from Creepy #5 (Oct. 1965)
1) The Noxious Newspage [Timothy
Moriarty] 1p [text article]
2) Forgotten Flesh [Doug
Moench/Vicente Alcarar] 8p reprinted
from Creepy #64 (Aug. 1974)
3) For The Sake Of Your
Children! [Ed Fedory/Jaime Brocal] 11p
reprinted from Creepy #45
(May 1972)
4) It! [Tom Sutton] 9p reprinted from Creepy #53 (May 1973)
5) In Darkness It Shall End!
[Doug Moench/Vicente Alcazar] 9p
reprinted from Creepy #76
(Jan. 1976)
6) The Ghouls! [Carl
Wessler/Martin Salvador] 6p reprinted
from Creepy #61 (Apr. 1974)
7) Berenice [Rich
Margopoulos/Isidro Mones] 8p from the
story by Edgar Allan Poe, reprinted
from Creepy #70 (Apr. 1975)
8) It: The Terror-Stalked
heiress! [Carl Wessler/Jose Gual] 10p
reprinted from Creepy #72 (July
1975)
Notes: $2.25 for 80 pages. An all-reprint ‘Graveyard And Ghosts’
special. The feature’s page announces
the departure of Forrest J. Ackerman from Famous Monsters and the cancellation
of The Goblin.
145.
cover: Jose Mirelles (Feb. 1983)
reprinted from Nightmare #9 (Oct. 1972)
1) The Noxious Newspage [Timothy
Moriarty] 1p [text article]
2) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction [Timothy
Moriarty/Rafael Auraleon] 1p
3) Moral Blood, part 3 [Don McGregor/Al Sanchez]
28p
4) All Of Them Must Die! [Gerry Boudreau & Randy
Palmer/Martin Salvador] 10p
5) The Iceman Killeth [Michael Fleisher/Delando
Nino] 8p
Notes: Final Warren issue. $2.25 for 64 pages. The cover is reprinted from a Skywald
magazine! A number of unpublished
stories are discussed on the feature’s page, including ‘The Last Recess’, a
series intended for Creepy that was to be written by Carlos Trillo; ‘Moonstone’
a serial by Bill DuBay & Rudy Nebres that was intended for Vampirella and
‘Jan And The Triad’, a serial by David Allikas & Pablo Marcos, also
intended for Vampirella. To my
knowledge, none of these stories were published. Based on the feature’s page announcement, the
cancellation of the magazines and Warren’s shutdown was a last minute decision
{although it had been in the cards for at least a year}. The letters’ page returns for a
farewell.
146.
cover: Richard Corben/titlepage: Bill Wray/back cover: Frank Frazetta (Summer
or Fall 1985) back
cover reprinted from Vampirella #11 (May 1971)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Welcome [Tony
Dispoto/Bill Wray] 1p [frontis]
2) Sex Kitten [S. K. Pierce/Bill
Wray] 9p
3) Creeps [Archie Goodwin/John
Severin & Wally Wood] 8p reprinted
from Creepy #78 (Mar.
1976)
4) Yellow Heat [Bruce Jones/Russ
Heath] 8p reprinted from Vampirella #58
(Mar. 1977)
5) …The Dump Man [Stephen
Perry/Eric Shanower] 8p
6) Too Many Termarrows [Timothy
Moriarty/Vic Catan] 9p reprinted from
1994 #28 (Dec.
1982)
7) Dead Run [Jeff Jones] 2p reprinted from Vampirella #32 (Apr. 1974)
8) A Base And Nasel Hunger
[Stephen Perry/Steve Bissette] 2p
9) Sacrifice [Roger
McKenzie/Luis Bermejo] 8p reprinted
from Creepy #94 (Jan. 1978)
10) Grave Undertaking [Archie
Goodwin/Alex Toth] 6p reprinted from
Creepy #5 (Oct. 1965)
11) To Kill A God! [Wally Wood]
8p reprinted from Vampirella #12 (Jan.
1971)
12) The Super-Abnormal Phenomena
Survival Kit! [Jim Stenstrum/John Severin] 8p
reprinted
from Creepy #79
(May 1976)
13) Werewolf! [Larry Ivie/Frank
Frazetta] 6p reprinted from Creepy #1 (Jan.
1965)
14) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Mummy’s Curse! [Archie Goodwin/Roy G. Krenkel] 1p reprinted
from Creepy #6 (Dec. 1965)
15) The Machinations Of Lust [S.
K. Pierce/Mike Harris & Greg Theakston] 10p
16) No (Horse) Laughing Matter
[Doug Moench/Rafael Auraleon] 2p
reprinted from Creepy #49
(Nov. 1972)
Notes: Publisher: Stanley R.
Harris. Editor: Tony Dispoto. Harris Publications acquired the titles and
film from the bankrupt Warren Publications in an auction in August 1983. They attempted one issue each of Creepy &
Vampirella in the original black & white magazine format, continuing the
original numbering. I’ve included the
single issue of Creepy they published since it does continue from the original
magazine and includes a great many Warren stories. $2.95 for 96 pages. Uncle Creepy is featured on both the cover
& titlepage. There was a second
issue intended with at least two original stories mentioned. The first was Alan Moore & Bill Wray’s
‘Come On Down!’, which actually appeared in Taboo #1 in 1988. On the coming attractions page the title was
given as ‘The Most Shocking Game Show On TV’.
The second story was ‘Looking For Something Different’ by Stephen Perry
& Joe Brozowski, which appears to have an S&M theme, based on the single
panel of art reproduced. They also
listed the Bruce Jones/Luis Bermejo story ‘As Ye Sow’ as an intended reprint.
1. cover: Jack Davis (Sept. 1965) reprinted from Creepy #2 (Apr. 1965)
1) Image Of Bluebeard! [Bill Pearson/Joe Orlando]
7p
2) Death Plane [Larry Ivie/George Evans] 6p
3) The Invitation [Larry Englehart, Russ Jones &
Maurice Whitman/Manny Stallman] 7p
Notes: Publisher James Warren. Editor: Archie Goodwin. This is technically the first issue of Eerie,
rushed into print overnight by Warren, Goodwin & letterer Gaspar Saladino
to foil Eerie Publications from ‘stealing’ the title of Warren’s second horror
magazine. Only 200 copies were printed,
with the stories included all intended for either Creepy #7 or #8. The magazine was never actually
distributed. Copies were dropped off at
newsstands so that Warren could point them out to lawyers (one would guess) and
say “See, we’ve already got a magazine called Eerie on the stands!” The cover comes from an ad that ran in
Creepy. In 1978, bootleg editions of
this issue were released into the fan collector market. Warren ran several ads condemning the
practice and offering a $500.00 reward for the arrest of the culprits but they
were never caught.
1. cover: Frank Frazetta/frontis: John Severin (Oct.
1965)
1) Viet Cong [Archie Goodwin/Joe Orlando] 7p
2) Aftermath! [Archie Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 6p
3) Flying Tigers! [Archie Goodwin/George Evans] 6p
4) Cong View! [Archie Goodwin/Gray Morrow] 6p
5) Cantigny! [Archie Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 6p
6) Combat Quiz [Archie Goodwin/Alex Toth] 1p
7) Mad Anthony! [Archie
Goodwin/Russ Jones, Tex Blaisdell & Maurice Whitman] 6p
8) Enemy! [Archie
Goodwin/John Severin]
Notes: Publisher: James
Warren. Editor: Archie Goodwin. 35 cents.
64p issue. This series is Archie
Goodwin’s crowning glory. Everything
that Harvey Kurtzman’s Two-Fisted Tales & Frontline Combat were in terms of
timeliness, art & story, Blazing Combat matches and, at times,
surpasses. Frazetta’s covers were the
best of his Warren career. The artists
were great and Goodwin’s scripts were inspired.
Probably the best war comic ever published. I should state right here that I’ve never
read or seen a copy of #1. This magazine
{along with Vampirella #3 & Eerie #17} is one of the hardest to obtain
issues in the Warren canon. At least for
a price I can afford. My opinion is
based on the three issues I do have and the one story from #1, ‘Viet Cong’,
that I’ve read. A very controversial
series. Combat Quiz was exactly what it
sounds like, a quiz with spot illos.
2. cover: Frank Frazetta/frontis: Gray
Morrow (Jan. 1966)
1) Landscape [Archie Goodwin/Joe Orlando] 7p
2) Saratoga [Archie Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 6p
3) Mig Alley [Archie Goodwin/Al McWilliams] 6p
4) Face To Face! [Archie Goodwin/Joe Orlando] 6p
5) Kasserine Pass! [Archie Goodwin/Angelo Torres
& Al Williamson] 6p
6) Lone Hawk [Archie Goodwin/Alex Toth] 6p
7) Combat Quiz [Archie Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 1p
8) Holding Action [Archie Goodwin/John Severin] 7p
9) Eerie Ad [Angelo Torres] 1p [on inside back cover]
Notes: ‘Landscape’ is easily the
best story to appear in Blazing Combat.
In fact, if one were to compile a collection of the best stories comics
have ever produced, ‘Landscape’ would be in the top five. {For the record, I’d put Al Feldstein/Bernie
Krigstein’s ‘Master Race’, Alan Moore/David Lloyd’s ‘V For Vendetta’, Jim
Steranko’s ‘Who Is Scorpio?’ and Will Eisner’s ‘Sand Saref’ as the other top
four. Just my opinion, mind you.} The story concerns an old Vietnamese farmer
who finally understands the economics of war.
Goodwin’s script, which clearly owes a debt to Kurtzman’s EC war
stories, still stands on its own two feet and is devastating. Orlando employs a very different art style
from his usual approach (so different, that letter hacks questioned whether he
had actually done the artwork!) and the softness of his pencil work contrasts
sharply with the horror that those pencils depict. However, the story also killed the series. According to Warren, the American Legion
began a quiet campaign among distributors, many of whom belonged to the
organization, to let the magazine set on distributor shelves rather than be
sent to the buying public. There were
also problems from the armed forces (then, as always, a major purchaser of
B&W comic magazines), who began to refuse to sell Blazing Combat on their
bases or PX’s, due to its perceived ‘anti-war’ stance. Political hawks couldn’t have too thrilled
with the rest of the book either. Frazetta’s grim cover was one of his most
violent. An American soldier bayonets a
German, with the bayonet bursting out the German’s back, while another American
soldier lies dead in the foreground, a bullet hole smoking through his helmet,
while blood covers his face and the ground beside him. While some of the stories within could have
appeared anywhere, ‘Kasserine Pass’ is about an American defeat, ‘Face To
Face!’ uses four panels to show a US soldier beating a Spanish soldier to death
with a rock, sound effects showing exactly how the head changes from solid to
pulp under severe battering, while ‘Holding Action’ is about soldiers who
mentally crack under the stress of combat.
Hardly the sort of thing military brass would like 18-19 year old
recruits reading just before they shipped out to Vietnam. Or the sort of thing members of the Legion
might like 16-17-18 year olds reading before they considered enlisting. Famed artist Milton Caniff sends in a letter.
3. cover: Frank Frazetta (Apr. 1966)
1) Combat Quiz [Archie Goodwin/Angelo Torres]
1p [frontis]
2) Special Forces [Archie Goodwin/Jerry Grandenetti
& Joe Orlando] 8p [art credited
solely
to Orlando]
3) Foragers [Archie Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 6p
4) U-Boat [Archie Goodwin/Gene Colan] 7p
5) Survival [Alex Toth & Archie Goodwin/Alex
Toth] 6p
6) The Battle Of Britain! [Wally Wood/Dan Adkins
& Wally Wood] 7p [art credited
solely
to Wood]
7) Water Hole! [Archie Goodwin/Gray Morrow] 5p
8) Souvenirs! [Archie Goodwin/John Severin] 6p
Notes: Another great Frazetta cover
showing a US soldier standing above a pile of dead Viet Cong. Best story and art goes to ‘Survival’ but
every story here is well written and illustrated. A fine, fine issue. Publisher & comic fan Richard Kyle
appears on the letters’ page.
4. cover: Frank Frazetta (July 1966)
1) Combat Quiz [Archie
Goodwin/Dan Adkins] 1p [frontis]
2) Conflict! [Archie
Goodwin/Gene Colan] 7p
3) How It Began! [Archie Goodwin/Gene Evans] 2p
4) The Edge! [Archie Goodwin/Alex Toth] 6p
5) Give And Take [Archie Goodwin/Russ Heath] 6p
6) ME-262! [Archie Goodwin/Ralph
Reese, Wally Wood & Dan Adkins] 7p
[art credited to
Wood]
7) The Trench! [Archie
Goodwin/John Severin] 6p
8) Thermopylae! [Reed Crandall & Archie
Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 8p
9) Night Drop! [Archie
Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 7p
10) Easy Way To A Tuff
Surfboard! [Archie Goodwin/Frank Frazetta] ½p
reprinted from
Eerie #3 (May
1966)
Notes: Blazing Combat’s final issue
shows no compromise with commercial demands.
‘Conflict’, ‘Give And Take’ and ‘Night Drop’ are all powerful,
hard-hitting tales. Someone may have
noted the dynamic art quality of DC Comics’ wash tone “paintings’ on their war
titles, as five of the stories within are done in total or in part with wash
tones. Particularly effective is Torres’
work on ‘Night Drop’. However, the best
art job is Russ Heath’s striking ‘Give And Take’. The American soldiers in that story all look
alike because Heath posed for the pictures himself. It may be odd to see so many look alikes in one
squad but in the context of the story it works quite well. Goodwin’s story seems based on or inspired by
a Bill Mauldin WWII cartoon that appeared in his book ‘Up Front’. It concerns a rare bottle of wine that a US
soldier is willing to protect at any cost.
Fan Ed Lahmann (who would contribute to the Creepy Fan Club page) warns
Warren about the dangers lurking for publishers who depict war too close to
real life and reminds him about the controversy that EC endured for publishing
similar hard-hitting stories. He’s right
on the mark but it’s too little, too late as this is the end.
2. cover: Frank Frazetta (Mar. 1966)
1) Welcome
To Eerie [Archie Goodwin/Jack Davis] 1p
[frontis]
2) Footsteps
Of Frankenstein [Archie Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 8p
3) One For
De-Money [E. Nelson Bridwell/Angelo Torres] 7p
4) Flame
Fiend [Archie Goodwin/Johnny Craig] 6p
[art credited to Jay Taycee]
5) Eerie’s
Monster Gallery No. 1: Werewolf [Archie Goodwin/John Severin] 1p
6) To Pay
The Piper [Larry Ivie/Gene Colan] 6p
7) Vision Of
Evil [Archie Goodwin/Alex Toth] 6p
8) Ahead Of
The Game [Archie Goodwin/Jerry Grandenetti & Bill Draut] 8p
[art
credited to Joe Orlando]
Notes: Publisher: James
Warren. Editor: Archie Goodwin. 35 cents.
The first actual magazine issue, this was intended to be the actual
#1. See the notes for the ashcan issue
for total details. Artist Jack Davis did
several head illos of Cousin Eerie for story introductions. During this time artist Jerry Grandenetti
ghosted pencils for several Orlando stories, all of which were credited solely
to Orlando. When Grandenetti started
receiving his own credits those ghost pencils stopped. There’s nothing in this issue to make one sit
up and take special notice, but it is a competent, solid work, well-written
& drawn. The Frazetta cover painting
of a wizard and a demon is particularly good.
3. cover: Frank Frazetta (May 1966)
1) Cousin
Eerie’s Introduction [Archie Goodwin/Jack Davis] 1p [frontis]
2) Soul Of
Horror! [Archie Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 8p
3) The Lighthouse! [Archie Goodwin/Al Williamson] 6p
4) Room With A View! [Archie Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 6p
5) Monsterwork! [Archie Goodwin/Rocco Mastroserio]
6p
6) Under The Skin! [Archie Goodwin/Jerry Grandenetti
& Joe Orlando] 7p [art credited
solely
to Orlando]
7) Eerie’s Monster Gallery No.
2: The Vampire! [Archie Goodwin/Johnny Craig] 1p [art credited
to Jay Taycee]
8) The Monument [Archie
Goodwin/Alex Toth] 6p
9) Full Fathom Fright [Archie Goodwin/Gene Colan] 8p
10) Easy Way To A Tuff Surfboard! [Archie
Goodwin/Frank Frazetta] ½p
[anti-smoking ad on
inside
back cover]
Notes: A strong issue leads off
with Frazetta’s cover depicting an undersea monster and a diver. All of the art jobs are good but particular
note should be given to Angelo Torres, Steve Ditko and Alex Toth. My favorite story is ‘Room With A View’
because when I was a kid, the first Warren comic I read was a coverless Eerie
#42, which reprinted this story. It was
the first story I read and the one that gave me nightmares for several days
after. Sharp art by Ditko with a simple
but compelling story by Goodwin. The anti-smoking ad by Goodwin & Frazetta
was publisher Jim Warren’s reaction to cigarette companies offering him high
paying advertising to target his 14-18 year old readers. It effectively stopped the offers. It should be noted that Warren stuck to his
guns on this issue, even during the dark age years from 1967-1969 when he could
have easily caved in and rescued his magazines with cigarette ad revenues.
4. cover: Gray Morrow (July 1966)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery No.
3: Zombies! [Archie Goodwin/Roy G. Krenkel] 1p
[frontis]
2) House Of Evil [Archie
Goodwin/Jerry Grandenetti & Joe Orlando] 8p [art credited solely to
Orlando]
3) Hatchet Man [Archie
Goodwin/Gene Colan] 8p
4) Gnawing Fear! [Ron
Parker/Rocco Mastroserio] 7p
5) Shrieking Man! [Archie
Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 7p
6) Undying Love! [Archie Goodwin/Donald Norman] 6p
7) Island At World’s End! [Archie Goodwin/Gray
Morrow] 10p
8) Easy Way To A Tuff Surfboard! [Archie
Goodwin/Frank Frazetta] ½p reprinted
from Eerie
#3 (May 1966)
Notes: Particularly nice art here
from the Grandenetti/Orlando team and from Gray Morrow, but the highlight is
Gene Colan’s wash work on ‘Hatchet Man’, a story that foretells Warren’s horror
slant of the 1970s as there’s nary a monster in sight, except for the human
serial killer kind. ‘Shrieking Man’ was
reprinted in the 1980s as ‘The Incredible Shrieking Man’, which was possibly
its original title and thus a homage to Richard Matheson’s 1950s novel ‘The
Incredible Shrinking Man’. Underground
cartoonist Jay Lynch writes in to praise Warren for its anti-smoking ad. Good issue.
5. cover: Frank Frazetta (Sept. 1966)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery No. 4: The Mummy! [Archie
Goodwin/Wally Wood & Dan Adkins]
1p [frontis]
2) The Mummy Stalks! [Roy G. Krenkel & Archie
Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 8p
3) The Jungle [Archie Goodwin/Al Williamson] 6p
4) Black Magic [Archie Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 8p
5) A Matter Of Routine! [Archie Goodwin/Gene Colan]
8p
6) Dr. Griswold’s File! [Carl Wessler/Rocco
Mastroserio] 7p
7) The Swamp God! [Archie Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 6p
8) Vampire Slayer! [Archie Goodwin/Jerry Grandenetti
& Joe Orlando] 8p
Notes: Frazetta’s dinosaur cover is
a nice companion piece to Torres’ interior story. Torres’ art is not a sharp as usual but is
pretty good. Goodwin & Krenkel’s
mummy story really evokes the early Universal & Hammer films. Crandall’s art is just right. Also good work from Ditko (a return to Dr.
Strange style mystic art) and Mastroserio.
Another solid issue.
6. cover: Gray Morrow (Nov. 1966)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery No. 5: The Man-Made
Monster! [Archie Goodwin/John Severin] 1p
[frontis]
2) Cave Of The Druids [Archie Goodwin/Reed Crandall]
8p
3) Deep Ruby! [Archie Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 6p
4) Running Scared! [Archie Goodwin/Mark Ricton] 8p
5) The Curse Of Kali! [Archie Goodwin/Angelo Torres]
7p
6) Trial By Fire! [Johnny Craig] 6p [art & story credited by Jay Taycee]
7) Point Of View! [Archie Goodwin/Rocco Mastroserio]
6p
8) The Changeling! [Archie Goodwin/Gene Colan] 8p
Notes: Striking cover by Morrow for
the interior ‘Cave Of The Druids’ story.
That story also features strong artwork by Reed Crandall. Torres’ artwork is in the same style of the
story in the previous issue. ‘Druids’
and ‘Deep Ruby’ are the best stories. An
average issue for this period, which means its pretty damn good!
7. cover: Frank Frazetta (Jan. 1967)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery No.
6: The Hydra! [Archie Goodwin/Gray Morrow] 1p
[frontis]
2) Witches’ Tide [Archie
Goodwin/Gene Colan] 8p
3) It That Lurks! [Archie
Goodwin/Dan Adkins] 6p
4) Hitchhike Horror! [Archie
Goodwin/Hector Castellon] 8p
5) The Defense Rests! [Johnny
Craig] 8p
6) Fly! [Archie Goodwin/Steve
Ditko] 6p
7) The Quest! [Archie
Goodwin/Donald Norman] 6p
8) Cry Fear, Cry Phantom [Archie
Goodwin/Jerry Grandenetti] 7p
Notes: Frazetta’s famous ‘Sea
Witch’ painting is the cover here. Roy
Krenkel provided layouts for it. At this
point, simply by not have any mediocre stories or art jobs, Eerie was actually
surpassing Creepy in quality. Craig,
Ditko, Grandenetti, Colan & Norman are all well represented here. Castellon goes cross hatching crazy! But the best story and art is Goodwin &
Adkins’ dinosaur tale ‘It That Lurks’.
8. cover: Frank Frazetta (Mar. 1967)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery No.
7: Demon! [Archie Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 1p
[frontis]
2) Oversight! [Archie
Goodwin/Gene Colan] 8p
3) Dark Rider! [Archie Goodwin/John
Severin] 6p
4) Typecast! [Archie
Goodwin/Jerry Grandenetti] 8p
5) The Day After Doomsday!
[Archie Goodwin/Dan Adkins] 8p
6) The Covered Bridge! [Archie
Goodwin/Bob Jenney] 6p
7) Wolf Bait! [Buddy Saunders
& Archie Goodwin/Rocco Mastroserio] 8p
8) Demon Sword! [Archie Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 8p
Notes: Frazetta’s cover of a demon
& a swordsman fighting in front of a giant brain is actually rather blah
although most artists would be quite happy with it. Filmmaker John Carpenter may have swiped his
script for ‘They Live’ from the Goodwin/Colan story herein as it shows a man
who is accidently given a special pair of glasses that lets him see that
monsters live among us. Adkins outdoes
himself with a striking art job on ‘The Day After Doomsday!’ In fact, he’s rarely been so good since. This was Texan writer & comics
distributor Buddy Saunders’ professional debut.
Based on the credits I’d guess that Saunders sent this story for the
Creepy Fan Club in prose form and Goodwin liked it enough to adapt it for the
comics. Regardless, it’s a good story,
well rendered by Mastroserio. Ditko
turns in his usual work, which, for Warren, was always spectacular. Best story and art here however is on ‘Dark
Rider!’ by Goodwin & Severin, another story that turned up in that
coverless Eerie #42. A spooky, macabre
and, well, eerie western tale set in the snowy Rockies that brilliantly evokes
the quiet terror that one can experience, for no particular reason, in gray
winter woods.
9. cover: Dan Adkins (May 1967)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery No. 8: The Cyclopses!
[Archie Goodwin/Roy G. Krenkel] 1p
[frontis]
2) Fair Exchange [Archie Goodwin/Neal Adams] 8p
3) Rub The Lamp! [Allan Jadro/Jerry Grandenetti] 8p
4) Terror In The Tomb! [Archie Goodwin/Rocco
Mastroserio] 7p
5) The Wanderer! [Archie Goodwin/Dan Adkins] 8p
6) Isle Of The Beast! [Archie Goodwin/Steve Ditko]
6p
7) An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge! [Archie
Goodwin/Bob Jenney] 6p from the story
by
Ambrose Bierce
8) Experiment In Fear! [Archie Goodwin/Gene Colan]
8p
Notes: Beneath a tame Adkins cover
was some pretty good work. Adams’ debut
in Eerie had him experimenting with a different panel layout on every
page. Ditko presented a very good werewolf
tale and Gene Colan’s tale of a Nazi concentration camp doctor’s terrifying end
was nerve-wracking. Some letter writers
apparently had never heard of Ambrose Bierce and accused Goodwin of ripping off
a Twilight Zone episode that also adapted Bierce’s story. Krenkel’s work on the Monster Gallery
one-pager is particularly nice work.
10. cover: Gray Morrow (July 1967)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery No. 9: The Wendigo!
[Roy G. Krenkel] 1p [frontis]
2) Warrior Of Death! [Archie
Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 8p
3) The Slugs! [Bill Pearson/Joe
Orlando] 8p
4) It! [Archie Goodwin/Dan
Adkins] 8p
5) Voodoo Drum! [Archie
Goodwin/Neal Adams] 8p
6) House Of Fiends! [Archie
Goodwin/Jerry Grandenetti] 8p
7) For The Birds! [Archie
Goodwin/Gene Colan] 8p
Notes: The monster in Adkins’ story
is swiped from the film ‘Five Million Years To Earth’. Given Ditko’s striking work on the sword
& sorcery stories that he did for Warren, one wonders why he never got the
chance to work on Conan for Marvel or on any other S&S series (unless you
count Shade, the Changing Man). ‘Voodoo
Drum!’ is the art & story fave for this issue. Adams’ art, reproduced from his pencils, is
very moody and his work is matched by the Goodwin script. ‘The Slugs’ is also a rather horrible little
story {and I mean that in a good way}.
11. cover: Joe Orlando (Sept. 1967)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery No.
10: The Minotaur [Archie Goodwin/Neal Adams] 1p [frontis]
2) Witch Hunt! [Archie
Goodwin/Joe Orlando] 6p
3) To Slay A Dragon! [Archie
Goodwin/Jeff Jones] 6p
4) The Mummy [Russ Jones/Dan
Adkins & Wally Wood] 7p from the
1932 Universal
screenplay, reprinted from
Monster World #1 (Nov. 1964) [story
& art credited to Wally
Wood]
5) Berenice! [Archie
Goodwin/Jerry Grandenetti] 6p from the
story by Edgar Allan Poe
6) The Blood Fruit! [Johnny Craig]
8p
7) The Monster From One Billion
B.C. [Tom Sutton] 8p
8) Big Change! [Ron Whyte/Larry
Woromay] 6p
9) First Blood [Archie Goodwin/Gene Colan] 6p
Notes: The money crunch that led to
Warren’s Dark Age begans to appear with the introduction of reprints in the
magazines. Jones’ credit is erased from
the reprint of the Mummy. See notes on
Creepy #17 as to reasons why. Sutton’s
story was originally done for Famous Monsters Of Filmland (and was reprinted
very shortly in those pages) but appeared in Eerie due to a deadline crunch
regarding his story ‘Image In Wax’ which appeared in Creepy #17. A note here on Sutton. It’s my belief that Tom Sutton is probably
the most underrated of all the Silver Age artists. He worked for all of the major publishers--Marvel,
DC, Charlton, Warren and Skywald and regularly appeared in fanzines, but never
really had a long run on a superhero title, partly because he didn’t
particularly like superheroes. What he
did like was horror and science fiction.
He was able to employ a remarkable variety of art styles and was best
when left alone to illustrate (and on occasion, write) the scripts in his own
unique way. He was certainly capable of
hackwork—his Star Trek work is mind-numbingly average, largely because that’s
what the client and the publisher wanted.
He technically retired from regular comic work in 1994, although he
continued to occasionally work in the field and his final days were spent
drawing grotesque porn comics for Fantagraphic’s Eros line. Yet he was also capable of absolutely
breathtaking artwork, as for instance, on Marvel’s Future History Chronicles,
the many short horror & war tales he did for Charlton, First Comics
‘Squalor’ series, the oddball Frankenstein series he did for Skywald and the
Warren work recorded here. He came in at
the tail end of the Goodwin Era and I suspect if he’d shown up sooner he’d be a
good deal more appreciated. His
influence shines on every time Bruce Timm draws the monster of Frankenstein or
Steve Bissette or John Totleben apply pencil and pen to paper. This was Goodwin’s last issue as editor but
I’ve included the next issue in the Goodwin Era as he clearly wrote &
assembled the artists for much of the contents.
Best art here was Jerry Grandenetti’s work on the Poe adaptation.
12. cover: Dan Adkins (Nov. 1967)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery:
Zombies! [Archie Goodwin/Roy G. Krenkel] 1p
[frontis] reprinted
from Eerie #4
(July 1966)
2) The Masque Of Death [Archie
Goodwin/Tom Sutton] 6p from the story
by Edgar Allan Poe
3) Vampyrus! [Archie
Goodwin/Jeff Jones] 7p
4) …Nor Custom, Stale… [Johnny
Craig] 8p
5) Escape! [Archie Goodwin/Joe
Orlando] 7p
6) Portrait Of Satan! [Archie
Goodwin/Ric Estrada] 8p
7) The Past Master [Craig
Tennis/Al McWilliams] 10p from the
story by Robert Bloch, reprinted
from Christopher
Lee’s Treasury Of Terror (Sept. 1966)
Notes: Editor: James Warren?. According to Clark Dimond, Warren wasn’t
actually the editor, rather a friend of Warren’s at Gold Key did the actual
editing. Goodwin’s absence was
immediately noticeable as the story credits aren’t listed for any story
here. This was the last largely original
Eerie issue for quite some time as Warren placed a freeze on any new stories or
artwork for at least seven months. Including
this issue, Goodwin left enough stories in inventory for possibly three issues
(and that might be stretching it) so Warren was forced to resort to all reprint
issues for Eerie & largely reprint issues for Creepy. He also raided the paperback horror book
‘Christopher Lee’s Treasury Of Terror’ and its unpublished sequel for stories
to print, beginning with this issue. The
cover by Dan Adkins was clearly intended for the previous issue’s Mummy
reprint. Not a bad issue but nowhere
close to the strength in story and art that Eerie had displayed in the previous
10 issues. Sadly, it was a strength that
Eerie would not recapture.
Warren’s Dark Age
13. cover: Vic Prezio (Feb. 1968)
1) Wentworth’s Day [Russ
Jones/Russ Jones & Frank Bolle] 9p
from the story by H. P.
Lovecraft &
August Derleth, reprinted from Christopher Lee’s Treasury Of Terror (Sept.
1966)
2) Ogre’s Castle [Archie
Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 6p reprinted
from Creepy #2 (Apr. 1965)
3) Tell-Tale Heart! [Archie
Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 8p from the
story by Edgar Allan Poe,
reprinted from
Creepy #3 (June 1965)
4) Voodoo! [Bill Pearson/Joe
Orlando] 6p reprinted from Creepy #1
(Jan. 1965)
5) Spawn Of The Cat People
[Archie Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 6p
reprinted from Creepy #2
(Apr. 1965)
6) The Success Story [Archie
Goodwin/Al Williamson] 6p reprinted
from Creepy #1 (Jan. 1965)
Notes: There were four months between issues here,
reflecting Warren’s shaky status. Size
reduction to 48 pages. Russ Jones’ name
was dropped from ‘Wentworth’s Day’ which he did work on but was still included
on ‘Voodoo!’ which he did not. An
all-reprint issue.
14. cover: Vic Prezio (Apr. 1968)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery: The Mummy [Archie
Goodwin/Wally Wood & Dan Adkins] 1p
[frontis] reprinted
from Eerie #5 (Sept. 1966)
2) The Stalkers [Archie
Goodwin/Alex Toth] 6p reprinted from
Creepy #6 (Dec. 1965)
3) Pursuit Of The Vampire!
[Archie Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 6p
reprinted from Creepy #1
(Jan. 1965)
4) Howling Success! [Archie
Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 7p reprinted
from Creepy #3 (June 1965)
5) Untimely Tomb! [Anne T.
Murphy & Archie Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 7p
reprinted from
Creepy #5 (Oct.
1965)
6) Curse Of The Full Moon!
[Archie Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 8p
reprinted from Creepy #4
(Aug. 1965)
7) Blood And Orchids! [Archie
Goodwin/Al McWilliams] 7p reprinted
from Creepy #4 (Aug.
1965)
Notes: All reprint issue.
15. cover: Vic Prezio (June 1968)
1) The Graves Of Oconoco! [John Benson/Pat Boyette
& Rocco Mastroserio] 7p
2) Wardrobe Of Monsters! [Otto Binder/Gray Morrow
& Angelo Torres] 8p reprinted from
Creepy #2 (Apr. 1965)
3) The Demon Wakes [Archie Goodwin/Bill Fraccio
& Tony Tallarico] 6p
4) Under The Skin! [Archie Goodwin/Jerry Grandenetti
& Joe Orlando] 7p reprinted from
Eerie #5 (Nov. 1965)
5) The Doll Collector! [Dave Kahleer/Gutenberg
Mondiero] 8p
6) A Change In The Moon! [Clark Dimond & Terry
Bisson/Jeff Jones] 8p [story credited
solely
to Dimond.]
Notes: The first issue since #12 to
feature new stories. The
Fraccio/Tallarico (they always used the penname Tony Williamsune for Warren)
art was new but the original Archie Goodwin story was probably a leftover from
his tenure. According to Clark Dimond,
at this point artist Jeff Jones hadn’t been paid for his last three Warren
stories and Jones apologized to Dimond for the quality of the artwork on ‘A
Change In The Moon!’.
16. cover: Barry Rockwell (July 1968)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery: The
Number 13! [Bill Parente/Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico] 1p
[frontis]
2) Dracula’s Guest [E. Nelson
Bridwell/Frank Bolle] 7p from the story
by Bram Stoker, reprinted
from Christopher
Lee’s Treasure Of Terror (Sept. 1966)
3) Big-Time Operator [E. Nelson
Bridwell/Ric Estrada] 8p
4) Sara’s Forest [Roger
Brand/Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico] 6p
5) Evil Spirits! [Archie
Goodwin/Johnny Craig] 10p
6) Eerie Fanfare: In Memoriam,
Rocco Mastroserio 1927-1968 [Bill Parente/Richard Corben,
Rocco
Mastroserio & Bruce Jones] 1p [text
article]
7) The Monument [Archie
Goodwin/Alex Toth] 6p reprinted from
Eerie #3 (May 1966)
8) Ahead Of The Game [Archie
Goodwin/Jerry Grandenetti & Bill Draut] 8p
reprinted from
Eerie #2 (Mar.
1966)
Notes: Editor: Bill Parente. Size increase to 56 pages. A quite good issue! Cousin Eerie’s head is obviously pasted over
original host Christopher Lee’s in the opening story. The Goodwin/Craig story is an unpublished
story from 1967. Richard Corben &
Bruce Jones make their comics debut on Eerie’s first fan page, although Corben
may have been working on his first underground work, Tales From The Plague,
prior to this. Although Jones is known
primarily today as a writer, he started off as a quite good artist in the Al
Williamson mode. The fan page also
announced the death of Warren and Charlton artist Rocco Mastroserio. Best stories are ‘Evil Spirits’ and ‘Big-Time
Operator’.
17. cover: Tom Sutton (Sept. 1968) [miscredited to Barry Rockwell.]
1) The Final Solution [Raymond Marais/Bill Fraccio
& Tony Tallarico] 8p
2) The Mummy Stalks! [Archie Goodwin/Reed Crandall]
8p reprinted from Eerie #5 (Sept.
1965)
3) Eerie Fanfare: Tom Sutton Profile/Back Pay [Bill
Parente & Bill Mantlo/Tom Sutton, Dean
Sindork & Mike Whelan] 1p [text article/story]
4) To Save Face [Bill Parente/Ernie Colon] 6p
5) Dressed To Kill! [Bill Parente/Tom Sutton] 6p
6) Demon Sword! [Archie Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 8p reprinted from Eerie #8 (Mar. 1967)
7) The Death Of Halpin Frayser [Craig Tennis/Frank
Bolle] 7½p from the story by Ambrose
Bierce, reprinted from Christopher Lee’s Treasury Of
Terror (Sept. 1966)
Notes: Eerie #17 is one of the
hardest Warren issues to find, apparently due to a James Warren experiment of
non-returnable distribution for this issue.
Tony Isabella writes a letter that reveals the actual artists behind the
Tony Williamsune pen-name to be Charlton mainstays Bill Fraccio & Tony
Tallarico. The fan page debuts future
comic writer Bill Mantlo and future SF cover artist Michael Whelan.
18. cover: Tom Sutton (Nov. 1968)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery:
Zombies! [Archie Goodwin/Roy G. Krenkel] 1p
[frontis]
reprinted from
Eerie #4 (July 1966)
2) Hard Luck [Bill Parente/Sal Trapani] 6p [story miscredited to James Haggenmiller]
3) Cry Fear, Cry Phantom [Archie Goodwin/Jerry
Grandenetti] 7p reprinted from Eerie #7
(Jan. 1967)
4) A Change Of Pace! [Bill Parente/Tom Sutton] 6p
5) Eerie Fanfare: Barry Rockwell Profile/Fish Story
[Bill Parente & Thomas Prehoda/Greg
Volpert & Gary Meyers] 1p [text article/story w/photo]
6) The Jungle [Archie Goodwin/Al
Williamson] 6p reprinted from Eerie #5
(Sept. 1966)
7) Vampire Slayer! [Archie
Goodwin/Jerry Grandenetti & Joe Orlando] 8p reprinted from Eerie
#5 (Sept. 1966)
8) Trial By Fire! [Johnny Craig]
6p reprinted from Eerie #6 (Nov. 1966)
9) Side Show [Bill Parente/Bill
Fraccio & Tony Tallarico] 6p
10) Uncle Creepy And Cousin
Eerie’s Cauldron Contest [Bill Parente/Ernie Colon] 1p [on back
cover]
Notes: See Creepy #23 for Cauldron
Contest information.
19. cover: Alan Willow (Dec. 1968)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery: The
Castle Of The Frankenstein! [Tom Sutton] 1p
[frontis]
2) Tomorrow’s Reminder [Bill
Parente/Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico] 6p
[Title misspelled as
‘Tommorrow’]
3) Dark Kingdom! [Archie
Goodwin/Gray Morrow] 8p reprinted from
Creepy #9 (June 1967)
4) Dark House Of Dreams [Archie
Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 6p reprinted
from Creepy #12 (Dec.
1966)
5) Monstrous Mistake [Bill Parente/Barry Rockwell]
6p
6) The Squaw! [Archie Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 8p from the story by Bram Stoker, reprinted
from
Creepy #13 (Feb. 1967)
7) Unfeeling Heart… [James Haggenmiller/Ernie Colon]
6p
8) Eerie Fanfare: Abracadabra/The Glass Prison [Bill
Parente & Roxanne Collier/Bill Black {aka
Bill
Black} & Brian Clifton] 1p [text
article/story]
Notes: Cover artist Willow was the
first European artist to appear in a Warren magazine. Bill Parente starts a Satan’s Grimore section
on the fan page, starting with the letter ‘A’, with alternate sections appearing
in both Creepy and Eerie. The series is
never finished, ending with the letter ‘G’.
Future artist Bill Black makes his second appearance on the fan page.
20. cover: H. B. Harris (Mar. 1969)
1) Round Trip [Bill Parente/Bill Fraccio & Tony
Tallarico] 6p
2) A Cloak Of Darkness [Bill Parente/Reed Crandall]
6p
3) Eerie Fanfare: Candles/A Shrewd Deal [Bill
Parente & Gordon Mathews/P. Zimelman &
George Meyers] 1p
[text article/story]
4) Cave Of The Druids! [Archie
Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 8p reprinted
from Eerie #6 (Nov.
1966)
5) The Fall Of The House Of
Usher [Tom Sutton] 11p from the story
by Edgar Allan Poe
6) Dark Rider! [Archie
Goodwin/John Severin] 6p reprinted from
Eerie #8 (Mar. 1967)
Notes: Sutton’s Poe adaptation is
prose heavy but beautifully drawn.
21. cover: Vic Prezo (May 1969)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery:
Lucifer’s Legions [Tom Sutton] 1p
[frontis]
2) Point Of View [Archie
Goodwin/Rocco Mastroserio] 6p reprinted
from Eerie #6 (Nov. 1966)
3) Eerie Fanfare: Cauldron Contest/Once There Was A
Planet [Bill Parente & Roger Solberg/
Mike
Kersey & James King] 1p [text
article/story]
4) Miscalculation [Bill Parente/Bill Fraccio &
Tony Tallarico] 7p
5) Terror In The Tomb! [Archie Goodwin/Rocco
Mastroserio] 7p reprinted from Eerie #9
(May
1967)
6) Fatal Diagnosis [Bill Parente/Ernie Colon] 6p
7) Warrior Of Death! [Archie Goodwin/Steve Ditko]
8p reprinted from Eerie #10 (July 1967)
8) House Of Fiends! [Archie Goodwin/Jerry
Grandenetti] 8p reprinted from Eerie
#10 (July
1967)
22. cover: Vic Prezo (July 1969)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery: The
Minotaur [Archie Goodwin/Neal Adams] 1p
[frontis] reprinted
from Eerie #11
(Sept. 1967)
2) H2O World! [Larry Ivie/Al
Williamson & Roy G. Krenkel] 6p
reprinted from Creepy #1 (Jan.
1965)
3) Family Curse [T. Casey
Brennan/Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico] 8p
4) The Devil To Pay! [Archie
Goodwin/Donald Norman] 6p reprinted
from Creepy #11 (Oct.
1966)
5) Permanent Members! [Bill Parente/Tom Sutton]
7p
6) Eerie Fanfare: Familiars/The Finish [Bill Parente
& Mike Raab/Len Wein] 1p [text
article/
story]
7) Scooped! [Bill Parente/Ernie Colon] 8p
8) The Spirit Of The Thing! [Archie Goodwin/Steve
Ditko] 8p reprinted from Creepy #9
(June
1966)
9) Vampirella Is Coming Ad [Bill Parente/Bill
Fraccio & Tony Tallarico] 1p
Notes: Size increase to 56
pages. Prezo’s cover of a bikini clad
diver confronted by sea monsters at an undersea wreck is quite good. The story ‘Permanent Members’ appears to have
been intended for, or perhaps inspired
by, the cover to Creepy #22 from a year earlier. T. Casey Brennan makes his professional debut
here. Future comic writer Len Wein makes
his comics debut on the fan page as an artist.
The Vampirella ad features both Uncle Creepy & Cousin Eerie, but not
Vampirella.
Warren’s Rebuilding
23. cover: Frank Frazetta (Sept. 1969)
1) Beyond Nefera’s Tomb [Bill Parente/Ernie Colon]
8p
2) The Dragon’s Tail [Kim Ball/Bill Fraccio &
Tony Tallarico] 8p
3) An Occurance At Owl Creek Bridge! [Archie
Goodwin/Bob Jenney] 6p from the story
by
Ambrose Bierce, reprinted from Eerie #9 (May 1967)
4) Eerie Fanfare: Hades/Total War/Cauldron Contest
Winner: Edward French [Bill Parente &
Timothy Boertlein/Bruce Jones] 2p [text article/story w/photo]
5) Soul Pool [Edward R. French/Tom Sutton] 7p
6) Fair Exchange [Archie Goodwin/Neal Adams] 8p reprinted from Eerie #9 (May 1967)
7) Space Age Vampire [James Haggenmiller/Mike Royer]
8p
8) Vampirella Is Coming Ad [Bill Parente/Bill
Fraccio & Tony Tallarico] 1p
9) Easy Way To A Tuff Surfboard! [Archie
Goodwin/Frank Frazetta] ½p reprinted
from Eerie
#3 (May 1966)
Notes: Although reprints would
continue for another 8 months or so, this issue, along with Creepy #29 and
Vampirella #1, mark the beginning of Warren’s rebuilding from the quality quake
of the previous two years. Size increase
to 64 pages. Frazetta’s cover, ‘Egyptian
Princess’, is one of his most famous paintings and justly so. A dynamic use of lighting and shadow (along
with some nicely done near-nudity) make this cover a real eye-opener. The accompanying cover story ‘Beyond Nefera’s
Tomb’ also displays a remarkable amount of nudity for a 1969 comic. Even a black & white one. Bruce Jones makes his second fan page
appearance, only a few months before his professional debut in the rival horror
magazine Web Of Horror.
24. cover: Vic Prezo (Nov. 1969)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery:
…Perchance To Dream! [Tom Sutton] 1p
[frontis]
2) Head For The Lighthouse!
[Bill Parente/Mike Royer] 8p
3) Pursuit Of The Vampire!
[Archie Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 6p
reprinted from Creepy #1 (Jan.
1965)
4) The Immortality Seeker [James Haggenmiller/Tom
Sutton] 7p
5) Eerie Fanfare: Epilogue [Donald Lauzon/Joe
Kovacs] 1p [text story]
6) Checkmate [Ron Parker/Bill Fraccio & Tony
Tallarico] 8p
7) Scavenger Hunt [Don Glut/Jerry Grandenetti] 6p
8) Demon Dictionary [Bill Parente/Bill Fraccio &
Tony Tallarico] 1p [text article]
9) Dracula’s Guest [E. Nelson Bridwell/Frank Bolle]
7p from the story by Bram Stoker,
reprinted
from
Christopher Lee’s Treasury Of Terror (Sept. 1966)
10) Wrong Tennant [Bill Parente/Reed Crandall] 7p
25. cover: Jim Steranko (Jan. 1970)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery:
Vampire! [Bill Parente/Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico] 1p [frontis]
2) Isle Of The Vrukolakas [Don Glut/Ernie Colon] 6p
3) Mistake! [Buddy Saunders/Bill
Black] 6p
4) Hijack To Horror [R. Michael
Rosen/Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico] 6p
5) To Pay The Piper! [Larry
Ivie/Gene Colan] 6p reprinted from
Eerie #2 (Mar. 1966)
6) Southern Exposure [Bill
Parente/Tom Sutton] 5p
7) The Thing In The Cave [R.
Michael Rosen/Mike Royer] 6p
8) Eerie Fanfare: I Gave Him Life!/To The Ends Of
Inner Space [Paul E. King & Tom O’Boyle/
David Hubb] 1p
[text stories]
9) House Of Evil! [Archie
Goodwin/Jerry Grandenetti] 8p reprinted
from Eerie #4 (July 1966)
10) Hex Marks The Spot [R.
Michael Rosen/William Barry] 6p
Notes: Steranko’s sole contribution
to Warren is nice, but gives the appearance of having been done for the gothic
paperback lines of the time rather than as an original painting done for the
Warren line.
26. cover: Basil Gogos & Vaughn Bode
(Mar. 1970)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery: The
Body Snatchers! [Tom Sutton] 1p
[frontis]
2) I Wouldn’t Want To Live
There! [Bill Parente/Jack Sparling] 7p
3) Southern Exposure, part 2
[Bill Parente/Tom Sutton] 7p
4) In The Neck Of Time [Al Hewetson/Bill Fraccio
& Tony Tallarico] 8p
5) Eerie Fanfare: Al Hewetson Profile/Death After
Dark/Three Feet From Exit Four/Traitor’s
Reward
[Al Hewetson, Mark Aubry, Mark Hatfield & Dennis Goza/Ernie Colon &
Steven
Muhmel] 2p [text stories w/photo]
6) Spiders Are Revolting! [Bill Warren/Tom Sutton]
9p
7) The Scarecrow [Nicola Cuti/Frank Bolle] 7p
8) Tuned In! [Ken Dixon/Dick Piscopo] 7p
9) Cyked-Out! [Ken Dixon/Jack Sparling] 8p
Notes: First issue since #10 to
have all-original stories. The cover is
quite ugly, yet strangely, was reprinted in the early 1980s! Future artist Ronn Sutton sends in a letter. Best story and art is the Warren/Sutton story
‘Spiders Are Revolting!’
27. cover: Vaughn Bode & Jeff Jones (May
1970)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery: The
Golem! [Tom Sutton] 1p [frontis]
2) Journey Into Wonder [Bill
Parente/Ken Barr] 10p
3) Amazonia [Gardner Fox/Miguel
Fernandez] 7p
4) Eerie Fanfare: Neal Adams Profile/Poetry
Corner/Surprise/The Forwarned [Bill Parente, Brad
Linaweaver, Gary
Schnoebeden, Cathy Hill, Allen Arnold & Susan Wylie/Dale Stuckert
& ?] 2p [text article & stories, poems]
5) The Machine God’s Slave [Buddy Saunders/Ernie
Colon] 6p
6) Swallowed In Space! [Bill Parente/Tom Sutton] 7p
7) Enter…Dr. Laernu! [R. Michael
Rosen/Dick Piscopo] 6p
8) All Sewed Up! [Buddy
Saunders/Mike Royer] 6p
9) Face It! [Nicola Cuti/Jack
Sparling] 7p
Notes: In contrast to the previous
issue, this Bode/Jones cover is quite lovely.
Gardner Fox’s character Amazonia would reappear in Vampirella,
illustrated there by Billy Graham. The best
story here is easily Buddy Saunders’ ‘The Machine God’s Slave’ with art honors
shared by Ernie Colon and by Mike Royer
for his work on ‘All Sewed Up!’.
28. cover: Pat Boyette (July 1970)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery: The
Saucerians! [Tom Sutton] 1p [frontis]
2) The Hidden Evils! [James
Haggenmiller/Dan Adkins] 9p
3) The Beast In The Swamp! [Bill
Warren/Billy Graham] 8p
4) Eerie Fanfare: The Horror Of
Biscayne Gardens/The Man On The Hill/By The Moon/Who Is
In The
Shadows?/Poem/A Dragon’s Tale [mike Petit, Jeff Kadish, Peter MacKenzie,
Steven Teal,
Danny Massoni & Brad Linaweaver/Mike Jasinski, Tony Bishop, Greg
Theakston &
Arvell Jones] 2p [text stories &
poems]
5) The Rescue Party! [Buddy Saunders/Jack Sparling]
7p
6) Follow Apollo! [R. Michael Rosen/Tom Sutton] 6p
8) Ice Scream [R. Michael Rosen/Bill DuBay] 7p
9) Pit Of Evil [Al Hewetson/Dick Piscopo] 7p
10) The Last Train To Orion! [Pat Boyette] 6p
11) Easy Way To A Tuff Surfboard! [Archie
Goodwin/Frank Frazetta] ½p reprinted
from Eerie
#3 (May 1966)
Notes: Editor: James Warren. Interesting cover & story from Pat
Boyette but the best story is Bill Warren’s & Billy Graham’s ‘The Beast In
The Swamp!’ This sword & sorcery
effort (as well as the Amazonia stories in Vampirella) makes one wonder why
Graham never got a chance to draw Conan.
He’d have been great at it!
29. cover: Ken Kelly (Sept. 1970)
1) An Editorial To The President Of The United
States And All The Members Of Congress
[James Warren] 1p
[text article, frontis]
2) Loophole! [Nicola Cuti/Jack Sparling] 7p
3) The Fiend Planet [Buddy Saunders/Dan Adkins] 6p
4) The Bloodstaff [Rich Buckler] 7p
5) Gallery Of Horror [Buddy Saunders/Carlos Garzon]
7p
6) The Vorpal Sword [Nicola Cuti/Tom Sutton] 7p
7) Eerie Fanfare: The Tomb Of Ankh-Ra/Headsman
[Virginia Jenkins & Don Allen/Phillippe
Druillet & Frank Frazetta] 2p [text stories] Frazetta’s art from the cover of Creepy #17
8) Strange Gateway! [T. Casey Brennan/Jack Sparling]
8p
9) Easy Way To A Tuff Surfboard! [Archie
Goodwin/Frank Frazetta] ½p reprinted
from Eerie
#3 (May 1966)
10) Snow Job! [Doug Moench/Jack Sparling] 7p
Notes: Archie Goodwin is listed as
Associate Editor. Doug Moench’s
professional comics debut. Famous French
artist Phillippe Druillet makes his only Warren appearance on the fan page!?!
30. cover: Basil Gogos (Nov. 1970)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery: BEM
[Dan Adkins] 1p [frontis]
2) The Entail [Pat Boyette] 6p
3) October Weir: Mirror, Mirror
[Nicola Cuti/Frank Bolle] 10p
4) Life Species [Bill DuBay] 4p
5) Eerie Fanfare: The Prophetic Dream/Escape
Claws/Nuts To You!/The Mistake [Carmen
Minchella, David
O’Dell, Rodney Schroeter, David E. Bruegel/Arthur Suydam & Gray
Morrow] 2p [text stories]
6) I, Werewolf [Ken Barr] 9p
7) Easy Way To A Tuff Surfboard! [Archie
Goodwin/Frank Frazetta] ½p reprinted
from Eerie
#3 (May 1966)
8) In Close Pursuit [Gordon Matthews/Jerry
Grandenetti] 8p
9) The Return Of Amen-Tut! [Don Glut/Jack Sparling]
8p
10) The Creation [Doug Moench/Carlos Garzon] 8p
Notes: Price increase to 60
cents. Behind a not particularly good
cover is a quite good issue! The BEM in
Eerie’s Monster Gallery is old science fiction slang for ‘bug-eyed
monster’. Future artist Tony Meers sends
in a letter. Pat Boyette’s story ‘The
Entail’ is not only quite good, but quite gruesome as well. Psychic detective October Weir had only two
appearances. Pity, as his stories were
good and Bolle was perfect as the artist.
‘Life Species’ by DuBay is the kind of story that stays with you all
your life. A classic SF tale. Future artist Arthur Suydam makes his comics
debut on the fan page.
31. cover: Richard Corben (Jan. 1971)
1) Point Of View [Buddy Saunders/Tom Sutton] 9p
2) The Drop [Chris Fellner/Bill Fraccio & Tony
Tallarico] 6p
3) The Devil’s Hand! [Bill DuBay] 6p
4) The Alien Plague! [Billy Graham] 10p
5) The Oasis [Buddy Saunders/Carlos Garzon] 8p
6) October Weir: Lady In Ice [Nicola Cuti/Frank
Bolle] 7p
7) Eerie Fanfare: I, The Nightwatchman/Poem/The
Pact/Down In Cannery Dough [Ed Fedory/
Danny Massoni, Michael Darrah & Craig Hill/Jeff
Jones, ?, Greg Theakston & Arvell
Jones] 2p
[text stories & poem]
8) The Killer Slime [Steve Skeates/Carlos Garzon] 8p
9) Easy Way To A Tuff Surfboard! [Archie
Goodwin/Frank Frazetta] ½p reprinted
from Eerie
#3 (May 1966)
[on inside back cover]
Notes: Corben’s first Warren cover
is quite good with hairy, faceless monsters rising from a dead body and
pointing directly at the reader. Bill
Fraccio & Tony Tallarico’s art is quite good on the drug story ‘The Drop’. At the request of future editor J. R.
Cochran, Ed Fedory would later rework his text story from the fan page into a
comic strip that would appear in Creepy #46.
The final October Weir story appears.
32. cover: Richard Corben & [in insert]
Tom Sutton (Mar. 1971) [Sutton’s art is
from an interior story]
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery: The Creature From…Beyond
Ultima Thule! [Clif Jackson] 1p
[frontis]
2) Superhero! [Steve Skeates/Tom Sutton] 6p
3) The Warning Of The Hawk! [Gardner Fox/Clif
Jackson & Syd Shores] 6p
4) The Wailing Tower [Larry Herndon/Frank Bolle] 7p
5) Bookworm [Gerry Conway/Richard Corben] 7p
6) I Fell For You [John Wolley/Jack Sparling] 7p
7) Eerie Fanfare: The
Misunderstanding/Reversal/Ain’t It Not Funky Now Brother/Your Last
Child Is Leaving [Clayton Fox, Michael Carlisle,
Craig Hill & Ken Haubrock/Kevin
Schaffer, Craig Hill, Steve Leialoha & Robert
Monahan] 2p [text stories/poems]
8) Soul Power! [Don Glut/Mike Royer] 6p
9) Ice World [Bill DuBay/William Barry] 7p [art miscredited to DuBay]
Notes: While a mainstay nowadays of
such comics as Astro City, Steve Skeates’ ‘Superhero!’ was the first comic
story to link up a night time Batman-like superhero with the vampire
mythos. Pretty good story, too. Best story and art goes to the Conway/Corben
‘Bookworm’. Steve Leialoha makes his
second appearance on the fan page, along with an announcement that he’s ready
to work for any comic publisher that wants him.
33. cover: Larry Todd (May 1971)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery: The
Minotaur [Clif Jackson] 1p [frontis]
2) A Trip In Time! [Steve
Skeates/Jack Sparling] 6p
3) 243 Blank Pages! [Steve
Skeates/George Roussos] 7p
4) Whom The Gods Would Destroy
[Marv Wolfman/Ken Barr] 11p
5) Escape Into Chaos [Steve
Skeates/Ernie Colon] 7p
6) Starvisions [Larry Todd] 6p
7) The Pest! [Al Hewetson/Richard Corben] 8p
8) Eerie Fanfare: Dave Cockrum Profile/The
Vampire/Wolf Star/From Beyond The Grave
[Dave Cockrum, David Nowicki, Jack L. Bannow &
Harry Feinzig/Mike Roberts, R. Goodwin, Pat Broderick, Gerald Colucci, Mark Wallace
& Rick Bryant] 2p [text stories/
poem w/photo]
9) The Painting In The Tower! [Gardner Fox/Pat
Boyette] 7p
Notes: ‘The Pest!’ by Hewetson &
Corben is the best story although Ernie Colon’s experimental art and Pat
Boyette’s efforts are also worthy of note.
Future artists Pat Broderick and Rick Bryant appear on the fan page.
34. cover: Boris Vallejo (July 1971)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery: The
Man Who Played God! [Tom Sutton] 1p
[frontis]
2) Parting Is Such Sweet Horror!
[Tom Sutton] 7p
3) Eye Of Cyclops! [Buddy
Saunders/Jaime Brocal] 7p
4) He Who Laughs Last…Is
Grotesque! [Al Hewetson/Mike Royer] 7p
5) Food For Thought [Steve
Skeates/Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico] 5p
6) The Vow Of The Wizard… [Ernie
Colon/Ernie Colon & Frank McLaughlin] 7p
7) The Sound Of Wings [F. Paul
Wilson/Carlos Garzon] 6p
8) Eerie Fanfare: Oh, To Be A Bat/The Mutant!/The
Face Of Death! [Edgar Ellington, Robert J.
Hurris, Josheph Wiltz/Pat Broderick, Joseph Wiltz,
Mitchell Brown & Tony Desensi] 2p
[text poem/stories]
9) Lair Of The Horned Man [Alan
Weiss] 9p
Notes: Vallejo’s second Warren
cover gets a good deal more respect than his first did for Vampirella, even
though his barbarian swordsman looks somewhat disjointed. His harpy is quite terrifying. The fullscale Spanish Invasion of artists
begins in Eerie with the debut of Jaime Brocal.
Al Hewetson delivers a story that would have fit right at home in the
Horror-Mood of Skywald. SF writer F.
Paul Wilson makes his comics (and perhaps his professional) debut with ‘The
Sound Of Wings’. Pat Broderick makes his
second appearance on the fan page.
35. cover: Enrich Torres (Sept. 1971)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery:
Monster Sightings! [John Cornell] 1p
[frontis]
2) Retribution [Gardner Fox
& Steve Englehart/Steve Englehart] 6p
3) The Comet’s Curse! [Buddy
Saunders/Frank Brunner] 6p
4) The Tower Of The Demon Dooms!
[Gardner Fox/Mike Ploog] 9p
5) I Am Dead, Egypt, Dead [Doug
Moench/Victor de la Fuente] 8p
6) Cats And Dogs [Bill
DuBay/Jerry Grandenetti] 7p
7) Eerie Fanfare: Sanho Kim
Profile/Changing Sands/The Rats/The End [J. R. Cochran, John D.
Warner, John
Ayella & David McElmurry/Robert Putnam, John Ayella, Ken Kelly &
Craig Edelblut]
2p [text stories]
8) Annual Warren Awards At The
New York Comiccn… [Martin Greim] 2p
[text article]
reprinted from
Comic Crusader #10 (1970)
9) Money [Sanho Kim] 9p
10) Easy Way To A Tuff Surfboard! [Archie
Goodwin/Frank Frazetta] ½p reprinted
from Eerie
#3
(May 1966) [on back cover]
Notes: Editor: Billy Graham. Enrich Torres makes a spectacular cover
artist debut with one of the most striking covers of his career. Although it’s not generally well-known, comic
writer Steve Englehart made his debut as an artist and, as is evident from the
half dozen or so stories available, was not bad at all. Mike Ploog makes his comics debut, after a
stint as Will Eisner’s assistant on P*S magazine. The Eisner influence is very apparent. Sanho Kim’s art is impressive, even more so
compared to the often rushed looking artwork he was doing for Charlton at the
time. The Ken Kelly on the fan page (and
on the letters’ page) is not the cover artist.
A very strong issue.
36. cover: Enrich Torres (Nov. 1971)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery:
Atoms [T. Casey Brennan/Pablo Marcos] 1p
[frontis]
2) Bad Moon On The Rise [Doug
Moench/Tom Sutton] 10p
3) The Silence And The Sleep
[Steve Skeates/Rubio] 7p
4) Prototype [Steve
Skeates/Bruce Jones] 10p
5) Look What They’ve Done!
[Steve Skeates/Esteban Maroto] 6p
6) Crocodile [Don Glut/Mascaro]
6p
7) The Trap [Greg Potter/L. M.
Roca] 4p
8) Eerie Fanfare: Steve Skeates Profile/House Of
Horror/Occupational Hazard [Steve Skeates,
Christopher
Wolfe & Billie Fowler/Steve Skeates, Steve Lowe & Steve Cassman] 2p
[text article/stories]
9) Oh, Brother! [Steve Skeates/Dave Cockrum] 7p
Notes: Bruce Jones’ art is
reproduced from pencils.
37. cover: Enrich Torres (Jan. 1972)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery: Air
Serpent [Bill DuBay] 1p [frontis]
2) The Other Side Of Atlantis
[Steve Skeates/Jaime Brocal] 10p
3) Horror At Hamilton House
[Lynn Marron/Ken Barr] 7p
4) The Ones Who Stole It From
You [Don McGregor/Rafael Auraleon] 14p
5) A Rush Of Wings [Larry
Herndon/Jaime Brocal] 8p
6) Eerie Fanfare: The
Message!/Theory/My, Oh, My!/Final Conquerer/Interchange! [Ted Dasen,
Phill Jones,
Vernon Shelton, Michael E. Tierney & Steven Taggart/Michael Gilbert,
Anthony DeSensi,
Solano Lopez & James Kanhard] 2p
[text stories]
7) Dethslaker [Doug Moench/Ernie
Colon] 11p
Notes: Nice cover from Enrich. The best story and art is the ghoul story
‘The Ones Who Stole It From You’ by Don McGregor and Rafael Auraleon. Ernie Colon’s lettering for his story’s title
is so ornate that it is impossible to read!
Still, it’s one of his best (and sexiest) art jobs for Warren. Brocal’s two art jobs clearly show the
difference between an artist fully engaged in the story he’s illustrating
{Atlantis} and one he’s just doing for the buck {Wings}. Michael Gilbert makes his comics debut on the
fan page, with a sample from a college comic strip. Solano Lopez’s sample pages again land up on
the fan page.
38. cover: Ken Kelly (Feb. 1972)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery: The
Mothman Of West Virginia [Doug Moench/Jaime Brocal] 1p
[frontis]
2) Stake In The Game [Doug
Moench/Jose Gual] 21p
3) The Carrier Of The Serpent
[T. Casey Brennan/Jerry Grandenetti] 10p
4) 1971 Comiccon Awards Go To
Frazetta And Goodwin… [J. R. Cochran?/?] 3p
[text article]
5) A Stranger In Hell [T. Casey
Brennan/Esteban Maroto] 7p
6) The Night The Snow Spilled
Blood! [Don McGregor/Tom Sutton] 12p
7) Eerie Fanfare: Esteban Maroto
Profile/The Shower!/The Night Desert/See Into The Future!/
The Brothers/The
Farmer’s Friend [Bill DuBay, C. D. Stewart, Jim Erskine, Jarry
Bradman & M. Joseph
Blattberg/Esteban Maroto, Brant Withers, Loper Sepi, Manuel
Sanjulian & Stephen
Stanley] 2p [text articles/stories
w/photo]
Notes: Ken Kelly’s cover is one of his best! A fanged humanoid struggles with a giant
green serpent! Moody and dynamic! Future artist & letterer John Workman
sends in a letter pleading for work! One
of the longest (thus far) stories in Warren history is, unfortunately, none too
good. T. Casey Brennan & Jerry
Grandenetti turn in another philosophical story (something they were quite good
at). Esteban Maroto turns in the best
art job on ‘A Stranger In Hell’ while Don McGregor’s ‘The Night The Snow
Spilled Blood!’ is the best story.
McGregor’s story is also the second appearance of police detective Dave
Turner.
39. cover: Ken Kelly (Apr. 1972)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery: The Mysterious Men In
Black! [Doug Moench/Richard Bassford] 1p
[frontis]
2) Head Shop [Don Glut/Jose Bea] 6p
3) Just Passing Through [Steve Skeates/Rafael
Auraleon] 8p
4) The Disenfranchised [J. R. Cochran/Tom Sutton]
10p
5) Dax The Warrior [Esteban Maroto & ?/Esteban
Maroto] 8p [story credited solely to
Maroto]
6) Yesterday Is The Day Before
Tomorrow [Doug Moench/Dave Cockrum] 7p
7) Eerie Fanfare: Pity The Stranger/House For Sale/The
Coming Of Apollo/Welcoming
Committee
[Greg Balke, Roy Decker, Gary Henry & Marcus Octavious/Steve Monsanto
& Jody Clay] 2p [text stories]
8) Ortaa! [Kevin Pagan/Jaime Brocal] 8p
Notes: Another fine Ken Kelly
Cover! The best story & art is easily
J. R. Cochran & Tom Sutton’s ‘The Disenfranchised!’ Maroto’s Dax character begins an 11 chapter
run in Eerie. These stories had
originally been published in Europe a couple of years earlier. For this Warren run, the stories were
translated and rewritten by American writers, none of whom were credited. Apparently, each scripter got only one story
to adapt so the quality of the scripts would range from quite good to
so-so.
40. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (June 1972)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery:
Dracula’s Castle [Fred Ott/Rafael Auraleon] 2p
[frontis & on inside
back cover]
2) The Story Behind ‘Stake In
The Game’. [Doug Moench] 1/3p [text
article on letters’ page]
3) The Brain Of Frankenstein
[Fred Ott/Mike Ploog] 10p
4) The Once Powerful Prince
[Steve Skeates/Jaime Brocal] 13p
5) Dax The Warrior: The Paradise
Tree [Esteban Maroto & ?/Esteban Maroto] 8p [story credited
solely to Maroto]
6) Deathfall [Sanho Kim] 10p
7) The Prodigy Son [Don Glut/Jose Bea] 6p
8) Eerie Fanfare: Buddy Saunders Profile/Kingdom
Come/The Grim Spectre/Snow/Purtian’s
Progress/The
Story Behind The Story: ‘The Night The Snow Spilled Blood!’/Paradise
Lost!/Voice Of Doom [Buddy
Saunders, James Charles, Rick Cook, Joe Letts, Jerry
Bradman, ?, Don McGregor, David Yates & David A.
Wasyk/Bruce Waldman, Tom Sutton & J. A. Williams] 2p [text articles/stories w/photo]
1) Pity The Grave Digger!
[Buddy Saunders/Rafael Auraleon] 6p
Notes: Editor: J. R. Cochran. Price increase to 75 cents and size increase
to 72 pages. Mike Ploog’s final Warren
story appears to be a warm up for his excellent Frankenstein series for Marvel,
which appeared about six months later.
It’s easily the best art in the issue, although Maroto, Kim and Auraleon
also do noteworthy jobs. ‘The Once
Powerful Prince’ is a sequel to ‘The Other Side Of Atlantis’ from Eerie
#37.
41. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Aug. 1972)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery: The
Ghouls Of Scotland [Fred Ott/Ken Barr] 1p
[frontis]
2) Inside 41/The Story Behind
The Story: ‘Head Shop’ [J. R. Cochran & Don Glut] 1/3p [text
articles on
letters’ page]
3) Warped [Kevin Pagan/Jerry
Grandenetti] 8p
4) West Coast Turnaround [John
Wooley/Tom Sutton] 8p
5) Heir Pollution! [John
Wooley/Jose Bea] 9p
6) The Caterpillars [Fred
Ott/Luis Garcia] 8p
7) Derelict [John Thraxis/Paul
Neary] 7p
8) The Safest Way! [Steve
Skeates/Jose Gual] 7p
9) Eerie Fanfare: Tom Sutton
Profile/The Pet Shop/What’s For Supper?/To Save A Witch/Tales
From The Crypt
Review/Cat Fancy [Tom Sutton, Mark Curtis, Jay Richter, Mary
Eveland, Jr. R.
Cochran, Dave Parker/Tom Sutton & Esteban Maroto] 2p [text
articles/stories w/photo]
10) Dax The Warrior: Chess
[Esteban Maroto & ?/Esteban Maroto] 8p
[story credited solely to
Maroto]
Notes: One of Sanjulian’s best
covers graces this issue. New writer
John Wooley writes several social horrors stories with the best being the LSD
story ‘West Coast Turnaround’ with good art by Tom Sutton. Englishman Paul Neary makes his American
debut.
42. cover: Luis Dominguez (Oct. 1972)
1) The True Story Of Eerie…How
To Gain Forty Pounds Of Ugly Fat In Six Years! [J. R.
Cochran] 1p [text article, frontis]
2) The Mummy Stalks! [Roy G.
Krenkel & Archie Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 8p
reprinted from
Eerie #5 (Sept.
1966)
3) The Blood Fruit! [Johnny
Craig] 8p reprinted from Eerie #11
(Sept. 1967)
4) It That Lurks! [Archie
Goodwin/Dan Adkins] 6p reprinted from
Eerie #7 (Jan. 1967)
5) Dark Rider! [Archie
Goodwin/John Severin] 6p reprinted from
Eerie #8 (Mar. 1967)
6) Life Species [Bill DuBay]
2p reprinted from Eerie #30 (Nov. 1970)
7) Ogre’s Castle [Archie
Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 6p reprinted
from Creepy #2 (Apr. 1965)
8) Room With A View! [Archie
Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 6p reprinted from
Eerie #3 (May 1966)
9) Voodoo Drum! [Archie
Goodwin/Neal Adams] 8p reprinted from
Eerie #10 (July 1967)
10) I Am Dead, Egypt, Dead [Doug
Moench/Victor de la Fuente] 8p
reprinted from Eerie #35
(Sept. 1971)
11) The Thing In The Alley [Al
Hewetson/Berni Wrightson] 1p [text story, on back cover]
Notes: $1.00 cost & 80 page
issue. With this issue the Eerie
Yearbook/Annual became part of the regular numbering. First squarebound issue. I’ve already mentioned that this was my first
Warren purchase. However, even without
the rosy glow of nostalgia, this is a pretty great issue, even for a
reprint. Great stories and art from all
involved. Due to a mix up at the
printer, which Warren & Skywald shared for a time, the back cover for
Skywald’s Nightmare #9 (Oct. 1972) was also printed as the back cover for this
Warren magazine.
The DuBay Era
43. cover: Luis Dominguez (Nov. 1972)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery:
Quetzalcoatl, Monster God! [Doug Moench/Luis Garcia] 1p [frontis]
2) Inside 43 [Bill DuBay]
1/3p [text article on letters’ page]
3) Someday [Rich
Margopoulos/Jerry Grandenetti] 12p
4) Musical Chairs [Steve
Skeates/Tom Sutton] 8p
5) Bright Eyes! [Doug
Moench/Richard Corben] 7p
6) Eerie Book Reviews: Green
Lantern/The Ghouls/Hauntings And Horrors/Tales From The Crypt
[Chuck
McNaughton] 1p [text articles]
7) The Hunt [Rich Margopoulos/Paul Neary] 8p
8) Showdown [Steve Skeates/Jesus Suso] 6p
9) Eerie Fanfare: Rich Margopoulos Profile/Life’s
Dream/Encounter With An Artist/Cold
Shoulder!/Hate/Black Death
[Rich Margopoulos, Richard D. Chase, Jeff Baenen, Bob
Hurns, Robert M. Lester
& Tim McDonald/Paul Neary, Hidy & Scot Goode] 2p [text
article/stories w/photo]
10) Dax The Warrior: Let The
Evil One Sleep [Esteban Maroto & ?/Esteban Marato] 8p [story
credited
solely to Maroto]
11) Eerie Monster Gallery: The
Mortsafes [Tom Sutton] 1p [on inside
back cover]
Notes: Editor: Bill DuBay. Back to 75 cents & 72 pages. Best art is Rich Corben’s ‘Bright Eyes’
although Jesus Suso gives him a run for his money. Suso, whose art seemed perfect for Warren,
did only a couple of stories for them but did many more over at Skywald. He
also did some work at Seaboard/Atlas.
44. cover: Luis Dominguez (Dec. 1972)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery:
Werewolf—Fact Or Fantasy? [Fred Ott/Jerry Grandenetti] 1p
[frontis]
2) Inside 44 [Bill DuBay]
1/3p [text article w/photo on letters’
page]
3) Crazy Mazie [J. R.
Cochran/Tom Sutton] 10p
4) Everlasting Mortality [Doug
Moench/Jerry Grandenetti] 5p
5) Eerie’s Book Reviews: The
Time Machine/The Invisible Man/The First Men In The Moon/
In The Days Of
The Comet [Chuck McNaughton] 1p [text
articles]
6) The Thrill Of The Hunt [Doug
Moench/Martin Salvador] 10p
7) Hand Of The Discarnate [Doug Moench/Bill DuBay]
6p
8) Mervin’s Dead Ringer! [Greg Potter/Luis
Dominguez] 4p
9) Tiller Of The Soul [Greg Potter/Rubio] 7p
10) Eerie’s Short-Short Shocker: The Parade! [Doug
Moench/Bill DuBay] 2p [text story]
11) Eerie Fanfare: Luis Dominguez Profile/A Little
Farther/Deep Sleep/The Feast/The Fatal
Dream/A
Touch Of Fate/Search For The Sun [Bill DuBay. Harry E. Mongold, Victor
Olchowka,
Tom Morganti, Mike Weiler, Roberto Tabaldo & Bill Hightower/Luis
Dominguez (art from when he
was 14!) & Bill MacDonald] 2p [text
article/stories
w/photo]
12) Dax The Warrior: Lake Of
Gold! [Esteban Maroto & ?/Esteban Maroto] 8p [story credited
solely to
Maroto]
Notes: Don McGregor & Jose
Gual’s ‘Malocchi’ is advertised for the next issue but doesn’t actually appear
until Creepy #72 in 1975! ‘Crazy Mazie’
was the best story & art here. Solid
and entertaining, as is the entire issue.
Bill DuBay begins to experiment with prose stories, although that didn’t
last long.
45. cover: Luis Dominguez (Feb. 1973)
1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery: Vlad
The Impaler [Fred Ott/Rafael Auraleon] 2p
[frontis & on inside
back cover]
2) The Mound [Tom Sutton] 10p
3) Ri, Master Of Men [Hal G.
Turner/Martin Salvador] 8p
4) When Wakes The Dreamer [Don
McGregor/Jesus Suso] 8p
5) A Blade For The Teacher [Bill
Warren/Luis Dominguez] 7p
6) Maneater [Steve
Skeates/Rubio] 7p
7) The Critic’s Crypt: King Kong {Radio}/Flash
Gordon {Radio}/The Pan Book Of Horror
Stories #4/The Pan Book Of
Horror Stories #5 [Chuck McNaughton] 1p
[text articles]
8) Eerie’s Short-Short Shocker:
Ecology Of Death! [Doug Moench/Bill DuBay] 2p
[text story]
9) Doug Moench’s Confessions: Story Of A Ghost
Writer!/The Mask Behind The Face! [Doug
Moench/Russ
Heath] 1p [text article with 1p
strip] reprinted from the Chicago Sun-
Times’ Sunday supplement
10) Eerie Fanfare: Don McGregor Profile/Afterlife/Do
Not Step Outside!/Whgat, Me
Worry?/Tooth Be Or Not Tooth
Be [Don McGregor, Frank Christensen, Richard Noel,
Steve Clement & Michael
Carlisle/Felix Mas, Jose Gual, Moe Romulus & Marshal
Rogers] 2p [text article/stories]
11) Dax The Warrior: The Witch [Esteban Maroto &
?/Esteban Maroto] 8p [story credited
solely
to
Maroto]
Notes: Marv Wolfman, who worked as
a story editor for Warren for four months, received his only credit here. A solid issue for story and art. Future writer Steve Clement appears on the
fan page, as does future artist Marshall Rogers. Moench’s ‘Confessions’ is an article and 1
page story {combined on one page} he did for the Chicago Sun-Times’ Sunday
Supplement about his work as a horror comic writer. Heath’s reprinted work is his first
appearance in a Warren magazine since 1966.
Spectacular art in the Dax story by Maroto.
46. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Mar. 1973)
1) Protrait Of Dracula [Fred
Ott/Bill DuBay] 2p [frontis & on
inside back cover]
2) Dracula Prologue & Recap
[Bill DuBay] 2p
3) Dracula [Bill DuBay/Tom
Sutton] 10p
4) The Things In The Dark [Fred
Ott/Jimmy Janes] 7p
5) The Critic’s Crypt: Star
Trek/Star Trek 2/Star Trek 3/Star Trek 4 [Chuck McNaughton?] 1p
[text articles]
6) Garganza! [Bill Warren/Paul
Neary] 7p
7) The Root Of Evil [Mike Jennings/Martin Salvador]
8p
8) Planet Of The Werewolves! [Gerry Boudreau/Reed
Crandall] 9p
9) Eerie Fanfare: Mike Jennings Profile/Twist Of
Fate/She Has A Cat/The Old Man/Spirits Of The
Dead
[Mike Jennings, Paul E. King, Jr., Terry W. Cloud, Ed J. Pahule & Kathy
LaClaire/
Jose
Bea, Carlos Llerena & Chris Campbell {from Jack Davis}] 2p
[text article/stories
w/photo]
10) Dax The Warrior: The Giant
[Esteban Maroto & Steve Englehart/Esteban Maroto] 8p [story
credited solely
to Maroto]
Notes: Sanjulian’s Dracula painting
here is one of his best. The Dracula
serial here is technically the same dismal Dracula that appeared in Vampirella’s
strip but with a reworked character design by Bill DuBay and terrific art by
Tom Sutton, this Dracula was improved about 100%. The frontis series title, Eerie’s Monster
Gallery, is dropped, as would the series itself in another issue. Paul Neary does a nice job channeling the
manga style, well before it was a common sight in the USA. Crandall’s art was shaky but Boudreau’s story
was quite good on ‘Planet Of The Werewolves’.
Dax continued his grim storyline.
Another solid issue.
47. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Apr. 1973)
1) The Story Behind The Story:
‘Mervin’s Dead Ringer [Greg Potter] ½p
[text article on the
letters’ page]
2) Dracula: Enter The
Dead-Thing! [Bill DuBay/Tom Sutton] 12p
3) Lilith [Nicola Cuti/Jaime
Brocal] 19p
4) Snake Man [Greg Potter/Martin
Salvador] 11p
5) The Message Is The Medium
[Doug Moench/Paul Neary] 8p
6) Dax The Warrior: Gemma-5
[Esteban Maroto & Marv Wolfman/Esteban Maroto] 8p [story
credited solely to Maroto]
7) Eerie’s Delights! [same as
the feature’s page for Creepy #52] 1p
[text articles]
Notes: Another Dracula cover by
Sanjulian, but this one is downright silly looking, looking nothing like the
character in the book. In fact, he looks
quite a lot like a bad actor with plastic fangs! Was this cover originally intended for Famous
Monsters? Size increase to 72 pages.
Both the Dracula and Lilith stories are quite good. The fan page is dropped in favor of a
features page, which was the same for all Warren horror titles.
48. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (June 1973)
1) Dracula: The Son Of Dracula [Bill DuBay/Rich
Buckler & Bill DuBay] 10p
2) The Mummy Walks: …And An End! [Steve
Skeates/Jaime Brocal] 10p
3) Think Of Me And I’ll Be There! [Jack
Butterworth/Martin Salvador] 7p
4) Curse Of The Werewolf: On A Stalking Moonlit
Night! [Al Milgrom/Rich Buckler & Bill
DuBay] 10p
5) The Resurrection Man [Jack Butterworth/Paul
Neary] 7p
6) Dax The Warrior: The Sacrifice [Esteban Maroto
& Len Wein/Esteban Maroto] 8p
[story
credited solely to Maroto]
7) Eerie’s Delights! [same as Creepy #53] 1p [text articles]
Notes: Eerie begins its
transformation to a series dominated magazine.
The Dracula story ends abruptly here, unfinished, with the next promised
installment to have been entitled ‘Princess Of Bathory Castle!’ Both the Mummy & Werewolf serials start
out quite nicely, with Brocal providing perfectly moody art for Steve Skeates’
Mummy scripts and Al Milgrom, better known today as an artist, delivering a
strong script for the Werewolf. Both of
these series, however, later had sharp declines in quality—crippled by
rambling, overlong storylines and writer/artist changes. The Dax story is quite good but the rest of
the stories are rather bland.
49. cover: Enrich Torres (July 1973)
1) A Guest Editorial By Phil
Seuling [Phil Seuling] ½p [text article
on letters’ page]
2) Marvin, The Dead-Thing: One
Is The Loneliest Number [Al Milgrom/Esteban Maroto] 12p
3) The Mummy Walks: The Death Of
A Friend! [Steve Skeates/Jaime Brocal] 10p
4) Curse Of The Werewolf:
Midnight Prey [Al Milgrom/Rich Buckler & Bill DuBay] 8p
5) The Alien Nation: Over
Population! [Rich Margopoulos/Paul Neary] 12p
6) Fear Itself! [Steve
Skeates/Isidro Mones] 7p
7) Dax The Warrior: The Vampire [Esteban Maroto
& Don McGregor/Esteban Maroto] 8p
[story
credited solely to Maroto]
8) The Eerie Eye! [same as Creepy #54] 1p [text articles]
Notes: The cover & interior
story ‘Marvin, The Dead-Thing’ spoof the Swamp Monster craze, particularly DC’s
Swamp Thing & Marvel’s Man-Thing. Marv Wolfman supposedly regarded this story’s
title as a jab at his short editorial stint at Warren. The secondary title has ‘loneliest’
misspelled. The feature page title is
changed to ‘The Eerie Eye’. The Alien
Nation story may have been originally intended as a serial.
50. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Aug. 1973)
1) Escape From The
Creepy-Crawley-Castle Game! [Bill DuBay] 3p
[game; frontis, interior page
& on inside back cover]
2) The Mummy Walks: The Mind
Within [Steve Skeates/Jaime Brocal] 10p
3) The Eerie Eye! [same as
Creepy #56] 1p [text articles]
4) Curse Of The Werewolf!: This
Evil Must Die [Al Milgrom/Martin Salvador] 10p
5) Satanna, Daughter Of Satan!:
Genesis Of Depravity! [Doug Moench/Ramon Torrents] 5p
6) Monarch’s Return [John Jacobson/Paul
Neary] 6p
7) Lord’s Wrath [John
Jacobson/Aldoma] 8p
8) The Disciple [Steve
Skeates/Isidro Mones] 8p
9) Dax The Warrior: The Secret Of Pursiahz [Esteban
Maroto & ?/Esteban Maroto] 8p
[story
credited solely to Maroto]
Notes: After the harsh criticism of
Creepy’s 50th issue, Warren stepped up to the plate and delivered a
much better 50th anniversity issue for Cousin Eerie. Both the Mummy & Werewolf serials
received their official series titles this issue. The new artist on ‘Curse Of The Werewolf’,
Martin Salvador, was a capable artist but his style was completely different
from Rich Buckler’s, distracting one from the storyline. Months before Marvel unveiled their Satana,
Daughter Of Satan serial in their black & white magazines, Warren issued
this one-shot that could almost be regarded a prologue for the Marvel
character, so similar are the origins.
That same short story also provides an origin for Warren’s version of
Dracula. Bill DuBay began a series of
horror games {later turned into board games for the ad pages}, that appeared in
place of the frontis series. This game
also appeared in Creepy #55.
51. cover: Manuel Sanjulian & cover
montage (Sept. 1973)
1) Monster Match [Bill DuBay]
2½p [game; frontis, interior page &
on inside back cover]
2) A Stranger In Hell [T. Casey Brennan/Esteban
Maroto] 7p reprinted from Eerie #38
(Feb.
1972)
3) Pity The Grave Digger! [Buddy Saunders/Rafael
Auraleon] 6p reprinted from Eerie #40
(June
1972)
4) The Caterpillars [Fred Ott/Luis Garcia] 8p reprinted from Eerie #41 (Aug. 1972)
5) Evil Spirits! [Archie Goodwin/Johnny Craig]
10p reprinted from Eerie #16 (July
1968)
6) Eerie #40 & Creepy #46 Covers Poster [Manuel
Sanjulian] 1p [one reproduction on each
side]
7) Head Shop [Don Glut/Jose Bea] 6p reprinted from Eerie #39 (Apr. 1972)
8) Vision Of Evil [Archie Goodwin/Alex Toth] 6p reprinted from Eerie #2 (Mar. 1966)
9) The Curse Of Kali! [Archie Goodwin/Angelo Torres]
7p reprinted from Eerie #6 (Nov. 1966)
Notes: The 1973 Eerie Annual. Price increase to $1.00, presumably to pay
for the double-sided wall poster within.
Sanjulian’s cover art is lifted from his Cousin Eerie poster, sold in
the back pages ads.
52. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Nov. 1973)
1) Werewolf! [Bill DuBay]
2p [game; frontis & on inside back
cover]
2) The Eerie Eye! [same as
Creepy #57] 1p [text articles]
3) The Mummy Walks: Ghoulish
Encounter [Steve Skeates/Jaime Brocal] 10p
4) Curse Of The Werewolf:
Darkling Revelation [Al Milgrom/Martin Salvador] 10p
5) Hunter [Rich Margopoulos/Paul
Neary] 10p
6) The Beheaded [John
Jacobson/Aldoma] 10p
7) The Golden Kris Of Hadji
Mohammed [George Henderon/Isidro Mones] 8p
from the story by
Frederick Moore
8) Dax The Warrior: Death Rides
This Night! [Esteban Maroto & Al Milgrom/Esteban Maroto] 8p
[story credited solely to
Maroto]
Notes: Nice cover from
Sanjulian. Future ‘Batman Animated’
director Kevin Altieri sends in a letter.
One of Eerie’s most popular serials, ‘Hunter’, debuts. Dax’s final appearance sets the tone for
almost all the Warren serials’ endings--dark, depressing and usually
hopeless. The adaptation of ‘The Golden
Kris Of Hadji Mohammed’ was the best story & art for this issue.
53. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Jan. 1974)
1) Wart Monster Of Tennessee
[Doug Moench/Rich Buckler & Bill DuBay] 2p
[frontis & on
inside back
cover]
2) The Eerie Eye! [same as
Creepy #58] 1p [text articles]
3) The Mummy Walks: Enter-Mr.
Hyde [Steve Skeates/Jaime Brocal] 10p
4) Curse Of The Werewolf: To
Save A Witch’s Soul! [Al Milgrom/Martin Salvador] 10p
5) Hunter, part 2 [Rich
Margopoulos/Paul Neary] 10p
6) Schreck: First Night Of
Terror! [Doug Moench/Vicente Alcazar & Neal Adams] 12p
7) Fathom Haunt: Spawn Of The Dead Thing [Tom
Sutton] 9p
8) Two Vampirella’s Stun 5,500 At 1973 Comic Art
Convention [Garry Boudreau] 1p [text
article w/photo]
Notes: Nice cover for the Mummy
series by Sanjulian. Even top heavy with
series, this was a pretty good issue.
Salvador’s artwork for the Werewolf serial would have been just fine (it
was strongly suggestive of the Univeral monster movies from the 1930s) except
that his werewolf was remarkable non-scary.
One of Sutton’s best art & story jobs appears to be the direct
inspiration for French artist Andreas’ much more familiar Rork character, who
has appeared in several graphic novels.
The two characters are dead ringers for each other, and deal in similar
mystic adventures. This Fathom Haunt
debut, although clearly intended to be the start of a series, was to be his
only appearance.
54. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Feb. 1974)
1) A Few Words And Pictures
About Our Brand New Comic Magazine [Bill DuBay/Will Eisner
& Bill DuBay] 2p [text article, frontis & on inside back
cover]
2) Eerie Eye [Warren Magazine
Questionarre/Jack Butterworth Profile [Bill DuBay/Martin
Salvador] 1p [text articles w/photo]
3) The Mummy Walks: Stranger In
A Village Of The Insane! [Steve Skeates/Jaime Brocal] 10p
4) Curse Of The Werewolf: To
Cure This Curse! [Steve Skeates/Martin Salvador] 10p
5) Hunter, part 3 [Rich
Margopoulos/Paul Neary] 10p
6) The Christmas Spirit Of 1947
[Will Eisner] 7p [color] reprinted from The Spirit section (Dec.
21, 1947)
7) The Spirit Ad [Will Eisner]
1p [color]
8) Schreck: Bright Eyes! [Doug
Moench/Vicente Alcazar] 12p
9) Doctor Archaeus: The Evil
That Men Do [Gerry Boudreau/Isidro Mones] 9p
10) Presenting the 1973 Warren
Awards [Bill DuBay] 2p [text article]
Notes: Price increase to $1.00 and
size increase to 80 pages. Steve Skeates
takes over the troubled Werewolf serial and promptly turns him into a
were-mummy! The new Spirit magazine is
sampled by a Spirit story appearing in the color section. Warren finally comes up with a classic series
that is totally home-grown with the Boudreau/Mones thriller ‘Doctor
Archaeus’. Clearly inspired on Vincent
Price’s Dr. Phibes movie, this series still managed to pack enough punch of its
own in relating the tale of the twisted revenge of a hanged man against his
jury to be quite memorable.
55. cover: Ken Kelly (Mar. 1974)
1) The Spirit Ad [Will Eisner]
1p [frontis]
2) The Eerie Eye [same as Creepy
#60] 1p [text articles w/photo]
3) Schreck: Worms In The Mind!
[Doug Moench/Vicente Alcazar] 11p
4) Schreck: No Flies On Schreck!
[Doug Moench/Vicente Alcazar] 14p
5) The Spirit: Bucket Of Blood
[Will Eisner/John Spranger & Will Eisner] 7p [color]
reprinted
from The Spirit section
(June 16, 1946)
6) Dracula Ad [Esteban Maroto]
1p [color]
7) Hunter, part 4 [Budd
Lewis/Paul Neary] 10p
8) Doctor Archaeus: The Quest Of
The Golden Dove [Gerry Boudreau/Isidro Mones] 10p
Notes: Size decrease to 72
pages. Both ‘The Mummy Walks’ and ‘Curse
Of The Werewolf’ serials are missing in action so Schreck concludes his run
with his final two chapters. Not a great
serial but not bad either. The Mummy
wouldn’t return until #61. Nice cover by
Ken Kelly of Hunter with another tasty sampling of the Spirit in the color
section. Budd Lewis takes over the
Hunter serial for one episode.
56. cover: Ken Kelly (Apr. 1974)
1) The Spirit Ad [Will Eisner]
1p [frontis]
2) The Eerie Eye [same as Creepy
#61] 1p [text articles w/photo]
3) Curse Of The Werewolf: …There
Was A Were-Mummy [Steve Skeates/Martin Salvador] 14p
4) Hunter, part 5 [Bill
DuBay/Paul Neary] 10p
5) Wizard Wagstaff [Jack
Butterworth/Richard Corben] 8p [color]
6) It Returns! [Carl Wessler/Enrique Badia Romero]
10p
7) Doctor Archaeus: The Night Of
The Red Death [Gerry Boudreau/Isidro Mones] 10p
Notes: Bill DuBay takes over the
writing chores on Hunter. ‘It’ first
appeared in Creepy #53, a year earlier.
This serial skipped back and forth between Eerie and Creepy over an
extended period of time, making it rather hard to keep track of events. ‘Wizard Wagstaff’ was another humorous
fantasy story by Corben.
57. cover: Ken Kelly (June 1974)
1) Cousin Eerie’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Berni Wrightson] 1p
[frontis]
2) The Eerie Eye [same as Creepy
#62] 1p [text articles w/photo]
3) The Spook: Stridspider Sponge-Rot [Doug
Moench/Esteban Maroto] 10p
4) Hunter, part 6 [Bill DuBay/Paul Neary] 8p
5) The Hacker: Hide From The Hacker! [Steve
Skeates/Tom Sutton] 10p
6) Child [Greg Potter/Richard Corben] 8p [color]
7) It: The Terror Of Foley Mansion! [Carl Wessler/Jose
Gual] 9p
8) Doctor Archaeus: A Switch In Time… [Gerry
Boudreau/Isidro Mones] 10p
Notes: Great Ken Kelly cover
depicting Hunter. Future ‘Batman
Animated’ artist & director Kevin Altieri
sends in a letter suggesting that Warren revive Blazing Combat (possibly
because Archie Goodwin was back on board at Warren) but the idea is pooh-poohed
in the editorial reply. Doug Moench
& Esteban Maroto launch a new serial about a black voodoo man but both are
rapidly replaced. Moench goes on record
later to state that the serial’s title {which could be regarded as a derogatory
racial slur} was Bill DuBay’s idea and that Moench himself was ignorant of its
connotations. Regardless, it wasn’t a
bad series. This is a superior issue
with a strong new serial by Skeates & Tom Sutton and the debut of Child, a
sort of Frankenstein’s monster in child form, in the color section.
58. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (July 1974)
1) Cousin Eerie’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Berni Wrightson] 1p
[frontis]
2) The Eerie Eye [same as Creepy
#63 minus the Wrightson illo] 1p [text
articles]
3) Enter: The Exterminator aka
They Eat Babies…Don’t They? [Bill DuBay/Esteban Maroto] 8p
4) The Spook: Webtread’s
Powercut [Doug Moench/Leopold Sanchez] 8p
5) The Pepper Lake Monster [Berni
Wrightson] 10p
6) Child: Mind Of The Mass!
[Greg Potter/Richard Corben] 8p [color]
7) The Spook: Knucklebones To
Fever Twitch [Doug Moench/Leopold Sanchez] 13p
8) Doctor Archaeus: Carnage In
Costume [Gerry Boudreau/Isidro Mones] 10p
Notes: The Spook is cover featured
and has two stories within, now illustrated by Leopold Sanchez, making his
American debut. There’s more fine
episodes of Child and Doctor Archaeus while Bill DuBay begins a new series with
the Exterminator (sort of—this Exterminator is not the one robot who would
appear in the next installment). Best
story & art, however, belongs to Berni Wrightson’s masterful ‘The Pepper
Lake Monster’, with Wrightson at the top of his form.
59. cover: Ken Kelly/back cover: Manuel
Sanjulian (Aug. 1974)
1) Cousin Eerie’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Esteban Maroto & Berni Wrightson] 1p [frontis]
2) Dax The Damned [Esteban
Maroto & Budd Lewis/Esteban Maroto] 8p
reprinted from Eerie
#39 (Apr. 1972)
3) Dax The Damned: The Paradise
Tree [Esteban Maroto & Budd Lewis/Esteban Maroto] 7p
reprinted from Eerie #40
(June 1972) [one page edited out]
4) Dax The Damned: Chess
[Esteban Maroto & Budd Lewis/Esteban Maroto] 8p [color]
reprinted from Eerie #41
(Aug. 1972)
5) Dax The Damned: Let The Evil
One Sleep [Estaban Maroto & Budd Lewis/Esteban Maroto] 8p
reprinted from Eerie #43
(Nov. 1972)
6) Dax The Damned: The Golden
Lake [Esteban Maroto & Budd Lewis/Esteban Maroto] 8p
reprinted from Eerie #44
(Dec. 1972) [formerly entitled ‘Lake Of
Gold’]
7) Dax The Damned: The Witch…The
Maneater [Esteban Maroto & Budd Lewis/Esteban Maroto]
8p reprinted from Eerie #45 (Feb. 1973) [formerly entitled ‘The Witch’]
8) Dax The Damned: Cyclops [Esteban Maroto &
Budd Lewis/Esteban Maroto] 8p reprinted
from Eerie #46 (Mar.
1973) [formerly entitled ‘The Giant’]
9) Dax The Damned: Starlight
[Esteban Maroto & Budd Lewis/Esteban Maroto] 8p reprinted
from Eerie #47 (Apr.
1973) [formerly entitled ‘Gemma-5’]
10) Dax The Damned: The Lord’s
Prayer [Esteban Maroto & Budd Lewis/Esteban Maroto] 8p
reprinted from Eerie #48
(June 1973) [formerly entitled ‘The
Sacrifice’]
11) Dax The Damned: Death Rides
This Night! [Esteban Maroto & Budd Lewis/Esteban Maroto]
8p reprinted from Eerie #52 (Nov. 1973)
Notes: Price increase to $1.25
& size increase to 96 pages. The
1974 Eerie Annual. For this reprinting
of the Dax stories, all were rewritten and the series retitled by Budd Lewis
(sort of making them new all over again), with several receiving new titles as
well. One Dax tale, from Eerie #50—‘The
Secret Of Pursiahz’—was not reprinted.
60. cover: Ken Kelly/back cover: Berni
Wrightson (Sept. 1974)
1) The Eerie Eye: Budd Lewis
Profile/Child, Archaeus, Exterminator And The Jackassers Are
Here But Still No Coffin/The
Creative Man—Dube: Inside A Big City Editor [Budd
Lewis & Bill DuBay/Bill
Dubay] 1p [text articles w/photo]
2) Night Of The Jackass: 24
Hours Of Hell! [Bruce Bezaire/Jose Ortiz] 12p
3) Nightfall [Bill DuBay/Berni
Wrightson] 8p
4) Exterminator One [Bill
DuBay/Paul Neary] 8p
5) Child: Childhood’s End [Budd
Lewis/Richard Corbin] 8p [color]
6) The Man Hunters [Gerry
Boudreau/Wally Wood] 8p [color]
7) The Unholy Creation [Steve
Skeates/Leopold Sanchez] 9p
8) Doctor Archeaus: Interlude
[Gerry Boudreau/Isidro Mones] 10p
Notes: Back to $1.00 & 72
pages. Ken Kelly’s cover is good but the
real prize is Berni Wrightson’s stunning cover painting, the only one he did
for Warren. For some foolish reason, it
ended up on the back cover! The best
serial Warren ever ran, ‘Night Of The Jackass’ debuts. This story, which discusses the events
following Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel
‘Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde’, in which Jekyll’s formula becomes a underground
drug, leading to ‘Jackassing’, a sort of rave party in a blocked off,
barricaded apartment building or hotel, with rape, pillage and murder as the
party favors. Well thought out and way
ahead of its time, this is an excellent story by Bruce Bezaire & Jose Ortiz
that would make a great movie in the hands of someone like David
Cronenberg. The DuBay/Wrightson horror
takeoff on Winsor McKay’s ‘Little Nemo’ is a delight. Exterminator One opens its official series
with a strong entry and Child ends on one.
Doctor Archeaus delivers a stunning surprise in its penultimate
entry. Wally Wood’s story was retitled
& rewritten on orders of Bill DuBay.
Needless to say, Wood was not happy.
Still, this is one of Eerie’s best issues since the glory days of Archie
Goodwin!
61. cover: Ken Kelly (Nov. 1974)
1) Cousin Eerie’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Berni Wrightson] 1p
[frontis]
2) The Eerie Eye: Real Heroes Die! Don’t They? [same as Creepy #66 except for a
short article
by Bill DuBay] 1p [text articles w/photo]
3) Coffin: Death Wish! [Budd
Lewis/Jose Ortiz] 10p
4) Killer Hawk [Bill DuBay/Wally
Wood] 12p [part of the Exterminator
series]
5) Cotton Boy & Captain
Blood! [Gerry Boudreau/Leopold Sanchez] 12p
6) The Mummies Walk: A Battle Of
Bandaged Beasts [Steve Skeates/Joaquin Blazquez] 12p
7) Doctor Archeaus:
Foreplay/Penetration [Gerry Boudreau/Isidro Mones] 10p
Notes: After many delays, the new
Western serial Coffin finally debuted.
It was pretty good too. Future
artist Ken Meyer, Jr. sends in a letter.
Both the Mummy & the Werewolf return after a long hiatus, teamed up
now in a cluttered story with new illustrator Joaquin Blazquez. Doctor Archeaus concludes his run with some
rather coy titles. Let’s just say the
climax wasn’t quite as powerful as the foreplay. Still a fine series.
62. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Jan. 1975)
1) Cousin Eerie’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Berni Wrightson] 1p
[frontis]
2) The Eerie Eye [same as Creepy
#67] 1p [text articles w/photos]
3) Apocalypse: The War [Budd Lewis/Jose Ortiz] 10p
4) Cool Air [Berni Wrightson] 7p from the story by H. P. Lovecraft
5) The Spook: Crackermeyer’s Churchyard [Budd
Lewis/Leopold Sanchez] 10p
6) The Butcher: ‘Forgive Us Our Tresspasses’ [Bill
DuBay/Richard Corben] 8p [color]
7) This Unholy Creation: Circus Of Pain [Steve
Skeates/Leopold Sanchez] 10p
8) The Mummies Walk: Death Be
Proud! [Steve Skeates/Joaquin Blasquez] 10p
Notes: A great new series by Budd
Lewis & Jose Ortiz begins.
‘Apocalypse’ was beautifully drawn and well written throughout its run. It’s a series crying out for reprinting. Wrightson delivers a tasty adaptation of
Lovecraft while Budd Lewis takes over the Spook series. In the Mummy series, Arthur Lemming, the
Werewolf finally meets his death. DuBay
& Corben’s ‘The Butcher’ isn’t really a horror story at all, but a gangland
melodrama. Quite good one, too.
63. cover: Manuel Sanjulian/back cover: Ken
Kelly (Feb. 1975)
1) Cousin Eerie’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Berni Wrightson] 1p
[frontis]
2) The Eerie Eye [same as Creepy
#68] 1p [text article w/photo]
3) Night Of The Jackass: Strom Before The Calm!
[Bruce Bezaire/Jose Ortiz] 10p
4) Hollow Of The Three Hills
[Rich Margopoulos/Esteban Maroto] 8p
from the story by
Nathaniel Hawthorne
5) The Spook: Stumpful Of
Grandaddies! [Budd Lewis/Leopold Sanchez] 10p
6) Exterminator One, part 2
[Bill DuBay/Paul Neary] 8p [color]
7) The Mummy Walks: Insanity! [Steve Skeates/Joaquin
Blasquez] 10p
8) Apocalypse: The Famine [Budd Lewis/Jose Ortiz]
12p
Notes: $1.25 & 80 page issue. Nice back cover by Ken Kelly of Exterminator
One. An equally fine one by Sanjulian
for Night Of The Jackass. A very good
issue with a beautiful adapation of Hawthorne by Margopoulos & Maroto, fine
installments of ‘Night Of The Jackass’ and ‘Apocalypse’ and, thankfully, the
end of the Mummy series.
64. cover: Ken Kelly (Mar. 1975)
1) Cousin Eerie’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Berni Wrightson] 1p
[frontis]
2) Night Of The Jackass: The
Children’s Hour [Bruce Bezaire/Jose Ortiz] 10p
3) Everything You Always Wanted
To Know…About The Comics!: The Story [Bill DuBay] 1p
[text article]
4) Exterminator One, part 3
[Bill DuBay/Paul Neary] 8p
5) The Butcher: Bye-Bye Miss American Dream [Bill
DuBay/Richard Corben] 8p
6) Daddy And The Pie [Bill DuBay/Alex Toth] 8p
7) The Spook: The Caul [Budd Lewis/Leopold Sanchez]
12p
8) Apocalypse: The Plague [Budd Lewis/Jose Ortiz]
10p
Notes: The Exterminator is cover featured again while
The Eerie Eye feature page is dropped.
The price reverts to $1.00 and the page count is at 72. Exterminator One & the Butcher conclude
their series on high notes but the best story & art is on ‘Daddy And The
Pie’, a story tailor-made for Toth’s type of art. This 1930s era story of a visting alien
encountering prejudice and racial hatred is a real winner. It was very popular with readers and a sequel
was done although neither DuBay or Toth had a hand in that.
65. Ken Kelly (Apr. 1975)
1) Cousin Eerie’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Berni Wrightson] 1p
[frontis]
2) Everything You Always Wanted
To Know…About The Comics!: Lettering [Bill DuBay] 1p
[text article]
3) Night Of The Jackass: Endstorm! [Bruce
Bezaire/Jose Ortiz] 10p
4) The Hacker: The Hacker Is
Back [Steve Skeates/Alex Toth] 10p
5) The Spook And Crackermeyer: Coming Storm…A
Killing Rain! [Budd Lewis/Leopold
Sanchez] 12p
6) El Cid And The Troll! [Budd
Lewis/Gonzalo Mayo] 8p
7) Apocalypse: The Death [Budd
Lewis/Jose Ortiz] 13p
8) Presenting The 1974 Warren
Awards [Bill DuBay] 2p [text article]
9) El Cid Ad [Gonzalo Mayo]
1p [on back cover]
Notes: The Spook picks up his only
cover. There’s a new letters’ page
logo. Both ‘Night Of The Jackass’ and
‘Apocalypse’ finish their runs. Both of
them were great series. ‘The Hacker’
returns in his first appearance since #57 with Toth now the artist. El Cid, a fantasy look at the legendary
character, is previewed with a short story before the next issue’s El Cid
Special.
66. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (June 1975)
1) Cousin Eerie’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Berni Wrightson] 1p
[frontis]
2) El Cid…Our Recreated
Legend! A Budd Lewis-Conzalo Mayo First!
[Bill DuBay/Gonzalo
Mayo & Bill DuBay]
½p [text article on letters’ page]
3) El Cid: The Seven Trials
[Bill DuBay & Budd Lewis/Gonzalo Mayo] 28p
4) El Cid And The Vision [Gerry
Boudreau & Budd Lewis/Gonzalo Mayo] 8p
5) El Cid: The Lady And The Lie
[Gerry Boudreau & Budd Lewis/Gonzalo Mayo] 8p
6) El Cid: The Emir Of Aragon
[Jeff Rovin & Budd Lewis/Gonzalo Mayo] 10p
Notes: An El Cid Special. Despite the ads telling of a book-length
epic, this is actually a series of short stories gathered together. They’re not bad stories, just not great. Mayo’s artwork at this point was beautiful to
look at, but his cluttered panels tended to obstruct the flow of the story.
67. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Aug. 1975)
1) Cousin Eerie’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Berni Wrightson] 1p
[frontis]
2) Everything You Always Wanted
To Know…About The Comics!: The Art [Bill DuBay] 1p
[text article]
3) Coffin: Death’s Dark Curse
[Budd Lewis/Jose Ortiz] 10p
4) Hunter II [Budd Lewis/Paul
Neary] 11p
5) The Hacker: The Hacker’s Last
Stand! [Steve Skeates/Alex Toth] 10p
6) Papa Voodoo: The Man Named
Gold! [Budd Lewis/Leopold Sanchez] 12p
7) Merlin: The Kingmaker [Budd Lewis/Esteban Maroto]
12p
Notes: The Western horror hero,
Coffin, returns. The Hacker concludes
his run—quite nicely too. Papa Voodoo
was a sequel of sorts to The Spook. Hunter
II and Merlin debut. In my opinion,
Hunter II was a better serial than the much more popular Hunter. Merlin had fine art by Maroto but only
appeared once more. Shame really, it
seemed like it had potential.
68. cover: Ken Kelly (Sept. 1975)
1) Everything You Always Wanted
To Know…About The Comics!: Production [Bill DuBay] 1p
[text article]
2) Coffin: Half Walk [Budd
Lewis/Jose Ortiz] 12p
3) Hunter II: Goblin [Budd
Lewis/Paul Neary] 10p
4) Godeye! [Budd Lewis/Leopold
Sanchez] 14p
5) The Muck Monster [Berni
Wrightson] 7p [color]
6) Deep Brown And Jorum [Jim Stenstrum/Esteban
Maroto] 12p
7) Hunter II Ad [Paul Neary] 1p [on back cover]
Notes: $1.25 & 80 pages
long. One of Eerie’s best issues! A great Hunter II cover by Kelly gives a
heads up to the great work within. An
Exterminator robot pops up in Hunter II and remains for the rest of the
series. Another good entry of Coffin,
but the best stuff was new. A very funny
‘Godeye!’ managed a literary hat trick by being both cynical and warm. Wrightson’s ‘The Muck Monster’ was
Frankenstein’s monster in all but name.
Beautifully written & drawn, it’s basically a tone poem that
foreshadows the type of work Alan Moore would do in Swamp Thing. It was supposed to be in B&W but at the
last minute became a color section.
Normally that would spell doom for the art but here the coloring is
quite lovely. The colorist is uncredited
but whoever they were did a great job.
My favorite story, however, is Jim Stenstrum & Esteban Maroto’s
lusty, funny, sad & poignant ‘Deep Brown And Jorum’. It tells, in one story, the entire careers of
a couple of rogues, who are similar to Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd & the Grey
Mouser, with the first half of the story detailing their first meeting, then
for four pages thereafter featuring two synopsises per page of their many
adventures together while along the top of the page {ala ‘Collector’s Edition’}
their last adventure takes place, concluding in the last two pages. I reread it a couple of minutes ago and that
last page still chokes me up. “And
together, they were LEGEND.” Damn right.
69. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Oct. 1975)
1) Hunter Pin-Up [Paul Neary]
1p [with a Berni Wrightson illo of
Cousin Eerrie introducing the
annual]
2) Hunter [Rich Margopoulos [pgs
1-30], Budd Lewis [pgs 31-40] & Bill
DuBay [pgs 41-
58]/Paul Neary] 58p [last 8 pages in color] reprinted from Eerie #52 (Nov. 1973)-#57
(June 1974)
Notes: The 1975 Eerie Annual.
70. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Nov. 1975)
1) Cousin Eerie’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Berni Wrightson] 1p
[frontis]
2) Coffin: The Final Sunrise [Budd
Lewis/Jose Ortiz] 14p
3) Hunter II: Goblin Thrust
[Budd Lewis/Paul Neary] 10p
4) Code Name: Slaughter Five:
From The Cradle To The Grave [Gerry Boudreau/Leopold
Sanchez] 10p
5) El Cid: Crooked Mouth [Budd
Lewis/Gonzalo Mayo] 10p
6) Oogie And The Junkers [Bill
DuBay/Esteban Maroto] 8p
Notes: As mentioned in the notes
for Creepy, at this point Warren began to cut out frills. This issue is reduced to 64 pages and the
letters’ page is cut in half. Coffin
heads into the west (literally) and El Cid makes a return visit. ‘Code Name: Slaughter” would, from the title,
seem to have been intended as a series but from the ending, I’ve no idea how
they could have continued it. Apparently
they couldn’t either, as this was its only appearance. Oogie begins a lengthy run. Evidently this
series was fairly popular, although I’m not quite sure why. The stories are rather run of the mill SF
and, with this story, Maroto departed from his own classic stylings and began
using a scratchier, looser art line.
This new style wasn’t to my taste and it often seemed to hurt the
stories illustrated.
71. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Jan. 1976)
1) Cousin Eerie’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Berni Wrightson] 1p
[frontis]
2) Goblin [Budd Lewis/Jose
Ortiz] 8p
3) Hunter II: Time In Expansion
[Budd Lewis/Paul Neary] 10p
4) Irving And The Devilpie [Bill
DuBay/Leopold Sanchez] 6p
5) Pooter And The Magic Man
[Bill DuBay/Luis Bermejo] 8p
6) El Cid: Demon’s Treasure [Budd Lewis/Gonzalo
Mayo] 10p
7) Mordecai Moondog [Bill DuBay/Esteban Maroto] 9p
Notes: Not much series action in
this issue with only Hunter II & El Cid making an appearance. The Goblin makes his first appearance in what
was clearly intended as a stand alone story.
The character was revived in 1982 in The Rook and then received his own
short-lived magazine later that year.
The best story & art, however, was the DuBay/Maroto story ‘Mordecai
Moondog’.
72. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Feb. 1976)
1) Cousin Eerie’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Berni Wrightson] 1p [frontis]
2) Cousin Eerie’s Crypt [Louise
Jones?] 1p [questionnaire]
3) The Demons Of Jeremiah Cold aka Daddy Was A Demon
Man [Bill DuBay/Jose Ortiz] 15p
4) Hunter II: The Valley Of
Armegeddon [Budd Lewis/Paul Neary] 10p
5) Reuben Youngblood: Private
Eye!: Beware The Scarlet Combine [Budd Lewis/Howard
Chaykin & Berni
Wrightson] 10p
6) The Freaks: A Thin Dime Of
Pain [Doug Moench/Leopold Sanchez] 8p
[color]
7) The Pie And I [Budd
Lewis/Luis Bermejo] 9p
8) Tales Of Peter Hypnos: The
Incredible People-Making Machines [Jose Bea] 8p
Notes: $1.25 & 80 pages. Hunter II & the Exterminator make the
cover. Future artist Ken Meyer, Jr.
sends in a letter as did a Stephen Perry who might be comic & book writer
Steve Perry. Reuben Youngblood, like
Chaykin’s character Dominic Fortune for Marvel, was clearly a revamping of his
Atlas/Seaboard character The Scorpion.
All three variations on the character were good. A second Youngblood story was done at this
time but for some reason didn’t appear until 1982! The Chaykin/Wrightson art team was
surprisingly good. After the previous
issue’s lack of series, this issue made up for it by debuting three new
ones. The Freaks was uninspired but
Bea’s Peter Hypnos series was quite interesting. ‘The Pie And I’ was a sequel to the
DuBay/Toth story ‘Daddy And The Pie’ but wasn’t nearly as good.
The Louise Jones Era
73. cover: Ken Kelly (Mar. 1976)
1) Hunter II: Death Of The
Phoenix [Budd Lewis/Paul Neary] 8p
2) The Freaks: Carnival At
Midnight [Budd Lewis/Leopold Sanchez] 10p
3) Day Of The Vampire 1992: The
Tombspawn [Bill DuBay/Gonzalez Mayo] 10p
4) It!: A Grave Terror Leads To
Death! [Carl Wessler/Jose Gual] 10p
5) Tales Of Peter Hypnos: Voyage To The Final Hole
[Jose Bea] 11p
Notes: Hunter II and the Exterminator
are again cover featured. Back to $1.00
and 64 pages with James Warren listed as editor-in-chief & Louise Jones as
assistant editor during her tryout period.
Hunter II’s series is concluded.
It, the Dead Thing, takes his final bow.
Peter Hypnos again has the best story & art.
74. cover: Ken Kelly (May 1976)
1) Cousin Eerie’s Introduction
[Louise Jones/Rafael Auraleon] 1p
[frontis]
2) Warren Publishing Company
Will Pay A $500 Reward… [James Warren] 1p
[text article]
3) The Demons Of Jedediah Pan
[Bill DuBay/Jose Ortiz] 8p
4) Father Creator [Bill
DuBay/Paul Neary] 8p
5) Merlin: A Secret King [Budd
Lewis/Gonzalo Mayo] 20p
6) The Expedition! [Budd
Lewis/Leopold Sanchez] 10p
7) Presenting The 1975 Warren
Awards! [Bill DuBay] 2p [text article]
Notes: Jedediah Pan is cover
featured, with a fine Kelly painting.
Merlin was a new series that would only appear one more time. Too bad, as both entries were quite good. With only four stories this issue seems
rather slight.
75. cover: panel from the interior story
‘Invasion’ (June 1976)
1) The Demons Of Jeremiah Cold
[Bill DuBay/Jose Ortiz] 12p
2) The Freaks: The One Eyed Shall Be King! [Budd
Lewis/Leopold Sanchez] 6p
3) Oogie And The Worm! [Bill DuBay/Esteban Maroto]
10p
4) Invasion [Esteban Maroto/Jose
Bea] 5p reprinted from Dracula Book One
(1972) [story
miscredited to
Bea]
5) Gillian Taxi And The Sky
Pirates [Budd Lewis/Luis Bermejo] 16p
Notes: One of the crappiest looking
covers Warren published. It wasn’t so much
that Bea’s artwork was bad, it wasn’t.
It was the bizarre choice of hot pink that surrounded the relatively
small art panel, which made the cover
look like an nasty Valentine card! This
was the final appearance of The Freaks.
Not surprising since, except for Sanchez’s art, this series was a
snooze. Warren generally had some of the
best art reproduction in comics at the time but the reproduction on Bea’s
‘Invasion’ was noticeably substandard.
76. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Aug. 1976)
1) The Moonweavers: Deliver The
Child [Budd Lewis/Leopold Sanchez] 10p
2) The Comic Books [Joe
Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
3) Wolfer O’Connell: Highsong
[Budd Lewis/Luis Bermejo] 8p
4) Oogie & The Scroungers
[Bill DuBay/Esteban Maroto] 13p
5) Tales Of Peter Hypnos: The
Silver Key [Jose Bea] 9p
6) Darklon The Mystic! [Jim Starlin] 8p
Notes: Louise Jones now listed as
Senior Editor while Bill DuBay is listed as a contributing editor. The Moonweavers was a greatly improved
spinoff from The Freaks series, with beautiful art by Sanchez. Wolfer O’Connel was a pretty good character
who only appeared in two widely separated stories. The Oogie entry continued the downward tread
of Maroto’s art. Best stories & art
would go to Jose Bea’s Peter Hypnos entry and the debut of Jim Starlin’s
Darklon. Darklon was as close to a
conventional superhero story as Warren had developed up to now. The company would soon, however, be making
definite motions in that direction.
77. cover: Richard Corben (Sept. 1976)
1) Within You…Without You [Bruce Jones/Richard
Corben] 10p
2) The Moonweavers: The Gift [Budd Lewis/Leopold
Sanchez] 10p
3) Demons Of Nob Hill [Bill DuBay/Jose Ortiz] 10p
4) The Demons Of Father Pain [Bill DuBay/Jose Ortiz]
8p [color]
5) The Comic Books [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
6) Oogie And The Lie [Bill DuBay/Esteban Maroto] 8p
7) Cronk: Stalker In The Maze [Nicola Cuti/Carmine
Infantino & Wayne Howard] 6p
Notes: Richard Corben delivers a
stunningly sexy cover. And it’s got
dinosaurs, too! He and writer Bruce
Jones’ interior story was the best of a pretty good issue as well. Priced at $1.25 and 72 pages in length. The ‘Demons Of Nob Hill’ was apparently
originally entitled ‘The King Of Nob Hill!’
This was the series finale for Jeremiah & Jedediah Pan. Maroto’s art on Oogie was improved although
the villain in the story appears lifted from a John Buscema villain that
appeared in a Tower Of Shadows story in 1969.
78. cover: montage of interior panels (Oct.
1976)
1) Cousin Eerie’s Introduction [Louise Jones/Berni
Wrightson & Jaime Brocal] 1p
[frontis,
Brocal’s art is from story
panels]
2) The Mummy Walks: The Death Of
A Fiend [Steve Skeates/Jaime Brocal] 10p
reprinted from
Eerie #49 (July 1973)
3) The Mummy Walks: The Mind
Within [Steve Skeates/Jaime Brocal] 10p
reprinted from Eerie
#50 (Aug. 1973)
4) The Mummy Walks: Ghoulish
Encounter [Steve Skeates/Jaime Brocal] 10p
reprinted from
Eerie #52 (Nov.
1973)
5) The Mummy Walks: Enter Mr.
Hyde [Steve Skeates/Jaime Brocal] 10p
reprinted from Eerie
#53 (Jan. 1974)
6) The Mummy Walks: Stranger In
A Village Of The Insane [Steve Skeates/Jaime Brocal] 10p
reprinted from Eerie #54
(Feb. 1974)
7) The Mummy Walks: …And An End
[Steve Skeates/Jaime Brocal] 8p [color,
two pages
deleted] reprinted from Eerie #48 (June 1973)
8) The Hope Of The Future [Doug
Moench/Jamie Brocal] 8p reprinted from
Creepy #57 (Nov.
1973)
9) The Comic Books [Joe
Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
Notes: The 1976 Eerie Annual. $1.50 & 80 pages. Pretty much a fix-up collection.
79. cover: Ken Kelly (Nov. 1976)
1) Time And Time Again [Bruce Jones/Richard Corben]
10p
2) The Comic Books: Tarzan’s Travails [Joe
Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
3) The Pea-Green Boat [Budd Lewis/Leopold Sanchez]
8p
4) Darklon The Mystic: The Price [Jim Starlin] 9p
5) Third Person Singular [Bruce Jones/Luis Bermejo]
10p
6) Sam’s Son And Delilah! [Bruce Jones/Carmine
Infantino & Al Milgrom] 14p
Notes: $1.25 & 72 pages. Somewhat of a companion issue to Creepy #84’s
sports issue as this one also feature a Ken Kelly sports cover and an interior
sports story, both probably overflow from the Creepy issue. The Jones/Corben sequel to ‘Time And Again…’
was very good. ‘The Pea-Green Boat’ was
a limp new series. ‘Third Person
Singular’ was also a rather limp effort, although for other reasons, as Warren
explored homosexuality for the first time.
Unfortunately, the story {concluded in the next issue} bordered on the
idiotic.
80. cover: Ken Kelly (Jan. 1977)
1) Scallywag: The Invisible One [Budd Lewis/Jose
Ortiz] 8p
2) Darklon The Mystic: Retribution [Jim Starlin] 9p
3) The Pea Green Boat: On Moonlight Bay [Budd
Lewis/Leopold Sanchez] 8p
4) Tombspawn: Pieces Of Hate [Gerry Boudreau/Gonzalo
Mayo] 8p
5) Third Person Singular, part 2 [Bruce Jones/Luis
Bermejo] 10p
6) Cronk: Queen Of The Purple Range [Nicola
Cuti/Carmine Infantino & Al Milgrom] 8p
Notes: Steve Perry, a future comic
writer, & Wayne Faucher, a future inker, send in letters. If one could pick an artist for a strip set
in the orient, Jose Ortiz’s name wouldn’t be the first (or second or third) to
come to mind. However, he did quite a
respectable job on Scallywag. This was
Cronk’s last outing, although a third story by Cuti & Infantino was started.
81.cover: Frank Frazetta (Feb. 1977)
1) And Now…Introducing Exciting
Eerie No. 81! [Louise Jones/Dick Giordano, Carmine
Infantino, Bruce Jones,
Leopoldo Duranona, et al] 1p [text
article, frontis]
2) Goodbye, Bambi Boone [Cary
Bates/Carmine Infantino & Dick Giordano] 8p
3) The Comic Books: Less Is More
[Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
4) Taking Of Queen Bovine [Gerry
Boudreau/Ramon Torrents] 8p
5) The Bride Of Congo: The
Untold Story [Bill DuBay/Carmine Infantino & Gonzalo Mayo] 10p
6) You’re A Big Girl Now [Bruce
Jones/Richard Corben] 10p [pages 2-9 in
color]
7) Starchild [Louise Jones &
David Michelinie/Jose Ortiz] 5p
8) The Giant Ape Suit [Roger
McKenzie/Luis Bermejo] 8p
9) Golden Girl [Nicola
Cuti/Leopold Sanchez] 8p
Notes: Frazetta’s cover, ‘Queen
Kong’, was painted in 1971 and was originally intended for Warren’s never
published adult comic magazine, POW!
Since the cover shows a giant naked woman holding a tiny King Kong on
top of the Empire State Building, all the stories deal with a giant naked woman
who ends up on top of the Empire State Building. Go ahead, folks, try getting 8 good stories
out of that concept. $1.50 & 80
pages in length. The frontis page
includes a brief bio & art portrait for each of the writers & artists
in this issue. Some of the portraits are
lifted from the Warren Awards illos, some from the old features page profiles
and others appear to be new self -portraits.
Fred Hembeck sends in a letter.
The best story is easily the Jones/Corben ‘You’re A Big Girl Now’. The rest are only fair to middlin’.
82. cover: Bill DuBay & Luis Bermejo
(Mar. 1977)
1) The Rook: The Man Whom Time
Forgot! [Bill DuBay/Luis Bermejo] 20p
2) The Comic Books [Joe
Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
3) Tombspawn: And Now: The Game Is Afoot [Gerry
Boudreau/Carmine Infantino & Gonzalo
Mayo] 9p
4) Scallywag: Castle Of The
Assassin [Budd Lewis/Jose Ortiz] 8p
5) The Pea Green Boat: In A Deep
Sea Tomb [Budd Lewis/Leopold Sanchez] 10p
Notes: The cover is a fixup affair,
showing DuBay’s original presentation art for The Rook, with inserts of
interior panel art by Bermejo. Except
for Vampirella, this was Warren’s first open-ended continuing serial. Although the Rook was never a great series,
it was occasionally quite good, especially in its first three or four
episodes. Bermejo’s art is quite lovely
here and DuBay’s story is interesting too.
Later the silliness that drowned Vampi’s series began showing up in this
series as well. Although Tombspawn’s
ending this issue clearly signals another episode, this was actually its
finale. The third and concluding entry
in the Jones/Corben time travel series was supposed to appear this issue but
was a no-show. From this point on horror
began increasingly taking a back seat in Eerie, with more and more stories
being either science fiction or adventure-fantasy {although many of these
stories had horror elements}.
83. cover: Enrich Torres (May 1977)
1) The Rook: The Day Before
Tomorrow [Bill DuBay/Luis Bermejo] 20p
2) The Comic Books [Joe
Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
3) Hard John’s Nuclear Hit
Parade: Kansas City Bomber [Jim Stenstrum/Jose Ortiz] 10p
4) Gaffer: Temptation [Roger
McKenzie/Leopoldo Duranona] 9p
5) Presto The Besto [Jim
Stenstrum/Carmine Infantino & Dick Giordano] 8p
Notes: The Rook makes his second
cover appearance in a row. The Hard John
series is a continuation of the Hard John Apple story ‘An Angel Shy Of Hell’
from Creepy #64, way back in 1974. The
first story was great. The series was fair. Gaffer is another new series and not a bad
one at all.
84. cover: Frank Frazetta (June 1977) reprinted from Eerie #8 (Mar. 1967)
1) The Rook Contest [Bill DuBay] ½p [contest rules on letters’ page]
2) The Comic Books [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
3) The Rook: Yesterday, The Final Day [Bill
DuBay/Luis Bermejo] 22p
4) Hard John’s Nuclear Hit Parade: Brass Monkey [Jim
Stenstrum/Jose Ortiz] 10p
5) Godeye: Goodbye, Yellow Brick Rhode [Budd
Lewis/Carmine Infantino & Dan Green] 8p
6) He Who Waits In Shadow [Jim Starlin] 6p
7) Presenting The 1977 Warren Awards [Louise
Jones/Bill DuBay, et al] 2p [text
article]
Notes: Page count drop to 64
pages. Godeye returns, but this second
story is nowhere near the delight the first one was. ‘He Who Waits In Shadow’ is a gloomy
metaphysical explanation by Starlin as to why the last Darklon chapter is
late. Darklon gueststars and, although
this story was included in the Darklon collection put out by Pacific Comics in
1983, this is not actually part of the Darklon serial. It’s a tie-in. The Warren Awards went to Richard Corben for
best cover on Eerie #77 & best art on ‘In Deep’; best story to Bruce Jones
for ‘In Deep’; best cover artist to Ken Kelly, best all around writer to Bill
DuBay, best all around artist to Leopold Sanchez, a special award for
excellence to Jose Gonzalez and the Renaissance Man special award to Bill
DuBay.
85. cover: Ken Kelly (Aug. 1977)
1) The Rook: Lost To The Land Of
Nowhen [Bill DuBay/Luis Bermejo] 14p
2) The Comic Books [Joe
Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
3) Hard John’s Nuclear Hit Parade: Gonna Nuke
Mankind Right Outa My Hair [Jim Stenstrum/
Jose Ortiz] 10p
4) Gaffer: First Wish [Roger
McKenzie/Leopoldo Duranona] 11p
5) Blackstar & The Night
Huntress [Gerry Boudreau/Esteban Marato] 8p
6) The Pea Green Boat: Dutchman [Budd Lewis/Leopold
Sanchez] 8p
Notes: Nice cover by Kelly of two
of the Rook’s supporting characters.
Decent enough issue, although nothing really stands out. ‘Blackstar & The Night Huntress’ would
have an extremely tacky sequel five years later.
86. cover: Richard Corben (Sept. 1977)
1) Unprovoked Attack On A Hilton
Hotel [Jim Stenstrum/Richard Corben] 8p
reprinted from
Creepy #73 (Aug. 1975)
2) The Comic Books: The Worst
And The Dullest [Joe Brancatelli] 1p
[text article]
3) 1984 Ad [Joe Vaultz] 1p
4) The Oval Portrait [Rich
Margopoulos/Richard Corben] 8p from the
story by Edgar Allan Poe,
reprinted from
Creepy #69 (Feb. 1975)
5) Shadow [Rich
Margopoulos/Richard Corben] 8p from the
story by Edgar Allan Poe, reprinted
from Creepy #70
(Apr. 1975)
6) Pinball Wizard! [Doug
Moench/Richard Corben] 7p reprinted
from Creepy #66 (Nov. 1974)
7) Change…Into Something
Comfortable [Doug Moench/Richard Corben] 8p
reprinted from
Creepy #58 (Dec.
1973)
8) The Slipped Mickey Click Flip
[Doug Moench/Richard Corben] 10p
reprinted from Creepy
#54 (July 1973)
9) Friedhelm The Magnificent
[Greg Potter/Richard Corben] 8p
reprinted from Creepy #46 (July
1972)
10) Frozen Beauty [Richard
Corben] 6p reprinted from Creepy #36
(Dec. 1970)
Notes: The 1977 Eerie Annual. Considering all the stories were reprinted
from Creepy, this probably should have been a Creepy annual. The first 1984 ad appeared, long before the
book had a title and almost a year before actual publication, apparently in
response to the first successful issue of Heavy Metal, cover dated Apr. 1977
87. cover: Frank Frazetta (Oct. 1977) reprinted from Vampirella #7 (Sept. 1970)
1) The Rook: Prisoner In A
Chinese Fortune Cookie or: Bad, Bad Granny Gadget! [Bill
DuBay/Luis Bermejo] 16p
2) The Comic Books [Joe
Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
3) Scallywag: The Black Demon’s
Sword [Budd Lewis/Jose Ortiz] 8p
4) Years & Mind Forever
[Bruce Jones/Richard Corben] 10p
5) Gaffer: Second Wish [Roger
McKenzie/Leopoldo Duranona] 14p
6) The Incredible Illustions Of Ira Israel [Roger
McKenzie/Leopold Sanchez] 8p
7) Hunter 3: What Price
Oblivion? [Jim Stenstrum/Alex Nino] 8p
Notes: $1.75 and 96 pages. The Rook’s story title is based on C. M.
Kornbluth’s ‘Ms. Found In A Chinese Fortune Cookie’. The final segment of the Jones/Corbin time
travel series appears six months late.
Hunter 3 is a spoof of Hunter & Hunter II, not a serious
continuation of nor a sequel to the first two series. Although he had contributed inks to several
stories penciled by Carmine Infantino, Alex Nino makes his solo Warren debut
with the Hunter 3 story, thus beginning the gradual change of the Spanish
Invasion from actual Spanish artists to
the Filpino artists.
88. cover: Don Maitz (Nov. 1977)
1) The Rook: Future Shock [Bill
DuBay/Luis Bermejo] 12p
2) Announcing The Grand Prize
Winners Of The Fabulous Warren Rook Contest! [Louise
Jones/Mark Stokes, Gary
Goodman & Paul Daly] 1p [text
article]
3) The Comic Books: A Matter Of
Dues [Joe Brancatelli] 2p [text
article]
4) Scallywag: The Key [Budd
Lewis/Jose Ortiz] 8p
5) Deathball 2100 A.D. [Bill
Mohalley & Nicola Cuti/Dick Giordano] 8p
6) Boiling Point [Bruce
Jones/Leopold Sanchez] 11p
7) Junkyard Battles or Never
Trust An Electric Shaver [Nicola Cuti/Rafael Auraleon] 8p
8) Runner-Ups & More
Finalists! [various] 2p [text article]
Notes: $1.50 & 72 pages. As they had done in the previous year, both
Creepy & Eerie sported a sports cover for their final issue of the year,
although only Creepy was completely dedicated to a sports special. The Rook contest offers readers a chance to
create a robot, villain & gadget for the Rook and see their creations used
in a story. The villain creation--Quarb,
by Gary Goodman, became an important part of the Rook’s storyline. For winning the contest, the creators got
$100 and a three year subscription to Eerie.
Their creations would finally appear over a year later in Eerie
#98. Future comic pros appearing in the
finalist segment of the Rook Contest included Dan Reed, Nancy Collins, Steve
Ringgenberg & Gordon Purcell. The
Scallywag series title was replaced by The Black Demon’s Sword for the duration
of the series. I’ve decided to retain
the original series title.
89. cover: Malcolm McNeill (Jan. 1978)
1) The Rook: Trouble In The Time
Factory [Bill DuBay/Luis Bermejo] 14p
2) The Comic Books: Superman
Versus Soccer [Joe Brancatelli] 1p
[text article]
3) Crystabelle! [Bill
DuBay/Leopoldo Duranona] 9p
4) Francesca [Bruce
Jones/Gonzalo Mayo] 10p
5) Scallywag: The Magician’s
Tower [Budd Lewis/Jose Ortiz] 8p
6) Boiling Point, part 2 [Bruce
Jones/Leopold Sanchez] 10p
Notes: New cover artist Malcolm
McNeill did a number of fine covers for the Marvel B&W’s, particularly
Planet Of The Apes & The Deadly Hands Of Kung Fu under the name Malcolm
McN. This was his only cover for Warren
and it’s a shame, really, as his dynamic art style and subtle use of shadows
would have worked perfectly here. $1.25
cover price. Bermejo’s art begin looking
more and more rushed and, thus, more generic, probably due to the large number
of pages he was doing for Warren.
‘Francesca’ sees a return to the less ornate artstyle that Mayo had
shown before. It’s quite attractive and
this two-parter {with the second part skipping an issue} is a very good
story. Bruce Jones, who wrote
‘Francesca’, also concluded his ‘Boiling Point’, which was an excellent little
story. Looking at Ortiz’s artwork here, I
wonder why no one at Marvel ever got him to contribute either inks or full
artwork to the Conan series. His artwork
would have been a welcome change of pace there.
90. cover: Richard Corben (Feb. 1978)
1) Carrion [Gerry
Boudreau/Gonzalo Mayo] 8p
2) The Show Must Go On! [Roger
McKenzie/Leopoldo Duranona] 6p
3) A Woman Scorned [Bruce
Jones/Richard Corben] 8p [color]
4) The Fianchetto Affair or: A
Matter Of Great Delicacy [Bob Toomey/Jose Ortiz] 8p
5) The Comic Books: Patent
Medicine Profits? [Joe Brancatelli] 1p
[text article]
6) The Rook: What Is The Color
Of Nothingness? [Bill DuBay/Alex Nino] 20p
Notes: $1.50 cover price. With the exceptation of the Rook story, all
the stories in this issue center around the Corben cover of a girl on a giant
gila monster. An additional story
appeared in Creepy at the same time. The
Jones/Corben story was the best of that bunch.
It’s quite a good effort although the coloring, unlike most of the
Corben stories done in color, does not appear to have been done by Corben
himself. The Rook story was probably the
best since the first four, with dazzling artwork by Nino and a pretty sharp
time travel story by DuBay. The Rook story
is also printed sideways.
91. cover: Don Maitz (Mar. 1978)
1) The Rook: The Incredible
Sagas Of Sludge The Unconquorable, Helga The Damned, And
Marmadrake The Magnificent!
[Bill DuBay/Luis Bermejo] 20p
2) The Comic Books: Kiss And
Tell [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text
article]
3) Elijah Arnold And The Angel’s
Egg [Jonathan Thomas/Leopoldo Duranona] 8p
4) Francesca, part 2 [Bruce
Jones/Gonzalo Mayo] 10p
5) Moonshadow: Against The Sun
[Bob Toomey/Jose Ortiz] 8p
6) Presenting The 1977 Warren
Awards [Louise Jones/Frank Frazetta, Bruce Jones, Bill DuBay,
Alex Nino, et al] 2p [text article]
7) 1984 Ad [Richard Corben]
1p [on the back cover, a repo of #1’s
cover]
Notes: One of Maitz’s best covers
for Warren featured a giant troll lifting a tiny man to his mouth while a lady,
very much in distress, runs for her life.
$1.25 cover price. The gothic
story ‘Francesca’ concludes, and quite nicely.
Moonshadow, a fairly decent new series, debuts. Members of the Christian right send in
letters complaining of Warren’s use of nudity, a perceived lack of morality,
and a continues use of evolution as a plot device.
92. cover: Kim McQuaite (May 1978) [concept by Bill Mohalley]
1) Cold Sweat [Bill DuBay/Jose Ortiz] 8p
2) The Comic Books: Safe At Home? [Joe Brancatelli]
1p [text article]
3) The Rook: Strangers In The Strangest Places!
[Bill DuBay/Axel Laxamana] 10p
4) Let’s Hear It For Homo Sapiens [Gerry
Boudreau/Rafael Auraleon] 8p
5) Moonshadow: Suzanna, Don’t You Cry [Bob
Toomey/Jose Ortiz] 8p
6) Abelmar Jones: Bad Day ‘Cross 100th
Street [Bill DuBay/Alex Nino] 5p
7) Gaffer: Final Wish [Roger McKenzie/Leopoldo
Duranona] 9p
Notes: This sports cover featuring
hockey and the accompanying story, ‘Cold Sweat’, may have been intended for the
never published third all-sports special for Creepy. ‘Let’s Hear It for Homo Sapiens’ is an
overflow story from Creepy’s all-apes special issue #95. Marvel’s Man-Thing appears in one panel on
page one. Abelmar Jones makes his debut
as Warren tries to get hip. The Gaffer
returns for his finale, after being absent since #87. Bermejo begins taking the occasional breather
from the Rook strip, with a series of different artists filling in.
93. cover: Don Maitz (June 1978)
1) The Rook: Strangers In The
Strangest Places, part 2 [Bill DuBay/Alfredo Alcala [pgs 1-2] &
Abel Laxamana [pgs 3-11] 12p
2) The Comic Books: Classics
Illustrated R.I.P. [Joe Brancatelli] 1p
[text article]
3) Honor And Blood [Nicola
Cuti/Leopoldo Duranona] 10p
4) Moonshadow: Kingdom Of Ash
[Bob Toomey/Jose Ortiz] 8p
5) The Einstein Factor [Pepe
Moreno & Nicola Cuti/Pepe Moreno] 10p
6) Abelmar Jones: The Slime
Creature Of Harlem Avenue [Bill DuBay/Alex Nino] 8p
Notes: This vampire cover was
probably Maitz’s best cover for Warren.
Very striking. It illustrated the
fine new series ‘Honor And Blood’, with story by Cuti and art by Duranona. Easily the best work here.
94. cover: Don Maitz (Aug. 1978)
1) The Rook: The Coming Of The
Annihilator [Bill DuBay/Luis Bermejo] 12p
2) The Comic Books: Still More
Kiss [Joe Brancatelli] 1p
3) Honor And Blood, part 2
[Nicola Cuti/Leopoldo Duranona] 8p
4) Dead Man’s Ship [Nicola
Cuti/Isidro Mones] 8p
5) Divine Wind [Louise Jones
& Budd Lewis/Esteban Maroto] 6p
6) Don’t Drink The Water [Gerry
Boudreau/Martin Salvador] 8p
7) Bruce Bloodletter Of The IRS
[Bill DuBay & Fernando Fernandez/Fernando Fernandez] 8p
Notes: A good Maitz cover for a
better than average issue. Future
Eclipse editor Cat Yronwode sends in a letter. Vampirella & Pantha guest
star in the Rook story, which takes place directly after the Vampi story
published six months earlier in Vampirella #66.
Fernando Fernandez’s educational tax series featuring Bruce Bloodletter
had been done several years previously.
Here, Bill DuBay writes an entirely new script, turning this into a
science-fantasy tale. Best story is
‘Dead Man’s Ship’, although ‘Don’t Drink The Water’ is also good. Best art is Maroto’s from ‘Divine Wind’. The writer for that story is not listed. The credits I’ve given it come from the
author list on the titlepage. I assume
that Jones didn’t write the story on her own since at this point in her career
she usually didn’t receive sole writing credit on her stories.
95. cover: Jordi Penalva (Sept. 1978)
1) The Rook: Warriors From The Stars [Bill
DuBay/Luis Bermejo] 12p
2) The Comic Books: Death By The Numbers [Joe
Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
3) Willie’s Super-Magic Basketball [Jim
Stenstrum/Carmine Infantino & Rudy Nebres] 8p
4) Abelmar Jones: Faster Than A Speeding Whozit
[Bill DuBay/Alex Nino] 8p
5) Nuts! [Nicola Cuti/Pablo Marcos] 8p [color]
6) Harrow House [Bruce Jones/Jose Ortiz] 10p
7) Mac Tavish: Caucus On Rara Avis [Jim
Stenstrum/Pepe Moreno] 10p [story
credited to
Alabaster Redzone]
Notes: Penalva received a huge
amount of praise for his covers but I’ve never quite seen the reason why. The aura of mystery essential for a horror or
mystery title just is not there. $1.50
cover price. Vampi & Pantha again guest star in the Rook strip. Vampi also shares the cover with the
Rook. ‘Harrow House’ was a fine ghost story. Unfortunately, it was split in two with the
second half not appearing for another six months! This started to be the norm for a Warren
serial. Two or three episodes in a row,
then a long wait until the concluding episodes appeared. ‘Willie’s Super-Magic
Basketball’ was originally intended for the never published third all-sports
stories special for Creepy. ‘Nuts’ was a
rather cute story but the coloring was awful.
Stenstrum often used the penname ‘Alabaster Redzone’ when he was
adapting European stories into English or working from another writer’s
plot. If that was the case here, the
original author is unknown.
96. Jordi Penalva (Oct. 1978)
1) Fallen Angels: Revenge
[Guillermo Saccomano & Cary Bates/Leopoldo Duranona] 7p
2) Fallen Angels: The Cutman
[Guillermo Saccomano & Cary Bates/Leopoldo Duranona] 9p
3) Fallen Angels: Explosive
Issue [Guillermo Saccomano & Cary Bates/Leopoldo Duranona] 14p
4) The Comic Books: What Hath
Congress Wrought? [Joe Brancatelli] 1p
[text article]
5) Mac Tavish: Hero Of Zodiac V
[Jim Stenstrum/Pepe Moreno] 10p
6) The Ark [Roger
McKenzie/Carmine Infantino & Walt Simonson] 8p
7) The Shining Sea [Nicola
Cuti/Alfredo Alcala] 10p
Notes: $1.75 cover price with 88
pages. Mac Tavis is cover featured. All three Fallen Angels episodes probably
appeared in South America or Europe before their appearance here. The artwork is dated 1976. All three are quite good, reminding one a bit
of Frank Miller’s Sin City stories. Mac
Tavish was an average SF serial for the Star Wars period. There were no credits for this story but it’s
safe to assume that Stenstrum would have been billed as Alabaster Redzone again
if there were. The Cuti/Alcala story
‘The Shining Sea’ was an ok story but putting a dolphin’s head on top of a
human body resulted in one of the silliest looking critters that Warren ever
put into print.
97. cover: Val Mayerik (Nov. 1978)
1) Within You…Without You [Bruce
Jones/Richard Corben] 10p reprinted
from Eerie #77 (Sept.
1976)
2) Time And Time Again [Bruce
Jones/Richard Corben] 10p reprinted
from Eerie #79 (Nov.
1976)
3) Years & Mind Forever
[Bruce Jones/Richard Corben] 10p
reprinted from Eerie #87 (Oct.
1977)
4) The Comic Books: Roll Over,
Brancatelli [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text
article]
5) The Terror Beyond Time!
[Archie Goodwin/Neal Adams] 16p
reprinted from Creepy #15
(June 1967)
Notes: The 1978 Eerie Annual. Nicola Cuti replies on the letters’ page to a
previous letter by a Rick Berry, defending the science in one of his stories. $1.25 cover price & 64 pages. The nudity in the Jones/Corben time travel
serial had been largely censored.
Exactly why is unclear, since Warren was publishing the far more raunchy
1984 at the same time.
98. cover: Patrick Woodroffe (Jan. 1979)
1) The Rook: Quarb And The
Warball [Bill DuBay/Luis Bermejo] 31p
2) The Comic Books: Notes On
Comix People! [Joe Brancatelli] 1p
[text article]
3) Got You On My Mind [Bruce
Jones/Russ Heath] 12p
4) Honor & Blood, part 3
[Nicola Cuti/Leopoldo Duranona] 8p
Notes: Honor And Blood, unseen
since #94, concludes its run. The Rook
story uses all of the Rook contest winner creations in a single story.
99. cover: Jordi Penalva (Feb. 1979)
1) The Rook: Hickey And The
Pirates! [Bill DuBay/Jose Ortiz] 20p
2) The Comic Books: The Party
[Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
3) The Horizon Seekers [Leopoldo
Duranona & Cary Bates/Leopoldo Duranona] 11p
4) The Shining Sea, part 2
[Nicola Cuti/Alfredo Alcala] 10p
5) Harrow House, part 2 [Bruce
Jones/Jose Ortiz] 10p
6) A Crack In Time [Louise
Jones/Pablo Marcos] 8p
Notes: The Rook is cover
featured. $1.50 cover price. An ad for Eerie #110 featured art from the
various stories appears on the letters’ page.
A Laura Duranona from Central Islip, NY, sends in a letter praising
Leopoldo Duranona. Duranona himself
begins his best serial for Warren with ‘The Horizon Seekers’. ‘The Shining Sea’ is another tale of the
goofy looking dolphin-headed folk.
‘Harrow House’ is a great ghost story, the best in the issue. Louise Jones gets her first solo writing
credit.
100.
cover: Jordi Penalva (Apr. 1979)
1) The Rook: Master Of Ti Chi
[Bill DuBay/Jimmy Janes & Alfredo Alcala] 30p
2) The Comic Books: Going For
The Bucks [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text
article]
3) Presenting The 1978 Warren
Awards [Louise Jones/et al] 2p [text
article]
4) Gotterdammerung [Budd
Lewis/Isidro Mones] 10p
5) The Horizon Seekers: In A
Strange Land [Leopoldo Duranona & Cary Bates/Leopoldo
Duranona] 8p
6) Darklon The Mystic: Duel [Jim
Starlin] 13p
Notes: $2.00 cover price & 88
pages in length. The cover depicts a
number of characters who’d starred in serials in Eerie including the Rook,
Coffin, the Spook, Exterminator One, Darklon, Dax & Hunter II. On the letters’ page, Bob Toomey replies to a
previous Nicola Cuti letter. After not
appearing in a story of his own since #79, three years previously, Darkon
returns to conclude his serial. Easily the
best story here, so it was too bad that it took so long to finish it off. Still, this was not a particularly great 100th
issue.
101.
cover: Jim Lauier (June 1979)
1) The Rook: The Martians Are
Coming, The Martians Are Coming! [Bill DuBay/Jim Starlin &
Alfredo Alcala] 18p
2) Gotterdammerung!, part 2 [Budd Lewis/Isidro
Mones] 10p
3) The Horizon Seekers, part 2 [Leopoldo Duranona
& Cary Bates/Leopoldo Duranona] 12p
4) The Comic Books: The Inevitable Superman Story
[Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
5) Hunter II: Three Flames Of The Phoenix [Budd
Lewis/Pepe Moreno] 13p
Notes: $1.75 cover price & 72
pages. A quite blah cover by Lauier
headlines a rather blah issue with only ‘The Horizon Seekers’ showing any real
spark. Alcala’s inks erased any sense of
Starlin’s pencils on the Rook strip.
Moreno’s artwork on the new standalone Hunter II script is quite good
but the time or desire for a sequel to the original story had long since
passed.
102.
cover: Manuel Sanjulian (July 1979)
1) The Rook: Terror Of The
Spaceways! [Bill DuBay/Lee Elias] 12p
2) The Comic Books: So Much For
Traditions [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text
article]
3) The Horizon Seekers: Siege
[Leopoldo Duranona & Cary Bates/Leopoldo Duranona] 9p
4) The Earthquake Stick [Budd
Lewis/Jose Ortiz] 10p
5) Ophiophobia [Bill
DuBay/Martin Salvador] 8p
6) Tracks [Roger McKenzie/Pepe
Moreno] 7p
7) Neatness Counts [Jean Michel
Martin/Joe Vaultz] 4p
Notes: Sanjulian returns for his
first Eerie cover in 3 years but someone appears to have stripped the
background out and the cover is an odd combo of Sanjulian’s earthy tones in the
foreground and a flat white background.
The Horizon Seekers are cover featured.
$1.50 cover price. The best story
here is ‘Tracks’ by the team of McKenzie/Moreno but ‘Ophiophobia’ by DuBay
& Salvador is a throwback to the old horror oriented Eerie that is quite
satisfying as well. The best art is by
comics’ master Lee Elias on the Rook story.
103.
cover: Terrence Lindall (Aug. 1979)
1) The Rook: Terror Of The
Spaceways!, part 2 [Bill DuBay/Lee Elias] 16p
2) The Comic Books: The Corporate
Mad [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
3) The Open Sky: Arianne [Bob
Toomey/Jose Ortiz] 10p
4) The Trepasser [Don
McGregor/Paul Gulacy] 8p
5) Samurai: Credentials [Larry
Hama/Val Mayerik] 8p
6) The Horizon Seekers: The Damned & The Dead
[Leopoldo Duranona & Cary Bates/Leopoldo
Duranona] 17p
Notes: Terrence Lindall’s grisly
cover was for ‘The Horizon Seekers’.
$1.75 cover price & 80 pages.
Several of the pages in ‘The Rook’ are reprinted from the previous
issue. Clearly ‘Terror Of The Spaceways!’
had been intended as a single story that had been cut in two for
publication. The new serial ‘The Open
Sky’ was a prequel to an earlier series, ‘Moonshadow’. The lead character in
‘The Trepasser’ is based on actor James Coburn.
‘Credentials’ is a sequel to ‘The Art Of Murder’ from Creepy #106. The Warren Companion gives the series the
title ‘Samurai’ but that title doesn’t show up until #108’s titlepage and
doesn’t appear on a story until #111.
After its abrupt ending in Eerie #111, the series was revived in
1987-1989 {with Chuck Dixon replacing Larry Hama on scripts} for an independent
comic publisher under the title ‘Young Master’.
Whatever title you give it, it was a superior series.
104.
cover: Kirk Reinert (Sept. 1979)
1) The Rook: The Trouble With
Tin Men [Bill DuBay/Jimmy Janes & Alfredo Alcala] 11p
2) The Comic Books: Still
Collecting After All These Years [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
3) The Trepasser: Dusk [Don
McGregor/Paul Gulacy] 8p
4) City Of Shadows [Jean Michel
Martin/Leopoldo Duranona] 6p
5) Beastworld [Bruce Jones/Pablo
Marcos] 11p
6) The Rook Ad [Rudy Nebres] 2p
7) The Open Sky: Vladimir [Bob
Toomey/Jose Ortiz] 10p
8) The Horizon Seekers: Temple
Of The Ravagers [Leopoldo Duranona & Cary Bates/Leopoldo
Duranona] 10p
Notes: The new serial, Beastworld,
is cover featured. It was a decent, if
not profound, battle of the sexes serial.
‘City Of Shadows’ is a fumetti strip with Duranona using photos of toys
& action figures for the panels.
105.
cover: Jordi Penalva (Oct. 1979)
1) The Rook: Robot Fighters
[Bill DuBay/Jimmy Janes & Alfredo Alcala] 16p
2) The Rook Ad [Pablo Marcos & Alfredo Alcala]
1p
3) The Comic Books: Still Collecting After All These
Years [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text
article]
4) The Trespasser: Ruins [Don McGregor/Paul Gulacy]
6p
5) Beastworld, part 2 [Bruce Jones/Pablo Marcos] 11p
6) Mac Tavish: Demons Of The Zodiac [Gary Null &
Jim Stenstrum/Pepe Moreno] 10p
[Stenstrum’s contribution
credited to Alabaster Redzone]
7) The Horizon Seekers: Hunger
Strike [Leopoldo Duranona & Cary Bates/Leopoldo Duranona]
7p
8) Samurai: Lair Of The
Assassins [Larry Hama/Val Mayerik] 8p
Notes: Following this issue, the
Rook moved to his own series. In what
one would hope was an error, the Brancatelli column for the previous issue is
reprinted in this issue. ‘The Trepasser’
concluded its run, with fine art by Gulacy & a somewhat over-wrought script
by McGregor. Mac Tavis reappeared, with
his second episode coming a full year after his first appearance. To celebrate, he appeared on the cover, with
new supporting character Spider Andromeda.
‘Samurai’ continued to ape ‘Lone Wolf & Cub’, right up to the main
villain in this story receiving an arrow wound to the same eye that the main
villain in ‘Lone Wolf’ did. They’re also
dead ringers for each other.
106.
cover: Jose Ortiz & Walt Simonson (Nov. 1979)
1) Hard John Apple: An Angel Shy
Of Hell! [Jim Stenstrum/Richard Corben] 8p
reprinted from
Creepy #64 (Aug. 1974)
2) The Comic Books: The Comic-Book
Grapevine [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text
article]
3) Hard John Apple: Kansas City
Bomber [Jim Stenstrum/Jose Ortiz] 10p
reprinted from Eerie
#83 (May 1977)
4) Hard John Apple: Brass Monkey
[Jim Stenstrum/Jose Ortiz] 10p
reprinted from Eerie #84
(June 1977)
5) Hard John Apple: Gonna Nuke
Mankind Right Outa My Hair [Jim Stenstrum/Jose Ortiz] 10p
reprinted from
Eerie #85 (Aug. 1977)
6) The Super-Abnormal Phenomena
Survival Kit [Jim Stenstrum/John Severin] 8p
reprinted
from Creepy #79 (May 1976)
Notes: The 1979 Eerie Annual. A Jim Stenstrum Special. The cover for this issue is a fix-up
job. Jose Ortiz’s art is reprinted from
a panel in Eerie #83 while Walt Simonson provided a new background. $1.50 cover price & 64 pages.
107.
cover: Romas Kukalis (Dec. 1979)
1) The Horizon Seekers: The Last
Horizon [Leopoldo Duranona & Cary Bates/Leopoldo
Duranona] 14p
2) The Comic Books: Lies Our
Forefathers Told Us [Joe Brancatelli] 1p
[text article]
3) Beastworld, part 3 [Bruce
Jones/Pablo Marcos] 11p
4) Mac Tavish: Bad Company [Jim
Stenstrum & Alex Sothern/Pepe Moreno] 10p
[Stenstrum’s
contribution credited to
Alabaster Redzone]
5) The Prophesy [Bill
Kelly/Nestor De Leon] 10p
Notes: For the first and only time
in Warren history, a supporting character, Spider Andromeda from the Mac Tavish
strip, is cover featured. $1.35 was the
rather odd cover price with 64 pages.
Duranona and his wife gueststar as themselves in the finale of ‘The
Horizon Seekers’. It was a rather nice
Twilight Zone touch.
108.
cover: Jim Laurier (Jan. 1980)
1) A Lion In Our Midst [Nicola
Cuti/Jess Jodloman] 15p
2) The Comic Books: Notes On
Comix People [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text
article]
3) Beastworld, part 4 [Bruce
Jones/Pablo Marcos] 11p
4) Samurai: A Juggler’s Tale
[Larry Hama/Val Mayerik] 10p
5) Race Of The Damned [Norman
Mundy & Cary Bates/Joe Vaultz] 7p
6) Growing Pains [Bob Toomey/Mike Zeck] 8p
Notes: $1.50 cover price with 72
pages. Lauier’s lackluster cover
featured ‘Beastworld’. General Walters,
a character in ‘A Lion In Our Midst’ is a dead ringer for Marvel’s Nick
Fury. Mike Zeck provides the best art in
this issue, although Val Mayerik and Pablo Marcos are quite good too. Best story is the Samurai’s episode, ‘A
Juggler’s Tale’ while ‘Growing Pains’ is a good little horror tale.
109.
cover: Kirk Reinert (Feb. 1980)
1) Blood On Black Satin [Doug
Moench/Paul Gulacy] 16p
2) 1979 Warren Awards Ballot
[Louise Jones] 1p [text article]
3) Beastworld, part 5 [Bruce
Jones/Pablo Marcos] 11p
4) The Comic Books: Some
Thoughts On What Has Gone Before [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text
article]
5) Race Of The Damned, part 2
[Norman Mundy & Cary Bates/Joe Vaultz] 7p
6) Samurai: Fugue State [Larry
Hama/Val Mayerik] 8p
7) Mac Tavish: The End Of The
Steel Gang [Jim Stenstrum & Alex Southern/Pepe Moreno] 12p
[Stenstrum’s
contribution credited to Alabaster Redzone]
Notes: $2.00 cover price with 80
pages. This month’s cover also featured
‘Beastworld’ but, unlike the dreary cover from the issue before, Reinert’s
effort was quite striking. ‘Blood On
Black Satin’ was probably Doug Moench’s best effort at Warren and would have
made a great Hammer film script.
Gulacy’s moody artwork was perfect for the story and makes one wish he’d
done more horror work. This story was
easily the best effort in an issue that had no weak episodes at all.
110.
cover: Jim Laurier (Apr. 1980)
1) Blood On Black Satin, part 2
[Doug Moench/Paul Gulacy] 8p
2) The Comic Books: Building A
New Marvel [Joe Brancatelli] 1p [text article]
3) Beastworld, part 6 [Bruce
Jones/Pablo Marcos] 11p
4) The Open Sky: Francois [Bob
Toomey/Jose Ortiz] 10p
5) Firefly/Starfight [Budd
Lewis/Rafael Auraleon] 10p
6) The Rainmaker [Michael Fleisher/Leopoldo
Duranona] 12p
7) Never Again [James Warren] 1p [editorial, on back cover]
Notes: $1.75 cover price with 72
pages. The Jim Laurier cover was
supposedly for the ‘Firefly/Starfight’ story but the spaceships he painted
looked a lot more like Joe Vaultz’s earlier ‘Race Of The Damned’ serial’s
starfighters then anything in the ‘Firefly’ story. Unseen since #104, ‘The Open Sky’ returns to
conclude its storyline. The absence of
‘Samurai’ was due to an injury to Val Mayerik’s drawing hand. ‘Beastworld’ concludes. Not a great serial, but at least
interesting. Best story here was Michael
Fleisher’s ‘The Rainmaker’ while best art remains Paul Gulacy’s ‘Blood On Black
Satin’.
The Decline And Fall
111.
cover: Ken Kelly (June 1980)
1) Blood On Black Satin, part 3
[Doug Moench/Paul Gulacy] 12p
2) Moto Psycho Cop [Nicola
Cuti/John Garcia & Rudy Nebres] 8p
3) Samurai: The Messenger [Larry
Hama/Val Mayerik] 8p
4) Mac Tavish: 50 Million
Spacemen Can’t Be Wrong [Jim Stenstrum/Pepe Moreno] 12p
5) Haxtur: Beware Of Glahb
[Victor de la Fuente] 12p
Notes: Editor: Bill DuBay as Will
Richardson. ‘Blood On Black Satin’
concludes. Along with ‘Night Of The
Jackass’, possibly the best straight horror serial Eerie ever ran. Samurai also ended its run quite abruptly
{with its ending seemingly telegraphed by the dialogue in the last panel}, not
to be seen again until 1987 from the team of Chuck Dixon & Val
Mayerik. Mac Tavish, a solid, if not
spectacular, serial also concluded its lengthy run. ‘Haxtur’ was brought over from 1984/1994
after two appearances there.
111.
cover: Ken Kelly (July 1980)
1) The Spook: Stridspider
Sponge-Rot [Doug Moench/Esteban Maroto] 10p
reprinted from Eerie
#57 (June 1974)
2) Luana [Doug Moench/Esteban
Maroto] 13p reprinted from Vampirella
#31 (Mar. 1974)
3) The Rook Ad [Bob Larkin]
1p [B&W repo of #3’s cover]
4) Enter: The Exterminator—They
Shoot Babies, Don’t They? [Bill DuBay/Esteban Maroto] 8p
reprinted from
Eerie #58 (July 1974)
5) Rusty Bucklers [Bruce
Jones/Esteban Maroto] 8p reprinted from
Vampirella #57 (Jan. 1977)
6) Hollow Of Three Hills! [Rich
Margopoulos/Esteban Maroto] 8p from the
story by Nathaniel
Hawthorne,
reprinted from Eerie #63 (Feb. 1975)
[adaptation miscredited to Bill
DuBay]
7) Fallen Angels [Bill
DuBay/Esteban Maroto] 8p reprinted from
Vampirella #60 (May 1977)
8) The 1979 Warren Awards [Bill
DuBay] 2p [text article]
Notes: All-reprint issue. An Esteban Maroto special. The Spook is cover featured.
112.
cover: Jim Laurier (Aug. 1980)
1) Cousin Eerie’s Introduction
[Bill DuBay/Jose Ortiz & Berni Wrightson] 1p
2) The Manifestation [Budd Lewis
& Bill DuBay/E. R. Cruz] 25p
[DuBay’s contribution
credited to Will Richardson]
3) Code Name: Nova [John Garcia
& Bill DuBay/John Garcia & Alfredo Alcala] 16p [DuBay’s
story credited to Will
Richardson, with no mention of Garcia’s contributions to story or
art]
4) Haxtur And The Slow Death
God! [Victor de la Fuente] 12p
Notes: $2.00 cover price with 72
pages. The Cousin Eerie page was a fixup
effort, with Ortiz’s art reprinted from the 1978 Warren Calendar and
Wrightson’s Cousin Eerie figure from one of his stock introduction poses. Although Creepy and Vampirella continued as
quality publications for some time after DuBay took over for his second stint
as editor, Eerie almost immediately settled in mediocrity—featuring second-rate
artists and deadly dull stories. Few of
the new serials to come in the next three years would generate any excitement. This issue shows exactly why. ‘The
Manifestation’ wasn’t a bad story, but Cruz’ static art robbed it of any real
excitement. ‘Code Name: Nova’ was just
boring. The Haxtur story was OK but its
move from 1994 meant that many Eerie readers hadn’t seen the first two episodes
and it was hard to get excited about a serial midpoint through its run. In addition, this serial dated from 1971 and
while it was a good story and probably provided a lot of excitement in Europe
when it first appeared, readers had had the opportunity since then to read
hundreds of sword & sorcery stories.
By the time Haxtur appeared in the U.S., he just seemed run of the mill.
113.
cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Sept. 1980)
1) Star Warrior! [David
Jacobs/A. L. Sanchez] 31p
2) The Executioners [Carlos
Gimenez] 12p
3) Haxtur: Panthers, Wolves And Death! [Victor de la
Fuente] 12p
Notes: $1.75 cover price. Sanjulian
delivers a decent Haxtur cover while ‘The Executioners’ is a well-written,
well-drawn SF thriller. ‘Star Warrior!’,
however, is a total dud on all levels.
Berni Wrightson provides a new Cousin Eerie illo for the letters’
page.
115.
cover: Jim Laurier (Oct. 1980)
1) Night Of The Jackass: 24
Hours Of Hell! [Bruce Bezaire/Jose Ortiz] 12p
reprinted from Eerie
#60 (Sept. 1974)
2) Night Of The Jackass: Storm
Before The Calm! [Bruce Bezaire/Jose Ortiz] 10p reprinted from
Eerie #63 (Feb.
1975)
3) Night Of The Jackass: The
Children’s Hour [Bruce Bezaire/Jose Ortiz] 10p
reprinted from
Eerie #64 (Mar.
1975)
4) Night Of The Jackass:
Endstorm! [Bruce Bezaire/Jose Ortiz] 10p
reprinted from Eerie #65
(Apr. 1975)
5) Excerpts From The Year Five! [Budd Lewis/Jose
Ortiz] 10p reprinted from Eerie #67
(Aug.
1975)
Notes: Laurier’s cover, depicting
the Jackasses, is much better than usual his usual fare. The 1980 Eerie Annual and a Jose Ortiz
special. It was nice to see the superior
‘Night Of The Jackass’ serial collected.
116.
cover: Enrich Torres (Nov. 1980)
1) Bishop Dane: Blackjack [Rich
Margopoulos/E.R. Cruz] 20p
2) Star Warriors: Plunderworld [Rich Margopoulos/Fred
Redondo] 12p
3) Cagim: The Marks Of Merlin! [Budd Lewis/E. R.
Cruz] 12p
4) Haxtur: Warriors And Friends! [Victor de la
Fuente] 6p
Notes: $1.75 cover price with 64
pages. A dreary sword & sorcery
cover by Enrich was supposedly of Haxtur but it looked nothing like the
character. ‘Blackjack’ is a story
starring the Rook’s granddad. The Rook
gueststars in his grandpappy’s first but none too interesting solo adventure. The ‘Star Warriors’ story was apparently an
attempt at a series but it was extremely lame and led nowhere. It also had nothing to do with the ‘Star
Warrior’ story from Eerie #114. Cagim
{read the name backwards} is an ok serial, dealing with an uncredited takeoff
on T. H. White’s backward living magician {and not the Merlin character that
Budd Lewis had written a serial for in the 1970s for Eerie}. Cruz’s artwork was dull on the Blackjack
story but ok for Cagim.
117.
cover: Enrich Torres (Dec. 1980)
reprinted from Vampirella #37’s back cover (Oct. 1974)
1) Cagim: City Of Fire [Budd
Lewis/E.R. Cruz] 14p
2) His Brother’s Keeper! [Jim
Stenstrum/Neil McFeeters] 8p
3) Bruce Bloodletter: The Jalopy
Scam [Cary Bates/Fernando Fernandez] 12p
4) Haxtur: A Time For Dying
[Victor de la Fuente] 17p
Notes: This reprint cover was quite
lovely and in marked contrast to Enrich’s sloppy looking cover from the
previous issue. Cagim becomes a
superhero, complete with costume. The
Bruce Bloodletter artwork had been done years before for a European educational
comic called Space And Adventure. Here,
it is given a completely new script to turn it into a routine science fantasy
tale. Haxtur concludes his run with his
best story. However, the real surprise
here is the Stenstrum/McFeeters story ‘His Brother’s Keeper!’. While this wasn’t Stenstrum’s best story for
Warren, it was head and shoulders better than the low-level material that had
been appearing in Eerie for the last six months. McFeeters’ only art job for Warren is also
quite nice.
118.
cover: Jordi Penalva (Jan. 1981)
1) Haggarth: Skull Of The Three
Snakes [Victor de la Fuente] 18p
2) Steel Starfire: Tales From
The Galactic Inn [Rich Margopoulos/Rudy Nebres] 8p
3) The Red Shot [Bruce
Bezaire/Jess Jodloman] 16p
4) Space Kids [Fernando
Fernandez] 8p
Notes: ‘Haggarth’ had been
serialized throughout Europe in the late 1970s.
Still, it was probably the best serial that Eerie published in its last
three years. Bruce Bezaire returns for
one story, but I suspect ‘The Red Shot’ was written years earlier and only
illustrated now. Either way, it’s not
very good. The so-so Fernandez’s story
was done about 1975 or so.
119.
cover: Bob Larkin (Feb. 1981)
1) Zud Kamish: Accept No
Substitute! [Jim Stenstrum/E.R. Cruz] 27p
2) Sindy Starfire [Rich
Margopoulos/Rueben Yandoc] 10p
3) Haggarth: Eyes Of The Dead!
[Victor de la Fuente] 15p
Notes: $1.95 cover price with 72
pages. Bob Larkin delivers a blah
cover. Zud Kamish was actually a fairly
good serial with Stenstrum managing to create some amusement and interest despite
being saddled with E.R. Cruz’s artwork.
‘Sindy Starfire’ might have made a fine serial as well, but for some
reason, when fans asked for more on the letters’ page, Warren pooh-poohed the
idea.
120.
cover: Jim Laurier (Apr. 1981)
1) Zud Kamish: Death Of A Cometeer
[Jim Stenstrum/E.R. Cruz] 12p
2) Bishop Dane And Dax The
Warrior!: The Warrior And The Gunfighter! [Rich Margopoulos/A.
L. Sanchez] 14p
3) The Mist: A Public And
Private Surveillance [Don McGregor/Jun Lofamia] 12p
4) Haggarth: Sombra The Damned!
[Victor de la Fuente] 15p
Notes: Cover price now $2.00. A better than average issue with three good
serial episodes. Zud and Haggarth
continued their winning ways while Don McGregor’s fine tale of witchcraft, ‘The
Mist’, debuted. It would go through
three different artists and long gaps in appearances but still manage to tell
an effective tale. Starting with this
issue, Eerie began a policy of reviving old series stars {even dead
ones—especially the dead ones}, without using the original creators, to appear
in one-shot stories, often with a guest star.
Dax was the first, teamed up with the Rook’s granddad. Sanchez, however, was no Maroto and his pudgy
Dax looked more like Marvel’s Ka-Zar then the thin, wiry Dax of yore.
121.
cover: Vaughn Bode & Basil Gogos (June 1981) reprinted from Eerie #26 (Mar. 1970)
1) The Mist: Blood Cycles [Don
McGregor/Jun Lofamia] 15p
2) Born Of Ancient Vision
[Robert Morello & Budd Lewis/Robert Morello] 11p
3) Hunter, Demon Killer And
Darklon The Mystic: Ashes To Ashes [Rich Margopoulos/A. L.
Sanchez] 14p
4) Haggarth: Fall Of The Death
Head! [Victor de la Fuente] 12p
Notes: Chris Adames becomes the
editor. Why the ugliest cover that
Vaughn Bode ever did for Warren was chosen for reprinting is beyond me. It’s really a dog. Robert Morello’s decent SF story was visually
quite bizarre looking. Sanchez made a
real effort this time and his Darklon drawings are pretty good. However, combining two characters who have
zero in common with each other, is never a good idea.
122.
cover: Romas Kukalis (July 1981)
1) The Beast Of Sarnadd-Doom!
[Budd Lewis/Gonzalo Mayo] 11p
2) The Nu Zud Kamish: The
Chameleon Stands Revealed! [Jim Stenstrum/E.R. Cruz] 10p
[Stenstrum’s story credited
to Alabaster Redzone]
3) The Mist: Victoria Rode The
Subway Last Night! [Don McGregor/Val Mayerik] 14p
4) Haggarth, Book II [Victor de
la Fuente] 14p
Notes: Romas’ cover is quite
attractive and the accompanying story, ‘The Beast Of Sarnadd-Doom!’ was a fine
sword & sorcery tale. Zud’s series
title is slightly changed. The best
story and art belong to this issue’s installment of The Mist. Mayerik’s art is quite impressive.
123.
cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Aug. 1981)
1) The Mist: Token Resistance
[Don McGregor/Val Mayerik] 14p
2) Born Of Ancient Vision: In
Sight Of Heaven, In Reach Of Hell [Budd Lewis/Robert Morello]
15p
3) Remember All The People [Don
McGregor/Leopoldo Duranona] 11p
4) Harrarth, Book II: Path Of
The Tempered Soul! [Victor de la Fuente] 12p
Notes: Sanjulian’s cover was done
in 1972 and originally intended for Creepy #47.
See that issue’s notes for details.
This was the last appearance of ‘The Mist’ for a year and a half. Don McGregor’s ‘Remember All The People’ was
a heartfelt tribute to the slain John Lennon.
It was also Duranona’s last art job for Warren.
124.
cover: Frank Frazetta (Sept. 1981)
reprinted from Creepy #7 (Feb. 1966)
1) Cagim: The Sea Of Red [Budd
Lewis/E.R.Cruz] 12p
2) Pyramid Of The Black Sun:
Orka [Antonio Segura & Jim Stenstrum/Luis Bermejo] 12p [story
is credited solely to
Alabaster Redzone]
3) Born Of Ancient Vision: God
Of Light [Budd Lewis/Robert Morello] 17p
4) Haggarth, Book II: The Sacred
Scroll [Victor de la Fuente] 10p
Notes: ‘Pyramid Of The Black Sun’
appeared in Europe in the late 1970s, with a script by Segura & art by
Bermejo. It is greatly rewritten here
and the art is rearranged.
125.
cover: Richard Corben (Oct. 1981)
reprinted from Eerie #77 (Sept. 1976)
1) Curse Of The Vampire! [Archie
Goodwin/Neal Adams] 8p reprinted from
Creepy #14 (Apr.
1967)
2) The Terror Beyond Time!
[Archie Goodwin/Neal Adams] 16p
reprinted from Creepy #15
(June 1967)
3) Goddess From The Sea [Don
Glut/Neal Adams] 6p reprinted from
Vampirella #1 (Oct. 1969)
4) Thrillkill [Jim
Stenstrum/Neal Adams] 8p reprinted from
Creepy #75 (Nov. 1975)
5) A Curse Of Claws! [Archie
Goodwin/Neal Adams] 6p reprinted from
Creepy #16 (Aug. 1967)
6) Voodoo Drum! [Archie
Goodwin/Neal Adams] 8p reprinted from
Eerie #10 (July 1967)
7) Fair Exchange [Archie
Goodwin/Neal Adams] 8p reprinted from
Eerie #9 (May 1967)
Notes: $2.25 cover price and 80
pages. The 1981 Eerie Annual and a Neal
Adams special. There are numerous new
Cousin Eerie illos by Berni Wrightson. A
great buy for Adams fans!
126.
cover: Richard Corben (Nov. 1981)
1) The Nu Zud Kamish: Crabs [John Ellis Sech/E.R.
Cruz] 14p
2) Pyramid Of The Black Sun: Blekos [Antonio Segura
& Jim Stenstrum/Luis Bermejo] 13p
[story credited solely to
Alabaster Redzone]
3) Korsar [Jim Stenstrum/Esteban
Maroto] 12p [story credited to
Alabaster Redzone]
4) Haggarth, Book II, part 4
[Victor de la Fuente] 13p
Notes: Corben’s cover was
originally for a paperback cover. $2.00
cover price for 72 pages. Zud Kamish
gets a new writer.
127.
cover: Nestor Redondo (Dec. 1981)
1) Justin, King Of The Jungle
[Bill DuBay & Rich Margopoulos/Rudy Nebres] 14p [DuBay’s
contribution credited to
Will Richardson]
2) Reuben Youngblood [Budd
Lewis/Howard Chaykin & Lee Elias] 11p
3) Merlin And The Sorcerer [Budd
Lewis/E.R. Cruz] 14p
4) Haggarth, Book II, part 5
[Victor de la Cruz] 12p
Notes: Bill DuBay returns as editor
with Timothy Moriarty as managing editor.
The page count was dropped to 64 pages.
Future comic artist Alec Stevens sends in a letter complaining about
reprint covers but asking for a Wally Wood reprint special. ‘Justin, King Of The Jungle’ is an actual
horror story and was quite good, with beautiful Nebres artwork. Reuben Youngblood returns for the first time
since #72 back in 1976. This story was
obviously done about 1975 as well, except for two new pages that Elias drew,
probably to lengthen the story for this appearance. Another inker, possibly Walt Simonson, may
have worked on this story back in 1975 as well. ‘Merlin And The Sorcerer’ concerned the Merlin
character from the Cagim series, not the Budd Lewis penned Merlin series from
the 1970s.
128.
cover: Kirk Reinert (Jan. 1982)
1) Dr. Coven: Ashes To Ashes!
[Rich Margopoulos/Rudy Nebres] 11p
2) The Demon Queen [Jonathan
Thomas/Jose Ortiz] 7p
3) Zud And Son: Heroes At Large!
[John Ellis Sech/E.R. Cruz] 11p
4) Blackstar And The Night
Huntress [Gerry Boudreau/Peter Hsu] 9p
5) Avenger! [Archie Goodwin/Jim
Starlin & Neal Adams] 8p
6) Haggarth, Book II, part 6
[Victor de la Fuente] 11p
Notes: A striking Reinert cover
highlights a somewhat better than average issue. ‘Avenger!’ was done in 1974 and originally
intended for Creepy #64 (Aug. 1974). The
low point is certainly the ‘Blackstar And The Night Huntress’ story, a sequel
to the original from Eerie #85. Hsu’s
art is in his ‘Quandrant’ style—awkwardly posed soft-porn cheesecake, with a
lot of female model guides taken from Playboy centerfolds. ‘Haggarth’ continued to be the best thing in
Eerie.
129.
cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Feb. 1982)
1) Marvin, The Dead-Thing: Ode
To A Dead Thing! [Bill DuBay/Rudy Nebres] 13p
2) Ms. Liberty [Rich
Margopoulos/Jun Lofamia] 7p
3) Mercenary! [Nicola Cuti/Pat
Boyette] 9p
4) Space Force: Shipwrecked
[Jean-Claude Forest/Paul Gillon] 13p
[strip credited solely to
Gillon]
5) Haggarth, Book II, part 7
[Victor de la Fuente] 12p
Notes: The revival of Marvin, The
Dead-Thing, a character only done originally as a satirical blast at Marvel
& DC’s swamp creatures, shows just how far off track Warren had
fallen. The original Marvin story was
funny but this one was played straight and was as run-of-the-mill as you could
get. Not to mention the fact that with
Nebres doing the art, it looked alarmingly like the Nestor Redondo illustrated
‘Swamp Thing’! ‘Mercenary!’ was a
straight action adventure story with no horror or SF elements. I suspect it was originally intended for The
Rook magazine. ‘Shipwrecked’ is a French
strip that debuted there in 1964. The
covers that Sanjulian was supplying Warren with at this point often looked like
rejected covers for a paperback sword & sorcery series. They usually had zero to do with the contents
of the magazine.
130.
cover: Steve Fastner & Rich Larson (Apr. 1982)
1) Vampirella And The Time Force
[Rich Margopoulos/E.R. Cruz] 54p
Notes: Timothy Moriarty becomes the
new {and last} editor. The letters’ page
vanishes. This is possibly the most
depressing issue of Eerie ever produced.
It’s not so much that the story is bad, because it isn’t that
horrible. It’s that the entire concept
of this issue trashes so much of Eerie’s history. The book-length story borrows Vampi and her
supporting cast from a year previous, making one suspect this story was
intended as a serial in Vampi’s own magazine, then links her up with a host of
Eerie’s most recognizable series characters.
In addition to Vampi and Pantha, the Pie, Shreck, Child, Exterminator
One, Dax the Damned, Hunters I & II, Mac Tavish, the Spook, Coffin,
Darklon, Manners the Tin Man, the Rook and his Grandpappy, Bishop Dane
appear. Since, with the expection of the
Rook & his supporting cast, most of the characters had died at the end of
their usually quite grim serials, coupled with the fact that most of their
original storylines could not possibly co-exist with each other gave the
resulting story the distinct air of desperation that had begun to soak into all
of Warren’s magazines during this period.
Add to that the depressing fact that E.R. Cruz couldn’t draw a sexy
female if she came up, sat on his lap and twirled. In addition, all of his men had the exact
same facial features and his static layouts tended to make one looking at a
page of his art feel as though they were staring at a blank gray wall and you
end up with an exceedingly dreary issue.
131.
cover: Rudy Nebres (June 1982)
1) Wally Wood, 1927-1981
[Timothy Moriarty?] 1p [text article,
obituary]
2) Killer Hawk [Bill DuBay/Wally
Wood] 12p reprinted from Eerie #61
(Nov. 1974)
3) Overworked! [Archie
Goodwin/Dan Adkins & Wally Wood] 6p
reprinted from Creepy #9
(June 1966)
4) The Cosmic All [Wally Wood]
8p reprinted from Creepy #38 (Mar.
1971)
5) The Battle Of Britain! [Wally
Wood/Dan Adkins & Wally Wood] 7p
reprinted from Blazing
Combat #3 (Apr.
1966) [art credited solely to Wood]
6) War Of The Wizards! [Wally
Wood] 8p reprinted from Vampirella #10
(Mar. 1971)
7) The Manhunters [Gerry
Boudreau/Wally Wood] 8p reprinted from
Eerie #60 (Sept. 1974)
Notes: An all Wally Wood
special. $2.00 for 64 pages. The cover is a pen & ink illo instead of
a painting. From this point on, just
about every other issue of Eerie was a reprint issue.
132.
cover: Manuel Sanjulian (July 1982)
1) The Rook: The Dane Curse!
[Budd Lewis/Luis Bermejo] 13p
2) The Nu Zud Kamish: Hero Of
The Milky Way [John Ellis Sech/E.R.Cruz] 14p
3) Space Force: Shipwrecked,
part 2 [Jean-Claude Forest/Paul Gillon] 12p
4) Haggarth, Book II, part 8
[Victor de la Fuente] 12p
Notes: With the cancellation of his
own magazine, the Rook returns to Eerie.
His story here is the third part of a serial begun in The Rook #13.
133.
cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Aug. 1982)
1) Eerie’s Exciting Earful
[Timothy Moriarty] 1p [text article]
2) Destiny’s Witch [John
Jacobson/Ramon Torrents] 12p reprinted
from Creepy #59 (Jan. 1974)
3) Fleur: From The Spain Of
Legend! [John Jacobson/Ramon Torrents] 10p
reprinted from
Vampirella #34
(June 1974)
4) Fleur: Our Tars Were Young
And Gay! [John Jacobson/Ramon Torrents] 10p
reprinted from
Vampirella #35
(Aug. 1974)
5) Fleur: Night Of The Alleycats
[Gerry Boudreau/Ramon Torrents] 8p
reprinted from
Vampirella #68 (Apr. 1978)
7) The Quest [Budd Lewis/Ramon
Torrents] 8p reprinted from Vampirella
#67 (Mar. 1978)
8) The Goblin Ad [Rudy Nebres]
1p [on back cover]
Notes: An all-reprint Ramon
Torrents special. ‘The Quest’ has one
page deleted. The features page is
revived with a new title.
134.
cover: Rudy Nebres (Sept. 1982)
1) Eerie’s Exciting Earful
[Timothy Moriarty] 1p [text article]
2) The Rook: The Fallen [Budd
Lewis/Luis Bermejo] 9p
3) Space Force: Shipwrecked,
part 3 [Jean-Claude Forest/Paul Gillon]
14p
4) The Fighting Armenian [Bill
DuBay/Rudy Nebres] 8p [color]
5) Zud Kamish [John Ellis
Sech/E.R. Cruz] 9p
6) Haggarth, Book II, part 9
[Victor de la Fuente] 10p
Notes: The cover is a pen & ink
illo, not a painted cover. The Fighting
Armenian moves over from the cancelled The Rook and is cover featured. Why is a puzzlement, as he was an extremely
lame knockoff character to begin with.
The Rook or Zud would have been a much better choice. Eerie Showcase, a color insert, begins. The color and paper is a bit like a Charlton
comic with really crappy page cutting.
It’s quite a fall from the glorious Warren color sections of a few years
before. Zud Kamish concludes his series
without dying! He just has his arms and
legs blown off.
135.
cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Oct. 1982)
1) The Spirit Of The Thing!
[Archie Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 8p
reprinted from Creepy #9 (June
1966)
2) Collector’s Edition! [Archie
Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 8p reprinted from
Creepy #10 (Aug. 1966)
3) Beast Man! [Archie
Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 8p reprinted from
Creepy #11 (Oct. 1966)
4) Blood Of The Werewolf!
[Archie Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 8p
reprinted from Creepy #12 (Dec.
1966)
5) Second Chance! [Archie
Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 6p reprinted from
Creepy #13 (Feb. 1967)
6) Where Sorcery Lives! [Archie
Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 8p reprinted from
Creepy #14 (Apr.
1967)
7) Thane: City Of Doom! [Archie
Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 8p reprinted from
Creepy #15 (June
1967)
8) The Incredible Shrieking Man!
[Archie Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 7p
reprinted from Eerie #4
(July 1966)
9) The Fly! [Archie
Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 8p reprinted from
Eerie #7 (Jan. 1967)
10) Demon Sword! [Archie
Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 8p reprinted from
Eerie #8 (Mar. 1967)
11) The Goblin Ad [Rudy Nebres]
1p [on back cover]
Notes: $2.75 for 96 pages. An all-reprint Steve Ditko {and Archie
Goodwin} special and the 1982 Eerie Annual.
‘The Incredible Shrieking Man’ is retitled from its original appearance
as ‘Shrieking Man’. Great collector’s
issue!
136.
cover: Nestor Redondo (Nov. 1982)
1) Eerie’s Exciting Earful
[Timothy Moriarty] 1p [text article]
2) The Rook: The Fallen, part 2 [Budd Lewis/Luis
Bermejo] 8p
3) Space Force: Shipwrecked, part 4 [Jean-Claude
Forest/Paul Gillon] 15p
4) Starlad [Bill DuBay/Vic Catan] 8p [color]
5) Haggarth, Book II, part 10 [Victor de la Fuente]
14p
6) The 1981 Warren Awards [Timothy Moriarty] 2p [text article]
Notes: $2.25 for 64 pages. The Rook makes his final appearance. ‘Space Force: Shipwrecked’ does as well with
the serial never being concluded. ‘Haggarth’
concludes his run and is probably the best serial to run in the latter days of
Eerie. After a long delay the 1981
Warren Awards are announced with best cover going to Steve Fastner & Rich
Larson for 1994 #22, Nicola Cuti winning best writer for his Fox serial, Victor
de la Fuente winning the story of the year for Haggarth, Anton Caravana winning
best art for ‘Call It Chaos’ from Vampirella #100, Luis Bermejo for artist of
the year, Nestor Redondo for cover artist of the year and special awards for
excellance to Frank Thorne and Rudy Nebres.
137.
cover: montage of previous covers (Dec. 1982)
1) Eerie’s Exciting Earful
[Timothy Moriarty] 1p [text article]
2) Darklon The Mystic: The Price
[Jim Starlin] 9p reprinted from Eerie
#76 (Aug. 1976)
3) Exterminator One [Bill
DuBay/Paul Neary] 8p reprinted from
Eerie #60 (Sept. 1974)
4) The Mummy: The Mind Within
[Steve Skeates/Jaime Brocal] 10p
reprinted from Eerie #50
(Aug. 1973)
5) Coffin: Death Wish! [Budd
Lewis/Jose Ortiz] 10p reprinted from
Eerie #61 (Nov. 1974)
6) Eerie’s Greatest Heroes!
[Timothy Moriarty] 2p [text article
with a hero story checklist]
7) Hunter [Rich Margopoulos/Paul
Neary] 10p reprinted from Eerie #52
(Nov. 1973)
8) The Spook: Stridespider
Sponge-Rot [Doug Moench/Esteban Maroto] 10p
reprinted from
Eerie #57 (June 1974)
Notes: An all-reprint ‘Origins’
special. $2.25 for 80 pages. Warren reprints the opening episodes of
various Eerie characters without telling their entire story. A good way to frustrate readers, although the
addition of a checklist for back orders was a nice touch.
138.
cover: Nestor Redondo (Jan. 1983)
1) The Noxious Newspage [Timothy
Moriarty] 1p [text article]
2) The Mist [Don McGregor/Bill
Draut] 13p
3) The Mist, part 2 [Don
McGregor/Bill Draut] 10p
4) Granny Gutman And The Limbo
Men [Rich Margopoulos/Fred Carrillo] 8p
[color]
5) Glythis [Timothy Moriarty/E.R. Cruz] 8p
6) Sherlock Holmes: A Study In Scarlet, part 3 [Rich
Margopoulos/Noly Panaligan] 11p
Notes: A beautiful Redondo cover
heralds the return and conclusion of ‘The Mist’, unseen since #123, back in
Aug. 1981. ‘Glythis’, a new serial, is
never concluded. The Sherlock Holmes
strip is the conclusion of a serial begun in the cancelled The Rook magazine. $2.25 for 64 pages.
139.
cover: Kelly Freas (Feb. 1983)
1) The Noxious Newspage [Timothy
Moriarty] 1p [text article]
2) Voyage Of The Space Beagle
[Rich Margopoulos/Luis Bermejo] 43p
from the story by A. E.
Van Vogt
3) The Infinity Force [Bill
DuBay/Rudy Nebres] 8p [color]
Notes: Final issue. Clearly an effort was being made to upgrade
the quality of Warren’s story offerings as this is a very good adaptation of
Van Vogt’s classic tale. After the
dreariness of the previous two years, this was a nice way for Eerie to leave
the stage.
1. cover: montage of previous covers (1967)
1) Uncle Creepy’s Introduction [Frank Frazetta]
1p [frontis] reprinted from Creepy #1 (Jan.
1965)
2)
The Duel Of The Monsters! [Archie Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 8p reprinted from Creepy #7
(Feb.
1966)
3)
Return Trip [Arthur Porges/Joe Orlando] 8p
reprinted from Creepy #3 (June 1965)
4)
Abominable Snowman! [Bill Pearson/John Severin] 6p reprinted from Creepy #6 (Dec. 1965)
5)
Werewolf! [Larry Ivie/Frank Frazetta] 6p
reprinted from Creepy #1 (Jan. 1965)
6)
The Thing In The Pit! [Larry Ivie/Gray Morrow] 8p reprinted from Creepy #6 (Dec. 1965)
7)
Vampires Fly At Dusk! [Archie Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 6p reprinted from Creepy #1 (Jan.
1965)
8)
Sand Doom [Archie Goodwin/Al Williamson] 6p
reprinted from Creepy #5 (Oct. 1965)
9)
Hot Spell! [Archie Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 7p
reprinted from Creepy #7 (Feb. 1966)
Notes: Publisher: James
Warren. Editor: Archie Goodwin. Creepy’s yearbook/annuals came out sometime
around various Creepy/Eerie/Vampirella issues cover dated Aug.-Oct. The actual title of this issue was ‘Creepy
1968 Yearbook’, probably designed so that the 1968 date would give it a longer
shelflife. The Yearbook/Annual series
always listed the next year as the cover date so a Creepy Yearbook 1969, for
example, would come out in 1968.
2. cover:
H. B. Harris (1968)
1)
Scream Test! [John Benson & Bhob Stewart/Angelo Torres] 7p reprinted from Creepy #13
(Feb. 1967)
2) The Doorway! [Archie
Goodwin/Dan Adkins] 6p reprinted from
Creepy #11 (Oct. 1966)
3) Monster! [Archie
Goodwin/Rocke Mastroserio] 8p reprinted
from Creepy #10 (Aug. 1966)
4) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore:
Werebeasts! [Archie Goodwin/Frank Frazetta] 1p
reprinted from
Creepy #7 (Feb. 1966)
5) Overworked! [Archie Goodwin/Wally
Wood & Dan Adkins] 6p reprinted
from Creepy #9
(June 1966)
6) Curse Of The Vampire! [Archie
Goodwin/Neal Adams] 8p reprinted from
Creepy #14 (Apr.
1967)
7) The Beckoning Beyond [Archie
Goodwin/Dan Adkins] 8p reprinted from
Creepy #14 (Apr.
1967)
8) Midnight Sail [Johnny Craig]
6p reprinted from Creepy #10 (Aug.
1966)
Notes: The Creepy 1969
Yearbook. Editor: Bill Parente.
3. cover: montage of previous covers (1969)
1) The Body-Snatcher! [Archie
Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 8p from the
story by Robert Louis
Stevenson,
reprinted from Creepy #7 (Feb. 1966)
2) Blood Of The Werewolf!
[Archie Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 8p
reprinted from Creepy #12 (Dec.
1966)
3) Where Sorcery Lives! [Archie
Goodwin/Steve Ditko] 8p reprinted from
Creepy #14 (Apr.
1967)
4) Ther Terror Beyond Time!
[Archie Goodwin/Neal Adams] 16p
reprinted from Creepy #15
(June 1967)
5) Revenge Of The Beast! [Archie Goodwin/Gray