Last updated 22 February 2007. 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 Warren Magazines

 

            The Warren magazines were the big cheese in the black & white horror magazine boom for the 1960s-1970s, if only because they were there first and they lasted the longest.  James Warren, the publisher of several different movie magazines, most notably ‘Famous Monsters Of Filmland’, was a long time lover of comics, particularly the EC comics of the early 1950s.  He made a few tentative stabs at comics in 1964, producing a trio of stories adapting movies from the 1930s for ‘Monster World’, a sister magazine of ‘Famous Monsters Of Filmland’.  In late 1964 he decided to take the plunge, producing a full-length comic anthology.  It should be noted that the magazines he published were not comic books but magazines.  They had to be. 

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, crime or terror in titles.  As the comic industry existed in 1964, a revival of EC-type comics wouldn’t have been possible.

 Besides, Warren published magazines, designed to sit on stands alongside Look, Life, Sports Illustrated or Playboy.  Well, maybe a few shelves over from those magazines but still in the general vicinity.  Nowhere near those tawdry comic spinner racks.

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 Warren run can be split up into five distinct eras.  The first was The Goodwin Era, which ran from 1965-1967.  Obviously this era was marked by the work of Archie Goodwin, who edited the line and wrote most of the stories for this period.  It’s hard to overemphasize how important Goodwin’s work here is.  He not only provided a foundation for Warren Publications to grow and succeed, but he also provided a template for other comic writers and for many future writers of horror prose. 

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.  Warren artist Joe Orlando became an editor at DC and, for at least the years 1968-1973, provided a truly good horror line.   Charlton revitalized its own horror line and provided a home base for Steve Ditko, Pat Boyette, Rocco Mastroserio and other Warren artists.  Marvel blantantly copied Warren when it began its color horror line in 1969.  Its horror hosts for both Tower Of Shadows & Chamber Of Darkness looked and sounded a great deal like Uncle Creepy and the style of story was modeled much more after the Warren stories than EC’s sardonic brand of horror.  Later, Warren artists such as Mike Ploog, Gray Morrow and Tom Sutton became major forces in creating and refining Marvel characters such as Frankenstein’s Monster, Werewolf By Night, Man-Thing, Morbius, and Ghost Rider. 

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 Warren magazine circa 1965-1967.  I suspect that Stephen King read Warren comics during this period.  I know he read the Skywald books in the early 1970s.

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, 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 a money crunch that forced Warren Publishing to drastically cut page rates and launching Warren into its dark age.  For the next two and a half years 50% or more of every issue would be reprints.  Most of the new stories were so-so at best and were greatly hampered by inferior art, with only Tom Sutton (the only Goodwin era artist to regularly contribute during this time) and Ernie Colon providing any steady quality work. 

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, Warren rebuilt its position as the leading black & white horror publisher.  In doing so, Warren launched an astonishing number of artists & writers’ careers into mainstream comics, including (although not limited to) Dave Cockrum, Mike Ploog, Doug Moench, Nicola Cuti, Rich Buckler, Don McGregor, Al Hewetson, Ed Fedory, Bill Black, Rich Corben, Boris Vallejo, Ken Kelly, Paul Neary, Budd Lewis and many more.

In 1973, two events occurred that completely changed the look of a Warren comic.  First, was the ‘invasion’ of Spanish artists from the S.I. Studio.  Many of these artists came from the European romance field and their ability to draw startling beautiful women as well as a different brand of horror than American readers were used to was certainly a major draw.  The second was a complete graphic re-design of the magazines themself by new editor Bill DuBay.  During his first stint as editor (he would hold the title three different times) from 1973-1976, he was very much a hands on boss and the quality of the magazines’ stories and art greatly improved.  Warren introduced color sections with coloring that was better than any of the comic companies except possibly Playboy’s “Little Annie Fannie”.  They reintroduced Will Eisner’s The Spirit to readers who probably weren’t ever born when the original run ended.  In addition, DuBay’s reign also seem to feature a uniform approach to the style and mood of the horror in the magazines.  An approach that was as strong as, but completely different from, the approach that Goodwin used.  It was certainly something that had not been reflected in the scatter-shot years from 1968-1972. 

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 while pulling back into the Warren fold some of the artists that had vanished from the pages of the Warren magazines 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 nosedive both times.  The Spanish artists largely left and were replaced by artists from the Philippines.  Mind you, these were not bad artists, but, with the notable exceptions 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.  The fresh books and the look of those books left Warren’s magazines looking somewhat obsolete.  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.  Distribution was changing with the old markets of newsstands, drug stores and supermarkets dropping comic books and magazines from their inventories.  The new comic shops which replaced those markets 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 Warren and relaunched Vampirella with some success in the 1990s.  Still Vampi was never that strong of a character to begin with and the Harris version doesn’t seem to have improved her.  However, in recent years there’s been a rebirth of interest in the original Warren line, with probably the most important example being The Warren Companion, complied by David A. Roach & Jon B. Cooke, which is an excellent book length expansion of the 4th issue of the comic history magazine, Comic Book Artist.  Another decent source is Stephen Sennitt’s Ghastly Terror, although there are some irritating technical art/text screwups {covers & art pages mentioned don’t appear on the appropriate page of text} and, at times, Sennitt’s opinions and bias are not supported by his own observations.  Nonetheless, there’s a great deal of useful information in the book.  In 2003, Spooky, a fine fanzine dedicated to the history of Warren Publications, debuted.  At this writing it has published six issues and has improved its content with every new outing.

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 are a number of interviews with Warrren writers, artists & editors located at the Warren Interviews page.  Have fun!

 

 

 

 

                                                The Goodwin Era

 

Creepy

    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 for 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 penciller, 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 Orlando] 6p

                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 was now listed as story editor.  Again, no cover date but this would have been the Apr. or Spring 1965 issue.  It  also turned out to be 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 {Orlando did the artwork for that attempt too} and a second attempt appeared in the 1964 in a fanzine with art by D. Bruce Berry.  This version would run irregularly over the next two years.  Davis appeared with more illos of Uncle Creepy for story introductions.  The art from the Creepy ad by Davis would turn up again as the cover to the Eerie #1 ashcan edition.  The Loathsome Lore pages listed here did not have official titles for the first 25 or so issues.  Titles noted are actually coined by me, based on lore content.  The first letters’ page featured letters from Rip Kirby artist John Prentice & Onstage artist Leonard Starr. ‘Ogre’s Castle’ is an especially good story although the art for ‘Spawn Of The Cat People’ is quite nice as well.  ‘Wardrobe Of Monsters’ has Gray Morrow doing the first seven pages while Angelo Torres did the 8th and last.  The first Frazetta cover effort featured a man threatened by growling black panthers.  Good, but a long ways from what he was soon to show readers.  Frazetta’s Creepy paintings are sometimes listed as his first horror paintings but he was doing Ballantine’s paperback EC collections at the same time.  The first EC collection appeared at roughly the same time as Creepy #1.  All four of these paperbacks had knockout horror covers.  Another solid issue. 

 

    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 depicted 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 employed very different art approaches for his two stories.  Orlando’s art appears to be channeling Johnny Craig’s at certain points.  The Loathsome Lore segment featured Jack Davis’ only comic art for Warren.  The letters’ page featured a reprint of a three panel ‘Bullwinkle’ comic strip featuring Uncle Creepy, illustrated by Al Kilgore.

 

    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) Moon City! [Larry Englehart/Al McWilliams] 6p

                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 was 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 was his best yet--a man is confronted by a werewolf while traveling over the moors.  Just beautiful and the first true classic Warren cover.  ‘Monster Rally’ revealed the origin of Uncle Creepy.  Art honors go to Al McWilliams for two very good jobs—making one wish he had done more for Warren.  The best is ‘Blood And Orchids’.  Crandall’s art job is also quite nice and illustrated the best story for this issue.

 

    5. cover: Frank Frazetta (Oct. 1965)

                1) Creepy’s Loathsome Lore: Zombies! [Archie Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 1p   [frontis]

                2) Family Reunion! [Archie Goodwin/Joe Orlando] 8p

                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 was ok, but not his best work.  The interior, however, was 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 had great art!  Severin’s Blazing Combat ad had the same art as Blazing Combat’s #1’s frontis.  All of the stories were by Goodwin and there wasn’t 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

5) 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: Size increase to 64 pages.  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.  It’s a shame that many of them never progressed to full painting as they’re all very striking.  Anne T. Murphy contributed her only story for Warren and it was quite good, with snazzy Williamson art.  The Poe adaptation is the high point for this issue, both storywise & artwise.  Future comic pro Frank Brunner had a letter published.  A rubber Uncle Creepy mask was used in an ad on the back cover.

 

    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 featured 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 debuted.  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 on the fan page.

 

    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, highlighting 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 was only fair although the vampires were cool.  Morrow’s lead character in his story appears to be the same character he later used in his ‘Edge Of Chaos’ comic for Pacific Comics in the early 1980s.  The Wood/Adkins art was not very impressive but then neither was the story.  Berni Wrightson made 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 made 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 wrote & illustrated a Creepy’s Loathsome Lore page for the fan page, which was pretty good too!  Gray Morrow contributed a tasty art job too but the undeniable classic here was 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 was classic Goodwin and matched 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 was 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 made 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 was just fine although that’s got to be the ugliest & skinniest werewolf I’ve ever seen!  ‘The Squaw’ was the best story here while Crandall & Ditko shared best art honors.  Future artist Leslie Cabarga delivered 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 was 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 tale was supposed to be a black man.  Frank Brunner’s second appearance on the fan page depicted an ancient & vampiric Batman!  Neal Adams made his comics debut  here {although he’d been doing the Ben Casey comic strip for at least 3 years}, and it was a quite nice job too!  Joe Orlando also had a strong art job.

 

  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 returned with one of his best covers, painted on plywood {actually, it looks like particle board} in six hours!  The price went 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, although Archie Goodwin was generally the writer.  Thane’s 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 appeared 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 featured a largely naked blonde with glowing eyes surrounded by a pride of leopards and a single black panther.  Jeff Jones made 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 started 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 was the final Goodwin Era title.)  Other effects from the money crunch included the massive use of reprints, {which began in this issue}, 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.  It’s interesting to note that Russ Jones, Creepy’s first editor and the adaptor of the reprinted ‘Mummy’s Hand’, routinely had his credits dropped or erased by James Warren after he and Warren had the falling out that led to Jones’ 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, isn’t too bad of an issue.  The amount of content vs. ads was clearly down but the new material here was quite good.  Raymond Marais’ story was 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 before the freeze took place.  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 sent in a letter stating he “was less than wildly enthusiastic about Tom Sutton’s art while still 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 was one of his best.  Magazine size reduced to 48 pages. This was 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 paperback collection of Christopher Lee’s Treasury Of Terror, packaged by Warren’s persona non grata former editor, Russ Jones.  All the stories that appeared in the first, published volume were reformatted for the larger magazine size and ended up appearing in either Creepy or Eerie. 

 

  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 appeared but neither were particularly good.  The Castellon story was originally written 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 had reprinted stories for half or more of its content.  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 display the quality of the Goodwin Era.  The cover for this issue was probably the worse single cover Warren ever published on their comic magazines.  Absolutely awful.  ‘The Rats In The Walls’ was 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 appeared on the Fan Club pages.  Fan Louie Estrada’s art was 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 often sneered at by fans, on occasion they were quite good.  Of course, you had to accept that all of their monsters and aliens tended to look like melted wax candle figures. 

 

  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 in an Eerie commentary section.  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 of pace! 

 

  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 was a beauty.  A huge moon hangs over a house on a cliff so undercut that it threatens to dump the entire dwelling into an 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 depicted the head of Universal’s Frankenstein’s Monster.  The Cauldron Contest offered 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 was 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 L