Last updated 22 September 2008. 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 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. 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 4^th 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 3^rd 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 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 8^th 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 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 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 for the time, 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’ was quite good as was 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 was 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 made his comics debut on the fan page. The barbarian Thane made his first appearance in two years. He wouldn’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, supposedly depicting a monster, that 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 rose to 50 cents. Reuben Reid was the Cauldron Contest winner for Creepy. Best story & art was ‘The Worm Is Turning’. Nicola Cuti made 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. Prezo contributed a good cover. Artist Jerry Grandenetti was the second Goodwin Era artist to return while Goodwin himself showed up with his only non-Vamprella original story for Warren between 1967 and 1974. Pretty darn good little story too! The other story highlight was ‘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 made 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 featureed 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 featured 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 {aka Bill Schwartz} made his comics debut on the fan page. Mike Royer, best known in comics as the inker for Jack Kirby’s 1970s & 1980s artwork, delivered a great art job for his official Warren debut {see #29 for his unofficial debut}. While his figures were occasionally somewhat stiff, his women were among 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 Bode & Larry Todd would do a number of covers for Warren over the next couple of years. This 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 intended to be an actual human}, so before publication the original painting was amended by the Warren production department. Reprints begin to be eased out, probably in response to the advent of Web Of Horror, a rival B&W magazine from Major Publications which featured all original stories. Major Publications were also the publishers of the humor magazine Cracked at the time. 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 which basically declared that one could either work for the B&W competition or one 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 was future Skywald editor Al Hewetson’s professional writing debut. ‘Snowmen!’ by Tom Sutton was quite good and would win the first Warren award for best story. After several appearances on the fan pages, Bill Black made his professional art debut on ‘A Wooden Stake For Your Heart!’ Kevin Pagan also made 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 was pretty darn good too! Frazetta’s cover, which was 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 normally 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 used Jim Warren himself as the model for the villain of the tale. Kenneth Smith, an underground & fanzine artist made his mainstream debut on the fan page. Brant Withers, a fan page artist, suggested on the letters’ page that an artist contest, similar to the previous year’s writer’s contest, take place but it never happened. Bill DuBay made his professional art debut. After ‘Rock God’, the best story & art was ‘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 were quite good, as was the Rosen/Crandall tale. The best story & art, however, came from Tom Sutton’s homage to Will Eisner—the excellent ‘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 for 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 doing covers at the time. Future underground & ‘Garbage Pail Kids’ artist John Pound appeared on the letters’ page. Future cover artist Ken Kelly made 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 of the same name, 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 returned, listed as Associate Editor. Cost of the magazine went 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 also a reaction to Major’s Web Of Horror magazine, which had a no ads format (although the magazine itself had been recently cancelled) rather than 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 made 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 made his professional art debut while major underground artist Richard Corben delivered a very good story for his mainstream debut. Best art was 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 appeared on the last page of ‘The Cut-Throat Cat Blues’. Chris Fellner made 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 published new artist Gary Kaufman’s submission letter on the letters’ page and previewed his art on the fan page. Future Marvel editor & writer John D. Warner also sent in a letter. A fine art job by Ernie Colon enhanced ‘Secret Of The Haunted House’. Mike Royer & Syd Shores also contributed 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 appeared on this issue’s fan page, as did 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 made his professional debut while Pablo Marcos made his North American one. Richard Bassford, a familiar name from 1960s fanzines, also made his professional debut. Although Dual Dragon’ was supposed to be Kaufman’s professional debut, ‘Mad Jack’s Girl’ actually appeared first. The ‘Who Drew What’ page featured 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 became the editor and turned 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 made his professional debut with a strong story. Nice art & story work also appeared 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 was 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 sent in a letter. Bruce Jones made 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 did 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 would eventually result 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 had a letter reprinted from the New York Times while future writer/artist Frank Miller also contributed to the letters’ page. ‘Ice Wolf’ was 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 was 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, which only came about because the artist misunderstood McGregor’s instructions for that panel. The lead character in that story was 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, made 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 explained the reasons behind his story ‘A Chronicle’ to a reader on the letters’ page, leading to a short-lived feature, ‘The Story Behind…’, wherein writers explained the origins of their stories. Future comic writer David Michelinie made his comics debut on the fan page. Kevin Pagen & Mike Ploog contributed the best story with the excellent ‘Sleep’. The Strnad/Bea story was 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 featured 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 Broadcast/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 was the only time that a fan page story contribution directly led to a professional writing career. Rich Margopoulos made 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 returned after almost three years, but his art had sadly deteriorated a great deal since his last appearance. ‘The Land Of Bone’ by Saunders & Maroto had the best story & art. The Skeates/Sutton work was 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 started with a great issue! Sanjulian’s cover was top notch and the cover story it illustrated, ‘The Third Night Of Mourning’, was 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 was exactly right for the story’s French Revolution setting, as well. Jose Bea’s bizarre ‘The Accursed Flower’ was almost as good as the Stenstrum/Brocal entry and the remaining tales were 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 50^th anniversary issue. The Sanjulian cover showed Uncle Creepy, Cousin Eerie, Vampirella, the moronic Warren version of Dracula {currently appearing in Vampirella} and Frankenstein’s monster along with other various creepy characters sitting around a 50^th birthday cake with skull frosting. It was a nice idea that just didn’t work. After Stenstrum’s powerhouse debut the previous issue, this issue’s ‘Forgive Us Our Debts’ came off as long and unfocused, although the Maroto art was nice. With one exception, the remainder of the stories were rather lame, with Brennan’s philosophical story in particular showing he had run into a creative corner. The exception mentioned was Moench’s ‘Sum Of Its Parts’, a good story which, sadly, 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 increased to $1.00 & size increased to 80 pages. A much better issue that the previous one. The first color section appeared, reprinting Maroto’s ‘The Viyi’ story from the Dracula color collection. That 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 for the Dracula book show only Maroto and Jose Bea artwork. The best story & art in this issue was 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 continued 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 had been unique to each magazine, the feature page was the same material in Creepy, Eerie or Vampirella. The magazines also upped their frequency to 9 issues per year. Budd Lewis made 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} would have been just as much at home over at Skywald’s Horror-Mood. ‘A Scream In The Forest’ has great artwork by Maroto. Bill DuBay’s ‘Freedom’s Just Another Word’ was 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 mediocre series, which would begin 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, both 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!’ was 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 gave 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. were 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 Armageddon [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. The Henderson/Mones’ adaptation was quite good as well. Isidro Mones’ art was credited to Munes for his first dozen or so appearances. Bill DuBay is finally given full editor status {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 was from the story ‘Snow’which wouldn’t appear until 1975. The sample panel that we see was clearly inked by Buckler as well, although the actual story has inking by Wally Wood. Brocal’s art was reproduced from his pencils and it’s quite classy looking. Moench & Corben went for another humorous horror story but come up a bit short. None of the stories really jump out at you but all were good, solid tales. Future movie director Brad Bird {The Iron Giant & The Incredibles} sent 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 delivered a great Halloween tale! The Fox/Crandall fantasy was quite nice. The Vampirella text page featured stripper Angelique Trouvere, who did quite of lot of costume work for 1970s era conventions, as well as 14 year old (!) Heidi Saha, daughter of fantasy editor Arthur Saha, both in Vampirella costumes! Both ladies looked quite nice although Vampi’s skimpy costume on a very young girl is rather disturbing. The Saha appearance 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. Saha carries off the costumes quite well but 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 was Warren’s representation of The Spirit. The same magazine was 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 belonged 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. Even that worked to the story’s advantage, though, 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 was 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 was made permanent. A rather disappointing issue, with only the Skeates/Corben stories being particularly memorable. Gonzalo Mayo made his Warren debut. His artwork was quite beautiful, although often overwrought and busy. 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, returned as editor for a short-lived stint. ‘A Stranger In Eternity’ was a sequel to ‘A Stranger In Hell’ from Eerie #38. Richard Corben’s latest attempt at a humorous horror story was considerably better than his last. The highlight of the issue was 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, a reaction that prompted an excellent defense of the story by Goodwin in a future letter page. Tom Sutton turned in some of his best work on ‘Encore Ghastly’, a sort of grisly 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, made up an excellent issue. Hard to complain about anything, really. Just a fine fine issue. There was a sign of trouble ahead, though—Bill DuBay was 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’ was one of the undeniable classics of this period, with a great Bruce Jones story and top drawer Wrightson art. Yet it was 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 was Goodwin’s last issue as editor, as he left for Marvel, after alleged tension between him and Bill DuBay. The best stories were ‘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 wrote a lengthy, intelligent 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 increased to $1.25 and page increased 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 increased 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 depicted 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 forgot to paint the rest of the victim’s body! The cover art & the interior story from Potter & Abellan closely resembled {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 showed 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 was also quite good. Jose Ortiz made 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 erroneously skipped {it eventually appeared in Vampirella} in favor of Corben’s solo adaptation of Edgar Allan 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 then popular anti-war song ‘One Tin Soldier’. Corben’s adaptation of ‘The Raven’ was gorgeous, with truly beautiful artwork. However, the best work here was 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 looked to be a dismembered 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 was reprinted from an earlier ad for the New York Comicon. Perhaps reflecting on the imminent collapse of Skywald, which was 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 substitution 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 were, the repetition of the holiday theme blunted the horror of the situations. Best story & art goes 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 wrote in to wonder what happened to his cover featured ‘Bowser’ story for #67. The reply stated 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 had mistakedly appeared in #67, was originally intended as a color section for this issue. As it turned out, no color section appeared. Best art was 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 were by Margopoulos and he did a fine job. As a whole, this special worked much better than the Christmas special since the original stories had considerable range. The usual feature page was 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. Wrightson delivered some very nice artwork for the frontis. This issue was 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 displayed gorgeous and 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 delivered in all respects. Beautifully rendered artwork enhanced each story. The best was probably ‘The Song Of Alan Bane’ or ‘The Minotaur’ but everything here was 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 was the two year old ‘Malocchi!’. The dead guy called It moved 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 increased to $1.25 and size increased to 80 pages. The Lewis/Maroto story was 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 1960s art here was 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 was the first issue since #67 not to be a special of some sort. The letters’ page was cut to one page. The horror magazine wars had concluded with Skywald gone out of business 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 competition 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 returned, 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 horror comics {although actually, like so many other things, Will Eisner did it first in the pages of the Spirit} 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 and calmly picking off the people in the streets below with a high-powered rifle while the other storyline shows a neighborhood priest, after the murder spree, 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. Adams provided dynamic and shocking art—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 delivered a striking cover of a colonial clad skeleton galloping on a stallion while holding a headless female corpse. There were 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 among the various horror books 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 sent 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 was on the titlepage, however. The Jones/Wrightson poem ‘Clarice’ was the most effective narrative here. It’s quite a gentle, 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, this was 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 dealt with. ‘The Horseman’, one of Bezaire’s last stories for Warren, was pretty good but the Quesada art doesn’t really do it justice. Martin Salvador turned 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 began with one of Creepy’s best single issues! With DuBay gone, there is no actual editor listed. Instead James Warren was listed as editor-in-chief while Jones was still listed as associate editor. In fact, Warren was nervous about promoting Jones to the editor’s position and she had challenged him to let her do the job secretly for a time in order to convince him. In reality, she was actually functioning as the editor here. Sanjulian turned 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 many 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 enjoyed the spoof 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 parodies for the likes of Mad, Cracked and 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 that centered around a late 19^th 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 unspoken knowledge. In a mere six pages, artist Russ Heath rapidly established the locale, characters and living conditions appropriate for the time period, including accurate depictions of the family, the chores, the daily life of a 19^th century farm and town, then artfully bringing to the fore the son’s slow dawning of awareness regarding the circumstances surrounding a serial killer’s rampage, yet 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 it was happening. Sim, the future Cerebus writer/artist, was then just starting out {his professional debut had been 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’ ‘Collector’s Edition’ and ‘Thrillkill’ are probably the best four 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 and was printed sideways. A good cover by Ken Kelly graced this issue but storywise this was somewhat of a disappointment after the previous issue. ‘Second Genesis’ wasted Maroto’s skills and he must have agreed as his art seemed phoned in anyway. Bermejo’s art was nice but the rest of the contents were 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 was listed as Senior Editor with Bill DuBay listed as contributing editor. Joe Brancatelli, a longtime fan writer, began his opinion page on the state of the comic industry. Nice artwork by Severin & Maroto appeared in a rather average issue. The frontis article was 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 being fired 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…’, which featured 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 sent in a letter rooting for his good buddy Dave Sim’s stories. Infantino penciled 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 of 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 answer 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 sent in a letter. The third Christmas special was priced at $1.50 & is 80 pages in length. Kelly’s cover was noticeably less grisly than in previous years. Although there was no full color section, both ‘Mother Knows Best’ and ‘Bloodstone Christmas’ were colored in red. Best story here was the delightful ‘Dick Swift And His Electric Power Ring!’ from Bill DuBay while best art was from Al Williamson on ‘Mother Knows Best’. Gonzalo Mayo displayed a slightly different, less elaborate, art style on his story which also seemed to enhance his storytelling abilities. All the stories were decent and the art was 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 edited 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’s or Win Mortimer’s work {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 was quite beautiful, however the best story & art went to the DuBay/Infantino/Giordano story ‘Those ‘Orrible Passions Of ‘78’, which tied in with the then-recent Viking I & II spacecrafts’ visits 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 was quite lovely. Cover priced at $1.50. Ken Meyer, Jr. sent 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 began its irritating use of reprinted covers on a regular basic. Except on Vampirella, almost all the reprinted covers were of Frazetta’s work. Although fans of the Warren books may dispute it, this policy marked the first real signs of the long decline & fall of the Warren books. This issue was an all-war stories special. Still $1.50 but the page count dropped to 64 pages. Best story & art here was 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, depicting a young girl holding a vampire dollie while blood dribbles down the girl’s neck, was 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 was 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 made 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 were particularly nice. Nicola Cuti was listed as editor for this issue only, while Jones remains senior editor. This was an all-weird children’s special. Maitz’s cover was quite attractive. For some reason, at this time, the price of an issue of Creepy began to jump all over the place, without apparent reason. In this instance the price dropped down to $1.25. Bill Pearson returned with a story for the first time since the mid 1960s. The best story was ‘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’, the editorial response 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 was now 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 a Famous Monsters issue 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 listed as the Alien Encounters special. $1.25 cover price. The story ‘Bonga And Me’ was originally intended for Eerie #78. Rudy Nebres’ art on ‘Predation’ was the best stuff here.

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 was of slightly higher quality than usual. ‘Momma Is A Vampire’ was the best story with Maroto’s art on ‘Dragon Lady’ being the highpoint on the illustration front. Duranona had 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 bit tired. It’s better than the average issue, but for Creepy’s 100^th 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 was Cuti’s ‘Tale Of A Fox’, which became a series starting with Vampirella #95. ‘Hell Hound’ was 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’ was 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: Say 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’d 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’s original artwork. Both fine artists but about as incompatible in style and approach as any two artists you could look at. So the 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 returned after a long absence 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 bore all the signs of being assembled by someone just picking up random issues from the file shelves. Not a single story appeared from Creepy’s excellent 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 featureed Exterminator One. This was an all-robot stories special. Wolfer O’Connel’s previous story had appeared in Eerie #76 (Aug. 1976). The O’Connel story was 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 was a very good issue with some great stories in it! ‘Shrivel’, by Toomey & Mayerik, was 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 for ‘Dime Novel Hero!’ had 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 read that involve clowns have some variation on the ‘Always Leave ‘em Laughing’ title. The title is very much a cliché, but then so is this story itself. ‘The Sign’ was 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 was 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 originally 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 was the Hama/Mayerick samurai story ‘The Art Of Killing’, which was clearly inspired by the long-running Japanese series ‘Lone Wolf & Cub’, which hadn’t been seen by the general U.S. public at the time this story came out. This was a pretty 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. The 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 editorial error, all credits were missing from the actual stories. The credits were given on the letters’ page of #110. Best story here probably belonged 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 was $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 art job 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 either a repainted hair dryer, 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 returned to Warren and would contribute ten or so stories over the next year and a half. ‘Vampire Dawn’ was a welcome and strong return and had 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 very effective and ‘A Knightmare To Remember’ is actually well worth remembering. ‘The Clockmaker’ is an unacknowledged rewrite by Toomey of a European 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. Neither of those two artists’ work looks anything 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 was a fair-to-middlin’ issue. Nothing was 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 Lon Chaney’s version 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 could 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 were 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 was 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 was also impressive on this story. The cream of the crop here, however, was the impressive ‘Warrior’s Ritual’ with great artwork by John Severin. This French Foreign Legion story was 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 her husband {she later appeared in Heavy Metal with a different last name} but his story was quite good as well. ‘Relic’ was a sequel to #107’s ‘Quirks’ and it’s just as good a tale as the first. I also liked ‘Nobody’s Kid’ which had an interesting 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 worth looking for.

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 a nice solid issue that included 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 to be 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’ ws 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 the team of 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, returned as editor while Louise Jones {nee Simonson} headed off to new frontiers at Marvel. The logo changed to a new, more modern lettering. Kelly’s cover originally appeared as a T-shirt design in 1976. The letters’ page claimed that Enrich Torres was the uncredited cover artist for Creepy #115 but it certainly appeared to be Sanjulian’s work. ‘Scream’ seemed to end quite abruptly, without an actual climax. It was originally intended to be one of Bob Toomey’s ‘Gary Null’ stories.

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 highlighted a solid issue. Good work appeared 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. Best artwork was from the team of Carmine Infantino & Jorge Benuy.

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 began having multiple reprint issues during a given year. Previously, only the annual had featured reprints. For Warren Publications, this was a sure sign of trouble behind the scenes. This issue was an Alex Nino reprint 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 in 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 while 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’ was 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 3^rd 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 [story miscredited to Budd Lewis]

Notes: Katz’s cover had originally been intended for Eerie, probably for the ‘Samurai’ serial. Another solid issue. The unexpected art team of Duranona & Toth was a surprising success and provided the best art in the issue. “Routine’ featured Uncle Creepy actually 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 later wrote a prose version of ‘Roomers’ that appeared in his short story collection ‘Twisted Tales’ {not to be confused with his 1982-1984/1987comic anthologies of the same name} in 1986 so I believe the Budd Lewis writing credit on that story to be incorrect. ‘Roomers’ is also the best story here although it does have some competition.

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, Alfredo Alcala, Vic Catan & Nestor Redondo, often tended to layout and illustrate their stories in very similar fashions} ensured that the glory days of Warren were now 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 both 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 became the editor. Lindall’s cover was certainly a nasty little torture cover. The best interior story & art was by Roger McKenzie/Val Mayerik for ‘Wind’ although Noly Panligan also delivered 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 moved over 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 the Frazetta reprint.

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

Notes: Good cover but that’s about it.

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 returned. 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

Notes: ‘The Nut’ was an interesting little story but having the rather pointless sequel {by a totally different writer & artist} appear directly after it diminished its effect.

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 Trespasses [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 left for Archie Comics and Bill DuBay returned 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 for a glaring error where 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 as Rudy Nebres was not a good match.

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!’ was a sequel to the far superior Christmas story ‘Bless Us, Father…’ from Creepy #59 (Jan. 1974). ‘Strange In A Stranger Land’ copied the opening sequence of the acclaimed children’s novel ‘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 became the magazine’s last editor with David Allikas listed 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 was 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, although the adaptation did appear complete in the last issue of Eerie. ‘The Big Itch!’ was 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 Puppet 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 returned. McGregor’s ‘Moral Blood’ was at least an attempt at forceful storytelling but the bland, 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 graced an excellent reprint issue. $2.75 for 96 pages. The letters’ page vanished again. This 1982 Creepy Annual was an Angelo Torres special with beautiful art and great stories, most of which were written by Archie Goodwin. 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 was a sequel to the H. G. Wells’ novel. McGregor’s ‘The Spectator Who Wept’ was a good SF tale, told mostly in full page panels and featured both the best story and art.

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 announced the departure of longtime editor 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 was reprinted from a 1972 Skywald magazine! A number of unpublished stories were 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 clearly been in the cards for at least a year}. The letters’ page returned 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. $2.95 for 96 pages. 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 did continue from the original magazine and included a great many Warren stories. Uncle Creepy is featured on both the cover & titlepage. There was a second issue intended and advertised 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 listed was ‘Looking For Something Different’ by Stephen Perry & Joe Brozowski, which also appeared in 1988 in the Harris Publications’ revival of Vampriella, numbered #113. Also listed as an intended reprint on the attractions page was the Bruce Jones/Luis Bermejo story ‘As Ye Sow…’.

Eerie Ashcan Edition

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. The stories included were all originally intended for either Creepy #7 or #8. The magazine was never actually distributed. Copies were dropped off at New York newsstands so that {one would guess} Warren could point them out to lawyers and say “See, we’ve already got a magazine called Eerie on the stands!” The Jack Davis cover came 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 offered a $500.00 reward for the arrest of the culprits but they were never caught.

Blazing Combat

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) Long 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 was 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 {he wrote almost every story} were inspired. Probably the best war comic ever published. This magazine {along with Vampirella #3 & Eerie #17} is one of the hardest-to-obtain issues in the Warren canon. Both ‘Cantigny!’ and ‘Aftermath!’ have similar story plots, although both are quite good. The stories are all quite strong but I would rate ‘Enemy!’ as Goodwin’s best effort here. The best art belongs to everyone involved. The artwork is outstanding. This was a very controversial series for the times. 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’ was easily the best story to appear in Blazing Combat. In fact, if one were to compile a collection of the best stories that 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 true economics of war. Goodwin’s script, which clearly owed a debt to Kurtzman’s EC war stories, still stands on its own two feet and is devastating. Orlando employed 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 contrasted sharply with the horror that those pencils depicted. 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 (at the time 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 bloody 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. It’s possible that some of the stories within could have appeared anywhere, but ‘Kasserine Pass’ ws about an American defeat, ‘Face To Face!’ used 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’ was 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 sent in a complementary 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 showed a US soldier standing above a pile of dead Viet Cong. Best story and art goes to ‘Survival’ but every story here was well written and illustrated. A fine, fine issue. Publisher & comic fan Richard Kyle appeared 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 showed no compromise with commercial demands. ‘Conflict’, ‘Give And Take’ and ‘Night Drop’ were 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 was Torres’ work on ‘Night Drop’. However, the best art job was 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 worked quite well. Goodwin’s story seemed based on or inspired by a Bill Mauldin WWII cartoon that appeared in his book ‘Up Front’. The cartoon concerned a rare bottle of wine that a US soldier is willing to protect at any cost. On the letters’ page, 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 reminded him about the controversy that EC endured for publishing similar hard-hitting stories. He was right on the mark but it was too little, too late as this was the end.

Eerie

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 was competent, solid work, well-written & drawn. The Frazetta cover painting of a wizard and a demon was 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 led off with Frazetta’s cover depicting an undersea monster and a diver. All of the art jobs were good but particular note should be given to Angelo Torres, Steve Ditko and Alex Toth. My favorite story is ‘Room With A View’ partly 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 in the book and the one that gave me nightmares for several days after. It features 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 art highlight was Gene Colan’s wash work on ‘Hatchet Man’, a story that foretold 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 possibly was its original title and thus a homage to Richard Matheson’s 1950s novel ‘The Incredible Shrinking Man’. Underground cartoonist Jay Lynch wrote 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 was a nice companion piece to Torres’ interior story. Torres’ art was not as sharp as usual but was still pretty good. Goodwin & Krenkel’s mummy story evoked the style and flavor of the early Universal & Hammer films. Crandall’s art was just right. There was also good work from Ditko (a return to his ‘Dr. Strange’ style of 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 featured strong artwork by Reed Crandall. Torres’ artwork was in the same style of the story in the previous issue. ‘Druids’ and ‘Deep Ruby’ were the best stories. An average issue for this period, which means it was 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 was 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 went cross hatch crazy with his art approach! But the best story and art was 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 was 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 the monsters who live among us, masquerading as humans. Adkins outdid 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 of its origins, it was a good story, well rendered by Mastroserio. Ditko turned in his usual work, which, for Warren, was always spectacular. Best story and art here however was 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 evoked 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 for 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 had also adapted Bierce’s story. Krenkel’s work on the Monster Gallery one-pager was 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 was 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!’ was the art & story fave for this issue. Adams’ art, reproduced from his pencils, was very moody and his work was well matched by the Goodwin script. ‘The Slugs’ was 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 began to appear with the introduction of reprints in the magazines. Original Warren editor Russ Jones’ credit was 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 first due to a deadline crunch regarding his story ‘Image In Wax’ which ended up 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 in the Planet Of The Apes magazine, the many splendid short horror & war tales he did for Charlton, First Comics eye-opening ‘Squalor’ series, the oddball Frankenstein series he did for Skywald and the Warren work recorded in this checklist. 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 better 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. Instead a friend of Warren’s at Gold Key did the actual editing. Goodwin’s absence was immediately noticeable as the story credits weren’t listed for any story here. This was the last largely original Eerie issue for 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 never 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 three months between issues here, reflecting Warren’s shaky financial status. Size reduction to 48 pages. Oddly enough, 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 increased to 56 pages. A quite good issue! Cousin Eerie’s head was obviously pasted over original host Christopher Lee’s in the opening story. The Goodwin/Craig story was an unpublished story from 1967. Richard Corben & Bruce Jones made 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. Today Jones is known primarily as a writer, but 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 wrote a letter that revealed that the actual artists behind the Tony Williamsune pen-name were Charlton mainstays Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico. The fan page featured the debut of 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 started a Satan’s Grimoire section on the fan page, beginning with the letter ‘A’, with alternate sections appearing in alternate months in both Creepy and Eerie. The series was never finished, ending with the letter ‘G’. Future artist Bill Black made 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 was 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 made his professional debut here. Future comic writer Len Wein had his comics debut on the fan page as an artist. The Vampirella ad featured 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 Occurence 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, marked the beginning of Warren’s rebuilding from the quality quake of the previous two years. Size increased 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) made this cover a real eye-opener. The accompanying cover story ‘Beyond Nefera’s Tomb’ also displayed a remarkable amount of nudity for a 1969 comic. Even a black & white one. Bruce Jones made 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 was nice, but gave the appearance of having been originally intended 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: This was the first issue since #10 to have all-original stories. The cover was quite ugly, yet strangely, was selected to be reprinted in the early 1980s! Future artist Ronn Sutton sent in a letter. Best story and art belonged to 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 Forewarned [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 was quite lovely. Gardner Fox’s character Amazonia would reappear in Vampirella, illustrated there by Billy Graham. The best story here was 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 was 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 was listed as Associate Editor. Doug Moench made his professional comics debut. Famous French artist Phillippe Druillet made his only Warren appearance, but oddly enough it was 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 was a quite good issue! The BEM in Eerie’s Monster Gallery is old science fiction slang for ‘bug-eyed monster’. Future artist Tony Meers sent in a letter. Pat Boyette’s story ‘The Entail’ was not only quite good, but quite gruesome as well. Psychic detective October Weir had only two appearances, which was a pity, as his stories were good and Bolle was perfect as the artist. The classic SF tale ‘Life Species’ by DuBay is the kind of story that stays with you all your life. Future artist Arthur Suydam made 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 was quite good, featuring hairy, faceless monsters rising up from a dead body and pointing directly at the reader. Bill Fraccio’s & Tony Tallarico’s art was also 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 appeared.

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 made his second appearance on a fan page, along with an odd editorial announcement {that was not written by Leialoha} to the effect that he was 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 was the best story although Ernie Colon’s experimental art and Pat Boyette’s efforts were also worthy of note. Future artists Pat Broderick and Rick Bryant appeared 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 got a good deal more respect than his first had when it appeared in Vampirella, even though his barbarian swordsman looked somewhat disjointed. His harpy was quite terrifying. The fullscale Spanish Invasion of artists began in Eerie with the debut of Spanish artist Jaime Brocal. Al Hewetson delivered a story that would have fit right at home in the Horror-Mood of Skywald. SF writer F. Paul Wilson made his comics (and perhaps his professional) debut with ‘The Sound Of Wings’. Pat Broderick made 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 made 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, wasn’t bad at all. Mike Ploog began doing regular comics, after a stint as Will Eisner’s assistant on P*S magazine. The Eisner influence was very apparent in his artwork {and still is today}. Sanho Kim’s art was impressive, even more so when 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 well known 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 was reproduced from pencils, something only Warren seemed able to do with any degree of care.

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 Conqueror/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 was the ghoul story ‘The Ones Who Stole It From You’ by Don McGregor and Rafael Auraleon. McGregor was asked by J. R. Cochran to add the first two pages to the story as a prologue. Ernie Colon’s lettering for his story’s title was so ornate that it is impossible to read! Still, it was 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 made his comics debut on the fan page, with a sample from a college comic strip he was drawing. Solano Lopez’s sample pages again landed 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 was one of his best! A fanged humanoid struggles with a giant green serpent! Moody and dynamic! Future artist & letterer John Workman sent in a letter pleading for work! ‘Stake In The Game’ was one of the longest (thus far) stories in Warren history but, unfortunately, was none too good. T. Casey Brennan & Jerry Grandenetti turned in another philosophical story {something they were quite good at}. Esteban Maroto delivered the best art job on the excellent ‘A Stranger In Hell’ while Don McGregor’s ‘The Night The Snow Spilled Blood!’ was the best story. McGregor’s story also featured 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 was easily J. R. Cochran & Tom Sutton’s ‘The Disenfranchised!’ Maroto’s Dax character began an eleven 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/Puritan’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 increased to 75 cents and size increased to 72 pages. Mike Ploog’s final Warren story appeared to be a warm up for his excellent Frankenstein series for Marvel, which appeared about six months later. It was easily the best art in the issue, although Maroto, Kim and Auraleon also do noteworthy jobs. ‘The Once Powerful Prince’ was 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 graced this issue. New writer John Wooley wrote several social horrors stories with the best being the LSD story ‘West Coast Turnaround’ which also featured good art by Tom Sutton. Englishman Paul Neary made 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 rival 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 Rego] 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 was Rich Corben’s ‘Bright Eyes’ although Jesus Suso Rego 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’ was advertised for the next issue but didn’t actually appear until Creepy #72 in 1975! ‘Crazy Mazie’ was the best story & art here. A solid and entertaining story, as was the entire issue. Bill DuBay began 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 Rego] 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 Warren credit here. A solid issue for story and art. Future writer Steve Clement appeared on the fan page, as did future artist Marshall Rogers. Moench’s ‘Confessions’ was 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 was his first appearance in a Warren magazine since 1966. Spectacular art in the Dax story by Maroto.

46. cover: Manuel Sanjulian (Mar. 1973)

1) Portrait 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 was one of his best. The Dracula serial here was 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 frontispiece series title, Eerie’s Monster Gallery, was dropped, as would be the series itself in another issue. Paul Neary did 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 was downright silly looking, with the cover Dracula looking nothing like the character in the book. In fact, he looked quite a lot like a bad actor with plastic fangs! Was this a cover originally intended for Famous Monsters? Size increased to 72 pages. Both the Dracula and Lilith stories were quite good. The fan page was dropped in favor of a features page, which featured the same content 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 began its transformation to a series dominated magazine. The Dracula story ended abruptly here, unfinished, with the next promised installment to have been entitled ‘Princess Of Bathory Castle!’ Both the Mummy & Werewolf serials started 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, idiotic team-ups and writer/artist changes. The Dax story was quite good but the rest of the stories were 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’ spoofed 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 had ‘loneliest’ misspelled. The feature page title was 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 50^th issue, Warren stepped up to the plate and delivered a much better 50^th 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 so completely different from Rich Buckler’s that it distracted 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 were the origins. The same short story also provided an origin for Warren’s version of Dracula. Bill DuBay began a series of horror games {later turned into board games for the Captain Company 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 increased to $1.00, presumably to pay for the double-sided wall poster within. Sanjulian’s cover art is lifted from his Cousin Eerie poster, which was sold in the Captain Company ad pages.

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 sent in a letter. One of Eerie’s most popular serials, ‘Hunter’, debuted. Dax’s final appearance set the tone for almost all the Warren serials’ endings--dark, depressing and usually hopeless. The stylish adaptation of ‘The Golden Kris Of Hadji Mohammed’ had 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 have been 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, turned out to be his only appearance. It also featured the best story and art for this issue.

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 increased to $1.00 and size increased to 80 pages. Steve Skeates took over the troubled Werewolf serial and promptly turned him into a were-mummy! The new Spirit magazine is sampled by a Spirit story appearing in the color section. Warren finally came up with a classic series that was 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 decreased to 72 pages. Both ‘The Mummy Walks’ and ‘Curse Of The Werewolf’ serials were missing in action so Schreck concluded 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 took 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 took 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 sent in a letter suggesting that Warren revive Blazing Combat (possibly because Archie Goodwin was back on board at Warren) but the idea was pooh-poohed in the editorial reply. Doug Moench & Esteban Maroto launched a new serial about a black voodoo man but both were rapidly replaced on the serial. Moench would go 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, with excellent art and generally good stories. This was a superior issue with a strong new serial appearing 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, now illustrated by Leopold Sanchez, was cover featured and had two stories within. This was Sanchez’s American debut. There were more fine episodes of Child and Doctor Archaeus while Bill DuBay began a new series with the Exterminator {sort of—the Exterminator who appears in this story is not the same robot who would appear in the next installment}. Best story & art, however, belonged 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 increased to $1.25 & size increased 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 was good but the real prize was Berni Wrightson’s stunning cover painting, the only cover 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’ debuted. This story, which discusses the events following Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel ‘Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde’, details how Jekyll’s formula has become a underground drug, which leads 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 was an excellent story by Bruce Bezaire & Jose Ortiz that would have made a great movie in the hands of someone like David Cronenberg. The DuBay/Wrightson horror takeoff on Winsor McKay’s ‘Little Nemo’ was a delight. Exterminator One opened its official series with a strong entry and Child ended on one. Doctor Archeaus delivered 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. sent in a letter. Both the Mummy & the Werewolf returned after a long hiatus, teamed up now in a cluttered story with new illustrator Joaquin Blazquez. Doctor Archeaus concludeed his run with some rather coy titles. Let’s just say the climax wasn’t quite as powerful as the foreplay. Still it was 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 Trespasses’ [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 began. ‘Apocalypse’ was beautifully drawn and well written throughout its run. Along with the Jackass series, it’s a series crying out for reprinting. Wrightson delivered a tasty adaptation of Lovecraft while Budd Lewis took over the scripting of the Spook series. In the Mummy series, Arthur Lemming, the Werewolf finally met his death. DuBay & Corben’s ‘The Butcher’ wasn’t really a horror story at all, but a 1930s gangland melodrama. Quite a 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 front cover by Sanjulian featuring 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 increasing silly 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 was cover featured again while The Eerie Eye feature page was dropped. The price reverted to $1.00 and the page count was at 72. Exterminator One & the Butcher concluded their series on high notes but the best story & art was the excellent ‘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 was a real winner. It was very popular with readers and a sequel was done although neither DuBay nor 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 is cover featured. There was a new letters’ page logo. Both ‘Night Of The Jackass’ and ‘Apocalypse’ finished their runs. Both of them were great series. ‘The Hacker’ returned in his first appearance since #57 with Toth now the artist. El Cid, a fantasy look at the legendary character, was 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, returned. The Hacker concluded his run—quite nicely too. Papa Voodoo was a sequel of sorts to The Spook. Hunter II and Merlin debuted. 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 gave a heads up to the great work within. An Exterminator robot popped up in Hunter II and remained 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-hearted. Wrightson’s ‘The Muck Monster’ was Frankenstein’s monster in all but name. Beautifully written & drawn, it’s basically a tone poem that foreshadowed 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 was quite lovely. The colorist was uncredited but whoever they were did a great job. My favorite story, however, was Jim Stenstrum & Esteban Maroto’s lusty, funny, sad & poignant ‘Deep Brown And Jorum’. It told, 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 each 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 Eerie 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 #52-57 (Nov. 1973-

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 was reduced to 64 pages and the letters’ page was cut in half. Coffin headed into the west {literally} and El Cid made 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 bagin a lengthy run. Evidently this series was fairly popular, although I’m not quite sure why. The stories were 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, in my opinion, it often seemed to diminish 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 made his first appearance in what was clearly intended as a stand alone story. The character was revived in 1982 in The Rook and 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 Armageddon [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 made the cover. Future artist Ken Meyer, Jr. sent in a letter as did future writer Stephen 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 also done at this time but for some reason didn’t appear until 1982! The Chaykin/Wrightson art team worked surprisingly well together. 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 were 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 was concluded. It, the Dead Thing, took his final bow. Peter Hypnos again had 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 was cover featured, with a fine Kelly painting. Merlin made his second and final appearance. Too bad, as both entries of his serieswere quite good. With only four stories this issue seemed 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 surrounding 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 was now listed as Senior Editor while Bill DuBay was 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 delivered a stunningly sexy cover. And it had 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 featured 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 and came with extreme sterotypes.

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, future comic writer, & Wayne Faucher, future inker, sent 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, pages of which appear in The Warren Companion.

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 included a brief bio & art portrait for each of the writers & artists in this issue. Some of the portraits were lifted from the Warren Awards illos, some from the old features page profiles and others appear to be new self -portraits. Fred Hembeck sent in a letter. The best story was 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 was a fixup affair, showing DuBay’s original presentation art for The Rook, along 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 here and the first three or four issues of his own title. Bermejo’s art was quite lovely here and DuBay’s story was 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 signaled 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 made his second cover appearance in a row. The Hard John series was a continuation of the Hard John Apple story ‘An Angel Shy Of Hell’, which had appeared in Creepy #64, way back in 1974. The first story was great. The series was fair. Gaffer was 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 dropped to 64 pages. Godeye returned, but this second story was nowhere near the delight the first one was. ‘He Who Waits In Shadow’ was a gloomy metaphysical explanation by Starlin as to why the last Darklon chapter was late. Darklon gueststars on the last page and, although this story was included in the Darklon collection put out by Pacific Comics in 1983, this was not actually part of the Darklon serial. Rather, it’s a tie-in or companion story. 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 stood out. ‘Blackstar & The Night Huntress’ would have an extremely tacky sequel appear 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. The book was apparently in response to the first successful issue of Heavy Metal, which was 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 Illusions 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 was based on C. M. Kornbluth’s ‘Ms. Found In A Chinese Fortune Cookie’. The final segment of the Jones/Corbin time travel series appeared six months late. Hunter 3 was 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 made 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’s was completely dedicated to sports. The Rook contest offered 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 on Planet Of The Apes and The Deadly Hands Of Kung Fu, all under the name Malcolm McN. This was his only cover for Warren and that’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 began looking more and more rushed and, thus, more generic, probably due to the large number of pages he was doing for Warren. ‘Francesca’ saw 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} was a superior story. Bruce Jones, who wrote ‘Francesca’, also concluded his ‘Boiling Point’, which was another 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 centered around the Corben cover which featured a girl reclining on a giant gila monster. An additional story on the same idea 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 his first four appearances, with dazzling artwork by Nino and a pretty sharp time travel story by DuBay. The Rook story was 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’ concluded, and quite nicely. Moonshadow, a fairly decent new series, debuted. Members of the Christian right sent in letters complaining of Warren’s use of nudity, a perceived lack of morality, and Warren’s continued use of evolution as a plot device. Nothing ever really changes, does it?

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 100^th 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 originally intended for the never published third all-sports special for Creepy. ‘Let’s Hear It for Homo Sapiens’ was an overflow story from Creepy’s all-apes special issue #95. Marvel’s Man-Thing made a cameo appearance in one panel on page one. Abelmar Jones made his series debut as Warren tried to get hip. The Gaffer returned for his finale, after being absent since #87. Bermejo began taking an extended 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. A very striking image. 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 sent in a letter. Vampirella & Pantha gueststarred in the Rook story, which took 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 wrote an entirely new script, turning this into a science-fantasy tale. Best story was ‘Dead Man’s Ship’, although ‘Don’t Drink The Water’ was also good. Best art was Maroto’s from ‘Divine Wind’. The writer or writers for that story were 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 credits 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 gueststarred in the Rook strip. Vampi also shared 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 simply 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, although it may have been the artist Pepe Moreno’s work.

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 was cover featured. All three Fallen Angels episodes probably appeared in South America or Europe before their appearance here. The artwork was dated 1976. All three stories were 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 replied 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 since its first appearances. 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, concluded 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 was cover featured. $1.50 cover price. An ad for Eerie #100 featured art from the various intended stories and appeared on the letters’ page. A Laura Duranona from Central Islip, NY, sent in a letter praising Leopoldo Duranona’s work. Duranona himself began his best serial for Warren with ‘The Horizon Seekers’. ‘The Shining Sea’ was another tale of the goofy looking dolphin-headed folk. ‘Harrow House’ was a great ghost story, the best in the issue. Louise Jones got 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 depicted 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 replied to a previous Nicola Cuti letter. After not appearing in a story of his own since #80, three years previously, Darkon returned 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 a rather lackluster 100^th issue, with much of the issue given over to a substandard Rook episode.

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 headlined a rather blah issue with only ‘The Horizon Seekers’ episode 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 was 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 returned 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 were cover featured. $1.50 cover price. The best story here was ‘Tracks’ by the team of McKenzie/Moreno. ‘Ophiophobia’ by DuBay & Salvador was a throwback to the old horror oriented Eerie that is quite satisfying as well. The best art was 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 Trespasser [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’ were 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 Trespasser’ was based on actor James Coburn. ‘Credentials’ was a sequel to ‘The Art Of Murder’ from Creepy #106. The Warren Companion gave the series the title ‘Samurai’ but that title doesn’t actually show up until #108’s titlepage and doesn’t appear on a story until #111. After its abrupt, incomplete 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 fairly good series, clearly based upon the then largely unknown Japanese classic, Lone Wolf And Cub.

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 Trespasser: 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, was cover featured. It was a decent enough, if not profound, battle of the sexes serial. ‘City Of Shadows’ was 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 was reprinted in this issue. ‘The Trespasser’ 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 last 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 was a fix-up job. Jose Ortiz’s art was 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, was cover featured. $1.35 was the rather odd cover price for 64 pages. Duranona and his wife both 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’ was a dead ringer for Marvel’s Nick Fury. Mike Zeck provided the best art in this issue, although Val Mayerik and Pablo Marcos were quite good too. Best story was the Samurai’s episode, ‘A Juggler’s Tale’ while ‘Growing Pains’ was 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 designs for the ‘Race Of The Damned’ serial’s starfighters then anything in the ‘Firefly’ story. Unseen since #104, ‘The Open Sky’ returned to conclude its storyline. The absence of ‘Samurai’ was due to an injury to Val Mayerik’s drawing hand. ‘Beastworld’ concluded. Not a great serial, but at least interesting. Best story here was Michael Fleisher’s ‘The Rainmaker’ while best art remained 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’ concluded. 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 was cover featured. Although the reprints are high quality ones, it would probably have been better to use this issue to present all the Spook’s episodes.

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 finally 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 delivered a decent Haxtur cover while ‘The Executioners’ was a well-written, well-drawn SF thriller. ‘Star Warrior!’, however, was a total dud on all levels. Berni Wrightson provided 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 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’ was a story starring the Rook’s granddad. The Rook gueststared 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} was 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 as a serial 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 became a superhero, complete with costume. The Bruce Bloodletter artwork had again been done years before for a European educational comic called Space And Adventure. Here, it was given a completely new script to turn it into a routine science fantasy tale. Haxtur concluded his run with his best story. However, the real delight 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 was 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. The mysterious Bruce Bezaire returned for one story, but I suspect ‘The Red Shot’ was written years earlier and only illustrated now. Either way, it wasn’t a very good story. The so-so Fernandez’s effort was an inventory story, 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 delivered 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 managed to tell an effective tale. {Some of the reasons for the gaps in appearances can be found in McGregor’s interview on the Warren Interviews page.} 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 the only one of his 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 absolutely 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 was quite attractive and the accompanying story, ‘The Beast Of Sarnadd-Doom!’ was a fine sword & sorcery tale. Zud’s series title was slightly changed. The best story and art belonged to this issue’s installment of The Mist. Mayerik’s art was 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 would be 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 was greatly rewritten here and the art has been rearranged. As Eerie issues of this time period go, this was a fairly decent one.

125. cover: Richard Corben (Oct. 1981) reprinted from Eerie #77 (Sept. 1976)

1) Curse Of The Vampire! [Archie Goodwin/Ne