OtherEric

First paperback edition of the book it was based on. An incredibly generous gift from a friend, who had bought it when it came out and knew I would appreciate it more than he did:

I didn't see it in the theater on original release, I was 11 and didn't see my first R rated movie in a theater until a couple years later. (Beverly Hills Cop, if I recall correctly.) But I've seen Blade Runner in the theater (and at home) many times since then, to the point where I've actually seen four distinct cuts on the big screen... the US cut, the International cut, the original director's cut, and the Final Cut. I find it very hard to claim any one movie as my all time favorite, but when forced to make a choice Blade Runner is what gets named. Such a spectacular film.

Today's addition to my EC collection. Not the most desirable Pre Trend title, but a step up from most of the Picture Stories series, at least:

Take Green Girl if it’s still available as well.

Vampirella #1 thoughts: Cover: I've seen a fair bit of criticism of the cover, actually, saying it looks rushed or is excessively simple, neither of which is exactly wrong. But none of it matters, because the image has become so iconic. Inside front cover: Warren will use and re-use the handful of sketches Frazetta did of Vampi a lot. Vampirella is Coming: One of Ackerman's only full-length comic stories, in execution it's a series of bad puns around a minimal framework of cheesecake designed as a throwaway introduction to the horror host of the book. Vampirella isn't even in her classic costume. What's amazing about it is just how much of the story is actually kept and still part of Vampi's lore even fifty years on, even as the creators very early on try to recast the events in a very different light. The art by Sutton isn't his best, either; although part of that may be he doesn't seem to get Vampi's face right... which is very much not a fair complaint given that it's the first story. This story just has too much weight of history on it to really look at it fairly as what it was when it first came out. Death Boat: Billy Graham is a major Warren creator making his debut here. A nicely claustrophobic story, despite being on the open water with endless vistas. Two Silver Bullets: A fairly predictable story, but well told and with excellent Reed Crandall art. Goddess from the Sea: Utterly gorgeous Neal Adams art, shot directly from pencils. Last Act: October: This one didn't really work for me, honestly. Spaced-Out Girls: A framework for more cheesecake with a fairly predictable twist, but well executed. I think the story would have benefited from the last page being on a page turn, honestly. Room Full of Changes: Colon's art seems rushed here, which is at least interesting in showing us how meticulous his simple seeming work on other stories really is. This is, overall, a very difficult issue to fairly assess. I find it hard to describe it as anything other than the most important comic Warren ever published, introducing a character who has been more or less continually in print (barring some ownership issues in the 80's) for over fifty years now. But assessing the book on its own, I will say they probably front-loaded the good stuff a little too much to the front of the book. The Graham, Crandall, and Adams stories are all extremely impressive, while the last three left me feeling cold and thinking they maybe shouldn't have gone for the expanded page count/ no reprints quite so soon.

Just because I'm excessively pedantic doesn't mean I won't respond well to a request from a friend for more scans!

A few minor mags in today. I realized that, although I have reprints of the Myth Adventures (both the Starblaze and the Studio Foglio editions, in fact) I've never actually had the originals of the first two issues. And the One is simply because I saw the cover for the TwoMorrows Pacific Comics Companion, and realized it was the only issue on the cover I had never heard of. (I've got most of what Pacific published, they had an interesting mix of either great creators or dollar bin fodder, sometimes both. I'm still missing about half the Pacific Groos, though.)

Putting this one up here because it has a Wonder Warthog story.

It is NOT a wraparound cover. It's a cover with distinct art on the spine and back as well as the front. D-194 is a wraparound This is three separate pieces:

The cover story is a reprint with new cover art. To properly match they used an old price with a newer stamp design.

Today's book. Only two more for the Barks Uncle Scrooge run:

So, some days you see a book, and you make a bid that's a bit more serious than a thrill bid, but still not that high. The sort where you figure that if the book goes for what you figure is the absolute floor, you're in with a chance, but your hopes aren't high. Then you win the darn thing for less than half your bid and wonder what the heck's going on.

And one more in today, after all. I was getting worried since it took over a month to reach me, but it looks great:

One in today, an oddball double:

In today. They do make a very nice triptych, don't they?

I think they were. Goodwin had a story in Creepy #29, and there's some indication he helped edit Vampi #1, uncredited.

MCS under grades the books 99% of the time, yours is probably a 9.0 or better. The staples are correct for a squarebound book of the era.

No problem waiting for the opening post. I was just slightly worried something had happened given how consistent you've been. Thank you again for running the club!

I've been discussing the Vampirella is coming ads here for a bit; so I grabbed scans from online to post them all here. They almost form a serial story; and the third ad (from the Eerie #23) is apparently the first appearance of Vampirella; although all we actually see is the top of her head and a heavy cloak. Like I said, I would love to see some more arrival date stamps because of the Creepy #29 ad, where we do get a good look at Vampi finally. Eerie #22 Creepy #28 Eerie #23 Creepy #29

I would say Eerie #1 is more sought after than this one; but that's a special case. I only count two reprints, plus the Tuff Surfboard ad. Eerie #23 thoughts: Cover: A legendary masterpiece. Not, I think, my personal favorite among Frazetta's Warren covers, but undeniably a classic bit of art. (Now I need to figure out which one IS my personal favorite; I'm leaning towards the Eerie #7.) Beyond Nefera's Tomb: Some great art and a solid concept, but as is so often the case Parente just can't quite get his ideas across as clearly as the story requires. I personally think the description of the story having "a remarkable amount of nudity" is misleading, there is a fair bit but Colon's art style downplays the impact at most (not all) points. The Dragon's Tail: I have no idea how to analyze this story. Starting with a Tail/ Tale pun in the title, we get hit with names such as Vlackmar, Moordoom, Doomdrive, Moordread, Bloodax, Azsmasher, Bloodyboomer, Grimoon, Grimorer and Grimover (possibly meant to be the same, but who can tell at this point?) and Baroom. I think other than the names the story is meant to be taken seriously but the parade of names make it completely ludicrous. So I'm left with nowhere to go. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge: Still an excellent adaptation of a classic story. Soul Pool: The Second Cauldron Contest winner. Great art by Sutton, but the story didn't impress, unlike the previous winner. Fair Exchange: They pulled both the reprints from the same issue of Eerie, I'm still not decided if that's a good idea or not. Space Age Vampire: Mike Royer makes his full Warren debut here. The art is good, although I'm not sure the somewhat stylized faces really mesh that well with the rest of the art. Gasp!: Like I mentioned earlier, the ad here clearly predates the one in Creepy #29. And, if we go by publication dates according to the Library of Congress, this is actually the first appearance in print of Vampirella... although not yet named or seen from the front. Easy Way to a Tuff Surfboard count: 6 Overall, I think this issue isn't quite as impressive as the Creepy #29 from last week. But the cover is incredible, and there is still the definite sense that things are getting on track for Warren. (I've got two low grade copies of the issue at this point, using the one with the better presenting front cover but the coupon clipped on the back cover here.)

I had my posts (not a typo) ready to go, but @Axe Elf hasn't posted the intro yet. Here's hoping everything's going well!

In today. Does anybody have a list of which Murder Mystery Monthlies were originals? I know this is one of them for sure, and a couple of the Woolrich books, but not sure on any others.

I checked my copy, the margins are definitely more narrow than on the other stories in the issue but it's not printed full bleed, either.

In today. Another one of the Oddball doubles, a SF double, a western double... and how did a nurse book sneak into the pile?