Let's do a top 10

[Jayman]

yeah me too, i really like cracked for the great severin art, but i don't have any right now. Wait! Thats a lie! I do have 2 cracked special monster issues I bought as a kid. They are beat to HELLL but i still have them!

 

I have them too!

They are the only issues of Cracked I ever bought!

[shiverbones]

well I'd actually see the web #3 as higher then the Nightmare #1. There is nothing terribly great about Nightmare #1, they really got better later in the series. Web of Horror #3 is a great book and does have a key artists 1st cover. The series would have lasted longer if the publisher wasn't a crooK! As far as influence, is that cover what led to marvel allowing him to do CHOD#7's cover, which led DC to allow HOM193's cover? Which then led to Wrightson really taking off in my mind. From short story artist to cover star to super star with swampy.

[shiverbones]

they are actually GREAT mags Jayman! Most of it is reprints from "Cracked For Monsters only" from the 60's, which is WELL worth the money for any horror mag fan. The severin art is top notch & the features are really funny & well done.

[precodekeith]

I had already envisioned kicking Cracked to the curb, now I'm not 100% on that.

 

I can see Weird Mysteries taking it's place next to the trash can. I had initially included it because I felt it was the ballsiest mag of the 50's after the "death" of EC's picto -fiction stuff. However,I always felt it was the weakest of my choices since it was just one issue, even though I ranked it fairly high initially.

[precodekeith]

Oh, and I still think WoH is a must for the list. It was the best place for all the "fanzine" guys of the day to get crankin', even if for just 3 books. Jones, Kaluta, Brunner, Wrightson... they got sharp workin' for this book.

[ultimatevenom]

Keep this thread going guys, i am finding it to be fairly interesting and i am learning about stuff i never knew before.

 

Just one question where is either Cerebus 1 or TMNT 1?

[RedRaven]

Just one question where is either Cerebus 1 or TMNT 1?

 

Are those considered magazines???

I've never thought of them as such , kind of held them as some sort of oversized comic book (which I guess could apply to any book on this list).

 

Thoughts everyone?

[bounty_coder]

I think that they are definitely oversized comics. They come in at under 8" x 10" as far as I know. While great books, I do not think that they are magazines.

 

I am open to all thoughts.

 

-bounty

[RedRaven]

Jayman,

 

In my mind longevity of a series is the most weighted factor (but not the only) when deciding inclusion on this list. For that reason I disagree with the Savage Sword 1 blackball.

 

Not only was the series long lived (235 issues) but Conan is a character that transcends comics into the popular culture at large. He is a character that will reappear in comics (see darkhorse) as long as that medium exists and for those reasons I feel that issue #1 of a long lived series that represents the truest (IMHO) interpretation of Robert E. Howards cimmerian deserves to be on the list.

 

 

Now, nightmare #1....

Skywald was such a major player in the early 70's horror market that I feel it is important to note their initial foray into the horror genre with nightmare #1 (dec 1970). The mags were of very high quality in both art and storytelling and in my mind deserve to be included.

[RedRaven]

I had already envisioned kicking Cracked to the curb, now I'm not 100% on that.

 

I'm warming up on cracked #1 also. 365 issues and still rolling is quite an accomplishment.

[BassGMan]

Just a thought for two that I don't think have been mentioned yet as possibilities:

 

TMNT #1

American Splendor #1

 

 

OK, so TMNT was already mentioned

 

Hey, they're magazines as far as I'm concerned. Just as much as Vampi #1 or many others.

[shiverbones]

i don't know about American Splendor #1, thats an 8x10 right? The turtles is more like a golden age comic, so I don't agree on that one. Also page count i think adds to a "magazine" as they tend to be more substantial then just a large format comic. Its tricky territory for sure.

[shiverbones]

that does bring to light Weirdo #1, which is a definant magazine and helped launch numerous alternative anthologies.

[precodekeith]

that does bring to light Weirdo #1, which is a definant magazine and helped launch numerous alternative anthologies.

 

OK, I'm no rookie, but I've never heard of that one Shivs. Was it an underground?

 

American Splendor: I never realized it was a magazine. Is it, or was it at one point?

 

TMNT: oversized, but not a magazine IMO.

[Jayman]

Jayman,

 

In my mind longevity of a series is the most weighted factor (but not the only) when deciding inclusion on this list. For that reason I disagree with the Savage Sword 1 blackball.

 

Not only was the series long lived (235 issues) but Conan is a character that transcends comics into the popular culture at large. He is a character that will reappear in comics (see darkhorse) as long as that medium exists and for those reasons I feel that issue #1 of a long lived series that represents the truest (IMHO) interpretation of Robert E. Howards cimmerian deserves to be on the list.

 

R. Raven, It would absolutly crush me to exclude SSOC from the list (a personal fav). I was just listing pros and con so that others may think on it. I'm all for keeping it on the list!

 

Now, nightmare #1....

Skywald was such a major player in the early 70's horror market that I feel it is important to note their initial foray into the horror genre with nightmare #1 (dec 1970). The mags were of very high quality in both art and storytelling and in my mind deserve to be included.

 

Now here is another personal favorite of mine and I agree with the above even though this was not the issue that introduced the "Horror-Mood" but I am trying to really decide if it should get one of the 10 spots. Put it this way; if it came down to between Nightmare and Cracked, I would have to go with Cracked!

 

Shiver and Precode thanks for shedding more light on Web of Horror # 3. As I never had any issues I never suspected its importance. Due to the nice trail of succession of events starting from that first published cover explained by Shiver, I'm swayed to include WOH # 3 in the top ten.

 

The standings as I see them now, in alphabetical order are:

 

1. Cracked # 1

2. Creepy # 1

3. EC Terror Illustrated # 1

4. Heavy Metal # 1

5. Mad Magazine # 24

6. Nightmare # 1

7. Savage Sword Of Conan # 1

8. Savage Tales # 1

9. Vampirella # 1

10. Web of Horror # 3

[shiverbones]

Yes Weirdo was an Underground that bridges teh gap between underground and mor emodern alternative comics. Robert Crumb was a consistent contributor since hiw wife was the editor. I don't think it should be top ten, but it did spawn drawn & quarterly, buzzard, Rip off comics presents, etc. I think raw as well, but I am not sure if raw #1 is earlier.

 

I think that top 10 list looks pretty good!

[BassGMan]

that does bring to light Weirdo #1, which is a definant magazine and helped launch numerous alternative anthologies.

 

OK, I'm no rookie, but I've never heard of that one Shivs. Was it an underground?

 

American Splendor: I never realized it was a magazine. Is it, or was it at one point?

 

TMNT: oversized, but not a magazine IMO.

 

Yes, American Splendor was always a magazine. It never wasn't. Of course the Dark Horse reprints were in standard comics format, just like Vampirella reprints were.

[precodekeith]

 

Yes, American Splendor was always a magazine. It never wasn't. Of course the Dark Horse reprints were in standard comics format.....

 

Um, Sid, do you realize the irony of this phrase???

 

Anyway, the DH stuff must have been what the only time I ever saw it and gave it a second thought. That's what I get for being a die-hard horror hound.

[precodekeith]

Thanks, Shiv! I don't know diddly 'bout no undergrounds!

 

I thought maybe it rang a bell from that Crumb documentary a few years back, but I certainly wasn't certain by any stretch of the term.

 

Raven - The list is looking pretty good!

[magelsa]

The standings as I see them now, in alphabetical order are:

 

1. Cracked # 1

2. Creepy # 1

3. EC Terror Illustrated # 1

4. Heavy Metal # 1

5. Mad Magazine # 24

6. Nightmare # 1

7. Savage Sword Of Conan # 1

8. Savage Tales # 1

9. Vampirella # 1

10. Web of Horror # 3

 

 

Just thought I'd join in with a thought. I have always been of the opinion that EC's Terror Illustrated (as well as Shock Illustrated etc.) were not really comic magazines, rather they were mainly text stories with a few accompanying panels to illustrate the text content. A bit like the Atlas/Seaboard Gothic Romances in the mid 70s. I would venture to say that Eerie Tales #1 (one-shot) or Weird Mysteries #1 (one-shot), both produced in - was it '59 - deserve a place if only for being the first ever true horror comic magazine. Also, and maybe I'll lose all credibility here, wouldn't Nightmare #9 (which I believe introduced Skywald's Horror-Mood) be more fitting of a place than Nightmare #1?