Web of Horror Magazine - Cover Gallery - Kaluta - Jeff Jones - Bernie Wrightson

[bounty_coder]

Here's a treat for everyone. As some of you may know the back covers to the Web of Horror Magazines contained a no text, but just the art of the covers. Great work by the amazing Michael Kaluta, Jeff Jones and of course Berni Wrightson.

 

 

 

 

And as many of you have seen me post in the Skywald, Eerie, Stanley thread as well as our new lovely fanzine thread we have the never before printed Web of Horror Cover by Berni Wrightson...

 

[the blob]

Does anyone think that a magazine featuring consistent quality art and stories like some of these late 60s/early 70s classics wouldn't sell pretty well? Or would the fanboys just ignore it as not being in any "universe" they collect or not proper speculation material? Aren't there enough old timers out there who would dig this?

 

Of course, could it be done at a $3.50 - $4.00 cover rpice that wouldn't scare the old timers off?

 

I suppose heavy metal is still getting printed, but if felt like that sort of fell off at some point, with only one or two worthwhile stories appearing in each issue. But I haven't read it in 10-15 years. And it was mainly fantasy/sci fi.

[bounty_coder]

Oh man how cool would that be? To have new Magazine published that contained awesome painted covers, and cool Monster/Horror/Supernatural etc. stories inside.

 

I would buy it. It would be cool to see some influence from Wrightson, Jones, Kaluta, Neal Adams, San Julian, Enrich, etc. If that was put together talk about a rock show.

 

If successful a publication like that could also take Magazines to a new realm.

 

-bounty

[october]

I actually toyed with the idea of doing a horror fanzine and soliciting stories and art from Wrightson, Kaluta, ect. My friend prints a very sucessful music zine focusing on local Chicago bands with a circulation of about 3,000 and I was going to have him help. Alas, it never came to fruition. Maybe some day....

[precodekeith]

I'd love to see a new b&w horror mag done on a regular basis. A few have tried, but none really have lasted very long. Bummer.

 

The short story anthology format was a perfect way to "break in" up and coming talent. Guess the big publishers these days don't see a need for that.

 

OctFire - Good luck if you ever decide to do a fanzine. May I suggest though, if your intent is to do new stories/art, why not go the extra mile and make it a commercial venture/magazine rather than a fanzine?

[the blob]

seems like there would be a lot of talent out there who wouldn't mind making some money for their stories, keeping the publishing rights, but letting you do ananthology book.

 

you'd probably need $2000-$5,000 a month just to pay them though, assuming 4-5 stories of 8-14 pages each or so.

 

i guess the problem with megatalent like kaluta or wrightson is that they don't really have a need for this type of venue. If they have some spare short stories DC or Darkhorse would probably be happy to put them together in an anthology.

 

the collectors are still out there. many just don't have any interest in new stuff. this would appeal to all sorts of fans.

[precodekeith]

I'd forget about Kaluta and Wrightson. Those guys are making so much money on their commercial ventures and are so busy they probably wouldn't bother. Wrightson does do a little bit here and there once in awhile, though.

 

I don't think you'd NEED established horror legends to do an anthology mag. Like Blob said, it would probably be pretty expensive to hire such help. No, back in the day, WEB OF HORROR was being done by Wrightson, Kaluta, Jones (Bruce and Jeff both), etc. when they were NEW and upcoming. WoH was one of the few outlets for "amatuer" talent to hone their skills. Anthology books are primed to developed new talent. All you would need is some reliable, hungry, new artists and writers to do such a mag.

 

Skywald functioned in the same way (basically three writers and several CHEAP, hungry artists), and so did Warren quite often. Heck, even the DC BA horror books did once in awhile, too. How many times have you cracked one of these open and read a story by someone who never ended up having a "big" comics career?

 

Anthologies were the perfect breeding ground for newbies and people with just one or two good ideas in their heads. The industry sorely misses this format IMO, and I think the big publishers aren't taking advantage of the opportunity. You know, if I ever get up enough scratch, I just might try to do one!

[the blob]

yeah, but even if you were paying writer/artists $40-$70 a page, combined, which is way below "market", but probably enough to bring in some hungry talent or some side work for a more established person who needs it (like all those old-timers who got canned by Marvel in the 90s) you'd still need several grand a month to keep them from starving.

 

such is the cost of doing busines i suppose. i can't imagine why people wouldn't go for this if it was reasonably priced. then again, warren went out of business in the 80s, so even when there was a bigger reading population it was a tough sell.

 

and horror, at least, is something that works well in B&W. of course, i guess my mind is just tainted ecause so much of the horrow I've read was from these old magazines.

[Moondog]

The death knell for these zines from the early 70's had nothing to do with quality or popularity. It was entirely the result of distribution. Most of them had no distribution outside major metro areas. I was a college student at this time in DeKalb, IL (about 60 miles west of Chicago in the middle of corn country). NONE of these books were ever available...

 

Same thing for Skywalds too. Warrens were available, though...

[bounty_coder]

The death knell for these zines from the early 70's had nothing to do with quality or popularity. It was entirely the result of distribution. Most of them had no distribution outside major metro areas. I was a college student at this time in DeKalb, IL (about 60 miles west of Chicago in the middle of corn country). NONE of these books were ever available...

 

Same thing for Skywalds too. Warrens were available, though...

 

Very True! That is what has become so interesting about the Internet. Not saying that people outside of Metro areas live in a bubble. But the internet has allowed those who have never even seen certain books, immediate access just a click away in someinstances.

 

If one was to distribute these, a distribution through the internet would probably be the best route!

 

-bounty

[precodekeith]

The death knell for these zines from the early 70's had nothing to do with quality or popularity. It was entirely the result of distribution. Most of them had no distribution outside major metro areas. I was a college student at this time in DeKalb, IL (about 60 miles west of Chicago in the middle of corn country). NONE of these books were ever available...

 

Same thing for Skywalds too. Warrens were available, though...

 

You hit the nail on the head, Moondog!!!

 

I'd say distribution is STILL the major detractor to publishing.

 

Diamond is nothing more than a monopoly, asking 60% off cover price, plus demanding quite often that the publisher purchase high $$$ amounts for Previews "advertising" just to get carried. I know from personal experience that the "magazine rep" at Diamond doesn't know her [#@$%!!!] from a hole the ground! Heck, she didn't even know what a "fanzine" was!!!

 

I hope that the new guys on the distribution block can do a better job...

 

Marvel getting back into the 7 - 11 chains is maybe a good sign, too...

 

I do want to add that the demise of WEB OF HORROR was not through anything other than the mental illness of the publisher, though. The guy just flaked out...

[the blob]

well, warren was publishing into the 80s

 

why did marvel drop their magazines? (SSOF was printed for a long time though)

 

one dealer (who had been at it since the mid-70's) told me that these great B&W magazines didn't hang around and get particularly collectible simply for the stupid reason that they were big and collectors don't like things that won't fit in their boxes nicely and for which they'll have to buy a different set of magazine bags/boards. he said the same thing was true with respect to those long sports cards from the 60s -- due to their non-standard size, they were less collectible.

 

and sadly, if something was perceived as not having a good re-sale value, perhaps that could have led to their demise.

 

anyway, just one guy's opinion i suppose. but it does seem strange that so many people who collect comics don't collect comic magazines. you have to wonder if really is all about them being bigger and bulkier and harder to bag and board.

[precodekeith]

I will have to look for it, but there is a chapter in either the Warren Companion or the new Skywald book that is about the magazine distribution struggle between Marvel and everyone else during the 70's.

 

Without checking it and going off memory alone I think Marvel really had an iron grip on magazine distribution. I think it basically was that they had power at the time to dictate how much Marvel product had to be carried. More or less they were then able to flood the genre with multiple titles, and thus took the available rack space, and force the competition out.

 

Warren managed to valiantly make it into the 80's, but those last few years were a bust financially from what I hear.

 

As for why Marvel dropped their line? I don't know. One could probably write an entire paper on the possible reasons.

[the blob]

marvel would go in and out of trying to sell magazines for a while into the late 90s though, right? heck, maybe they've kept on trying, i don't know.

 

i do wish that people would stick to regular magazine size though -- like that will fit in my magazine/golden age size comic boxes! remember when BWS came out with that oversized magazine size comic of his? really annoying, i have to lay them flat or on their side in a box. they've all gotten trashed over the years as a result.

 

but distribution didn't stop upstarts like pacific comics, comico and eclipse from taking a shot at this in 80s? or was warren dead by the time those guys hit the scene?

 

(otoh, horror was a bit out of fashion then, so warren had a lot of things working against it. heck, most of the eerie/creepy content in the 80s was fantasy/sci fi kindah like Heavy Metal magazine and the copycat, Epic Magazine.)

[precodekeith]

but distribution didn't stop upstarts like pacific comics, comico and eclipse from taking a shot at this in 80s? or was warren dead by the time those guys hit the scene?

 

I didn't think Pacific and Eclipse tried the magazine format?

 

They did do the best horror material in the 80's in comic format. Twisted Tales and Tales of Terror spring to mind. I think Warren was RIP by this time, too.

 

The indy publishers were selling comics to the Direct Market comics shops, so they weren't at as much peril as the magazine publishers competing for mass market newstand space.

[the blob]

What I meant was why weren't Warren, et al. (although I guess there wasn't much "et al." left by the 80s) doing the bulk of their selling in comic shops like Pacific? I do vaguely remember there being a magzine section at my LCS in the late 70s, but I was too young for them and they were too expensive for me.

[precodekeith]

That's a GREAT question, Blob!

[the blob]

not really a question, just me running at the mouth, avoiding the real work on my desk....

[mica]

well, warren was publishing into the 80s

 

why did marvel drop their magazines? (SSOF was printed for a long time though)

 

one dealer (who had been at it since the mid-70's) told me that these great B&W magazines didn't hang around and get particularly collectible simply for the stupid reason that they were big and collectors don't like things that won't fit in their boxes nicely and for which they'll have to buy a different set of magazine bags/boards. he said the same thing was true with respect to those long sports cards from the 60s -- due to their non-standard size, they were less collectible.

 

and sadly, if something was perceived as not having a good re-sale value, perhaps that could have led to their demise.

 

anyway, just one guy's opinion i suppose. but it does seem strange that so many people who collect comics don't collect comic magazines. you have to wonder if really is all about them being bigger and bulkier and harder to bag and board.

 

I agree with this opinion, and would also add that there might have been the blush factor. When I was younger I probably would have been embarrassed if anyone saw me looking at the scantily clad women on a majority of those magazines.

 

However I could proudly display 99 % of my normal sized comic collection without any raised eyebrows (except for Ms Marvel and Red Sonja). Perhaps these Mags would have sold better if they were available through some sort of vending machine where no one was watching you make your selection. ( OK..a Mint Condition- fits through the return slot just fine Vending machine ) This sort of project might actually take off internet style or mail order if it were tried now with the anonomous buyer.

 

Also a bunch of potential buyers back then are now married, and would have trouble convincing their wives that these books would look great next to the Wedding photo albums.

[RedRaven]

I think it basically was that they had power at the time to dictate how much Marvel product had to be carried. More or less they were then able to flood the genre with multiple titles, and thus took the available rack space, and force the competition out.

 

Jim Warren says basically that in the Warren Companion. Marvel crowded them out of rackspace with a flood of subpar BW monster mags.