Warren Magazine Reading Club! 6 6

[Axe Elf]

I really like the cover to the EERIE 1970 Yearbook.  Most of the Warren "montage" covers are an arrangement of discrete panels, but this one blends several images together in a single panel.  I've been thinking of doing an art project similar to that, making a single collage out of some of the more iconic images in the books, and I'd want it to look something like that--on a larger scale, of course.

I actually re-read through most of the stories this week, because a lot of them I didn't remember clearly from the first time until I started reading them.  It seems like a solid enough collection of artists and stories from the early issues, but as I said before, if they were going to reprint something from EERIE #1, it should have been here instead of in the CREEPY 1970 Yearbook ("The Invitation").

It also may not have been the best idea to print two stories about adventures in the land of the dead ("The Wanderer" and "A Matter of Routine") back to back like that.  At least spread them out a little.

I also think it's nice that each Yearbook included an adaptation from classic literature ("The Body Snatcher" for CREEPY and "The Masque of the Red Death" for EERIE), since both titles have made pretty good use out of such adaptations over the course of their respective runs so far.

The two Angelo Torres pieces ("Soul of Horror" and "One for De-Money") are probably my two favorite reprints, while "Shrieking Man" may be my least-favorite Ditko piece of them all.  "The Quest" was probably my least favorite story in this issue, but it's not terrible.

And finally, the inclusion of Mastroserio's "Terror in the Tomb" feels a little like an epitaph.

And so we emerge from the Dark Ages, and enter the dawning of Warren's rebuilding tomorrow night!  I'm really stoked for the next three weeks...

[Axe Elf]

 CREEPY #29 - September 1969

(One of my uglier CREEPYs, I went for filling the hole ASAP rather than holding out for quality.  Live and learn.)

According to the Warren Magazine Index...

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’.

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Well, I hope no one was waiting until the last minute to post their review of the EERIE 1970 Yearbook, because I'm starting my first fantasy football draft of the season here in about half an hour, and I'm not sure I'll be done in time to post this at midnight, so I'm kicking off the Warren Rebuilding a couple of hours early.  My apologies for any inconvenience.

The first thing we get when we open the first issue of Warren's Rebuilding phase is a reprinted Loathsome Lore!  Waa-waa-waaaah...

But that initial disappointment aside, there are only two reprinted stories in the whole issue!  And the new stuff is so cool!  A new Archie Goodwin story!  New interior art by Frazetta (Vampirella)!  New writers!  Five new stories!  The return of Jerry Grandenetti!  Well, ok, I'm not sure how I feel about that.  We'll see...

But anyway...  We're here!  The most awesome month in Warren history--September 1969!

 

[OtherEric]

Good luck on your draft, @Axe Elf

Creepy #29 thoughts:

Cover:  Prezio knocks this one out of the park.  I'm not sure it really counts as famous or classic, yet... it seems like this one only recently started heating up a lot.  But it's definitely high demand right now, and with good reason.

Loathsome Lore: When we first saw this I regretted that we didn't get more by Jack Davis in the Warren comics, but didn't say much about the page on its own terms.  There's really not much to say, though... it's a competent but not standout lore page.

The Summer House: Barbara Gelman's only Warren -script (and only comic -script, according to the GCD) is a very nice, moody piece, quite ambiguous and well illustrated by Colon.  It's not perfect but it's very impressive for a first story and makes me wish we had seen a few more.

Angel of Doom:  Still very nice artwork.  Why they waited to do the reprint until two issues after the sequel is beyond me, though.

Spellbound:  A few too many cooks on this story for what is really a pretty run of the mill horror comic story.  Most notable for the (uncredited) Warren debut of Mike Royer on art, but we've got enough going on this issue I'll wait until he's credited to say more.

Bloody Mary:  Buddy Saunders makes his full debut here, after a collaboration with Goodwin way back in Eerie #8.  He turns in a solid story, that plays around a bit with the tropes of a typical horror tale.  He'll be around a while, it's hard to call him one of the major Warren writers but he deserves more credit than he gets for how much he did for the company.

The Devil of the Marsh:  Don Glut makes his Warren debut.  He does a fairly large number of stories for Warren, even more for other publishers, and is currently working on the Warrant magazines.  Not to mention his various book and -script credits.  The story is quite solid, and Grandenetti does what I have to concede is a very good job in terms of craft... but I still don't care for Grandenetti's work.

The Frankenstein Tradition:  Mastroserio was so good, how was I so oblivious to his work before the reading club?

The Last Laugh:  Goodwin returns with a short but effective story, illustrated by Colon.  Although I suspect that Goodwin may have done at least rough pencils on this piece, it reminds me a LOT of the art from his story "Sinner", particularly the face of the Duke.  A super strong end to the issue.

Vampirella is Here!:  I think we got the issues slightly out of order around here, because this ad follows the one in the Eerie #23.  Mike's Amazing World and the GCD both show this issue coming out two days after Vampirella #1, according to the copyright records. I would love to see copies of both issues with arrival dates on the covers, though.

I stand by my statement that the Creepy #27 is better considered as the beginning of the rebuilding era; mostly because I think the return of Frazetta and the increased page count make the book stand out.  But it's impossible to deny this issue is yet another huge step forward, with new creators, the return of old ones, a further increase in page count, making this issue the best one we've seen in ages.

[Axe Elf]

On 6/10/2023 at 10:42 PM, OtherEric said:

Angel of Doom:  Still very nice artwork.  Why they waited to do the reprint until two issues after the sequel is beyond me, though.

  Good point!

On 6/10/2023 at 10:42 PM, OtherEric said:

Vampirella is Here!:  I think we got the issues slightly out of order around here, because this ad follows the one in the Eerie #23.  Mike's Amazing World and the GCD both show this issue coming out two days after Vampirella #1, according to the copyright records. I would love to see copies of both issues with arrival dates on the covers, though.

Yeah, when I originally put them in order I wasn't interested in looking up all the actual release dates; I just went by the month on the cover.  When multiple mags were released in the same month, I just put them in order by title order, like CREEPY before EERIE before VAMPIRELLA.  And then the Yearbooks/Annuals don't really say, but putting them in August seems to make the most sense.

I may not have the order exactly correct, but the point is just to read them all--and we'll get there...

Edited June 11, 2023 by Axe Elf

[OtherEric]

On 6/10/2023 at 11:38 PM, Axe Elf said:

Yeah, when I originally put them in order I wasn't interested in looking up all the actual release dates; I just went by the month on the cover.  When multiple mags were released in the same month, I just put them in order by title order, like CREEPY before EERIE before VAMPIRELLA.  And then the Yearbooks/Annuals don't really say, but putting them in August seems to make the most sense.

I may not have the order exactly correct, but the point is just to read them all--and we'll get there...

I actually argued in favor of tracking actual release dates when we started; and after a year of the club, I have to say that you were right and I was wrong.  This is the first time in over a year of the reading club that the release date has possibly mattered, and it won't happen often enough again to have been worth the effort.

With that said, this is one of the rare occasions where the order actually does get interesting, with both the ads in Creepy & Eerie for Vampirella having a sort of continuity, and with the idea the ad in Creepy #29 might be the first appearance of Vampirella.  But it does appear the Vampi #1 showed up first, based on the limited info I can find.

[Axe Elf]

On 6/11/2023 at 11:29 AM, OtherEric said:

But it does appear the Vampi #1 showed up first, based on the limited info I can find.

That makes sense, given that the ad in CREEPY #29 says, "She's here!" rather than still on her way or something.

 

[The Lions Den]

On 6/11/2023 at 12:29 PM, OtherEric said:

I actually argued in favor of tracking actual release dates when we started; and after a year of the club, I have to say that you were right and I was wrong.  This is the first time in over a year of the reading club that the release date has possibly mattered, and it won't happen often enough again to have been worth the effort.

With that said, this is one of the rare occasions where the order actually does get interesting, with both the ads in Creepy & Eerie for Vampirella having a sort of continuity, and with the idea the ad in Creepy #29 might be the first appearance of Vampirella.  But it does appear the Vampi #1 showed up first, based on the limited info I can find.

My personal copy of Vampirella #1 has a neat little "July 23, 1969" date stamp on the cover. It's the only copy I've ever seen with a date stamp...   

[Axe Elf]

On 6/11/2023 at 1:23 PM, The Lions Den said:

My personal copy of Vampirella #1 has a neat little "July 23, 1969" date stamp on the cover. It's the only copy I've ever seen with a date stamp...   

That's actually kind of cool, given all that happened in August of 1969 (Woodstock, Manson murders, etc.).

So Vampirella actually predates all that stuff--barely!

[OtherEric]

On 6/11/2023 at 11:43 AM, Axe Elf said:

That's actually kind of cool, given all that happened in August of 1969 (Woodstock, Manson murders, etc.).

So Vampirella actually predates all that stuff--barely!

The Haunted Mansion opened at Disneyland in August 1969 as well.

[Axe Elf]

This is probably a cover I would have kept close to me as a teenage boy.  "Hey, who cares if her face is melting, as long as she's in her bra and panties!"  And I have to give credit for that to Vic Prezio, because in the "Summer House" story that the cover reflects, the woman was fully dressed as her face melted.  So the bra and panties, that was all Vic, selling some mags on his own.  Another difference in the cover is that the house in the story is a huge mansion, while the house on the cover makes it look more like a log cabin--"Summer House on the Prairie," maybe.  But still a great cover.

The Ernie Colon art on the story itself was magnificent, some of the best I have ever seen from him!  The way the panels flowed ethereally into one another was perfect for the mood of the piece--they shifted like the sands!

I could pull three or four astounding panels from this piece, but I don't want to reprint the whole story here.  And I don't know if it is this way in the actual magazine, because I didn't pull it out of its bag to check, but in my digital scan, the panels run to the very edge of the page--there are no margins!  So that's kind of cool too.

My only gripe is that it's not at all clear what actually happened to them--they melted and the house absorbed them?  But it was enjoyable enough to read that I can tolerate a little plot fuzziness--off to a good start!

I hadn't remembered that the original Thane story, "Angel of Doom," reprinted here, was a Jeff Jones piece.  He has a distinctive and beautiful style that I am growing to appreciate more and more.  I apparently didn't remember the story very well either; I hadn't remembered the giant wasp thing at all--so even though it was a reprint, it was kind of like a new story too, and it fits in well as another great-looking visual piece to follow up Colon's opener.

I have more mixed feelings about the art for "Spellbound."  At times, the faces seemed kind of wonky, and then there were moments of astounding beauty, too, like when one sister turned into a cat:

Two artists are credited, Bhob Stewart and Will Brown, so maybe I like one of them more than the other; I guess time will tell.  The story itself is fairly strong, carrying the momentum of the opening pieces well...

...but then "Bloody Mary" is kind of the stumbling block of the issue, for me.  It's not BAD--and it was actually kind of interesting to read until the end--but the "Tony Williamsune" art seemed to rely heavily on "drawing the heat" or the wavy lines that crowded every outdoors panel.  And then the twist at the end, that it just happened to be time for a total eclipse, is REALLY far-fetched--not only because it relied on the unusual timing of such an event, but also because it kind of ignores a unique thing about our own sun and moon that make total eclipses possible in the first place.  Our sun is 400 times larger than the moon, and coincidentally 400 times further away--so the sun and moon appear to be the same size in the sky--that's why the disc of the moon neatly covers the disc of the sun in a total eclipse.  It would be a 50/50 proposition as to whether an extraterrestrial moon would appear large enough to totally eclipse an extraterrestrial sun or not--so it's not probable that the vampires would get the benefit of a TOTAL eclipse, even if the improbable timing was otherwise met.

Still, for the "stumbling block" of the issue, I have to admit I enjoyed watching it unfold.

"The Devil of the Marsh" was also a fun read, if somewhat innocuous.  Grandenetti did an ok job this time; some of his male faces are still kind of harsh, but I thought he did a good job amending his style to render a "softer" female visage for the enchantress.

     

By this point, I was so into this issue that I fully read the second reprint too--"The Frankenstein Tradition."  Like the first reprint, I had a hard time remembering this story as well.  That might be because it turns out to be as much about Jack the Ripper as it is about Frankenstein, but it's a nice twist on the archetype--and we get another look back at Rocco Mastroserio's craft.

"The Last Laugh" wraps up the issue with yet another entirely enjoyable tale, again inked by Ernie Colon.  This time his style is different; it seems more jovial than moody, which of course suits this piece perfectly as well.  And while there were no margins on the pages of "The Summer House," he filled the margins on the opening page of this piece with laughing faces!

It's like every single story in this issue is masterfully illustrated, and perhaps even more surprisingly, competently scripted--a fringe benefit of having a greater variety of writers with new ideas, perhaps--and even the inclusion of a Grandenetti piece doesn't degrade the overall quality much.  This issue was just a constant delight from cover to cover, and I couldn't be happier that this is what we got (according to the Warren Magazine Index) as the first issue of Warren's rebuilding!  It's got to be one of the best issues we've seen yet, and it's the first hint I've had in a long time of the admiration inspired by my Warren magazines when I was a kid.

I guess I should mention the other features as well.

I hadn't remembered that Jack Davis did this edition of "Creepy's Loathsome Lore"--but I agree with @OtherEric; it would have been great to have more Davis in the Warrens!  Nothing really stood out to me on the "Dear Uncle Creepy" page; it was mostly just yays and nays for CREEPY #27, with the most notable comments noting the return of Frank Frazetta for that issue's cover.  I'm glad they stopped running that "diabolical dictionary" feature in the "Creepy Fan Club"; it could have been done so much better.

And finally, more Frazetta for the "Vampirella Is Here" illustration!  But "fresh from Transylvania"?  Surely they knew she was from Drakulon by then...

By the way, did anyone else notice the bad news...?

[OtherEric]

On 6/15/2023 at 4:38 PM, Axe Elf said:

I could pull three or four astounding panels from this piece, but I don't want to reprint the whole story here.  And I don't know if it is this way in the actual magazine, because I didn't pull it out of its bag to check, but in my digital scan, the panels run to the very edge of the page--there are no margins!  So that's kind of cool too.

 

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.

[OtherEric]

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!

[Axe Elf]

Sorry again; fantasy football season and all...  another draft ran late... Kickoff to EERIE #23 in 15 minutes...

[Axe Elf]

EERIE #23 - September 1969

According to the Warren Magazine Index...

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.

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This is probably THE most sought-after issue of EERIE that there is--and that is probably largely due to the amazing Frazetta cover--one of his first since the Dark Ages!

We get four new stories and only two reprints again, as with CREEPY #29, so that's good--and a new artist debuts on the fan page!

Glad to see that Warren's rebuilding appears to be marked by scantily-clad women.  I am of course interested in what "a remarkable amount of nudity for a 1969 comic" turns out to be...

It's an academic interest, of course...

Edited June 18, 2023 by Axe Elf

[The Lions Den]

On 6/18/2023 at 3:03 AM, Axe Elf said:

This is probably THE most sought-after issue of EERIE that there is--and that is probably largely due to the amazing Frazetta cover--one of his first since the Dark Ages!

I'd be inclined to agree...  

[Jayman]

Got nothing more to contribute at this point except to show my copy. Happy Fathers Day all! 

[OtherEric]

On 6/18/2023 at 12:03 AM, Axe Elf said:

This is probably THE most sought-after issue of EERIE that there is--and that is probably largely due to the amazing Frazetta cover--one of his first since the Dark Ages!

We get three reprints again--but four new stories, so that's good--and a new artist debuts on the fan page!

Glad to see that Warren's rebuilding appears to be marked by scantily-clad women.  I am of course interested in what "a remarkable amount of nudity for a 1969 comic" turns out to be...

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.)

[OtherEric]

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

Edited June 18, 2023 by OtherEric

[Axe Elf]

On 6/18/2023 at 11:14 AM, Jayman said:

Got nothing more to contribute at this point except to show my copy. Happy Fathers Day all! 

BEAUTY!

[Axe Elf]

On 6/18/2023 at 11:26 AM, OtherEric said:

I would say Eerie #1 is more sought after than this one; but that's a special case.

Fair; although to soothe my mind over not having one, I have kind of come to consider that EERIE #1 doesn't even really count.  It contains zero new material and it's not even a magazine.  And not counting the monetary value, if you asked anyone which book they would rather have, the beautiful Frazetta-adorned EERIE #23 or the xeroxed EERIE #1, I would hope the Frazetta issue would be more sought-after in that regard.  But yeah, it's a much rarer item, that's for sure.

On 6/18/2023 at 11:26 AM, OtherEric said:

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.

Correct again; it was 2 am and I just counted how many times the word "reprint" appeared in the Index's listing, not noticing that one was for the surfboard ad.

So two reprints and four new stories, just like CREEPY #29.  That seems important enough that I should go back and edit it.  Thanks for the catch.

On 6/18/2023 at 11:26 AM, OtherEric said:

Fair Exchange:  They pulled both the reprints from the same issue of Eerie

Another good catch!  Lazy...

Dang, you did have some "POSTS" ready to go, didn't you?  I love you posting all the "Vampirella is Coming" ads in chronological order!

I'm sorry I was late again; sometimes I'm just not able to get it posted right at the crack of midnight on Saturday nights for ten years straight.  I hope you won't mind having to wait until Sunday morning sometimes; we have a whole week for every issue.