Warren Magazine Reading Club! 7 7

[OtherEric]

On 7/7/2023 at 3:07 PM, Axe Elf said:

I'm not sure I understand @OtherEric's objection to naming the villain in "Dr. Jekyll's Jest" after a major religion "for no clear reason"; the clear reason is to make the "Hyde and Sikh" joke work.  It's not a strong story, but I get the joke, and I don't have any more negative feelings about a villain named "Dr. Sikh" than I would about a villain named "Dr. Christian."
 

The Sikhs I know pronounce it "Sick", not "Seek", although it appears both pronunciations are correct.  And that left me so nonplussed by the last panel that I apparently skimmed it and missed them spelling out the "Hide and Seek" joke.  I'll now grant that there was enough of a reason for them to use the name.

I'm prepared to admit that I had a bit of an overreaction; I'm sometimes prone to that.

[Axe Elf]

On 7/7/2023 at 5:20 PM, OtherEric said:

The Sikhs I know pronounce it "Sick", not "Seek", although it appears both pronunciations are correct.

"Sick" was my first pronunciation too, although I later came to recognize the alternate pronunciation, which is obviously the one intended here.

In a related vein, it probably wasn't until around the time of the Gulf War that I got the joke in Frank Zappa's album title, "Sheik Yerbouti," because I had always pronounced it "sheek" instead of "shake."

[Jayman]

On 7/7/2023 at 6:51 PM, Axe Elf said:

In a related vein, it probably wasn't until around the time of the Gulf War that I got the joke in Frank Zappa's album title, "Sheik Yerbouti," because I had always pronounced it "sheek" instead of "shake."

Me too! 

Wasn't until years later I got the correct pronunciation! (One of my fav albums too!).

[Axe Elf]

On 7/7/2023 at 6:43 PM, Jayman said:

Me too! 

Wasn't the wrestler called "The Iron Sheek"?  That probably reinforced it for me.

[Jayman]

On 7/7/2023 at 8:30 PM, Axe Elf said:

Wasn't the wrestler called "The Iron Sheek"?  That probably reinforced it for me.

Yes he was! I think it was a popular mispronunciation for decades based on phonetic spelling…

[Axe Elf]

EERIE #24 - November 1969

According to the Warren Magazine Index...

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

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And no notes?  Hmmm...  Ok, I guess we're on our own for this one...

As I pointed out last week, I'm thinking that this EERIE issue probably preceded CREEPY #30 in release date.

The Index still can't seem to get Vic Prezio's name right.

Looks like we get 5 NEW stories this week, so that's a plus, along with a new Sutton Monster Gallery and a couple of other new features, against one reprint (from the Wayback Machine and the issue that started it all--CREEPY #1!) and one reprint of a reprint of an adaptation, that I kind of remember not liking all that much the first time around, so meh, but it looks like there should be a lot of meat in this issue in which to sink our fangs.

I believe there is only one more CREEPY and one more EERIE before each title gives us the first completely reprint-free issues since the onset of the Dark Ages!

Edited July 9, 2023 by Axe Elf

[OtherEric]

Eerie #24 thoughts:  

Cover: It would be easy for this cover to get lost between the Frazetta classic on #23 and Steranko's only Warren cover on the #25, but Prezio turns in a cover that, while not as famous as the other two, manages to hold its own.  A very nice, moody painting.

Monster Gallery:  It really feels like Sutton is doing a Loathsome Lore here, not a Monster Gallery.  It's a first rate Loathsome Lore, though.

Head for the Lighthouse:  An excellently moody piece by Parente and Royer for the first several pages, brought down by an EC style ending that is tonally out of sync with the rest of the story.  It feels like there's two similar stories here, one great and one good, and not deciding which one to go with brings the whole thing down.

Pursuit of the Vampire:  Still a well-executed story by Goodwin & Torres.

The Immortality Seeker:  It feels like Sutton saw the --script and decided to go with a Wally Wood tribute look.  It fits the story well, the story feels like an EC throwback but is a nice example of that by somebody other than Goodwin.

Fan Fare:  I tend to skim over the Fan Fare pages unless the index points out there's something noteworthy; but the Joe Kovaks sketch caught my eye.  I actually find it less interesting the more I look at it, but it certainly grabbed my attention to start.

Checkmate:  I think this is Ron Parker's last story for Warren; "Williamsune" tries mightily to elevate the rather pedestrian story but it's still an underwhelming --script that is too long for the material.

Scavenger Hunt:  I have to give Grandenetti full props; having the over-sized Cousin Eerie looking in the door while giving his intro to the story is a genuinely brilliant way of incorporating the host intro.  I'm giving this story high marks because Grandenetti is really a stunningly talented artist, even if I don't actually enjoy his stuff he really does impress me with his craft.

Demon-ictionary:  A whole page discussing the feature, with a nice new border and title.  But I'm pretty sure it vanishes after this.

Dracula's Guest:  A reprint of the story from the Christopher Lee book that was already reprinted in Eerie #16, not very long ago.  Nothing wrong with the story as such, but way too soon for a triple-dip.  Unlike stories from Eerie #1, a lot of readers could have seen the paperback this originally appeared in.

Wrong Tennant:  The issue ends on a high note, with great art from Crandall illustrating one of Parente's better efforts.

After a couple issues which I felt were rather mixed, this is a solid issue all the way through, even if I find myself damning with faint praise looking back at my comments on individual stories.

Edited July 9, 2023 by OtherEric

[Axe Elf]

While not as famous as Frazetta's (for good reason), Prezio's covers are becoming almost as ubiquitous in the Warren universe as Frazetta's--and I think they are getting better.

Last week I said the Loathsome Lore about Exorcism was more like a Monster Gallery featuring a demon and Dr. Strange than a Loathsome Lore; this week I agree with @OtherEric that the "Monster Gallery" seems more like a Loathsome Lore--dreams and precognitions aren't really "monsters."  Both of these frontispieces were wholly written and illustrated by Tom Sutton, so I have to wonder if maybe they weren't originally intended to be run as an episode of the other feature, and got switched around at some point...?  It's kind of ironic that the sinking of the Titanic was the focus of one of the precognitive dreams--since we've been "flooded" with information about the Titanic lately, following the recent submersible disaster.

"Dear Cousin Eerie" was the usual fare of criticism for EERIE #22, with a few inquiries about the mysterious Vampirella teasers.  But although I have suspended most of my criticisms of the rampant spelling and grammatical errors that plague the Warren books, I had to cringe when they weren't even able to get the name of their new magazine right:

I keep thinking that last line says she is "Florida"...

I am intrigued by @OtherEric's analysis of "Head for the Lighthouse."  I don't have a frame of reference for the "EC style endings," but I too was a little put off by the ridiculousness of having the lighthouse beacon coming out of the guy's eyes at the end--like really?  There's a light inside the guy's head bright enough to warn ships at sea?  On the other hand, I really liked the story up until that point--I enjoyed how it jumped around from the lighthouse to the town council to the stories the captain was telling and even into the kids' fantasies of making the villain "walk the plank"--it all seemed fairly well interwoven to me up until the silly ending.  So while there were maybe some parallel stories going on, I didn't really see them as separate stories.  Sounds like we both generally enjoyed this opening story until the end, though, and I would go so far as to call it the best offering of the issue.

I really didn't remember "Pursuit of the Vampire" at all, but as reprints go, this one is about as quintessentially Warren as you can get--a lurid vampire vs werewolf tale from the magazine that started them all, CREEPY #1.  I probably enjoyed reading this one again more than I have enjoyed any reprint so far (possibly in no small part due to not remembering it from the first reading).

"Immortality Seeker" was more fun in terms of its historical perspective, when we were still speculating about what we might find out in space, than it is a good story in and of itself.  In fact, it's a pretty BAD story--this guy fights his way through dangers no one else has ever survived before--but he's the first human to penetrate this section of the universe?  So the map he stole was to a cave on a planet someplace in the universe no one had ever been to before, carrying the promise of "immortality" in the form of being memorialized as the first person to ever be immortalized in that way?

The only fun thing about this one was the "used rocket lot" where they guy buys the jalopy to take him through interstellar space.  Lol

This edition of "EERIE Fan Fare" was just horrible.  The fan fiction was so poorly written it was almost unreadable, and it made no sense to boot.  The fan art was drawn with a fair amount of skill, but as a depiction of someone watching a football game while they experienced the pain of a house erupting from the top of their head, the subject matter was a little obtuse.

I found "Checkmate" highly enjoyable, even though it was kind of lightweight; I enjoy the game of chess, so having it translated into monsters was kind of cool, and the insidiousness of having to get a new victim every night--so he was down to his closest friends now--was darkly ominous.

"Scavenger Hunt" was another piece that seemed rather lightweight--but it was also good fun, with its anti-hero sporting a "Harpo Marx" bag of tricks--and lots of underworld connections!  Jerry Grandenetti's art can be kind of goofy, but for this story, that kind of seems to fit.

Ugh.  The "Demon-ictionary" is back.  I guess that's one way to create "new" material, by spinning it off of old material.  I hope @OtherEric is right about it disappearing after this.

I remember I didn't like "Dracula's Guest" very well the first time around, so I didn't bother with it this time.

"The Wrong Tennant" [sic] was most notable for presenting us with some new Reed Crandall art (but no rats; I looked), though the story was credible and ended with a typical Warren twist.

I enjoyed the ads for Lost in Space, Star Trek, and Yellow Submarine scale model kits; it was kind of cool to see all those things together in one ad.  And the ad for the Conan books provided us with some bonus Frazetta art!

Overall, this was an enjoyable issue, but I don't know if I'd call it a strong issue.  I found the stories mostly engaging and fun to read, but fairly innocuous.  It was nice to have five new stories, including some new Reed Crandall work.

[Axe Elf]

VAMPIRELLA #2 - November 1969

(I'm really quite proud of the condition of my copy of this highly-sought-after issue--other than that leetle crunched bottom corner spineside...)

According to the Warren Magazine Index...

2. cover: Bill Hughes (Nov. 1969)

1) Vampi’s Feary Tales: The Bride Of Frankenstein [Tom Sutton] 1p   [frontis]

2) Evily [Bill Parente/Jerry Grandenetti] 10p

3) Montezuma’s Monster [R. Michael Rosen/Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico] 6p   [story miscredited to Don Glut]

4) Vampirella: Down To Earth! [Forrest J. Ackerman/Mike Royer] 8p

5) Queen Of Horror! [Don Glut/MR. Piscopo] 9p

6) The Octopus [Nicola Cuti/William Barry] 6p

7) One, Two, Three [Nicola Cuti/Ernie Colon] 7p

8) Rhapsody In Red! [Don Glut/Billy Graham] 7p

Notes: Hughes’ cover was quite good, depicting the witch Evily.  Evily, who only appeared twice, was listed as Vampirella’s cousin, although how that could be, seeing as how they’re from different planets, is never unexplained.  Vampirella does gueststar in Evily’s story.  Vampirella’s own story {just as much a horror spoof as the previous one} is narrated in a one-shot appearance by Vampirella’s twin sister, Draculina.  Vampirella & Draculina are identical twins except that Draculina is a blonde, rather than a brunette, and her bat birthmark is on the opposite breast from Vampirella!  ‘Rhapsody In Red!’was easily the best story/art here, although the Evily story also has some nice Grandenetti art.  Otherwise, this issue was a big letdown in quality, both story and artwise, from the previous issue.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wow, the Index is such a negative Nancy.  A big letdown in quality, huh.  Well at least it's SEVEN NEW STORIES and ZERO (0) REPRINTS!  Who cares if they're a little goofy; it's not like the last couple of issues of CREEPY and EERIE have been such shimmering stanchions of literary excellence--at least it's ALL NEW (and probably teeming with hawt chicks to boot)!!!

I'm kind of ok with the story of Vampirella coming to Earth being a horror "spoof"; what were we supposed to take it as?  Breaking news??

And if the Index wants to get all pedantic, what does "although how that could be... is never unexplained" mean?  (It means that it's always been explained, duh.)

I love that 30 issues into CREEPY, we're settling into the VAMPIRELLA series now, though, and I look forward to cycling through approximately 30 more issues of each of the three flagship titles before The SPIRIT #1 debuts in the Warren Magazine Reading Club two summers from now (my health and God willing)...

For now, let's get goofy with some fantastic femme fatales...

[OtherEric]

Sorry, crashed early last night and forgot to post this morning before work.

Vampirella #2 thoughts:

Cover:  Much better than Bill Hughes' cover on Eerie #30, that's for sure! This one is, if not quite a classic, definitely well known and well regarded.

Feary Tales:  A good piece by Sutton as far as it goes, but it feels more like something that belongs over in Famous Monsters than Vampirella to me.

Evily:  As usual, I'll grant that Grandenetti does good work even if I'm not a fan.  The story itself is completely inconsistent with what we later learn about Vampirella, and doesn't even match that well with the one story we've already had.  Between those factors I can't really assess the story as a whole very well; it would have read very differently when it first came out.

Montezuma's Monster:  A decent but rather slight feeling story.

Down to Earth:  A story that's far more interesting for things other than the actual story.  We get what appear to be caricatures of Forrest J. Ackerman and James Warren, and the introduction of Vampirella's sister, Draculina, as a one-time host.  As far as I know she doesn't show up again until the Christopher Priest run starts fifty years later; where she's now on her second limited series tying into the main Vampirella storyline Priest is doing.  But for a long time it was just another anomaly everybody ignored.

Queen of Horror:  I believe this is the the Warren debut of D. Piscopo, who doesn't seem to have that extensive a comic career; a handful of stories for Warren over a few months and then some stories for Charlton in the mid- 70's.  Decent but not spectacular art that matches the decent but not spectacular story by Glut.

The Octopus:  William Barry is another debut artist who does a handful of stories for Warren and not much else.  I could see the plot working better in other hands, but with inconsistent art that doesn't suit Cuti's deliberately melodramatic --script this is disappointing, in part because the next to last panel shows just how effective this could have been.

One, Two, Three: Excellent art by Colon, matching a great story by Cuti that all falls apart halfway through the last page with a completely ineffective, out of nowhere twist.

Rhapsody in Red:  The index is right, this is the best story/art combo in the issue; ending the book on a very high note once again.

This issue is a mixed bag.  We're seeing new creators figuring out their craft, as well as creators trying to add a little more depth to the host character than we've seen in the other books.  So there's a lot of good, a lot of bad, and the whole winds up as less than the sum of its parts here.  This is tempered by the sense that the series is generally regarded as having gotten a reboot with issue #8.  With hindsight, we expect the first year to be a bit messy at best given that.

Edited July 17, 2023 by OtherEric
forgot cover image

[The Lions Den]

On 7/16/2023 at 11:59 PM, OtherEric said:

Rhapsody in Red:  The index is right, this is the best story/art combo in the issue; ending the book on a very high note once again.

I always thought this was the best story and art in this issue. Should have been included in the 1972 Annual but as I recall, it wasn't...  

[Axe Elf]

On 7/17/2023 at 5:00 PM, The Lions Den said:

I always thought this was the best story and art in this issue. Should have been included in the 1972 Annual but as I recall, it wasn't...  

Ah yes, you were the one who recommended that story in my Gallery:

This week I'll get to find out why!

[The Lions Den]

On 7/17/2023 at 7:20 PM, Axe Elf said:

Ah yes, you were the one who recommended that story in my Gallery:

This week I'll get to find out why!

A sweet little love story, as I recall... 

[Axe Elf]

I usually don't start reading the current week's issue until about Wednesday--and I pretty much always read each issue front-cover-to-back-cover, in order--but the hype for "Rhapsody in Red" was so strong, I read that story first, on Tuesday--and it lived up to its reputation!  The "Billy Graham" art was divine enough for an evangelist--I look forward to seeing more of his work--and enjoyed the meta-twist of vampirism being a desirable thing; a gift for his fiance, rather than something to be feared and avoided.

The only thing that doesn't quite work, once I understood that the hero was intentionally orchestrating their conversion to vampirism, is why the car would have a blowout right in front of the vampiress' castle--was that just fortuitous circumstance, or had he rigged it to blow ahead of time?  That seems almost too contrived, though; I think it would have been better if the "breakdown" was something that was obviously under his control in retrospect, like if he had told his girl that he "got lost" and "ran out of gas" right in front of the castle, or something more like that.

But I was 95% delighted with this story.

Then when I got back to "Evily," I was almost equally impressed.  It's not anything profound, but it was really fun watching the Vampirella saga sort of exploring itself in its infancy--and I think this might be the best Grandenetti art we have ever seen.  His work can be kind of goofy even in its darkness, but for this piece, that style worked perfectly.

So "big letdown in quality," Warren Magazine Index?  I'm not seeing that so far (although to be fair, the Index did single out these two stories for compliments).  And that said, the rest of the issue probably wasn't up to the standard of those two pieces, but I don't have any strong complaints about any of them, either--or at least most of them.

The worst story this week for me was "The Octopus."  The art seemed pedestrian, the story seemed more like a bad CREEPY or EERIE story (the octopus took on the soul of the evil man it thwarted?), and most importantly, there were no hawt chicks.  Just filler.

But back to the beginning...

I can see the connection to Famous Monsters of Filmland in the debut of "Vampi's Feary Tales," but I can also buy it as a one-page recap of famous monster stories/movies going forward.  Time will tell...

Actually, there were a LOT of connections to Famous Monsters of Filmland--and I nearly howled with laughter when GORRY HACKERMAN appeared in "Queen of Horror"!  He was even carrying issues of Famous Monsters and Monster World!

I remembered @OtherEric had mentioned something about cariacatures of Forrest Ackerman and Jim Warren, but I didn't remember seeing Warren until I went back and read @OtherEric's review again--and realized he was talking about a different story altogether!  The "F.J." and "J.W." initials hadn't clicked with me the first time I read "Down to Earth"; so I had to go back and review those panels too!

Neither story was really hard-hitting or anything, but both were just loads of fun for the Warren in-jokes and cameos, and of course for the development of the heroine's saga.

"A Warner Publication"?  HA!  If only it was "WARRANT"!!  It's kind of too bad they didn't explore the Draculina and Evily stories more than they apparently did in the VAMPIRELLA canon.

I don't think "Tony Williamsune" should be allowed to draw Vampirella, though; they have always had a little trouble with their faces looking goofy, and "Montezuma's Monster" gives us some of the ugliest Vampirellas ever--even worse than Grandenetti's from "Evily"--and that's saying something!

The Vampirella series seems to be developing this weird penchant for showing women with what appear to be nipples on the outside of their bikini tops; I almost mentioned it in my VAMPIRELLA #1 review for "Spaced Out Girls":

I thought maybe that was also Tony Williamsune, as he was the artist to do it in this issue, but it was Tony Tallarico in VAMPIRELLA #1 instead.  So I'm not sure what's going on, but it sure is... titillating.  Vampirella's "nipples" look a little sleepy, though...

EDIT:  I just realized that Tony Tallarico IS the "Tony" part of "Tony Williamsune," duh--so the consistent costume peccadillo makes more sense now.

Anyway, the story was ok, if not particularly significant, even though I was going "Don't get on the plane!" before the last panel.    I don't think that was actually a traditional feature of Quetzalcoatl, that he could take over anything that had wings, but it made the story, so whatever.

I guess that leaves "One, Two, Three," which yes, has kind of a harsh twist at the end, but was also an enjoyable piece of storytelling reminiscent of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep," the 1968 novel that was the inspiration for the movie "Blade Runner."  I wonder if the similarity is coincidental, or if this story was also inspired by that novel.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this issue immensely.  The VAMPIRELLA books so far seem to take themselves even less seriously than CREEPY or EERIE, and while some of the art maybe hasn't been quite up to par, the stories are a lot of fun--and there are lots of hawt chicks.  I have probably enjoyed both of these first issues of VAMPIRELLA more than I have enjoyed any issues in the Warren Magazine Reading Club for some time--and at least there are no reprints!

Edited July 22, 2023 by Axe Elf

[OtherEric]

On 7/21/2023 at 4:12 PM, Axe Elf said:

I guess that leaves "One, Two, Three," which yes, has kind of a harsh twist at the end, but was also an enjoyable piece of storytelling reminiscent of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep," the 1968 novel that was the inspiration for the movie "Blade Runner."  I wonder if the similarity is coincidental, or if this story was also inspired by that novel.

 

 

A bit of a tangent, but it's always nice when others know the correct name of the book.

Yes, that's my copy.  It's actually more valuable than any of my actual PKD first editions, even though it's not a first itself, the book was originally in hardcover.

[Axe Elf]

EERIE #25 - January 1970

According to the Warren Magazine Index...

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.

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And we have finally arrived in the 1970s, with the arrival of EERIE #25!

I don't get to brag on many of my EERIEs, but this one represents one of the best deals I ever found in my collecting efforts.  Structurally, it's nearly perfect, with just the tiniest little bindery issues at the top and bottom of the spine, and a couple of almost invisible spine tics.  Then there is just the lightest and thinnest of all possible color-breaking scratches underneath the lowest branch of the tree, and that's it--and I found it on Amazon, of all places, for $6.95 ($12.50 landed, after 5.55 in shipping and tax)!  I've seen copies in comparable condition sold for ten times that ($60-$70 on daBay), so I kinda feel like I stole one here.

If it's a good read, so much the better!

We're down to just 2 reprints here--and I believe the next EERIE promises all-new material--so we're out of the Dark Ages indeed!

Three stories were written by R. Michael Rosen--I don't remember seeing that name before, so I guess we are getting a crash course in R. Michael Rosen scripts this week.  Last week's Vampi kind of energized me for new creators (and their material) again, so I'm looking forward to diving in!

[OtherEric]

Eerie #25 thoughts:

Cover:  I can't disagree with the index suggesting that the cover was originally intended for something else.  If nothing else, the huge signature is not something Steranko normally does... it looks like this was meant to be published at a smaller size than it actually was.  It's a nice piece of art, with the tree in particular playing the "creepy face" trick very well.  But there's not really anything about it to make it a classic Warren cover other than the signature, either.

Monster Gallery:  Nothing special here, although continuing the mixed up IFC pages recently this feels a bit more like a Feary Tale than a Monster Gallery.

Isle of the Vrykolakas:  Nice art by Colon and a solid plot twist by Glut, with only unusually dire comments from Cousin Eerie bringing the story down a half point.

Mistake:  Saunders & Black are both inconsistent enough still to bring this story down a notch as well, but it's still a very moody, claustrophobic piece.

Hijack to Horror:  Not a lot to say about this one.  It hasn't aged well, through no fault of its own.  But it also can't seem to decide on the difference between a werewolf and an vampire.

To Pay the Piper:  Still a good story from Colan & Ivie.

Vampirella ad:  I wonder how many people were willing to pay a premium for getting the 4th issue of Vampirella early.  I also wonder if that has anything to do with why there are two variants of the issue.  Getting ahead of the club by a little bit, can anybody who has both versions compare the interiors to see if there are any differences between the color of the text on the cover?

Southern Exposure:  We have a two-part story for what I think is only the second time.  Excellent Sutton art, the lettering seems very odd and rushed in places, and I'm going to refrain from assessing the story itself until I see part #2.  I won't normally wait for the continuations as we get more and more multi-part stories, but this one seems from what we see here to be more a case of they split a story that was originally meant to be published all at once into parts for reasons unknown than an actual serial.

The Thing in the Cave:  A rather story, honestly.  It's not bad, but it's also clear both creators are still learning their craft.

House of Evil:  I think my opinion of this has gone up; I'm learning to appreciate Grandenetti's art more even if I don't actually care for it.  I'm amused that the index doesn't even mention the story is still credited to Orlando in the book.

Hex Marks the Spot:  I think this is Rosen's best story yet; Barry's art is quite effective in places but is very inconsistent through the piece.

I find my reaction to the book similar to the Eerie #24: this is another solid issue overall; although when I go through it story by story I find myself damning it with faint praise.  The book is clearly going in the right direction and providing definite value for the reader's money, but it's not back to full speed yet either.

[OtherEric]

On 7/22/2023 at 10:00 PM, Axe Elf said:

Three stories were written by R. Michael Rosen--I don't remember seeing that name before, so I guess we are getting a crash course in R. Michael Rosen scripts this week.  Last week's Vampi kind of energized me for new creators (and their material) again, so I'm looking forward to diving in!

This is Rosen's debut in Eerie, I believe, but he had stories in Creepy #30 and Vampirella #2.  He did roughly a  couple dozen stories for Warren, but doesn't seem to have done much elsewhere.

[Axe Elf]

On 7/23/2023 at 12:03 AM, OtherEric said:

Your issue seems a lot "greener" than mine; I wonder if this is another example of the brown/green fading like we saw with CREEPY #20?

[OtherEric]

On 7/22/2023 at 10:14 PM, Axe Elf said:

Your issue seems a lot "greener" than mine; I wonder if this is another example of the brown/green fading like we saw with CREEPY #20?

Possibly, although it could be our scanners as well.  But it would make sense that the issue could reoccur.