• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Warren Magazine Reading Club!
6 6

955 posts in this topic

On 5/29/2022 at 6:11 PM, Axe Elf said:

Found this image online--it's very small image that I've enlarged quite a bit--but that corner doesn't look completely blacked out like the scans posted before.  I still can't see exactly WHAT it looks like, but I can see that it does look different.

image.png.f5e2629cda8b0937bc8a8f14a384abe7.png

I'm glad you found this one. Its actually my exact copy.  Enjoy.🥰

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it.

I think you did tell me early on that you had a 2nd print, and at the time, I was confused as to what difference there was between a "2nd print" and a plain ol' counterfeit/bootleg, which seemed to kind of annoy you so I didn't pursue it (hey, I was the new kid on the block at the time).

But now we know--ironically--in part thanks to your 2nd print!

I love it!

Oh but shh, I'm breaking my own rule about not discussing a magazine beyond its assigned week.

Sorry everyone!

Edited by Axe Elf
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8903.jpg.42884e7e54230a61a73a42be7369c64d.jpg.f8d9ae7e2e24345a8fe6adf9153d115d.jpg

On 6/5/2022 at 7:06 PM, Axe Elf said:

It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it.

I think you did tell me early on that you had a 2nd print, and at the time, I was confused as to what difference there was between a "2nd print" and a plain ol' counterfeit/bootleg, which seemed to kind of annoy you so I didn't pursue it (hey, I was the new kid on the block at the time).

But now we know--ironically--in part thanks to your 2nd print!

I love it!

Oh but shh, I'm breaking my own rule about not discussing a magazine beyond its assigned week.

Sorry everyone!

Here are the rest of the pics.

img065.thumb.jpg.3c88e175181c0a1eb6ff00d65f87c3ab.jpg.e830bb5051c616a72cef8a3b9c8ad526.jpg.2bda03d2366768611ef393f007a8fe60.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now you're breaking the rule too!

(AWESOME!)

Ok, so as long as we're doing this, what's the cost/price/value difference between a 1st and a 2nd print?  They don't seem to be trading hands all that often, so it's kind of hard to tell.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, back to this week's CREEPY #5...

Seems like the Loathsome Lore for zombies kind of equivocated all the way through, providing potential causes of "zombie-like behavior" but not really committing to the possibility of "real" zombies (unless they're the ones hosting all those wild parties).

Did anyone notice that the bottom letter in the first column of the letters page was signed "Bernie A. Wrightson"?  Do you suppose that it's THE Bernie Wrightson, who later did art for the Warren mags?  I think his middle name was Albert...

Wrightson.JPG.04d763e2e9f6c2e584ea19a49ebeffcc.JPG

I was looking forward to the Joe Orlando art in the first story, "Family Reunion," but while it was good, nothing really stood out to me as exemplary compared to his previous work.  The story was ok, but if having animal carcasses in a well would ruin it forever, we'd never have had any water on the farmlands.  Chalk up one more to the "dead people return to take their revenge for no reason" genre.

The ad for the upcoming debut of Blazing Combat kind of affected me, being so close to Memorial Day and all.  The lyrics to "The Card Cheat" by the Clash came to mind as I saw the various soldiers in line:

Soldiers.thumb.JPG.7edb525cbed229f8c26ad05ac423dcce.JPG

"From the Hundred Year War to the Crimea
With a lance and a musket and a Roman spear
To all of the men who have stood with no fear

In the service of the King"

I wonder what they did for all the people who sent in $2 for "the next six thrill-packed issues" when they only published four issues?

Oops, make that two more for the "dead people return to take their revenge for no reason" genre, as "Untimely Tomb" falls into that category as well.  I thought it was a better-told story, though, and had me interested all the way through.  And the Angelo Torres art was a study in darkness and shadows, but the detail in this cityscape impressed me.

City.thumb.JPG.ac25cace3ad41c8cdeb46557eeee9099.JPG

I wish I could have sent in $1 for a lifetime membership in the CREEPY fan club--especially since one of the perks was an 8x10 full color portrait of Uncle Creepy by none other than Frank Frazetta!  Does anyone have one of these they could post?  I don't think I've ever seen one, but I Googled this one:

1636337534_FrazettaCreepy.thumb.jpg.2dcfb2072c7a78e1280f4fdf96679af2.jpg

"Sand Doom" was one of the best stories yet--with Al Williamson art to match!

Snakeskin.JPG.498b4c9dd81a9bfc1e172266fb1267c4.JPG

Bram Stoker's "The Judge's House" follows the precedents set by Edgar Allen Poe and Ambrose Bierce in contributing a well-told story for illustration.  I loved all the rats!

Rat.JPG.ec8b41bc7c895ed9dd07643afef2b870.JPG

Finally!  A vampire twist I didn't see coming, in "Grave Undertaking"!  Interesting info provided on Alex Toth by @OtherEric above; he certainly has a distinctive style.  He's not an artist I have previously noted, so I'll have to keep an eye out for his future work as we go along.

I am also really warming to Gray Morrow's style, as he is another that I wouldn't have been able to identify until starting to read these early CREEPYs.  "Revenge of the Beast" was another good story, and I pretty much agree with everything Eric said before, about art made for B&W instead of just happening to not be in color, and about this being the strongest overall issue yet.  I really enjoyed a lot of the stories with a minimum of eye-rolling!

Cowboys.thumb.JPG.a63a4feb17b30e360dc17cf0eeb4e3ed.JPG

Edited by Axe Elf
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/7/2022 at 8:44 PM, Axe Elf said:

Does anyone have one of these they could post?  I don't think I've ever seen one,

I’ve looked for an original for years and haven’t found one. I think at this point I’m just going to print one out if I find one that’s high res enough. Here’s the ad for posterity.

F7D147D4-D545-4976-A2D3-BAAB27186425.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/7/2022 at 8:44 PM, Axe Elf said:

Did anyone notice that the bottom letter in the first column of the letters page was signed "Bernie A. Wrightson"?  Do you suppose that it's THE Bernie Wrightson, who later did art for the Warren mags?  I think his middle name was Albert...

This does appear to be from the Bernie Wrightson. His middle name was Albert and he was born in Maryland. He also worked in Baltimore around that time, and of course he was heavily influenced by Frazetta. That's just one more cool thing about these early Warren books...  (thumbsu

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/7/2022 at 6:42 PM, The Lions Den said:

This does appear to be from the Bernie Wrightson. His middle name was Albert and he was born in Maryland. He also worked in Baltimore around that time, and of course he was heavily influenced by Frazetta. That's just one more cool thing about these early Warren books...  (thumbsu

If I recall correctly, it's only a few issues later that he shows up on the fan page as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/7/2022 at 5:44 PM, Axe Elf said:

Interesting info provided on Alex Toth by @OtherEric above; he certainly has a distinctive style.  He's not an artist I have previously noted, so I'll have to keep an eye out for his future work as we go along.

 

You weren't previously familiar with Toth?  I almost envy you having all that ahead of you.  He's not my all-time favorite artist but he's definitely in my top 10.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/7/2022 at 11:13 PM, OtherEric said:

You weren't previously familiar with Toth?  I almost envy you having all that ahead of you.  He's not my all-time favorite artist but he's definitely in my top 10.

The only time I paid attention to Warren magazines in my life was for about 2 - 2 1/2 years at the end of high school from say 1978-1981.  And of course as a teenager, I wasn't really paying attention to who was writing this or illustrating that.  I barely had a concept of Frazetta as the guy who also did some rock album covers...

It was only finding 7 CREEPYs and 7 EERIEs in a storage box this past winter that kindled my Warrenlust.  I kind of have this sense of a love or fondness for certain "styles" I would say that I remember from the issues that I read back then, but it's only now that I'm putting those "feelings" together with the names of the artists that produced them.

If Toth was prolific across the life of the Warren comics, then I probably am familiar with his style--I just couldn't have picked it out from the styles of others like Joe Orlando, Angelo Torres, and Alex Nino, all of which I'm starting to realize were among my favorites even way back then.  Toth will probably hold another of those "Oh yeah, he did THAT" kind of moments for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

BLAZING COMBAT #1 - October 1965

1785626874_BlazingCombat1F.thumb.jpg.f78e0748f18a017f4c865f46882e5c33.jpg

(Looking forward to seeing some of the better-looking copies in this series posted in the Club--I know they're out there, and mine all look like they've spent some time in foxholes.)

According to the Warren Magazine Index...

1. cover: Frank Frazetta/frontis: John Severin (Oct. 1965)

1) Viet Cong [Archie Goodwin/Joe Orlando] 7p

2) Aftermath! [Archie Goodwin/Angelo Torres] 6p

3) Flying Tigers! [Archie Goodwin/George Evans] 6p

4) Long View! [Archie Goodwin/Gray Morrow] 6p

5) Cantigny! [Archie Goodwin/Reed Crandall] 6p

6) Combat Quiz [Archie Goodwin/Alex Toth] 1p

7) Mad Anthony! [Archie Goodwin/Russ Jones, Tex Blaisdell & Maurice Whitman] 6p

8) Enemy! [Archie Goodwin/John Severin]

Notes: Publisher: James Warren.  Editor: Archie Goodwin.  35 cents.  64p issue.  This series was Archie Goodwin’s crowning glory.  Everything that Harvey Kurtzman’s Two-Fisted Tales & Frontline Combat were in terms of timeliness, art & story, Blazing Combat matches and, at times, surpasses.  Frazetta’s covers were the best of his Warren career.  The artists were great and Goodwin’s scripts {he wrote almost every story} were inspired.  Probably the best war comic ever published.  This magazine {along with Vampirella #3 & Eerie #17} is one of the hardest-to-obtain issues in the Warren canon.  Both ‘Cantigny!’ and ‘Aftermath!’ have similar story plots, although both are quite good.  The stories are all quite strong but I would rate ‘Enemy!’ as Goodwin’s best effort here.  The best art belongs to everyone involved.  The artwork is outstanding.  This was a very controversial series for the times.  Combat Quiz was exactly what it sounds like, a quiz with spot illos.

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

As we breach our third Warren title in this, the 7th week of the Reading Club, I'm more excited than usual.  I kind of knew what to expect from CREEPY and EERIE, at least in general, if not the specific stories.  But Blazing Combat is a title that I had never heard of before joining this board, and my first reaction to the title was negative--that it probably wouldn't interest me at best and that it would disgust me at worst, the way the only war comics I'd ever seen as a kid like "Sgt. Fury" and "G.I. Joe" did with their cliched patriotic violence.

But some of the things I've read about Blazing Combat since becoming aware of it lead me to believe that it's less about the glory of war and more about the personal costs of battle, for which I think I would have some interest and even empathy.  So I'm looking forward to confirming that suspicion and hopefully finding some meaningful personal dramas that will draw me in emotionally--as opposed to alienating me emotionally--as I read a Blazing Combat magazine for the first time.

Looks like it's all Archie on all the scripts and a who's who of the important Warren artists to date on the art, so it should be a treat for the eyes, if nothing else.  The comments from the Warren Magazine Index are quite promising!

(And if I like these Blazing Combats, I might have to download those "Two-Fisted Tales" and "Frontline Combat" titles mentioned too!)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/11/2022 at 10:00 PM, Axe Elf said:

Looks like it's all Archie on all the scripts and a who's who of the important Warren artists to date on the art, so it should be a treat for the eyes, if nothing else.  The comments from the Warren Magazine Index are quite promising!

(And if I like these Blazing Combats, I might have to download those "Two-Fisted Tales" and "Frontline Combat" titles mentioned too!)

I believe there are two stories in the run where Goodwin co-plotted them with the artist, and one story written by Wally Wood.  But overall, this is Archie's show all the way.

I cannot recommend Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat enough, I've got complete runs of both titles.  Mostly low grade, as is my way, but I've got them!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"My Candle Burns at Both Ends/ It Will Not Last the Night/ But Oh, My Friends, and Oh, My Foes/ It Gives a Lovely Light."

Blazing Combat #1 thoughts:

This is a series that burned- nay, blazed- through its entire run in only four issues.  But it is widely regarded as one of the best comics ever, matching and arguably even surpassing the classic EC war books.  Let's see what we've got here.

Cover:  Scans really don't do justice to the impact of the cover; it's easy to miss details like the blood still suspended in the air where the bullets ripped through the fallen soldier, or the pure grief on the face of the survivor.  Perhaps not Frazetta's most famous Warren cover, but in some ways it may be his best.  This one hits hard.

Frontispiece:  A gorgeous piece by Severin.  It doesn't matter what war you're fighting in, a soldier (or sailor, or airman, or marine) is always a soldier.

Viet-Cong:  A look at just how ugly the war in Vietnam was, years before a lot of people realized it.  A brutal and effective start to the series, showing us the sort of book this will be.

Aftermath:  Another stunning look at just how ugly war is, and how that does and doesn't affect those fighting it.

Flying Tigers:  George Evans is possibly the best comic book artist ever at depicting aerial combat, and this is spectacular as always.

Long View:  I'm running out of things to say other than stunning art on a story showing just how ugly and brutal war is.

Cantigny:  What passes as the change of pace light hearted story for a few pages before crashing down brutally at the end.

Combat Quiz:  Nice Toth art, not much else to say.

Mad Anthony:  Another slightly lighter story, but one with a very solid message as to why you still need to treat your opponents correctly when you're not actually fighting.

Enemy:  People on both sides of the conflict are still people.  A lesson far too easy to forget.

This is not an easy book.  This is not a fun book.  What this is is a masterpiece by Archie Goodwin and several of the best artists ever to work in comics, pretty much all of whom are inspired to do incredible work.  And I don't even think this issue is the highlight of the series, other than possibly the cover. 

Blazing Comabt 1.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/12/2022 at 12:11 AM, OtherEric said:

I believe there are two stories in the run where Goodwin co-plotted them with the artist, and one story written by Wally Wood.  But overall, this is Archie's show all the way.

Sorry, I meant in this issue, it looks like it's all Archie on the scripts.  I haven't looked at the other issues in the run yet.  Sounds like he did almost all of them in the rest of the run too!

I'll probly end up downloading the two EC titles, too...  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/12/2022 at 12:14 AM, OtherEric said:

"My Candle Burns at Both Ends/ It Will Not Last the Night/ But Oh, My Friends, and Oh, My Foes/ It Gives a Lovely Light."

Blazing Combat #1 thoughts:

This is a series that burned- nay, blazed- through its entire run in only four issues.  But it is widely regarded as one of the best comics ever, matching and arguably even surpassing the classic EC war books.  Let's see what we've got here.

Cover:  Scans really don't do justice to the impact of the cover; it's easy to miss details like the blood still suspended in the air where the bullets ripped through the fallen soldier, or the pure grief on the face of the survivor.  Perhaps not Frazetta's most famous Warren cover, but in some ways it may be his best.  This one hits hard.

Frontispiece:  A gorgeous piece by Severin.  It doesn't matter what war you're fighting in, a soldier (or sailor, or airman, or marine) is always a soldier.

Viet-Cong:  A look at just how ugly the war in Vietnam was, years before a lot of people realized it.  A brutal and effective start to the series, showing us the sort of book this will be.

Aftermath:  Another stunning look at just how ugly war is, and how that does and doesn't affect those fighting it.

Flying Tigers:  George Evans is possibly the best comic book artist ever at depicting aerial combat, and this is spectacular as always.

Long View:  I'm running out of things to say other than stunning art on a story showing just how ugly and brutal war is.

Cantigny:  What passes as the change of pace light hearted story for a few pages before crashing down brutally at the end.

Combat Quiz:  Nice Toth art, not much else to say.

Mad Anthony:  Another slightly lighter story, but one with a very solid message as to why you still need to treat your opponents correctly when you're not actually fighting.

Enemy:  People on both sides of the conflict are still people.  A lesson far too easy to forget.

This is not an easy book.  This is not a fun book.  What this is is a masterpiece by Archie Goodwin and several of the best artists ever to work in comics, pretty much all of whom are inspired to do incredible work.  And I don't even think this issue is the highlight of the series, other than possibly the cover. 

Blazing Comabt 1.jpg

Amazing review as always.  Loved how you brought attention to the detail of the Frazetta cover.  Really looking forward to reading it now!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I just read BLAZING COMBAT #1 cover to cover in one sitting, and while I'm not ready to write a full review yet, I wanted to immediately share this song as it was not only the first thought evoked as I reflected on what I had just read, but it was also ironically released on August 15, 1965--about two months before this issue dropped.

EDIT: Maybe even more like one month before this issue dropped, given that magazines are often officially released a few weeks before their cover date (as we discussed regarding the Vampirella Annual on page 1 of this thread).

 

Edited by Axe Elf
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/14/2022 at 8:20 PM, Axe Elf said:

Well, I just read BLAZING COMBAT #1 cover to cover in one sitting, and while I'm not ready to write a full review yet, I wanted to immediately share this song as it was not only the first thought evoked as I reflected on what I had just read, but it was also ironically released on August 15, 1965--about two months before this issue dropped.

EDIT: Maybe even more like one month before this issue dropped, given that magazines are often officially released a few weeks before their cover date (as we discussed regarding the Vampirella Annual on page 1 of this thread).

 

According to the Mike's Amazing World site, Blazing Combat dropped on July 29th, so just over two weeks before the song.  Definitely they were both being worked on at the same time.

My feelings are complex on the matter, given that I did four years in the Air Force.  The only resolution I've ever been able to come to is the quote from Niels Bohr: “There are trivial truths and there are great truths. The opposite of a trivial truth is plainly false. The opposite of a great truth is also true.”

To quote another song, "What is war good for?  Absolutely nothing!"  But Hitler needed to be stopped, to pick one of the least controversial choices.  War is always a horrible choice... but sometimes, it's also the least bad.  But still horrible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, given that it's "dated" October of 1965, the end of July seems a bit early even for a release date.  But yeah, even closer, even better.

Maybe I'm just too logical, but it's hard for me to embrace a contradiction.  ("The opposite of a great truth is also true.")  Did he happen to provide any examples?

I've also recently been listening to the Clash's "Sandinista" album a lot lately (it's kind of like their "White Album")...

It's up to you not to heed the call up...

(I don't want to die.)

It's up to you not to heed the call up...

(I don't want to kill.)

For he who will die...

Is he who will kill...

 

Did Hitler have to be stopped?  No one is ever allowed to know what WOULD have happened, but maybe people would have eventually just come to their senses and realized what they were doing, the mob mentality would have worn off, and people might have just stopped enforcing the monstrous orders of Hitler and his generals.  A lot of the German people already had.

And then there's a part of me that thinks that if we can't learn to be better than that to each other, we probably all deserve to die anyway, and let nature start over.

But nature is no kind mistress either--have you seen the stuff that happens in nature?

I'm rambling...  but I love that we can talk about decades-old (millenia-old) controversies based around our shared love for these books.

Edited by Axe Elf
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
6 6