Warren Magazine Reading Club! 7 7

[Jayman]

On 5/6/2024 at 1:33 PM, The Lions Den said:

I just looked up the McGregor interview and apparently "the clincher" meant getting a strong emotional response from the girl to convince the detective how worried she was about her boyfriend.

I guess that backfired a little...  

 

Yeah, make out with the detective that’s trying to find my boyfriend. That’ll convince him that I’m worried! 

Back to the page of breaking pencils and interviewing the mother. Reading it again, I believe she gives subtle hints she knows he’s a werewolf. She said he changed after a sking expedition in the Adirondacks. Then she said she’s seen him change, that his father wouldn’t even recognize him. 

I know it’s very literal but maybe the pencil thing is telling us that things are about to get to the “breaking point”?

[Jayman]

Btw, forgot to address the cool nod to Henry Hull as the werewolf in this story.

[The Lions Den]

On 5/7/2024 at 8:51 AM, Jayman said:

Btw, forgot to address the cool nod to Henry Hull as the werewolf in this story.

Great job, Jayman!  

[The Lions Den]

On 4/29/2024 at 12:13 AM, OtherEric said:

Vampirella #14 thoughts:

Cover: A very nice piece by Sanjulian, I think the big border also works better than usual here, giving a claustrophobic feeling to the art, as well as some depth.

Feary Tales:  A nice couple of short pieces by Sutton; and I really like the Vampi-as-host panel as well.

Isle of the Huntress:  This is what I'm talking about.  The various subplots start to merge and the story is long enough to breathe, with gorgeous art by Gonzales and a genuinely clever and touching denouncement.  Great stuff.

The Wedding Gift:  Nice art by Ploog but I'm not sure I understand the ending of the story.

The Sword of Light:  Sam Glanzman is best known for his autobiographical stories dealing with WW II, he would have been a natural for Blazing Combat.  Instead his only Warren work is the excellent fantasy story he turns in here.

Deadman's Treasure:  Lynn Marron is not a name I'm familiar with.  They have a handful of credits for Warren and a couple dozen across comics in general, including a few with Warrant.  It's a good debut with excellent art from Sutton.

Wolf Hunt:  So, we get to see Wehrle's one script for Warren, having seen his one art job a few issues back.  And the script doesn't impress me any more than his art did, it's an ugly and nasty rape plot.  Some beautiful art by Maroto doesn't put this one into the win category but definitely brings up the score for the story.

This was a strong issue overall, with excellent art throughout, even if a couple of the scripts didn't quite live up to the illustrations.

[Artifiction]

I miss you, Axe. Where are you? 

[OtherEric]

On 5/10/2024 at 8:37 PM, Artifiction said:

I miss you, Axe. Where are you? 

I wish any of us knew... I don't mind admitting I fear the worst at this point.

[Artifiction]

On 5/10/2024 at 11:56 PM, OtherEric said:

I wish any of us knew... I don't mind admitting I fear the worst at this point.

Me, too. He did warn us that something might happen.

[OtherEric]

Checking in late, it's been a hectic week for me.  Nothing bad, just hectic.

Creepy 43 thoughts:

Cover:  Maybe it's just me, but Ken Kelly's art is really stiff on this cover. 

Loathsome Lore:  Nice Corben art, but not much to say about this one.

Three Way Split:  Neither Junot nor Galvez seem to have many credits, although this isn't their only Warren work for either of them.  A decent but not spectacular story, with art that looks like they were trying to look like Neal Adams, but not always successfully.

The Mark of Satan's Claw:  Fred Ott does a decent number of stories for Warren, but the GCD is confusing him with Fred Ottenheimer.  Which is only possible if they had a career running from 1947 to 2018 with less than a hundred total credits.  It's a clever twist with nice art.

The Men Who Called him Monster:  Luis Garcia does around two dozen stories for Warren.  I can't find other credits at the GCD because searching for his name pulls up thousands of credits for Jose Luis Garcia Lopez.  Some very nice artwork, even if it does seem a bit heavily referenced at points.  Not sure the story really needed the extra length, though.

Quest of the Bigfoot:  My usual dislike of Grandenetti is strong on this one, although I've got to give props for using a Bigfoot design that wasn't ripping off the Patterson- Gimlin film.  (And my comment earlier this week, while meant to be amusing, was not actually a joke:  Bob Gimlin is actually my not-too-distant cousin, although I only met him once or twice when I was a little kid at family funerals.)

Mirage:  Felix Mas is another artist making their debut for Warren.  They have a few hundred credits at the GCD, although most of their work in the US was for Warren.  His artwork here is very well suited to the mix of desert and illusion, although I'm underwhelmed by Conway's twist at the end.

I can't say this is an outstanding issue, but this is an excellent example of the series maintaining a high baseline of quality.  It doesn't have anything that stands out to me as a classic, but there's nothing that drops below "very good", either.  It's issues like this that keep the whole project ticking along successfully.

[Jayman]

On 5/11/2024 at 12:02 AM, Artifiction said:

Me, too. He did warn us that something might happen.

When was that? I may have just not picked up on the sincerity of his post and brushed it off as idle chatter.

[Artifiction]

On 5/11/2024 at 9:03 AM, Jayman said:

When was that? I may have just not picked up on the sincerity of his post and brushed it off as idle chatter.

He had mentioned in a few of his posts that he had a bad heart. 

Edited May 11 by Artifiction

[This is Who We Are]

On 5/11/2024 at 6:45 AM, Artifiction said:

He had mentioned in a few of his posts that he had a bad heart. 

I just keep hoping that in Axe- fashion he’s gonna make some randomly unexpected return and carry on like nothing happened. 

He may not have the depth of knowledge on the subject as say others do, but he is a gifted writer and has really  shown himself to be a quick-study.  And perhaps most importantly, he was an integral part of starting what has been an AMAZING thread, and a timeless gift to current and future Warren fans alike.  Definitely owed (along with the other contributors) a huge debt of gratitude.

Like you all, praying for the best here.
Hope to see you back in the saddle, Axe👍🏻

 

Edited May 11 by This is Who We Are

[Artifiction]

On 5/11/2024 at 11:19 AM, This is Who We Are said:

I just keep hoping that in Axe- fashion he’s gonna make some randomly unexpected return and carry on like nothing happened. 

He may not have the depth of knowledge on the subject as say others do, but he is a gifted writer and has really  shown himself to be a quick-study.  And perhaps most importantly, he was an integral part of starting what has been an AMAZING thread, and a timeless gift to current and future Warren fans alike.  Definitely owed (along with the other contributors) a huge debt of gratitude.

Like you all, praying for the best here.
Hope to see you back in the saddle, Axe👍🏻

 

Well written, and very nice of you to say, Matt. 

[Jayman]

On 5/7/2024 at 8:51 AM, Jayman said:

Btw, forgot to address the cool nod to Henry Hull as the werewolf in this story.

Before I put the book away, here is the page in question for comparison.

[OtherEric]

Eerie #37- January 1972

From the Warren Magazine Index:

  37. cover: Enrich Torres (Jan. 1972)

                1) Eerie’s Monster Gallery: Air Serpent [Bill DuBay] 1p   [frontis]

                2) The Other Side Of Atlantis [Steve Skeates/Jaime Brocal] 10p

                3) Horror At Hamilton House [Lynn Marron/Ken Barr] 7p

                4) The Ones Who Stole It From You [Don McGregor/Rafael Auraleon] 14p

                5) A Rush Of Wings [Larry Herndon/Jaime Brocal] 8p

                6) Eerie Fanfare: The Message!/Theory/My, Oh, My!/Final Conqueror/Interchange! [Ted Dasen, Phill Jones, Vernon Shelton, Michael E. Tierney & Steven Taggart/Michael Gilbert, Anthony DeSensi, Solano Lopez & James Kanhard] 2p [text stories]

                7) Dethslaker [Doug Moench/Ernie Colon] 11p

Notes: Nice cover from Enrich.  The best story and art was the ghoul story ‘The Ones Who Stole It From You’ by Don McGregor and Rafael Auraleon.  McGregor was asked by J. R. Cochran to add the first two pages to the story as a prologue. Ernie Colon’s lettering for his story’s title was so ornate that it is impossible to read!  Still, it was one of his best {and sexiest} art jobs for Warren.  Brocal’s two art jobs clearly show the difference between an artist fully engaged in the story he’s illustrating {Atlantis} and one he’s just doing for the buck {Wings}.  Michael Gilbert made his comics debut on the fan page, with a sample from a college comic strip he was drawing.  Solano Lopez’s sample pages again landed up on the fan page.

_________________________

I've got nothing to add, other than I've got my comments ready to go tomorrow already.  But let's see if anybody else has a thought or two to add first.

Edited May 12 by OtherEric
forgot to include the cover

[OtherEric]

Eerie 37 thoughts:

Cover:  A nicely creepy scene by Enrich.  Oddly enough, this is one I think is somewhat enhanced if you have a lower grade copy:  The blinding white border on high end copies washes out the actual image a bit in my opinion.

Monster Gallery:  Gremlins meet Sea Serpents meet Dragons.  Interesting, no idea if it's legit lore or just making stuff up, though.

The Other Side of Atlantis:  Nice art by Brocal, but the pacing on this one is way, way off.  It's not that doing a story that's all set up is impossible, as well as leaving the monster to the imagination at the end, but it's too long, too much detail, and too repetitive in elements (did we really need the "I'll be crushed" panel twice?) to work.  

Horror at Hamilton House:  Again, nice art, but the story doesn't impress.  In this case, it's a villain who we see far too many of his thoughts telling us just how much of a bad guy he is... when it's obvious.

The Ones Who Stole it from You: I feel like a broken record here, but:  Nice art, underwhelming story.  Not a concept that required 14 pages to tell.

A Rush of Wings:  A killer Were-Butterfly.  Such a crazy concept I can't help but love the story, even if I think the actual story is a bit by-the-numbers.

Eerie Fanfare:  I don't normally discuss the fan page, but it's worth noting the Michael T. Gilbert illustration, his only Warren appearance.  He's got over 1000 GCD credits and I don't mind admitting I would dearly love to see a Mr. Monster-Vampirella crossover one of these years.

Dethslaker:  Nice art, messy story.  Although to be fair, I think in this case it's more that Colon wound up sacrificing storytelling in his art rather than Moench having written it poorly.

Overall, this issue looked pretty but the writing was quite underwhelming.  It feels almost like a 90's book in that regard.
 

[The Lions Den]

On 5/12/2024 at 11:54 PM, OtherEric said:

Eerie 37 thoughts:

Cover:  A nicely creepy scene by Enrich.  Oddly enough, this is one I think is somewhat enhanced if you have a lower grade copy:  The blinding white border on high end copies washes out the actual image a bit in my opinion.

Monster Gallery:  Gremlins meet Sea Serpents meet Dragons.  Interesting, no idea if it's legit lore or just making stuff up, though.

The Other Side of Atlantis:  Nice art by Brocal, but the pacing on this one is way, way off.  It's not that doing a story that's all set up is impossible, as well as leaving the monster to the imagination at the end, but it's too long, too much detail, and too repetitive in elements (did we really need the "I'll be crushed" panel twice?) to work.  

Horror at Hamilton House:  Again, nice art, but the story doesn't impress.  In this case, it's a villain who we see far too many of his thoughts telling us just how much of a bad guy he is... when it's obvious.

The Ones Who Stole it from You: I feel like a broken record here, but:  Nice art, underwhelming story.  Not a concept that required 14 pages to tell.

A Rush of Wings:  A killer Were-Butterfly.  Such a crazy concept I can't help but love the story, even if I think the actual story is a bit by-the-numbers.

Eerie Fanfare:  I don't normally discuss the fan page, but it's worth noting the Michael T. Gilbert illustration, his only Warren appearance.  He's got over 1000 GCD credits and I don't mind admitting I would dearly love to see a Mr. Monster-Vampirella crossover one of these years.

Dethslaker:  Nice art, messy story.  Although to be fair, I think in this case it's more that Colon wound up sacrificing storytelling in his art rather than Moench having written it poorly.

Overall, this issue looked pretty but the writing was quite underwhelming.  It feels almost like a 90's book in that regard.
 

The only thing I can add is that the letter from Arnie Fenner could be THE Arnie Fenner, co-editor of several excellent Frazetta art books...

[The Lions Den]

On 5/12/2024 at 11:54 PM, OtherEric said:

Overall, this issue looked pretty but the writing was quite underwhelming.  It feels almost like a 90's book in that regard.

I agree. I love the cover, but the rest of the book almost reminds me of a Charlton horror comic. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's pretty tame stuff...  

[Jayman]

Eerie #37

A favorite cover of mine. Truly an atmospheric horror painting by Enrich. I happen to have a cover proof of this issue which makes me appreciate it all the more.

Unfortunately the cover will be the best part of this issue. Onto the contents…

The Monster Gallery seemed like something you’d have found in a Gold Key UFO & Flying Saucers issue. I did find this image of Cousin Eerie asking for more letters amusing though.

The Other Side of Atlantis:

Yes the art was nice but the story was weak. First of all, thank you oh great Poseidon for only sparing one kingdom of Atlantis with your magic rings!

I honestly thought this was a long two part story the way it ended. My first impression was that it was going to continue next issue. Atlantis sunk originally, now it’s further punished by some unseen force? Not a well thought out story IMO.

Horror at Hamilton House:

I really liked the opening splash page. The story however was pretty cookie cutter.

The Ones Who Stole it from You:

I liked the prologue art and story better than the main tale. I do get the theme of not letting others take your humanity away, but it felt like they just shoehorned the ghoul back into the story for shock value.

A Rush of Wings:

Might be my favorite story. I agree with  @OtherEric that it was a bit cookie cutter, but we get a different creature to look at and the art was quite good.

Dethslaker:

Title definitely does not roll off the tongue easily. Interesting mix of photos in the artwork did not really save this one from a story that was not so well thought out. The man was only out for revenge against the wizard who turned his wizard into a sword. His reward? No more magical protection sword ( when he could have really needed it!). Yeah, then I guess putting the king’s crown on in the middle of a peasant uprising wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do.

Not too impressed with this issue. Some shining moments but the bad outweighed the good in this issue.

Edited May 14 by Jayman

[The Lions Den]

On 5/13/2024 at 11:53 PM, Jayman said:

Not too impressed with this issue. Some shining moments but the bad outweighed the good in this issue.

I agree completely.  

[Jayman]

On 5/14/2024 at 3:17 PM, The Lions Den said:

I agree completely.  

I’ve noticed from the beginning of the reading club up til now, it’s been Creepy at #1 for quality. Vampirella has passed Eerie for the #2 spot IMHO and Eerie has been trailing last ever since…