After another extended absence I'm happy to return with another article on Warren, this time on the various instances in the Company's history where they drew upon outside sources for stories. This article focuses on already produced material, and does not discuss stories that were simply adaptations, such as the various Edgar Allen Poe stories that appeared along the years. Three primary references utilized for this article are the Warren Companion by Jon Cooke and David Roach, Gathering Horror by David Horne and Richard Arndt's Warren bibliography from Enjorals World.
Warren's magazines drew source material from many different external outlets over the years, and this article highlights many of such instances. The reasons for drawing on outside material to fill the contents of Warren's magazines varies at times, but it typically occurred in those periods of time where finances were running low and it became necessary to draw on some other outlets to ensure that magazines had sufficient material to be published.
The first such instance where Warren drew on outside material occurred during the first down period of Warren, in 1968. At the time, Warren faced the crippling blow of the loss of editor/main writer Archie Goodwin, as well as the vast majority of all freelance artists who worked for the company due to a reduction in funds to pay such contributors. In order to bide time until the company could get back on its feet, Warren started using a number of reprinted stories from the first 17 issues of Creepy and first 12 issues of Eerie. Warren also reprinted the entire contents of Christopher Lee's Treasury of Terror, a book published in 1966. Each of the stories in this book, which were done in comic form, was based on stories by well known writers such as H.P Lovecraft, Bram Stoker and Ambrose Bierce. The five stories, including the Warren issue that they appeared in, are as follows: Creepy #19 - The Mark of the Beast!; Eerie #12 - The Past Master; Eerie #13 - Wentworth's Day; Eerie #16 - Dracula's Guest; and Eerie #17 - The Death of Halpin Frayser. Surprisingly enough, the editor of the book was Russ Jones, the original editor for Creepy, who had a falling out with Warren and had left the company several years earlier, and any involvement he had with these stories was left out entirely when they appeared in the Warren magazines. A sixth story, which was intended for a second, never published volume of the book, "Carmilla", also appeared in Creepy #19.
Following the usage of these stories, the usage of outside source material for Warren ceased for the next few years. Starting in 1971, when Warren began a relationship with Josep Toutain's Spanish artist agency, Selecciones Illustrada, it resulted in not only the addition of a great many Spanish artists to the Warren line for new stories, but also started the beginning of the usage of many stories by these artists that appeared originally elsewhere. The most notable example of this in these first few years of their involvement with Warren was the inclusion of two series by Esteban Maroto, “Dax the Warrior” and “Tomb of the Gods”. Dax the Warrior originally appeared in Spain under the name "Manly el Guerrero". Dax first appeared in his self named story "Dax the Warrior" in Eerie #39, and had an appearance in every non-reprint issue of Eerie through issue 52, marking 12 total appearances. Each of the original Dax stories had been written by Esteban Maroto but were translated and rewritten by various Warren writers who were never credited. The majority of the Dax stories were later compiled and rewritten as "Dax the Damned" in Eerie #59, the 1975 Eerie Yearbook. "Tomb of the Gods" had originally been published in Spain and was featured in five straight non-reprint issues of Vampirella starting with issue 17. Similar to Dax, these stories had also been rewritten and rearranged at times; for example the stories "Gender Bender" from issue 20 and "Orpheus" from issue 22 feature a page of identical artwork although the written content is different. "Tomb of the Gods" was rather unpopular compared to Dax and there may have been other segments that never appeared in the Warren magazines.
“Dracula”, a magazine originally published in Spain by Buru Lan, and in England by New English Library, was probably most notable for the "Dracula Book 1" that was featured heavily in advertisements for Warren for many years following the joining of the Spanish artists at Warren. Esteban Maroto and Jose Bea were two of the principal artists of this publication and each had a story from it published in the main Warren magazines. "The Viyi", written and drawn by Esteban Maroto is notable for being the first full color story published in Warren's horror magazines and was featured simultaneously in Creepy #51 and Vampirella #22. Surprisingly enough it took Warren quite a bit of time to be able to match the color quality appearing in this story after they started using color on their own original stories a few issues later. "Invasion", drawn by Bea and written by Maroto appeared in 1976 in Eerie #75, this time with the color removed. Surprisingly enough Warren also used the final panel of the story as the central part of the pink colored cover to the issue, resulting in one of the most bizarre looking Warren covers of all time.
The next notable outside material that Warren utilized was five stories from the French Magazine "Pilote" that were written by Victor Mora and drawn by Luis Garcia (with collaboration in one instance by Carlos Giminez). The first such story appeared in Vampirella #42, with one additional story appearing in each non-reprint issue through #47. As with the earlier Dax and Tomb of the Gods stories, each of these stories were rewritten or rearranged in some form, including at times, the moving of pages from one story to another, removing of panels or the addition of color. Unfortunately this resulted in the dropping of writing credits from the story entirely for Victor Mora for some of the stories. I've written about these stories in my earlier article on Luis Garcia and found each to be very strong and a highlight of Warren publishing, it’s just unfortunate that they didn't include more of them, as Mora and Garcia later had additional collaborations that never saw print in a Warren magazine. These five stories included the following: Vampirella #42 - Around the Corner… …Just Beyond Eternity!; Vampirella #43 - The Wolves At War's End; Vampirella #44 - Love Strip; Vampirella #45 - Janis!; and Vampirella #47 - The Secret Legacy of Gaslight Lil!
"Tales of Peter Hypnos", a short lived series that appeared in Eerie #72, 73 and 76 also had outside origins and was originally produced by Jose Bea as part of a larger series of at least 7 stories. The first story in the series had originally appeared in Spain in the Spirit, and the entire series had been printed in a single compilation in Australia in 1976 as well. As with the previously discussed stories, this appears to be another set of stories that was largely rewritten, although Jose Bea was the only one credited.
There were various one-shot usages of source materials through the mid to late 1970s in the Warren magazines. "Now You See It" in Creepy #83 featured the return of Al Williamson to Warren after an absence of nearly 10 years, but it wasn't due to a commissioned story, as the story was originally intended for the magazine Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction that had been cancelled by Marvel before it could see publication. "Warmonger of Mars" by Ralph Reese (art) and Wally Wood (story) appeared a few issues later in the all Mars issue of Creepy #87, but was apparently originally intended for an underground comic. "Scheherazade" by Esteban Maroto, the color story in Vampirella #72 was supposed to be the first part of a series, "Thousand and One Nights" as published in Cuando el Comic es Arte: Esteban Maroto in Spain, but this was the only story of the series to see print, at least in the Warren magazines.
Jose Gonzalez was most notably Warren's Vampirella artist and was featured almost exclusively on her stories. He did have a 3 part non-Vampirella story, "Herma", although the story was originally published in Spain in 1974 in Cuando El Comic es Arte: Pepe Gonzalez". All 3 of the stories were rewritten by Bill Dubay and resized to fit the magazine format. Leo Duranona had a trio of stories under the title "Fallen Angels" appear in Eerie #96 as well as an additional story titled "A Nightmare for Mrs. Agatha" in Vampirella #72 that appear to have been originally published in South America, with a 1976 date and Guillermo Saccomanno storyline. Saccomanno never wrote any other stories that appeared in a Warren magazine which lends credence to the theory that these stories were not originally commissioned by Warren.
Towards the end of Warren's run in the early 1980's, the usage of source material from previously published works in Europe picked up steam in a big way. By this point in time that Warren's finances were quite strained was very apparent, with reprint issues appearing with increasing intensity. Victor de la Fuente drew only a single story directly for Warren, appearing in Eerie #35, but the 1980's saw him appear in over 20 issues of 1984/1994 and Eerie. Seven stories from the "Haxtur" series appeared in 1984/1994 #10 and 11 and Eerie #111, 113, 114, 116 and 117. Haxtur originally appeared in the Spanish magazine Trinca and was approximately 10 years old by the time it appeared in Warren. As with most stories there was some rewriting and the original color had been removed. Haggarth was a bit more recent than Haxtur and had a longer run of 14 appearances in Eerie starting with issue #118. Warren also went back even further than Haxtur, to the 1960s, where the strip "Spacewrecked" by Paul Gillon (art) and Jean Claude Forest (writing) appeared. Four stories from this series appeared in Eerie issues #129, 132, 134 and 136. More work from Paul Gillon, "Jeremie: Les Dieux Barbares" which was originally published in France in 1971 appeared in Vampirella issues #104, 106, 108 and 110. Unfortunately both series never saw their conclusion appear due to the bankruptcy of Warren publishing in 1983. The series "Torpedo 1936" saw print in the last 3 non-reprint issues of Vampirella, with writing by Sanchez Abuli and art by Abuli or Alex Toth. These stories originally appeared in the Spanish version of Creepy and as with some of the other series discussed here never saw a conclusion due to Warren's bankruptcy.
Various other stories or series that were shorter in scope also appeared during the waning days of Warren. "Pyramid of the Black Sun", which appeared in two parts in Eerie #124 and 126 originally appeared in Europe in the late 1970s, with story by Antonio Segura and art by Luis Bermejo. The story originally appeared in one part in its original publication, but was split in two for its Warren appearance and was rewritten by Jim Stenstrum, under the pseudonym "Alabaster Redzone". "Korsar", another series spearheaded by Esteban Maroto originally appeared in the magazine Cimoc in Spain in 1979 and was featured in Eerie #126, rewritten again by Stenstrum. Although there were other parts to the series, this was the only one that saw print in a Warren magazine. Two stories from Fernando Fernandez's Bruce Bloodletter educational series appeared rather far apart in Eerie #94 and #117, both originally appearing in the Spanish publication Space and Adventure. The following issue saw another Fernando Fernandez story, "Space Kids" which first saw print in 1978 in Italy in the magazine Alter Ego. That said, I've also heard that this story was originally created around the time of Fernandez's other stories for Warren which appeared in the early to mid-1970s and that it sat around for many years. It may have originally been intended for a Warren magazine but due to its more science fiction related nature (and poor quality compared to other Fernandez stories) was held off on until the time it saw print, which was a time when many old inventory stories saw use by Warren.
Many additional Warren stories that saw print through the years, particularly the late 1970s and early 1980s likely appeared elsewhere, although the true source is unknown (or at the very least I haven't found an English-language source mentioning it!). Warren was notorious for rewriting stories that had been drawn previously. While oftentimes there was no way to tell this for sure simply by reading the Warren magazines, two writers, Bob Toomey and Jim Stenstrum made this known by using aliases for stories that they had rewritten based on already created artwork. Bob Toomey used the name "Gary Null" while Jim Stenstrum used the name "Alabaster Redzone". Both rewrote some Jesus Blasco-drawn stories that appeared in Creepy #110, 120 and 123. The first of these stories, "The Clockmaker" was about as obvious a rewrite as possible as the art makes it very clear that it’s an adaption of the Telltale Heart, while the writing goes in a completely different direction. That Jesus Blasco was miscredited in all 3 stories lends credence to the theory that none of these stories were originally created for Warren. A pair of Leo Duranona stories in Creepy #117 and 118 was also rewritten by Toomey, although they don't feature his Gary Null alias. Whether these were originally commissioned for Warren, or like previously mentioned Duranona stories saw print in Europe or South America earlier, I am not sure. The "Alabaster Redzone" stories by Stenstrum are typically a lot harder to pin point about whether they were originally commissioned for Warren or came from elsewhere. "Lullaby" by Jose Gonzalez in 1984 #4 is one such story, and given that Gonzalez drew only one other non-Vampirella story for Warren that was commissioned by them makes me think this could have been a story originally done in Europe. Much of the "Mac Tavish" series by Pepe Moreno Casares features Alabaster Redzone as the writer, although I cannot say whether these were Warren commissions or not. Most of his other "Alabaster Redzone" stories appeared in 1984, which frequently saw rewrites, so most may have been originally commissioned stories. 1984/1994 features so many stories where the story and artwork differ greatly (the entire Idi Amin series comes to mind) that many of these stories may have been originally done for Warren. Three stories by Carlos Giminez, who has been mentioned previously regarding his collaboration with Luis Garcia in Pilote, appeared late in Warren, in Eerie #114 and 1994 #15 and 16. All three were both strongly drawn and written, and it’s unfortunate that Warren did not utilize more stories by him in the waning years of the company.
Warren's hero-themed magazine "The Rook" hasn't been featured much on this blog due to my lack of interest in the subject matter, but is notable for featuring a large amount of outsourced material. Issues 2 through 9 featured "Voltar", as drawn by Alfredo Alcala. The barbarian themed series originally appeared in the Philippines and had actually been printed in America previously in Magic Carpet. Bill Dubay rewrote the story for the entire series. "Viking Prince" as drawn and written by Jose Ortiz originally appeared as "Sigur the Viking" in Spain, and first appeared in the late 1950s. Two of these stories appeared in issues 5 and 6 of the Rook. "Kronos" by Lee Elias originally appeared in the Joe Kubert publication "Sojourn" and first appeared in The Rook #8. This series was unique in that its appearance in Warren resulted in the creation of new stories which appeared for several more issues. "Eagle" by John Severin (art) and Colin Dawkins (story), who had worked together back at EC comics, also originated from "Sojourn" and appeared in the final 3 issues of the Rook.
This article has focused primarily on the interior stories, but Warren also had a number of covers that originated from outside sources. Patrick Woodroffe had a series of covers that appeared in Warren's magazines, particularly for the early issues of 1984, each of which had been originally painted for paperback books. Vampirella #31 heralded the return of famous cover artist Frank Frazetta, but the cover had actually been originally commissioned for the book adaption of the movie Luana. Interestingly enough, each of Richard Corben's late Warren covers had originally appeared elsewhere, including from the book "A Feast Unknown" (used for Creepy #141), the cover to the 1975 Annual World's Best Science Fiction (used for Creepy #140), and an painting that had been originally commissioned by Selecciones Illustrada (used for 1984 #26). Many other paintings originally commissioned by S.I. as painted by Richard Courtney (Creepy #136, 142) and Sanjulian (Eerie #129, 132, 133 and 135) also were used in the late days of Warren. Creepy #120 featured a cover painting from Jeff Jones, his sole that appeared for Warren, although it was originally intended for the magazine Weird Tales of Macabre but never saw print. In what must have been humiliating for Warren, towards the very end they even used covers that had been used by their competition back in the mid-1970's, including the covers for Vampirella #111 by Pujolar (originally used as the cover for Devilina #1) and Creepy #145 by Jose Miralles (originally used as the cover for Nightmare #9).
Showing posts with label duranona. Show all posts
Showing posts with label duranona. Show all posts
Monday, September 26, 2011
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Creepy 92
Frank Frazetta's cover from Eerie 23 is used for this issue of Creepy. One of his best, if not his best cover for Warren, although its annoying to see it reprinted here instead of having a new one. This issue is cover dated October 1977. Aside from the fact that the cover's a reprint, this is an extremely good issue.
First is "A Toast to No Man's Memory" by John Severin (art) and Len Wein (story). A group of pilots, including a young newbie, Babbit agree to save a bottle of wine for the last one of them that lives. The pilots slowly start dying in battle, much due in part to Babbit's cowardice. Eventually the last one of them is shot by Babbit himself when he threatens getting him court martialed. Babbit drinks the wine, but it ends up that the last of the pilots poisoned it, so it kills him.
Second is "Mrs. Sludge and the Pickled Octopus Raid" by Luis Bermejo (art) and Bill Dubay (story). A young man comes across a cabin in the dead of winter, away from civilization. The people inside tell him of Octopus-like aliens whom they found and killed, which they found to taste quite good. The young man runs off to tell someone about the discovery of alien life. It ends up that the people in the cabin are actually the aliens though, and are anxious to find more humans to eat.
Third is "Instinct" by Richard Corben (art) and Nicola Cuti (story). A king marries a beautiful young woman from an odd country of people. He desires to have a son greatly, but she bears him only daughters. Years go by and she is pregnant yet again, but starts acting strangely, biting their kids. Her attendant tells the King that in their country, mothers kills their children. When the King tries to stop her, he dies of a heart attack. She is banished from the kingdom as soon as the son is born, who ends up being born as a rat! This story was eventually done back in 1970 and for some unknown reason was held back for seven years.
Fourth is "Towards High Places" by Ramon Torrents (art) and Bruce Jones (story). This story tells of twin princesses during the Egyptian empire, Euthesus and Tanakus. As the older of the two, Euthesus is set to become queen upon their father's death. Tanakus falls in love with a slave, which Euthesus kills. Euthesus wants her body to be undisturbed forever, and Tanakus helps her set up a chamber in her pyramid to do so using the knowledge taught to her by her former lover. When Euthesus tries to trap her within the pyramid however, Tanakus tricks her and rules Egypt in her place while her sister is buried alive. Some very nice art and a good story that ties in to the reprint cover.
Fifth is "The Executioner" by Russ Heath (art) and Heath & Cary Bates (story). This story features a hitman, Tony Desoto who kills a big time mobster, and quickly rises through the ranks because of it. Eventually he decides to retire and is hired by his boss to do one last hit. It was a set up, but he is still able to get out alive. He goes to a prosecutor to try to get immunity, but that prosecutor is also working for the mob, and kills him.
Sixth is "Goddess in a Kingdom of Trolls" by Esteban Maroto (art) and Gerry Boudreau (story). This story tells of a human woman who was brought up by trolls. Seeking a human lover, she wanders away from their kingdom one day and meets a hunter in the woods. Hymie, a troll wizard puts on a magic hat that makes him look like a handsome prince. He casts a spell on the hunter then finds the woman, trying to get her to fall in love with him. Hymie later meets a mysterious beautiful woman in the woods wearing a hat. When the truth is revealed, he helps our heroine find the hunter and discovers that the other woman he met is a fellow troll who was using the same type of spell as he. A very good story and some extremely good art from Maroto.
Seventh is "Everybody and His Sister" by Leopold Sanchez (art) and Jim Stenstrum (story). This issue's weakest story, it features a man who finds many people suddenly showing up where ever he goes. This includes at work, in a restaurant and even at his apartment. When they all run in an elevator with him it crashes, but when he awakens in the hospital he is told he was the only one there. When he is about to be operated on though, all the pople suddenly show up again.
Last is "The Generations of Noah" by Leo Duranona (art) and Roger McKenzie (story). An ark-like spaceship starts traveling from planet to planet, saving a male and female from each planet. Its leader is a frog like alien similar to Noah who makes himself appears like an old man. When the ark comes to Earth though and picks up a young couple, everything goes wrong. First 'Noah' is killed by the father of the female human, then the ark is blown up by missiles just as it is about to leave Earth.
First is "A Toast to No Man's Memory" by John Severin (art) and Len Wein (story). A group of pilots, including a young newbie, Babbit agree to save a bottle of wine for the last one of them that lives. The pilots slowly start dying in battle, much due in part to Babbit's cowardice. Eventually the last one of them is shot by Babbit himself when he threatens getting him court martialed. Babbit drinks the wine, but it ends up that the last of the pilots poisoned it, so it kills him.
Second is "Mrs. Sludge and the Pickled Octopus Raid" by Luis Bermejo (art) and Bill Dubay (story). A young man comes across a cabin in the dead of winter, away from civilization. The people inside tell him of Octopus-like aliens whom they found and killed, which they found to taste quite good. The young man runs off to tell someone about the discovery of alien life. It ends up that the people in the cabin are actually the aliens though, and are anxious to find more humans to eat.
Third is "Instinct" by Richard Corben (art) and Nicola Cuti (story). A king marries a beautiful young woman from an odd country of people. He desires to have a son greatly, but she bears him only daughters. Years go by and she is pregnant yet again, but starts acting strangely, biting their kids. Her attendant tells the King that in their country, mothers kills their children. When the King tries to stop her, he dies of a heart attack. She is banished from the kingdom as soon as the son is born, who ends up being born as a rat! This story was eventually done back in 1970 and for some unknown reason was held back for seven years.
Fourth is "Towards High Places" by Ramon Torrents (art) and Bruce Jones (story). This story tells of twin princesses during the Egyptian empire, Euthesus and Tanakus. As the older of the two, Euthesus is set to become queen upon their father's death. Tanakus falls in love with a slave, which Euthesus kills. Euthesus wants her body to be undisturbed forever, and Tanakus helps her set up a chamber in her pyramid to do so using the knowledge taught to her by her former lover. When Euthesus tries to trap her within the pyramid however, Tanakus tricks her and rules Egypt in her place while her sister is buried alive. Some very nice art and a good story that ties in to the reprint cover.
Fifth is "The Executioner" by Russ Heath (art) and Heath & Cary Bates (story). This story features a hitman, Tony Desoto who kills a big time mobster, and quickly rises through the ranks because of it. Eventually he decides to retire and is hired by his boss to do one last hit. It was a set up, but he is still able to get out alive. He goes to a prosecutor to try to get immunity, but that prosecutor is also working for the mob, and kills him.
Sixth is "Goddess in a Kingdom of Trolls" by Esteban Maroto (art) and Gerry Boudreau (story). This story tells of a human woman who was brought up by trolls. Seeking a human lover, she wanders away from their kingdom one day and meets a hunter in the woods. Hymie, a troll wizard puts on a magic hat that makes him look like a handsome prince. He casts a spell on the hunter then finds the woman, trying to get her to fall in love with him. Hymie later meets a mysterious beautiful woman in the woods wearing a hat. When the truth is revealed, he helps our heroine find the hunter and discovers that the other woman he met is a fellow troll who was using the same type of spell as he. A very good story and some extremely good art from Maroto.
Seventh is "Everybody and His Sister" by Leopold Sanchez (art) and Jim Stenstrum (story). This issue's weakest story, it features a man who finds many people suddenly showing up where ever he goes. This includes at work, in a restaurant and even at his apartment. When they all run in an elevator with him it crashes, but when he awakens in the hospital he is told he was the only one there. When he is about to be operated on though, all the pople suddenly show up again.
Last is "The Generations of Noah" by Leo Duranona (art) and Roger McKenzie (story). An ark-like spaceship starts traveling from planet to planet, saving a male and female from each planet. Its leader is a frog like alien similar to Noah who makes himself appears like an old man. When the ark comes to Earth though and picks up a young couple, everything goes wrong. First 'Noah' is killed by the father of the female human, then the ark is blown up by missiles just as it is about to leave Earth.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Eerie 123
Sanjulian provides the cover for this issue of Eerie, cover dated August 1981. This cover was originally meant for Creepy 47, but after not being finished in time for that issue, it was held onto for 9 years before being used here. Thankfully no Zud Kamish this issue, so things are a tad better than usual.
First is the latest story in the Mist series, "Token Resistance" by Val Mayerik (art) and Don McGregor (story). Victoria continues to hide on the subway from Lucifer's henchmen, along with her ally, who is revealed to be a CIA agent. Eventually they are found and fight Lucifer's men. Some of the men are killed, but by the end Victoria is still in Lucifer's hands and is dragged off by him. Only a so-so story at best with some lapses in logic; it does feature a funny scene with a panhandler declaring himself an alien though.
Next is the second story in the Born of Ancient Vision trilogy, "In Sight of Heaven In Reach of Hell" by Bob Morello (art) and Budd Lewis (story). The creatures that came due to Mah 'Sess's third eye start creating a large hive in the sky. They are revealed to not be from hell, but from another dimension. They plot to defeat Mah 'Sess and succeed by convincing some of his men to betray him. One of the creatures attacks Mah 'Sess but is killed. As the story ends, an odd reaction occurs with Mah 'Sess's third pair of eyes.
Third is "Remember All the People" by Leo Duranona (art) and Don McGregor (story). This story surrounds a couple on the day of John Lennon's death. Lots of this is the typical psychotic hippie nonsense from McGregor here unfortunately. Duranona provides a good art job at least, in his last Warren story.
The issue concludes with "Path of the Tempered Soul", the latest Haggarth story, but Victor de la Fuente (story & art). King Thall continues his search for a parchment left behind by his former head priest. Some barons meet with him and he tells them off. Haggarth meanwhile meets with the mysterious priest in the obselisk then departs with his friend. His friend plays cards in an inn while Haggarth meets a mysterious man who is working for the King and asks Haggarth to assassinate one of the Barons, Borin for him. Haggarth's friend wants him to come with him to find a treasure, but Haggarth has other plans.
First is the latest story in the Mist series, "Token Resistance" by Val Mayerik (art) and Don McGregor (story). Victoria continues to hide on the subway from Lucifer's henchmen, along with her ally, who is revealed to be a CIA agent. Eventually they are found and fight Lucifer's men. Some of the men are killed, but by the end Victoria is still in Lucifer's hands and is dragged off by him. Only a so-so story at best with some lapses in logic; it does feature a funny scene with a panhandler declaring himself an alien though.
Next is the second story in the Born of Ancient Vision trilogy, "In Sight of Heaven In Reach of Hell" by Bob Morello (art) and Budd Lewis (story). The creatures that came due to Mah 'Sess's third eye start creating a large hive in the sky. They are revealed to not be from hell, but from another dimension. They plot to defeat Mah 'Sess and succeed by convincing some of his men to betray him. One of the creatures attacks Mah 'Sess but is killed. As the story ends, an odd reaction occurs with Mah 'Sess's third pair of eyes.
Third is "Remember All the People" by Leo Duranona (art) and Don McGregor (story). This story surrounds a couple on the day of John Lennon's death. Lots of this is the typical psychotic hippie nonsense from McGregor here unfortunately. Duranona provides a good art job at least, in his last Warren story.
The issue concludes with "Path of the Tempered Soul", the latest Haggarth story, but Victor de la Fuente (story & art). King Thall continues his search for a parchment left behind by his former head priest. Some barons meet with him and he tells them off. Haggarth meanwhile meets with the mysterious priest in the obselisk then departs with his friend. His friend plays cards in an inn while Haggarth meets a mysterious man who is working for the King and asks Haggarth to assassinate one of the Barons, Borin for him. Haggarth's friend wants him to come with him to find a treasure, but Haggarth has other plans.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Creepy 97
This issue is a "Monsters!" special issue from May 1978. The cover is a reprint of Frazetta's cover for Eerie 3.
First is "Momma is a Vampire" by Leo Duranona (art) and Nicola Cuti (story). A woman becomes a vampire thanks to her cousin, who is one herself. After she kills her cousin and beheads her, she is told by a doctor that she can be made human again through a blood transfusion from her husband. Alas, it doesn't work, and he is forced to kill her. Duranona and Cuti would reunite for the excellent vampire series 'Honor & Blood' in Eerie roughly around the same time as this issue.
Next is "The Wax Werewolf" by Jose Ortiz (art) and Bob Toomey (story). A detective investigating a werewolf is dating the local librarian. In order to defeat the werewolf, he is assisted by a witch who creates a wax version of the creature, which he'll be able to kill by stabbing the wax figure. He does so, but the werewolf ends up being his girlfriend. Upset, he throws the wax figure in the fire, but that causes her corpse to burst aflame and the fire ends up killing him too.
Third is "Black Death" by Leopold Sanchez (art) and Bruce Jones (sotry). This story is a murder mystery surrounding black people dying in a southern town. The local KKK leader is suspected, but ends up dying as well. It ends up that the murders were caused in order to summon an army of zombies, and the story's protagonist is set to become one himself as the story ends.
Fourth is "Snaegl or How I Conquered the Snail that Ate Tokyo" by Martin Salvador (art) and Nicola Cuti (story). This story features a giant snail that comes out of the Ocean near Tokyo and wreaks havoc. Various people, such as a stripper who claims to be a princess from an island that worships the snail to a boy possessing uranium think they are responsible for its arrival and being able to drive it away. In the final panel a bunch of snails arrive in other countries and this time destroy everything.
Fifth is "Dragon Lady" by Esteban Maroto (art) and Bill Dubay (story). An old man tells of a story of a princess whose mother got her turned into a dragon because she was jealous of the attention given to her by the Emperor. The old man tells a warrior that a reward is offered for defeating the dragon, and gives the warrior magic powder he can use to change it back into the princess. The warrior does so, and makes love to her, but she turns back into the dragon and kills him. In actuality, the powder caused him to hallucinate; as the story was all a lie, all made up to feed the dragon, the old man's pet.
Last is "Sisters" by Alex Nino (art) and Bill Dubay (story). This story contains two parallel stories featuring a human girl and alien girl facing extreme mental anguish. It ends up that both had twin sisters that were stillborn, and that the two are connected to each other as the alien is the human girl's dead sister and vice versa. Both girls end up killing themselves, reunited when reincarnated as twins on yet another alien planet.
First is "Momma is a Vampire" by Leo Duranona (art) and Nicola Cuti (story). A woman becomes a vampire thanks to her cousin, who is one herself. After she kills her cousin and beheads her, she is told by a doctor that she can be made human again through a blood transfusion from her husband. Alas, it doesn't work, and he is forced to kill her. Duranona and Cuti would reunite for the excellent vampire series 'Honor & Blood' in Eerie roughly around the same time as this issue.
Next is "The Wax Werewolf" by Jose Ortiz (art) and Bob Toomey (story). A detective investigating a werewolf is dating the local librarian. In order to defeat the werewolf, he is assisted by a witch who creates a wax version of the creature, which he'll be able to kill by stabbing the wax figure. He does so, but the werewolf ends up being his girlfriend. Upset, he throws the wax figure in the fire, but that causes her corpse to burst aflame and the fire ends up killing him too.
Third is "Black Death" by Leopold Sanchez (art) and Bruce Jones (sotry). This story is a murder mystery surrounding black people dying in a southern town. The local KKK leader is suspected, but ends up dying as well. It ends up that the murders were caused in order to summon an army of zombies, and the story's protagonist is set to become one himself as the story ends.
Fourth is "Snaegl or How I Conquered the Snail that Ate Tokyo" by Martin Salvador (art) and Nicola Cuti (story). This story features a giant snail that comes out of the Ocean near Tokyo and wreaks havoc. Various people, such as a stripper who claims to be a princess from an island that worships the snail to a boy possessing uranium think they are responsible for its arrival and being able to drive it away. In the final panel a bunch of snails arrive in other countries and this time destroy everything.
Fifth is "Dragon Lady" by Esteban Maroto (art) and Bill Dubay (story). An old man tells of a story of a princess whose mother got her turned into a dragon because she was jealous of the attention given to her by the Emperor. The old man tells a warrior that a reward is offered for defeating the dragon, and gives the warrior magic powder he can use to change it back into the princess. The warrior does so, and makes love to her, but she turns back into the dragon and kills him. In actuality, the powder caused him to hallucinate; as the story was all a lie, all made up to feed the dragon, the old man's pet.
Last is "Sisters" by Alex Nino (art) and Bill Dubay (story). This story contains two parallel stories featuring a human girl and alien girl facing extreme mental anguish. It ends up that both had twin sisters that were stillborn, and that the two are connected to each other as the alien is the human girl's dead sister and vice versa. Both girls end up killing themselves, reunited when reincarnated as twins on yet another alien planet.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Creepy 112
Richard Corben's Phantom of the Opera style cover headlines this issue of Creepy, one of the better of their later issues, from October 1979.
First is "The Homecoming" by Al Williamson (art, his final Warren story) and Archie Goodwin (story). A very good sci-fi story features an astronaut on a craft that is responsible for going into other dimensions, trying to find one suitable for humans. When he finally finds it, the computer controlling the craft reveals that an error has caused it to forget where they came from, and the astronaut goes from dimension to dimension, trying to find his home to no avail.
Second is "Warrior's Ritual" by John Severin (art) and Archie Goodwin (story). Taking place in the 1930's, a group of troops come across a base full of dead people. There they find a diary from a dead man with a missing heart. The diary tells of a young soldier who is obsessed with fighting, sneaking out of the base to kill more people each night. Eventually it is discovered that the young man is obsessed with eating other's hearts, thinking he can get their courage from it. In the present, he meets his end after trying to eat his own heart! Some very good art by Severin here, one of his best looking stories.
Third is "Nobody's Kid" by Leo Duranona (art) and Bob Toomey (story). A man goes crazy when he finds that his kid isn't really his. He kills the kid's real father, then his mother, then goes on a rampage after the kid, carrying an axe. Most of the story features the man chasing the kid until he climbs a try to hide from him. The father chops the tree down, only for it to fall down on him, killing him.
Fourth is "Relic" by Walt Simonson (art) and Bob Toomey (story). This story is a sequel to "Quirks" from issue 107. Some astronauts looking for a planet instead find a humungous craft that looks like a giant fly. They are sucked inside where they are trapped. Our heroes are able to recruit the furry little creature from the previous story to help themselves escape by bargaining with the bugs that control the craft.
Fifth is "Beastslayer" by Val Lakey (art, her Warren debut) and John Lakey (story). Some very beautiful art in this story by Lakey, some of the most realistic seen in a Warren story. A hunter who has shot all there is to hunt. He heads into the mountains, where the native americans claim is the greatest beast of all. He is eventually done in by an avalanche, and the beast is revealed to be the mountain itself.
Sixth is "Sunday Dinner" by Auraleon (art) and Larry Hama (story). The issue's weakest story, it features dual storylines. In the first, a man brings his two kids to dinner at a chinese food restaurant. In the second, a pair of criminals break into that restaurant and battle with its cooks. The criminals are killed, and served as dinner to the family.
Last is "The Last Sorcerer" by Alex Nino (art) and Archie Goodwin (story). This story is the last appearance of Thane, a recurring character done by Goodwin. Thane, now an old man, is searching for the last sorcerer, having defeated all other ones. He is joined by a young warrior and a minstrel. Heading through a wintery landscape, they finally find the sorcerer after fighting off bats and a robot. The young warrior attacks the sorcerer, but his body is just a shell. Thane kills him, then it is revealed that the sorcerer has taken the body of the minstrel. Thane decides to let him live.
First is "The Homecoming" by Al Williamson (art, his final Warren story) and Archie Goodwin (story). A very good sci-fi story features an astronaut on a craft that is responsible for going into other dimensions, trying to find one suitable for humans. When he finally finds it, the computer controlling the craft reveals that an error has caused it to forget where they came from, and the astronaut goes from dimension to dimension, trying to find his home to no avail.
Second is "Warrior's Ritual" by John Severin (art) and Archie Goodwin (story). Taking place in the 1930's, a group of troops come across a base full of dead people. There they find a diary from a dead man with a missing heart. The diary tells of a young soldier who is obsessed with fighting, sneaking out of the base to kill more people each night. Eventually it is discovered that the young man is obsessed with eating other's hearts, thinking he can get their courage from it. In the present, he meets his end after trying to eat his own heart! Some very good art by Severin here, one of his best looking stories.
Third is "Nobody's Kid" by Leo Duranona (art) and Bob Toomey (story). A man goes crazy when he finds that his kid isn't really his. He kills the kid's real father, then his mother, then goes on a rampage after the kid, carrying an axe. Most of the story features the man chasing the kid until he climbs a try to hide from him. The father chops the tree down, only for it to fall down on him, killing him.
Fourth is "Relic" by Walt Simonson (art) and Bob Toomey (story). This story is a sequel to "Quirks" from issue 107. Some astronauts looking for a planet instead find a humungous craft that looks like a giant fly. They are sucked inside where they are trapped. Our heroes are able to recruit the furry little creature from the previous story to help themselves escape by bargaining with the bugs that control the craft.
Fifth is "Beastslayer" by Val Lakey (art, her Warren debut) and John Lakey (story). Some very beautiful art in this story by Lakey, some of the most realistic seen in a Warren story. A hunter who has shot all there is to hunt. He heads into the mountains, where the native americans claim is the greatest beast of all. He is eventually done in by an avalanche, and the beast is revealed to be the mountain itself.
Sixth is "Sunday Dinner" by Auraleon (art) and Larry Hama (story). The issue's weakest story, it features dual storylines. In the first, a man brings his two kids to dinner at a chinese food restaurant. In the second, a pair of criminals break into that restaurant and battle with its cooks. The criminals are killed, and served as dinner to the family.
Last is "The Last Sorcerer" by Alex Nino (art) and Archie Goodwin (story). This story is the last appearance of Thane, a recurring character done by Goodwin. Thane, now an old man, is searching for the last sorcerer, having defeated all other ones. He is joined by a young warrior and a minstrel. Heading through a wintery landscape, they finally find the sorcerer after fighting off bats and a robot. The young warrior attacks the sorcerer, but his body is just a shell. Thane kills him, then it is revealed that the sorcerer has taken the body of the minstrel. Thane decides to let him live.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Creepy 95
This issue is an apes special issue. It is cover dated February 1978. All stories within feature apes in some manner. Doing themed issues like this based on the cover was a very common Warren theme throughout the years. Two stories that were clearly intended to appear in this issue also appeared in Creepy 99 and Eerie 92. Don Maitz provides the cover.
First is "The Star Saga of Sirius Sam" by John Severin (art) and Nicola Cuti (story). Two men come to meet Sam of the title to head to an alien planet and steal a gem which they hope to use to keep alive a woman who is the wife of one of them and the sister of the other. They head to the planet, which is ruled by chimps. They find the gem, but discover it is only made of glass, as the real one was taken long ago. The glass substitute is destroyed while they are there. They are able to escape safely by using the glass eye of one of the men to replace the destroyed substitute however.
Second is "The Laughing Man" by Berni Wrightson (art) and Bruce Jones (story). The best story of the issue, it features a man found by a doctor in the African jungles laughing maniacally. With some drugs the man calms down and tells how he and his business partner headed to the African jungles in an attempt to find intelligent chimps. They catch one dead, and our protagonist's business partner skins the creature and uses it as a costume to attract another one. He vanishes after a while and turns up later, but it ends up he is actually an ape, wearing the dead partner's skin as a costume! A terrific story, unfortunately it would be Wrightson's last Warren story.
Third is this issue's color story, "Murder on the Vine" by Esteban Maroto (art) and Cary Bates (story). In this story a young woman and a boy kill Tarzan in order to steal his treasure. Meanwhile the animals of the jungle, aware of whats going on, take steps to arm themselves and fight back, led by a chimp friend of Tarzan. The murderers are caught and dumped into a tar pit. Some so-so color on this story, nowhere as good as it has been in previous issues.
Fourth is "The Empire of Chim-Pan-Zee" by Luis Bermejo (art) and Nicola Cuti (story). The empire fights neanderthals, but is hopelessly outnumbered and is losing ground fast. A few of the chimps find modern humans nearby who have gone back in time and have powerful rockets and other devices. They hope to use them by taking the button that activates them, but find it useless on its own and are wiped out by the neanderthals.
Fifth is "The Oasis Inn" by Jose Ortiz (art) and Bob Toomey (story). This issue's weakest story by far, it features ape soldiers, one of whom is after a woman whose going out with a gorilla officer. They go through various escapades and all end up friends at the end.
Last is "The Old Ways" by Leo Duranona (art) and Roger McKenzie (story). This story takes place in a post apocalyptic world where talking apes reign supreme. The sole remaining living human fights them off, shooting at them. Eventually one of them finds a gun and confronts him, killing him.
First is "The Star Saga of Sirius Sam" by John Severin (art) and Nicola Cuti (story). Two men come to meet Sam of the title to head to an alien planet and steal a gem which they hope to use to keep alive a woman who is the wife of one of them and the sister of the other. They head to the planet, which is ruled by chimps. They find the gem, but discover it is only made of glass, as the real one was taken long ago. The glass substitute is destroyed while they are there. They are able to escape safely by using the glass eye of one of the men to replace the destroyed substitute however.
Second is "The Laughing Man" by Berni Wrightson (art) and Bruce Jones (story). The best story of the issue, it features a man found by a doctor in the African jungles laughing maniacally. With some drugs the man calms down and tells how he and his business partner headed to the African jungles in an attempt to find intelligent chimps. They catch one dead, and our protagonist's business partner skins the creature and uses it as a costume to attract another one. He vanishes after a while and turns up later, but it ends up he is actually an ape, wearing the dead partner's skin as a costume! A terrific story, unfortunately it would be Wrightson's last Warren story.
Third is this issue's color story, "Murder on the Vine" by Esteban Maroto (art) and Cary Bates (story). In this story a young woman and a boy kill Tarzan in order to steal his treasure. Meanwhile the animals of the jungle, aware of whats going on, take steps to arm themselves and fight back, led by a chimp friend of Tarzan. The murderers are caught and dumped into a tar pit. Some so-so color on this story, nowhere as good as it has been in previous issues.
Fourth is "The Empire of Chim-Pan-Zee" by Luis Bermejo (art) and Nicola Cuti (story). The empire fights neanderthals, but is hopelessly outnumbered and is losing ground fast. A few of the chimps find modern humans nearby who have gone back in time and have powerful rockets and other devices. They hope to use them by taking the button that activates them, but find it useless on its own and are wiped out by the neanderthals.
Fifth is "The Oasis Inn" by Jose Ortiz (art) and Bob Toomey (story). This issue's weakest story by far, it features ape soldiers, one of whom is after a woman whose going out with a gorilla officer. They go through various escapades and all end up friends at the end.
Last is "The Old Ways" by Leo Duranona (art) and Roger McKenzie (story). This story takes place in a post apocalyptic world where talking apes reign supreme. The sole remaining living human fights them off, shooting at them. Eventually one of them finds a gun and confronts him, killing him.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Creepy 89
This issue of Creepy is an all war special issue. Alas, the stories here aren't at the quality of the Blazing Combat days, which would have made this quite the issue. The cover is a reprint of Frank Frazetta's cover for Blazing Combat 1.
First is "Blood Brothers" by Jose Ortiz (art) and Bruce Jones (story). The issue's best story, it is about a soldier who meets another soldier, Voper among the dead of a destroyed fort. Voper travels with him, but constantly dissappears and appears fine after being shot by our protagonist. At the end of the story it is revealed that Voper was dead the entire time and was actually being eaten by our protagonist.
Second is "The Windmill" by Leo Duranona (art) and Lou Rossin (story). This short story, at only 5 pages, features a hunchback in the days before World War II who fights to save his country of Liechenstein from the Nazis.
Third is "Angel of Jaipur" by John Severin (art) and Bill Dubay (story). This story features a young pilot flying a plane who goes back in time and manages to save his father from a military assault. Despite there being some sceptics, the gun marks on his plane are proof enough that it really happened.
Fourth is "The Hungry Dragon" by Carmine Infantino & Alex Nino (art) and Nicola Cuti (story). A soldier comes across a village in Vietnam where he finds some young children which he attempts to care for. He heads out and kills some enemy soldiers to find food for them, but upon returning finds them eating the remains of some dead soldiers, causing them to kill them... in his mind. In actuality, he only harmed one of them, who ended up becoming his wife years later, but in his mind he is convinced he killed them all.
Fifth is "The Door-Gunner" by Leopold Sanchez (art) and Larry Hama & Cary Bates (story). This story is drawn in pencil only. It features a veteran back from Vietnam who is convinced that he is still there at the war, resulting in murderous rages from him. In the end it ends up that he's in a mental hospital.
Last is "Coggin's Army" by Martin Salvador (art) and Roger McKenzie (story). Similar to the last story, this story takes place in an institution, where an old general, his wheelchair bound friend and others are convinced they are still at war.
First is "Blood Brothers" by Jose Ortiz (art) and Bruce Jones (story). The issue's best story, it is about a soldier who meets another soldier, Voper among the dead of a destroyed fort. Voper travels with him, but constantly dissappears and appears fine after being shot by our protagonist. At the end of the story it is revealed that Voper was dead the entire time and was actually being eaten by our protagonist.
Second is "The Windmill" by Leo Duranona (art) and Lou Rossin (story). This short story, at only 5 pages, features a hunchback in the days before World War II who fights to save his country of Liechenstein from the Nazis.
Third is "Angel of Jaipur" by John Severin (art) and Bill Dubay (story). This story features a young pilot flying a plane who goes back in time and manages to save his father from a military assault. Despite there being some sceptics, the gun marks on his plane are proof enough that it really happened.
Fourth is "The Hungry Dragon" by Carmine Infantino & Alex Nino (art) and Nicola Cuti (story). A soldier comes across a village in Vietnam where he finds some young children which he attempts to care for. He heads out and kills some enemy soldiers to find food for them, but upon returning finds them eating the remains of some dead soldiers, causing them to kill them... in his mind. In actuality, he only harmed one of them, who ended up becoming his wife years later, but in his mind he is convinced he killed them all.
Fifth is "The Door-Gunner" by Leopold Sanchez (art) and Larry Hama & Cary Bates (story). This story is drawn in pencil only. It features a veteran back from Vietnam who is convinced that he is still there at the war, resulting in murderous rages from him. In the end it ends up that he's in a mental hospital.
Last is "Coggin's Army" by Martin Salvador (art) and Roger McKenzie (story). Similar to the last story, this story takes place in an institution, where an old general, his wheelchair bound friend and others are convinced they are still at war.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Eerie 110
Jim Laurier provides the sci-fi themed cover of this issue of Eerie. A very good issue, standing out among those issues of Eerie around this time. In fact given how deeply Eerie declined, this might by the last really good issue of the magazine left. This was Louise Jones's final issue as editor.
First is "Blood on Black Satin" by Paul Gulacy (art) and Doug Moench (story). Our protagonist is attacked after finding the body of Uncle Jock but is saved by Heather. They travel to the basement of an old courthouse where our heroes find the skeletal remains of Whatley's followers. Seconds later Whatley himself appears. This series would be concluded in the next issue.
Second is the finale for "Beastworld" by Pablo Marcos (art) and Bruce Jones (story). In this story Tyler and Thomas have their last confrontation. Ruth falls to her death accidently after being used as bait by Tyler. Tyler and Thomas fight each other and Monica kills Tyler just as he's about to kill Thomas. The series ends with Tyler and Monica sleeping with each other. Overall, this 6 part story probably would have worked better in no more than 2 parts. A big waste of time and a huge dissappointment from Bruce Jones.
Third is "Francois", the finale to "The Open Sky" by Jose Ortiz (art) and Bob Toomey (story). This story features Francois, the evil assassin that Moonshadow was coming after. Francois travels in a hot air balloon which crashes into the sea. He is saved by some dolphins which bring him to an island where he meets the Grim Reaper, as well as Moonshadow and Arianne. Upon fighting, Francois discovers that both he and Arianne are dead. Moonshadow, still alive, is able to leave. A pretty good finale to this series, which was missing for a while.
Fourth is "Firefly/Starfight" by Auraleon (art) and Budd Lewis (story). This story features an ordinary man who witnesses spaceships battling for control of Earth. Convinced that the aliens will control the Earth, he decides to kill himself. A slow paced, but okay story.
Last is "The Rainmaker" by Leo Duranona (art) and Michael Fleisher (story). During a heavy drought, a con man fools a town into giving him $500, saying that its for materials to bring rain. While traveling to the next town he comes across a cabin where a man tells him he's a rainmaker as well, and makes it happen by sacrificing the conman to the Gods by chopping his head in with an axe.
First is "Blood on Black Satin" by Paul Gulacy (art) and Doug Moench (story). Our protagonist is attacked after finding the body of Uncle Jock but is saved by Heather. They travel to the basement of an old courthouse where our heroes find the skeletal remains of Whatley's followers. Seconds later Whatley himself appears. This series would be concluded in the next issue.
Second is the finale for "Beastworld" by Pablo Marcos (art) and Bruce Jones (story). In this story Tyler and Thomas have their last confrontation. Ruth falls to her death accidently after being used as bait by Tyler. Tyler and Thomas fight each other and Monica kills Tyler just as he's about to kill Thomas. The series ends with Tyler and Monica sleeping with each other. Overall, this 6 part story probably would have worked better in no more than 2 parts. A big waste of time and a huge dissappointment from Bruce Jones.
Third is "Francois", the finale to "The Open Sky" by Jose Ortiz (art) and Bob Toomey (story). This story features Francois, the evil assassin that Moonshadow was coming after. Francois travels in a hot air balloon which crashes into the sea. He is saved by some dolphins which bring him to an island where he meets the Grim Reaper, as well as Moonshadow and Arianne. Upon fighting, Francois discovers that both he and Arianne are dead. Moonshadow, still alive, is able to leave. A pretty good finale to this series, which was missing for a while.
Fourth is "Firefly/Starfight" by Auraleon (art) and Budd Lewis (story). This story features an ordinary man who witnesses spaceships battling for control of Earth. Convinced that the aliens will control the Earth, he decides to kill himself. A slow paced, but okay story.
Last is "The Rainmaker" by Leo Duranona (art) and Michael Fleisher (story). During a heavy drought, a con man fools a town into giving him $500, saying that its for materials to bring rain. While traveling to the next town he comes across a cabin where a man tells him he's a rainmaker as well, and makes it happen by sacrificing the conman to the Gods by chopping his head in with an axe.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Vampirella 59
Enrich provides a rather comedic cover to this issue of Vampirella.
First is "Pendragon's Last Bow" by Jose Gonzalez (art) and Bill Dubay (story). Vampi and Pendragon come to a new town where some murders have been taking place. Pendragon meets a beautiful woman Rosie, the owner of an antique shop directly above the place where the corpses have been found. The Van Helsings arrive and find that Rosie is a succubus, who along with her brother is responsible for the murders. Rosie and her brother are killed, but she saves Adam, who had been attacked by her brother before she dies.
Second is "Changes" by Leo Duranona (art) and Roger McKenzie (story). This story features a man released from a mental institution who wonders around where he used to live, but everything has changed. A rather weak story
Third is "Funeral Day" by Jose Ortiz (art) and Roger McKenzie (story). This story surrounds a funeral director in a post apocalyptic society where people eat the corpse. Another so-so story at best.
Fourth is "Force Feed" by Leopold Sanchez (art) and Cary Bates (story). A killer who is on the run from the police finds a scientist who is able to transport him to someone else's body in another time. He proves it by letting him tempoorarily be in Jack the Ripper. But when they go ahead with transporting him to someone else's body, the scientist, knowing the killer is a vegitarian, has him turned into a Tyranosaurus Rex. The best story of this issue.
Fifth is "The Plot's the Thing" by Martin Salvador (art) and Roger McKenzie (story). A comic book story writer who is an expert at horrific stories decides to inspire himself by killing people. Eventually he kills his wife, then kills his neighbor when he discovers him trying to escape with the body. He drags the bodies to throw over a bridge where he is killed by another man, who just happens to be killing him to inspire himself for his first comic book story.
Last is "The Beast is Yet to Come" by Carmine Infantino & Alex Nino (art) and Nicola Cuti (story). This story features a man on the planet Rego living there with his son. The aliens there tell him of a creature, the "Wilwulf" which he doesn't believe in. After fighting some other aliens on the planet however, he returns home to find that his son is the Wilwulf.
First is "Pendragon's Last Bow" by Jose Gonzalez (art) and Bill Dubay (story). Vampi and Pendragon come to a new town where some murders have been taking place. Pendragon meets a beautiful woman Rosie, the owner of an antique shop directly above the place where the corpses have been found. The Van Helsings arrive and find that Rosie is a succubus, who along with her brother is responsible for the murders. Rosie and her brother are killed, but she saves Adam, who had been attacked by her brother before she dies.
Second is "Changes" by Leo Duranona (art) and Roger McKenzie (story). This story features a man released from a mental institution who wonders around where he used to live, but everything has changed. A rather weak story
Third is "Funeral Day" by Jose Ortiz (art) and Roger McKenzie (story). This story surrounds a funeral director in a post apocalyptic society where people eat the corpse. Another so-so story at best.
Fourth is "Force Feed" by Leopold Sanchez (art) and Cary Bates (story). A killer who is on the run from the police finds a scientist who is able to transport him to someone else's body in another time. He proves it by letting him tempoorarily be in Jack the Ripper. But when they go ahead with transporting him to someone else's body, the scientist, knowing the killer is a vegitarian, has him turned into a Tyranosaurus Rex. The best story of this issue.
Fifth is "The Plot's the Thing" by Martin Salvador (art) and Roger McKenzie (story). A comic book story writer who is an expert at horrific stories decides to inspire himself by killing people. Eventually he kills his wife, then kills his neighbor when he discovers him trying to escape with the body. He drags the bodies to throw over a bridge where he is killed by another man, who just happens to be killing him to inspire himself for his first comic book story.
Last is "The Beast is Yet to Come" by Carmine Infantino & Alex Nino (art) and Nicola Cuti (story). This story features a man on the planet Rego living there with his son. The aliens there tell him of a creature, the "Wilwulf" which he doesn't believe in. After fighting some other aliens on the planet however, he returns home to find that his son is the Wilwulf.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Eerie 107
This issue of Eerie starts with a cover by Romas Kukalis featuring Spider Andromeda from Mac Tavish for the second consecutive (non-reprint) issue. Not much here in this issue, only four stories.
First is the conclusion of the Horizon Seekers in "The Last Horizon" by Leo Duranona (art) and Duranona & Cary Bates (story). Jesse, Allison and Merlin continue through the ravished landscape and are abducted by bizarre looking alien creatures that reveal that they have experimented on Earth for millions of years, responsible for the death of the dinosaurs and the apocalypse that caused the Earth to become its current state. The aliens reveal that our three heroes in particular have been observed by the aliens all this time. Merlin sacrifices himelf, resulting in the entire ship blowing up. At that point we break the fourth wall in the story, showing Leo Duranona at his home drawing the story, meeting some friends of his wife who look like cleaned up versions of Allison and Jesse. A bizarre, but very good final part to this fairly good and long running series.
Second is the third "Beastworld" story by Pablo Marcos (art) and Bruce Jones (story). Tyler and Ruth continue to progress in their relationship while the pathetic Thomas rapes Monica. The two pairs continue to battle some giant bugs. Monica eventually knocks out Thomas only to have a flood rapidly approaching. This series continues to dissappoint tremendously from both a story and art standpoint.
Third is Mac Tavish in "Bad Company" by Pepe Moreno Casares (art) and Jim Stenstrum & Alex Southern (story). Rara Avis governor Lazard plots with the evil Gorgo to throw the election to him in exchange for a big payoff. Unknown to him, Gorgo plans to have him killed once the election is over. Spider recovers and says goodbye to Mac Tavish and Ida, trying to warn Lazard of what will happen on election day. Lazard ignores him and is promptly killed by Gorgo's forces seconds after he leaves. Gorgo is now elected governor of Rara Avis as this part ends.
Last is "The Prophecy" by Nestor De Leon (art) and Bill Kelly (story). This story features a girl who is prophesized to rescue the poor people from the tyrants. She eventually marries the prince, becomes queen, and rules the country after he dies in his only battle. She does nothing to rescue the poor from the tyranny, instead having rival lords fight over her. Eventually a large blob like creature arrives, killing the lords, and eventually the queen herself, as the blob was actually the prophecy come to life.
First is the conclusion of the Horizon Seekers in "The Last Horizon" by Leo Duranona (art) and Duranona & Cary Bates (story). Jesse, Allison and Merlin continue through the ravished landscape and are abducted by bizarre looking alien creatures that reveal that they have experimented on Earth for millions of years, responsible for the death of the dinosaurs and the apocalypse that caused the Earth to become its current state. The aliens reveal that our three heroes in particular have been observed by the aliens all this time. Merlin sacrifices himelf, resulting in the entire ship blowing up. At that point we break the fourth wall in the story, showing Leo Duranona at his home drawing the story, meeting some friends of his wife who look like cleaned up versions of Allison and Jesse. A bizarre, but very good final part to this fairly good and long running series.
Second is the third "Beastworld" story by Pablo Marcos (art) and Bruce Jones (story). Tyler and Ruth continue to progress in their relationship while the pathetic Thomas rapes Monica. The two pairs continue to battle some giant bugs. Monica eventually knocks out Thomas only to have a flood rapidly approaching. This series continues to dissappoint tremendously from both a story and art standpoint.
Third is Mac Tavish in "Bad Company" by Pepe Moreno Casares (art) and Jim Stenstrum & Alex Southern (story). Rara Avis governor Lazard plots with the evil Gorgo to throw the election to him in exchange for a big payoff. Unknown to him, Gorgo plans to have him killed once the election is over. Spider recovers and says goodbye to Mac Tavish and Ida, trying to warn Lazard of what will happen on election day. Lazard ignores him and is promptly killed by Gorgo's forces seconds after he leaves. Gorgo is now elected governor of Rara Avis as this part ends.
Last is "The Prophecy" by Nestor De Leon (art) and Bill Kelly (story). This story features a girl who is prophesized to rescue the poor people from the tyrants. She eventually marries the prince, becomes queen, and rules the country after he dies in his only battle. She does nothing to rescue the poor from the tyranny, instead having rival lords fight over her. Eventually a large blob like creature arrives, killing the lords, and eventually the queen herself, as the blob was actually the prophecy come to life.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Eerie 105
Jordi Penalva provides the cover for this issue of Eerie, featuring Mac Tavish and Spider Andromeda.
First is the Rook in "Robot Fighters" by Jim Janes & Alfredo Alcala (art) and Bill Dubay (story). The Rook, Dane and Manners help defeat a robot that is a descendent of one the Rook built in different times. The best part of this story is that its a lot shorter than the usual Rook fare, getting it over with quickly. Thankfully the Rook exited the magazine for quite a while after this issue, due to having his own magazine.
Second is the finale for The Trespasser, in "Ruins" by Paul Gulacy (art) and Don McGregor (story). A rather short finale to this series at only 6 pages. Dr. Cavanaugh defeats the Cope's last guard, then fights Harris Cope, who shoots his wife Rebecca. Harris falls out the window to his death and Cavanaugh is finally able to leave with Rebecca in his arms.
Third is "Beastworld" by Pablo Marcos (art) and Bruce Jones (story). Thomas and Monica find some giant bugs attacking them and Thomas is saved from a deadly spider only when a giant wasp arrives and fights it. Tyler and Ruth meanwhile have some more success and Tyler starts making out with her. The usual extemely dependable Bruce Jones hasn't impressed that much so far with this series.
Fourth is "Demons of the Zodiac", the return of Mac Tavish, unseen for a while. Art is by Pepe Moreno Casares and story is by Jim Stenstrum & Bob Toomey, under their pseudonyms Alabaster Redzone and Gary Null. A so-so continuation of this Star Wars ripoff, featuring Mac Tavish summarizing the history of Spider Andromeda while he sleeps.
Fifth is "Hunger Strike", the latest segment in the Horizon Seekers. Although the prior issue said this would be the conclusion, the story doesn't end here, and ends rather abrubtly. Art is by Leo Duranona and story is by Duranona and Cary Bates. In this story our heroes are confronted by a group of giant bugs but get them to eat each other, similar to the prior story. Also, the cannibal girl who was with them starts her cannibal ways again but is killed by the bugs before she can eat our heroes.
Last is "Lair of the Assassins", the latest story in the Samurai series. Art is by Val Mayerik and story is by Larry Hama. Samurai goes to the castle of Yagyu Ninjas and inside is forced to battle old man Yagyu's son, who has the niece of their lord strapped to him. Samurai easily defeats him and after Yagyu has his minions shoot arrows at him, Samurai grabs them and throws them back, striking him in the eye. Samurai escapes with the niece, who has been blinded, and she helps him escape after his own eyesight is affected by an attack.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Eerie 104
Kirk Reinert provides the cover for this issue of Eerie, featuring the new serial Beastworld.
First is the Rook in "The Trouble With Tin Men". Art is by Jim Janes & Alfredo Alcala while story is from Bill Dubay. Think of the usual cliches in the Rook storyline and this story has it. Rook going into the future for another adventure, telling Dane to stay there, and Dane heading off on another adventure with Manners yet again. Yawn. After the same storyline 15 times this is getting rather dull. Notable is that the Time Castle is destroyed, apparantely stranding Dane and Manners in the time they have gone to.
Second is the second part of "The Trespasser", in "Dusk" by Paul Gulacy (art) and Don McGregor (story). Dr. Cavanaugh is thrown in a prison in the basement where he finds Kelsey, the man he had seen captured before. Kelsey reveals that the Cope's house is built on a site where nuclear waste had been kept, the reason for the family's illness. Rebecca soon arrives and lets them out. As they are crossing a bridge one of the Cope family's guard finds them and a fight ensues in which the bridge is destroyed. Luckily Cavanaugh is able to throw the man into crocodile infested waters, saving himself and Rebecca. A good continuation to this story with some fine art by Gulacy and shockingly enough a good story from McGregor that doesn't go overboard with his usual polical ramblings.
Third is "City of Shadows" by Leo Duranona (art) and Jean Michel Martin (story). This story is told mostly through photographs of clay figures and toys. It features a group of people traveling through a post apocalyptic landscape looking for a mysterious city, which ends up being Manhatten.
Fourth is "Beastworld", a new series from Pablo Marcos (art) and Bruce Jones (story). A man, Tyler, and his friend Monica come across a giant beetle while flying in a ship. They meet Peter Thomas and his wife, Ruth. Peter has an inferiority complex with Tyler from their time in school together. He drugs our two heroes, but then without any explanation Tyler ends up with Ruth and Thomas ends up with Monica, seperated from each other. They fight off some giant bugs while arguing with each other. A rather poor start to a long running serial with Marcos art, an guy whose style I've never been too fond of. A poor site in a mostly good issue.
Fifth is the second part of The Open Sky, "Vladimir" by Jose Ortiz (art) and Bob Toomey (story). Moonshadow and Arianne come across a two headed man who had a hot air balloon stolen from him by Francois, the head assassin that Moonshadow is after. After convincing the two headed man to let them use their hot air balloon, they head through the sky, and are eventually seized by the winged people from the previous story, who drop Moonshadow and Arianne into the ocean.
Last is "Temple of the Ravengers" the latest story in the Horizon Seekers series. Art is by Leo Duranona, while story is by Duranona & Cary Bates. Allison and Jesse travel through the desert with Merlin and find some ruins of a mansion, leaving Merlin behind to rest while they explore. Inside they find a group of women cannibals that capture them. By convincing the cannibals that she is ill, Allison is able to start some infighting, and she and Jesse are able to escape.
First is the Rook in "The Trouble With Tin Men". Art is by Jim Janes & Alfredo Alcala while story is from Bill Dubay. Think of the usual cliches in the Rook storyline and this story has it. Rook going into the future for another adventure, telling Dane to stay there, and Dane heading off on another adventure with Manners yet again. Yawn. After the same storyline 15 times this is getting rather dull. Notable is that the Time Castle is destroyed, apparantely stranding Dane and Manners in the time they have gone to.
Second is the second part of "The Trespasser", in "Dusk" by Paul Gulacy (art) and Don McGregor (story). Dr. Cavanaugh is thrown in a prison in the basement where he finds Kelsey, the man he had seen captured before. Kelsey reveals that the Cope's house is built on a site where nuclear waste had been kept, the reason for the family's illness. Rebecca soon arrives and lets them out. As they are crossing a bridge one of the Cope family's guard finds them and a fight ensues in which the bridge is destroyed. Luckily Cavanaugh is able to throw the man into crocodile infested waters, saving himself and Rebecca. A good continuation to this story with some fine art by Gulacy and shockingly enough a good story from McGregor that doesn't go overboard with his usual polical ramblings.
Third is "City of Shadows" by Leo Duranona (art) and Jean Michel Martin (story). This story is told mostly through photographs of clay figures and toys. It features a group of people traveling through a post apocalyptic landscape looking for a mysterious city, which ends up being Manhatten.
Fourth is "Beastworld", a new series from Pablo Marcos (art) and Bruce Jones (story). A man, Tyler, and his friend Monica come across a giant beetle while flying in a ship. They meet Peter Thomas and his wife, Ruth. Peter has an inferiority complex with Tyler from their time in school together. He drugs our two heroes, but then without any explanation Tyler ends up with Ruth and Thomas ends up with Monica, seperated from each other. They fight off some giant bugs while arguing with each other. A rather poor start to a long running serial with Marcos art, an guy whose style I've never been too fond of. A poor site in a mostly good issue.
Fifth is the second part of The Open Sky, "Vladimir" by Jose Ortiz (art) and Bob Toomey (story). Moonshadow and Arianne come across a two headed man who had a hot air balloon stolen from him by Francois, the head assassin that Moonshadow is after. After convincing the two headed man to let them use their hot air balloon, they head through the sky, and are eventually seized by the winged people from the previous story, who drop Moonshadow and Arianne into the ocean.
Last is "Temple of the Ravengers" the latest story in the Horizon Seekers series. Art is by Leo Duranona, while story is by Duranona & Cary Bates. Allison and Jesse travel through the desert with Merlin and find some ruins of a mansion, leaving Merlin behind to rest while they explore. Inside they find a group of women cannibals that capture them. By convincing the cannibals that she is ill, Allison is able to start some infighting, and she and Jesse are able to escape.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Eerie 103
Terrance Lindall provides the cover for this issue of Eerie, featuring the series "The Horizon Seekers".
First is the Rook in "Terror of the Spaceways!" part 2 by Lee Elias (art) and Bill Dubay (story). This story continues from the previous issue and contains some reprinted artwork from that story. The Rook saves the woman from the destroyed ship, then heads out despite the danger due to the battles occuring. Despite the danger he is able to make it out okay. Some very good art by Elias but not that great a story.
Second is a new series, The Open Sky, which is a prequel to the series Moonshadow. The first story is titled "Arianne", with art by Jose Ortiz and story by Bob Toomey. Arianne is a girl living in a cave whose family has been plauged by winged monsters. Moonshadow, a skilled assassin arrives and helps awaken her to the outside world. He defeats the head monster and she decides to head off with him.
Third is another new series, "The Trespasser" by Paul Gulacy (art, his Warren debut) and Don McGregor (story, his first Warren appearance in quite a while). A doctor is summoned to the home of a rich family, the Copes. There he encounters a man on the run from the Cope's guards, the Averdine brothers. The doctor meets Rebecca Cope, the woman who summoned him. Soon afterwards however her husband arrives and ignoring the doctor's warnings about having skin cancer, has his guards take him away to lock him up.
Fourth is "Credentials", from a new series called Samurai. Art is by Val Mayerik and story is by Larry Hama. This series started in Creepy 106 and moved here for the rest of its run. Samurai is revealed to have been recruited by his lord as an assassin. He goes to the priest Do-Shin who trains him by locking him up for 3 years during which he trains his mind and body. When he's finally released he kills Do-Shin.
Last is the latest Horizon Seekers story, "The Damned & The Dead" by Leo Duranona (art) and Duranona & Cary Bates (story). Millions of small creatures run towards the castle that Allison and Jesse are in. They are able to hide themselves from them by covering themselves with the blood of one of the creatures. Realizing that the creatures are carrying their queen with them, Jesse manages to kill it, and the creatures mindlessly run themselves off a cliff to their death.
First is the Rook in "Terror of the Spaceways!" part 2 by Lee Elias (art) and Bill Dubay (story). This story continues from the previous issue and contains some reprinted artwork from that story. The Rook saves the woman from the destroyed ship, then heads out despite the danger due to the battles occuring. Despite the danger he is able to make it out okay. Some very good art by Elias but not that great a story.
Second is a new series, The Open Sky, which is a prequel to the series Moonshadow. The first story is titled "Arianne", with art by Jose Ortiz and story by Bob Toomey. Arianne is a girl living in a cave whose family has been plauged by winged monsters. Moonshadow, a skilled assassin arrives and helps awaken her to the outside world. He defeats the head monster and she decides to head off with him.
Third is another new series, "The Trespasser" by Paul Gulacy (art, his Warren debut) and Don McGregor (story, his first Warren appearance in quite a while). A doctor is summoned to the home of a rich family, the Copes. There he encounters a man on the run from the Cope's guards, the Averdine brothers. The doctor meets Rebecca Cope, the woman who summoned him. Soon afterwards however her husband arrives and ignoring the doctor's warnings about having skin cancer, has his guards take him away to lock him up.
Fourth is "Credentials", from a new series called Samurai. Art is by Val Mayerik and story is by Larry Hama. This series started in Creepy 106 and moved here for the rest of its run. Samurai is revealed to have been recruited by his lord as an assassin. He goes to the priest Do-Shin who trains him by locking him up for 3 years during which he trains his mind and body. When he's finally released he kills Do-Shin.
Last is the latest Horizon Seekers story, "The Damned & The Dead" by Leo Duranona (art) and Duranona & Cary Bates (story). Millions of small creatures run towards the castle that Allison and Jesse are in. They are able to hide themselves from them by covering themselves with the blood of one of the creatures. Realizing that the creatures are carrying their queen with them, Jesse manages to kill it, and the creatures mindlessly run themselves off a cliff to their death.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Eerie 102
Sanjulian provides an odd cover for this issue. Most of it is okay, but there is no background whatsoever, just white space. A different style for this issue only, featuring mostly stand alone stories.
First is the Rook in "Terror of the Spaceways" by Lee Elias (art) and Bill Dubay (story). This story was Elias's Warren debut and its quite impressive, a large improvement over the art in prior Rook stories. Elias would for a while do the Rook's stories once the character got its own magazine. This story, which is continued in the next issue, was originally part of a large story that had been split in two after Jim Warren (thankfully) demanded that Dubay reduce the size of the Rook stories. In this story the Rook, upset over the government cutting funding for NASA heads into the future to find something to impress the government. A battle is occuring however, and at the end of the story he comes across a partially destroyed ship, looking for survivors. Ironically enough Joe Brancatelli's 'The Comic Books 'column discusses this very story (clearly before the decision to publish it had occured), with Bill Dubay talking about how he does not want to split the story in two parts for publication.
Second is "Siege", the latest "Horizon Seekers" story. Art is by Leo Duranona and story is by Duranona & Cary Bates. In this story Allison and Jesse are pursued by the giant throughout the castle. It eventually gets its hand stuck in a tower within the castle. Unfortunately for them, an even larger menace, a huge army of creatures seems to be coming from the horizon.
Third is "The Earthquake Stick" by Jose Ortiz (art) and Budd Lewis (story). This story tells of a young boy in an orphanage who is abused by the head of the place as well as his fellow orphans. He has a secret friend however, an alien creature that he is able to summon with a small device he has. Eventually he finds that he can use his fellow orphans as food for the creature.
Fourth is "Ophiophobia" by Martin Salvador (art) and Bill Dubay (story). This story features a man who is deathly afraid of snakes. The story flashes back to his childhood and how his fear in snakes got started. Eventually he gets sent to war in Vietnam, where is he is captured by the enemy and thrown into a pit filled with snakes.
Fifth is "Tracks" by Pepe Moreno Casares (art) and Roger McKenzie (story). This story takes place around a winter cabin where a man's wife dies and her corpse is eaten by some unknown menace. He goes outside trying to hunt it and eventually passes out in the snow.
Last is "Neatness Counts" by Joe Vaultz (art) and Jean Michel Martin (story). This short story with no dialogue features aliens coming to the moon, finding what the astronauts left there, and cleaning it all up, thinking it is trash.
First is the Rook in "Terror of the Spaceways" by Lee Elias (art) and Bill Dubay (story). This story was Elias's Warren debut and its quite impressive, a large improvement over the art in prior Rook stories. Elias would for a while do the Rook's stories once the character got its own magazine. This story, which is continued in the next issue, was originally part of a large story that had been split in two after Jim Warren (thankfully) demanded that Dubay reduce the size of the Rook stories. In this story the Rook, upset over the government cutting funding for NASA heads into the future to find something to impress the government. A battle is occuring however, and at the end of the story he comes across a partially destroyed ship, looking for survivors. Ironically enough Joe Brancatelli's 'The Comic Books 'column discusses this very story (clearly before the decision to publish it had occured), with Bill Dubay talking about how he does not want to split the story in two parts for publication.
Second is "Siege", the latest "Horizon Seekers" story. Art is by Leo Duranona and story is by Duranona & Cary Bates. In this story Allison and Jesse are pursued by the giant throughout the castle. It eventually gets its hand stuck in a tower within the castle. Unfortunately for them, an even larger menace, a huge army of creatures seems to be coming from the horizon.
Third is "The Earthquake Stick" by Jose Ortiz (art) and Budd Lewis (story). This story tells of a young boy in an orphanage who is abused by the head of the place as well as his fellow orphans. He has a secret friend however, an alien creature that he is able to summon with a small device he has. Eventually he finds that he can use his fellow orphans as food for the creature.
Fourth is "Ophiophobia" by Martin Salvador (art) and Bill Dubay (story). This story features a man who is deathly afraid of snakes. The story flashes back to his childhood and how his fear in snakes got started. Eventually he gets sent to war in Vietnam, where is he is captured by the enemy and thrown into a pit filled with snakes.
Fifth is "Tracks" by Pepe Moreno Casares (art) and Roger McKenzie (story). This story takes place around a winter cabin where a man's wife dies and her corpse is eaten by some unknown menace. He goes outside trying to hunt it and eventually passes out in the snow.
Last is "Neatness Counts" by Joe Vaultz (art) and Jean Michel Martin (story). This short story with no dialogue features aliens coming to the moon, finding what the astronauts left there, and cleaning it all up, thinking it is trash.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Eerie 101
Jim Laurier provides the cover for this issue, featuring a robot in a futuristic city.
First is The Rook in "The Martians Are Coming, The Martians Are Coming!" by Jim Starlin & Alfredo Alcala (art) and Bill Dubay (story). The art in this story looks markingly different than the usual art for Starlin and Alcala, an odd combination. Like most of the recent Rook stories, this features a dual storyline of the Rook in the past and Bishop Dane & Manners on an adventure. The Rook goes about a hundred years in the past where he encounters a robot inventor and a rival of his, who ends up being Adolf Hitler's father. In the present Dane and Manners help stop a revolt by members of the US's own government. Somewhat better than the last few Rook stories for the simple fact that its considerably shorter and simpler.
Second is the second part of "Gotterdammerung!" by Isidro Mones (art) and Budd Lewis (story). Our heroes battle the aliens, trying to retake the Earth from them. During the fight Jericho is severly injured, then transported to another human ship where one of our hero's father is aboard. They fight off the aliens and are reunited as the story ends.
Third is the third part of "The Horizon Seekers" by Leo Duranona (art) and Leo Duranona & Cary Bates (story). Our heroes depart the mountain and arrive in a warmer landscape where they are pursued by a group of tribesman. They are chased to a castle filled with knights and a wizard named Merlin. Upon entering its revealed that it is actually just a museum and Merlin is just an old man who like them has lost his memories and is merely hypnotizing people into believing that they are actually in the middle ages. As the story ends the tribesman arrive once more to attack the castle.
The issue concludes with Hunter II in "Three Flames of the Phoenix" by Pepe Moreno Casares (art) and Budd Lewis (story). Ten years have passed since the conclusion of the Hunter II saga. Karas is set to be married, but an old wizard arrives and tells him that she has been kidnapped by an evil wizard. Karas, the wizard and the Exterminator head off the fight the evil wizard. During their trip the allied wizard is killed and the Exterminator is trapped under a rock. Karas finally faces the evil wizard, who ends up being Mandragora (who ended up being the main villain in the series) himself. Browne Loe, the wizard who led him there arrives, and reveals that the entire scenario was a set up so he could kill Mandragora himself once and for all, which he does by sacrificing himself. This actually is a pretty good story from both an art and story standpoint, but its quite puzzling why this stand alone Hunter II story appears out of nowhere. It had been nearly 30 issues since the series concluded, and this didn't kick off a new series, but rather ended immediately after this single story. Its also dissappointing to see them use someone other than Paul Neary for the art, who did both the Hunter and Hunter II series.
First is The Rook in "The Martians Are Coming, The Martians Are Coming!" by Jim Starlin & Alfredo Alcala (art) and Bill Dubay (story). The art in this story looks markingly different than the usual art for Starlin and Alcala, an odd combination. Like most of the recent Rook stories, this features a dual storyline of the Rook in the past and Bishop Dane & Manners on an adventure. The Rook goes about a hundred years in the past where he encounters a robot inventor and a rival of his, who ends up being Adolf Hitler's father. In the present Dane and Manners help stop a revolt by members of the US's own government. Somewhat better than the last few Rook stories for the simple fact that its considerably shorter and simpler.
Second is the second part of "Gotterdammerung!" by Isidro Mones (art) and Budd Lewis (story). Our heroes battle the aliens, trying to retake the Earth from them. During the fight Jericho is severly injured, then transported to another human ship where one of our hero's father is aboard. They fight off the aliens and are reunited as the story ends.
Third is the third part of "The Horizon Seekers" by Leo Duranona (art) and Leo Duranona & Cary Bates (story). Our heroes depart the mountain and arrive in a warmer landscape where they are pursued by a group of tribesman. They are chased to a castle filled with knights and a wizard named Merlin. Upon entering its revealed that it is actually just a museum and Merlin is just an old man who like them has lost his memories and is merely hypnotizing people into believing that they are actually in the middle ages. As the story ends the tribesman arrive once more to attack the castle.
The issue concludes with Hunter II in "Three Flames of the Phoenix" by Pepe Moreno Casares (art) and Budd Lewis (story). Ten years have passed since the conclusion of the Hunter II saga. Karas is set to be married, but an old wizard arrives and tells him that she has been kidnapped by an evil wizard. Karas, the wizard and the Exterminator head off the fight the evil wizard. During their trip the allied wizard is killed and the Exterminator is trapped under a rock. Karas finally faces the evil wizard, who ends up being Mandragora (who ended up being the main villain in the series) himself. Browne Loe, the wizard who led him there arrives, and reveals that the entire scenario was a set up so he could kill Mandragora himself once and for all, which he does by sacrificing himself. This actually is a pretty good story from both an art and story standpoint, but its quite puzzling why this stand alone Hunter II story appears out of nowhere. It had been nearly 30 issues since the series concluded, and this didn't kick off a new series, but rather ended immediately after this single story. Its also dissappointing to see them use someone other than Paul Neary for the art, who did both the Hunter and Hunter II series.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Creepy 107
This issue is an all sci-fi special issue of Creepy. The cover is by Romas Kukalis. All the stories in this issue are uncredited, although the creators would be revealed in later issues.
First is "The Rubicon" by Pepe Moreno Casares (art) and Budd Lewis (story). The issue's best story, a legitimately scary one (a rarity for this part of Creepy's life), it features a group of astronauts sent to some ruins where a number of astronauts have dissappeared. There they make a major discovery regarding the origin of mankind.
Second is "Family Ties" by Val Mayerik (art) and Bruce Jones (story). Another very good story, with some really good art from Mayerik, it takes place in a world where animals are able to talk through mental powers. The story stars a dog, who is to be the representation for the animals when humans arrive. He travels around, meeting various animals and creatures, and finally meets the humans, who are astronauts. They are unable to understand his mental communication however, and plan to blow up the whole place due to the radiation that gave the animals these powers.
Third is "The World from Rough Stones" by Joe Vaultz (art) and Jean Michel Martin (story). A group of radioactive aliens arrive at Earth only to be destroyed due to the oxygen there. They leave behind ruins, what we know as Stonehedge. A very short story at only 4 pages long.
Fourth is "Stainless Steel Savior" by Leo Duranona (art) and Len Wein (story). A robot is dumped in the trash by the family that owns him when a newer model comes out. The robot initially stays with some homeless drunks but he has a vision of god and becomes a famous prophet who gets many followers. He is about to broker peace in the middle east when he is shot by one of his friends, who just wants to get drunk. The robot is dumped in the trash, his teachings are forgotten, and everything goes back to normal.
Fifth is "Quirks" by Walt Simonson & Terry Austin (art) and Bob Toomey (story). A group of astronauts come to a planet with a lot of dangerous creatures. They find one small monkey like creature who sleeps through everything, making them wonder how he is able to do this. They are surprised to hear that its not due to any special mental powers that he is able to ignore predators, but because he's inedible. This story would have a sequel in issue 112.
Last is "Mindquake" by Garcia Pizarro (art) and Jim Stenstrum (story). This issue's poorest effort, it is about a spaceship that has a man on it who has mental powers which cause harm to come to the ship. It is later revealed that the harm is actually from spies who have infiltrated the ship who are defeated. A dissappointing story from the usually dependable Stenstrum.
First is "The Rubicon" by Pepe Moreno Casares (art) and Budd Lewis (story). The issue's best story, a legitimately scary one (a rarity for this part of Creepy's life), it features a group of astronauts sent to some ruins where a number of astronauts have dissappeared. There they make a major discovery regarding the origin of mankind.
Second is "Family Ties" by Val Mayerik (art) and Bruce Jones (story). Another very good story, with some really good art from Mayerik, it takes place in a world where animals are able to talk through mental powers. The story stars a dog, who is to be the representation for the animals when humans arrive. He travels around, meeting various animals and creatures, and finally meets the humans, who are astronauts. They are unable to understand his mental communication however, and plan to blow up the whole place due to the radiation that gave the animals these powers.
Third is "The World from Rough Stones" by Joe Vaultz (art) and Jean Michel Martin (story). A group of radioactive aliens arrive at Earth only to be destroyed due to the oxygen there. They leave behind ruins, what we know as Stonehedge. A very short story at only 4 pages long.
Fourth is "Stainless Steel Savior" by Leo Duranona (art) and Len Wein (story). A robot is dumped in the trash by the family that owns him when a newer model comes out. The robot initially stays with some homeless drunks but he has a vision of god and becomes a famous prophet who gets many followers. He is about to broker peace in the middle east when he is shot by one of his friends, who just wants to get drunk. The robot is dumped in the trash, his teachings are forgotten, and everything goes back to normal.
Fifth is "Quirks" by Walt Simonson & Terry Austin (art) and Bob Toomey (story). A group of astronauts come to a planet with a lot of dangerous creatures. They find one small monkey like creature who sleeps through everything, making them wonder how he is able to do this. They are surprised to hear that its not due to any special mental powers that he is able to ignore predators, but because he's inedible. This story would have a sequel in issue 112.
Last is "Mindquake" by Garcia Pizarro (art) and Jim Stenstrum (story). This issue's poorest effort, it is about a spaceship that has a man on it who has mental powers which cause harm to come to the ship. It is later revealed that the harm is actually from spies who have infiltrated the ship who are defeated. A dissappointing story from the usually dependable Stenstrum.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Eerie 100
Jordi Penalva paints the cover for this issue of Eerie, featuring a number of different Eerie heroes including Hunter, the Spook, Darklon, Dax and others.
First is "Master of Ti Chi" by Jim Janes & Alfredo Alcala (art) and Bill Dubay (story). The Rook serial continues to spiral downward in quality while the story length and complexity continues to increase to absurd degrees. This story features the Rook going to a place known as Ti Chi which is nothing like what he expected. This story's sole bright spot is a storyline involving Bishop Dane where an alien comes to Earth peacefully but ends up getting killed by the government.
Second is "Gotterdammerung" by Isidro Mones (art) and Budd Lewis (story). This story takes place in a devastated future. Two slave boys meet Jericho, a robot man, and another man, Juda. The four of them get on a spaceship and escape from the Earth.
Third is the next story of the Horizon Seekers, "In a Strange Land" by Leo Duranona (art) and Leo Duranona & Cary Bates (story). Our heroes try to escape in a hot air balloon, but their enemy, the Sheexa arrives and ends up destroying it. They crash to the Earth and hide in the mountains.
Last is "Duel", the final story in the Darklon saga. Story and art is by Jim Starlin. Darklon and his father have their final conclusive duel. Darklon's father reveals why he was trying to have him assassinated. The two decide to use a device that will kill one of them. Darklon's father ends up being he one dying. The Nameless One arrives, demanding that he will now rule the planet due to his deal with Darklon. Darklon responds by blowing up the entire planet, and narrowly escaping. Throughout the story a parallel story of a father and son in the hospital (representing Darklon and his father) is also told. An interesting and exciting way to end this rather poor issue.
First is "Master of Ti Chi" by Jim Janes & Alfredo Alcala (art) and Bill Dubay (story). The Rook serial continues to spiral downward in quality while the story length and complexity continues to increase to absurd degrees. This story features the Rook going to a place known as Ti Chi which is nothing like what he expected. This story's sole bright spot is a storyline involving Bishop Dane where an alien comes to Earth peacefully but ends up getting killed by the government.
Second is "Gotterdammerung" by Isidro Mones (art) and Budd Lewis (story). This story takes place in a devastated future. Two slave boys meet Jericho, a robot man, and another man, Juda. The four of them get on a spaceship and escape from the Earth.
Third is the next story of the Horizon Seekers, "In a Strange Land" by Leo Duranona (art) and Leo Duranona & Cary Bates (story). Our heroes try to escape in a hot air balloon, but their enemy, the Sheexa arrives and ends up destroying it. They crash to the Earth and hide in the mountains.
Last is "Duel", the final story in the Darklon saga. Story and art is by Jim Starlin. Darklon and his father have their final conclusive duel. Darklon's father reveals why he was trying to have him assassinated. The two decide to use a device that will kill one of them. Darklon's father ends up being he one dying. The Nameless One arrives, demanding that he will now rule the planet due to his deal with Darklon. Darklon responds by blowing up the entire planet, and narrowly escaping. Throughout the story a parallel story of a father and son in the hospital (representing Darklon and his father) is also told. An interesting and exciting way to end this rather poor issue.
Aside from the Darklon story, a very poor issue, and quite a dissappointment for a 100th issue.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Eerie 99
The Rook is cover featured for the first time in quite a while in this issue, a cover by Jordi Penalva.
First is the Rook in "Hickey and the Pirates" by Jose Ortiz (art) and Bill Dubay (story). Bishop Dane is shocked to find out that the Rook has to pay income taxes when he meets the Rook's accountant. Longing for adventure, Dane heads to the past where pirates reigned, and he encounters the accountant's ancestor. Like the last story, a tad long and overcomplicated, although Ortiz fills in nicely with the art.
Second is "The Horizon Seekers", a new series from Leo Duranona (art) and Duranona & Cary Bates (story). This long series was a pretty good one, although this is a weak first story. It takes place in the desert where a woman, Allison, takes a man, Jessie, prisoner. They are then captured themselves and brought to a city which they eventually escape from.
Third is the second and final story in the "The Shining Sea" by Alfredo Alcala (art) and Nicola Cuti (story). Humans arrive from Earth, but they are quite cruel, murdering many of the fish-people in order to take their gold. Our hero is able to fight them off, but at the cost of our hero's lover. Later more friendly humans arrive as well. Some very odd concepts with this series, but it ended up being an okay series.
Fourth is the second and final part of "Harrow House" by Jose Ortiz (art) and Bruce Jones (story). Our protagonist discovers that Gretchen is alive after all. Gretchen tells him her aunt has been drugging him and others who have come to the house, and taking their blood because she is a vampire. The aunt arrives and Gretchen runs off outside. The aunt reveals that Gretchen is the actual vampire, and that she has been gathering blood for her. Having made it outside in the sunlight however, Gretchen is killed. A very good conclusion, the strongest story here.
Last is "A Crack in Time" by Pablo Marcos (art) and Louise Jones (story). A couple goes back in time in order to study Cro-Magnon man. There they are confronted by Neanderthals who capture them, and eventually escape. Their time machine is destroyed, stranding them there, making them realize that they themselves are the Cro-Magnons who were the ancestors of modern humanity.
First is the Rook in "Hickey and the Pirates" by Jose Ortiz (art) and Bill Dubay (story). Bishop Dane is shocked to find out that the Rook has to pay income taxes when he meets the Rook's accountant. Longing for adventure, Dane heads to the past where pirates reigned, and he encounters the accountant's ancestor. Like the last story, a tad long and overcomplicated, although Ortiz fills in nicely with the art.
Second is "The Horizon Seekers", a new series from Leo Duranona (art) and Duranona & Cary Bates (story). This long series was a pretty good one, although this is a weak first story. It takes place in the desert where a woman, Allison, takes a man, Jessie, prisoner. They are then captured themselves and brought to a city which they eventually escape from.
Third is the second and final story in the "The Shining Sea" by Alfredo Alcala (art) and Nicola Cuti (story). Humans arrive from Earth, but they are quite cruel, murdering many of the fish-people in order to take their gold. Our hero is able to fight them off, but at the cost of our hero's lover. Later more friendly humans arrive as well. Some very odd concepts with this series, but it ended up being an okay series.
Fourth is the second and final part of "Harrow House" by Jose Ortiz (art) and Bruce Jones (story). Our protagonist discovers that Gretchen is alive after all. Gretchen tells him her aunt has been drugging him and others who have come to the house, and taking their blood because she is a vampire. The aunt arrives and Gretchen runs off outside. The aunt reveals that Gretchen is the actual vampire, and that she has been gathering blood for her. Having made it outside in the sunlight however, Gretchen is killed. A very good conclusion, the strongest story here.
Last is "A Crack in Time" by Pablo Marcos (art) and Louise Jones (story). A couple goes back in time in order to study Cro-Magnon man. There they are confronted by Neanderthals who capture them, and eventually escape. Their time machine is destroyed, stranding them there, making them realize that they themselves are the Cro-Magnons who were the ancestors of modern humanity.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Eerie 98
This issue features a cover by Patrick Woodroffe of a skull faced cop. Due to an elongated Rook story, there's only three stories in this issue.
First is the Rook in "Quarb and the Warball" by Luis Bermejo (art) and Bill Dubay (story). At 31 pages, this is tied for the longest story in Warren history. This story features multiple creations from a fan contest held in Eerie where fans submitted story ideas. This story features a man named Quarb, who was born millions of years ago when the Earth was populated by apes due to alien interference. Quarb is not only super smart, he also is immortal. When the Rook finds out about his home he desires to go back in time to see the first intelligent man. Dane meanwhile goes in the past to meet his ancestors. In the past Rook is captured by apes and goes through a long ordeal where he is unable to meet Quarb, gets abducted by the aliens who were looking for Quarb, and finally does meet him in his home, but Quarb acts unintelligent and the Rook leaves. Dane encounters his ancestors, who are fighting a man named McQuarb who just happens to be both Quarb, and Dane's ancestor. Finally, Quarb himself arrives in the present to look at the Rook's creations and laboratory. A rather too complicated story and too long story, with way too much words.
Second is "Got You On My Mind" by Russ Heath (art) and Bruce Jones (story). This story features a man with a skull birthmark on his cheek that has dreams of people who has caused violence. He goes to them in real life and kills them. However he has a dream of a murderous woman who is actually just an actress and is killed by cops when he tries to strangle her. One of the cops there has the skull birthmark appear on him as well afterwards.
Last is the conclusion to the "Honor and Blood" series, with art by Leo Duranona and story by Nicola Cuti. This story brings us to the present time, where Sean Vrykola (who has changed his name to Varly) goes to Romania to meet his cousin Mara and learn of the family history. Mara lives all by herself except for a pair of vicious dogs. Sean learns of his family's vampire history, while at the same time there have been vampire related murders occuring. Sean meets Mara's father, who is crazy, and returning home finds out that she is a vampire after all. She runs and gets killed by her dogs, but it ends up it is actually his wife Peggy who was the killer. Sean and Mara are normal after all, and get married, ending this series on a more pleasant note than usual. A top notch series throughout, its a shame that it ends here after only three stories.
First is the Rook in "Quarb and the Warball" by Luis Bermejo (art) and Bill Dubay (story). At 31 pages, this is tied for the longest story in Warren history. This story features multiple creations from a fan contest held in Eerie where fans submitted story ideas. This story features a man named Quarb, who was born millions of years ago when the Earth was populated by apes due to alien interference. Quarb is not only super smart, he also is immortal. When the Rook finds out about his home he desires to go back in time to see the first intelligent man. Dane meanwhile goes in the past to meet his ancestors. In the past Rook is captured by apes and goes through a long ordeal where he is unable to meet Quarb, gets abducted by the aliens who were looking for Quarb, and finally does meet him in his home, but Quarb acts unintelligent and the Rook leaves. Dane encounters his ancestors, who are fighting a man named McQuarb who just happens to be both Quarb, and Dane's ancestor. Finally, Quarb himself arrives in the present to look at the Rook's creations and laboratory. A rather too complicated story and too long story, with way too much words.
Second is "Got You On My Mind" by Russ Heath (art) and Bruce Jones (story). This story features a man with a skull birthmark on his cheek that has dreams of people who has caused violence. He goes to them in real life and kills them. However he has a dream of a murderous woman who is actually just an actress and is killed by cops when he tries to strangle her. One of the cops there has the skull birthmark appear on him as well afterwards.
Last is the conclusion to the "Honor and Blood" series, with art by Leo Duranona and story by Nicola Cuti. This story brings us to the present time, where Sean Vrykola (who has changed his name to Varly) goes to Romania to meet his cousin Mara and learn of the family history. Mara lives all by herself except for a pair of vicious dogs. Sean learns of his family's vampire history, while at the same time there have been vampire related murders occuring. Sean meets Mara's father, who is crazy, and returning home finds out that she is a vampire after all. She runs and gets killed by her dogs, but it ends up it is actually his wife Peggy who was the killer. Sean and Mara are normal after all, and get married, ending this series on a more pleasant note than usual. A top notch series throughout, its a shame that it ends here after only three stories.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Creepy 90
Enrich provides the cover for this issue of Creepy, one of his few Creepy covers.
First is "Warrior on the Edge of Forever" by Jose Ortiz (art) and Bill Dubay (story). This story was originally intended for the war special of the prior issue. Its about a man who has dreams of prior lives as a soldier in important wars and conflicts. This story features photos of Warren production assistant Bill Mohalley as a dictator.
Second is "The Wash Out" by Leo Duranona (art) and Bruce Jones (story). A man and an android head out to a planet to find a woman. The man has a lot of disrespect for the android, although they do end up having sex with each other. Eventually they find the woman, who ends up being an android trying to pose as a human, and she's killed by them. Our protagonist ends up being an android after all, the android companion was actually a human all along, and he ends up shorting out his circuits when he drinks some coffee.
Third is "The Search" by Carmine Infantino & Gonzalo Mayo (art) and Roger McKenzie (story). This story is about a town's search for a vampire that has been killing many of its occupants. The story is told from a person who lost his lover to a vampire. It ends up that our narrator is the vampire, and he ends up getting killed by his own father.
Fourth is "Please... Save the Children" by Martin Salvador (art) and Bill Dubay (story). This story tells of a child killer whose daughter ended up dying after she ran away after being spanked. This causes him to go out and start killing children of parents who he perceives as treating them badly. Even though his father is the President of the US, this doesn't stop the prison from executing him.
Fifth is "The Sacrifice" by Auraleon (art) and Jose Toutain (story). This story tells of a tribe which feels the need to sacrifice its most beautiful virgin each year to its God. Even though the sacrifice this time is the chief's daughter, they go ahead with it anyway. The God they worship ends up being a giant computer. A short story at only four pages long.
Last is "Dollie" by Leopold Sanchez (art) and Roger McKenzie (story). This story was originally intended for the previous Christmas special. It features children being given horrific gifts by Santa Claus that cause havoc, such as a rifle that a boy uses to shoot his parents, not knowing it was real and a chemistry set that blows up the entire house. Another girl is given a doll that acts like a vampire. When the mother tears off its head, her daughter's head falls off. It ends up that it isn't Santa, but rather Satan that is giving out these gifts.
First is "Warrior on the Edge of Forever" by Jose Ortiz (art) and Bill Dubay (story). This story was originally intended for the war special of the prior issue. Its about a man who has dreams of prior lives as a soldier in important wars and conflicts. This story features photos of Warren production assistant Bill Mohalley as a dictator.
Second is "The Wash Out" by Leo Duranona (art) and Bruce Jones (story). A man and an android head out to a planet to find a woman. The man has a lot of disrespect for the android, although they do end up having sex with each other. Eventually they find the woman, who ends up being an android trying to pose as a human, and she's killed by them. Our protagonist ends up being an android after all, the android companion was actually a human all along, and he ends up shorting out his circuits when he drinks some coffee.
Third is "The Search" by Carmine Infantino & Gonzalo Mayo (art) and Roger McKenzie (story). This story is about a town's search for a vampire that has been killing many of its occupants. The story is told from a person who lost his lover to a vampire. It ends up that our narrator is the vampire, and he ends up getting killed by his own father.
Fourth is "Please... Save the Children" by Martin Salvador (art) and Bill Dubay (story). This story tells of a child killer whose daughter ended up dying after she ran away after being spanked. This causes him to go out and start killing children of parents who he perceives as treating them badly. Even though his father is the President of the US, this doesn't stop the prison from executing him.
Fifth is "The Sacrifice" by Auraleon (art) and Jose Toutain (story). This story tells of a tribe which feels the need to sacrifice its most beautiful virgin each year to its God. Even though the sacrifice this time is the chief's daughter, they go ahead with it anyway. The God they worship ends up being a giant computer. A short story at only four pages long.
Last is "Dollie" by Leopold Sanchez (art) and Roger McKenzie (story). This story was originally intended for the previous Christmas special. It features children being given horrific gifts by Santa Claus that cause havoc, such as a rifle that a boy uses to shoot his parents, not knowing it was real and a chemistry set that blows up the entire house. Another girl is given a doll that acts like a vampire. When the mother tears off its head, her daughter's head falls off. It ends up that it isn't Santa, but rather Satan that is giving out these gifts.
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