Bonner Comics Laden

 The comic shop Bonner Comic Laden is easily one of the biggest I've ever been in. It is deceptive to start with but the length of it is astonishing! It just keeps going back and back! 

Here are a few of the comics and modern Action figures for sale there in what is clearly a thriving German comics scene.

Fortuitously for me they had this Creepy archive by Dark Horse in the sale bin. €12.

I already have a hardback version at home with different stories in it.

This softback contains reprints of 1. My favourite cover, the young ghouls - below and 2. My favourite story, Monster Really. Result!

Do you have reprints of your childhood favorites or do you still have the original comics?

F O R M I C

 Speaking of ants, I'm getting worried about the number of ,Phase 4' diets I'm seeing.

Makes me think of ants and much chomping in the formulary of phase IV.

I've seen a lot of Ant movies and read a few Novels.

I've never seen Food of the Gods though - maybe that's rats film? It used to be advertised as a cine film for home viewing at the back of Warrens Creepy and Eerie comics.

I bought this softback of Creepy reprints this morning at the Bonner Comic Laden.

 Although Food of the Gods isn't advertised in it, some classic monotone monster cine films are, pictured above. The VHS of it's day! 

Have you seen it? Read any ant books? Did you or do you like Creepy and Eerie comics Readers?

🐜

Ant-dendum

In a sleepy Rhine village we're visiting is, yes, of all things, an ant controller! 

TERRANOVA'S TORRES

The attached pictures were sent in by Terranova47 and are from a recent show at The Society of Illustrators of the work by Mad Magazine and Warren Publishing artist, Angelo Torres.

These are original artworks framed behind glass.

What do you think?

A CASK OF AMONTILLADO

 

Seeing this bottle of Amontillado in the local Supermarket reminded me of my favourite Poe rendition, the Cask of Amontillado in Warren's wonderful Creepy magazine in the late Sixties.

Fortunately I'm not alone and here you can read it with your glass of Christmas plonk on Professor H's Wayback Machine! Enjoy!

http://professorhswaybackmachine.blogspot.com/2014/12/poe-1965-pt-8.html

MONSTER MOVIES AT THE BACK OF THE COMICS

I was thinking how fabulous those old B-movies were advertised at the back of American monster comics like Creepy and Eerie.

The man with the X-ray Eyes, the Incredible Shrinking Man, Horror at Party Beach, The Mole People and so many more brilliant titles.

So many come flooding back: Tarantula, Them, The Black Scorpion, Frankenstein Conquers the World, the Black Sleep and Plan 9 from Outer Space.

I stared at them all and wondered if I would ever see any of them. My favourite titles were the She Creature and War of the Colossal Beast, the latter being one the best film titles ever in my opinion.

Like the comics they were in these old films now seem like portals to another time and place and I often think fondly of those happy times I spent browsing those pages and saying those amazing film titles out loud so long ago.

Did you look at those movie ads at the back of comics readers? Have you got a favourite?

IN PRAISE OF WARREN PUBLISHING'S CREEPY AND EERIE

I adored Creepy and Eerie comics as a kid.

It was Halloween every day!

There's loads of stuff on You Tube about Warren Publishing.

Here's one I caught.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBFm8KhAnXc

SHOKKI COMIC

Warren's Creepy and Eerie was a worldwide horror comics phenomenon. 

Here's some links for the Finnish version, Shokki.

http://www.antikvariaattimakedonia.fi/moog/index.php?sivu=lehti&moog_lehti_id=16465

https://muuta.net/Shokki/Shokki1973.html

I collected all the first runs of Creepy and Eerie in the Noughties and these are stored away in the loft. I adored these comics as a kid, reading my older brothers' copies, in the Sixties and early Seventies. I wanted my own set when I grew up!

Arto very kindly sent me a copy of the Finnish Shokki and it makes a fine addition to my collection.

Did you read Creepy and Eerie? Do you collect them in the country you live in?

FIRSTY FOR MONSTERS?

There's something about firsts.

In the world of horror mags and comics two publications claw their way up well... first!

With Creepy in the bag and making waves, Warren publishing launched Eerie onto a monster-hungry youth in the 1965/6 and trademarked the name with a mock-up 200 print first issue, containing just three stories.

This revolutionary starter was an "ashcan" created solely to get the name in the system and thus the obscure and mythical Eerie issue 1 is called the Ashcan issue by collectors.

I certainly don't have one and I've never seen one in the flesh but if you google it there are various blogs - like Zombo's closet - with scans of what are purported to be ashcan pages. Occasionally copies turn up on auction sites commanding large sums. I wonder if its easy to establish if these are all genuine?

Anyways, here's the black and white cover I saw on Ebay sometime:

You ever seen one readers?

Another monstrous first to follow for All Hallows Eve!

CREEPY INSPIRATION FOR THE DAMNEDEST THING

Today's short tale was inspired by the strips I read in Creepy and Eerie comics in the late Sixties and Seventies.

The comics belonged to my older brothers and I read them all.

Its hard to put into words the impact these comics had on me as a kid and in many ways shaped who I am. They represent for me the very essence of my late Sixtoes childhood and more importantly a golden age with my family in our Parent's home.

Since devouring them the first time round I have managed to get my own cool set of classic Sixties Creepy and Eeries, a treasured stack of loathsome lore for sure, mostly collected via Memorabilia, Thunderbooks and a few other dealers in the late 90's/early 00's, when I had spare cash.

I also got a hardback modern archive one recent Christmas. It was published by Dark Horse and lets me read some of the classic strips without crawling into the attic to unearth my originals.

When blogging today's tale I had in mind various Creepy strips hauled from the cellars of memory:

The Damned Thing, about a shadowy beast [inspiration for my title too]:

Moon City, about a pack of wolves in space! [there's a nuclear ferry in it as well!]

and a story about vampires on the moon, the name of which is lost in Uncle Creepy's dungeon I'm afraid!

Do you remember any Creepy and Eerie strips readers?

Vampirella - Trick or Treat by tony k

A Halloween Tale From The haunted Toy Box

Mrs. K looked at me with the bemused patience of someone watching a wayward child. 'What are you doing photographing a naked doll?'.

''She's not a doll... she's an action figure!', I replied somewhat defensively. 'And she's not naked!', I muttered under my breath.

I was actually photographing Vampirella; a 1/6 scale collaboration between action figure maestros Phicen Ltd/TB League, and Dynamite Entertainment, who own the Vampirella rights. 

If you don't venture out at the witching hour, Vampirella is a curvy comic book supernatural superheroine... a confusingly 'good' vampire created by Forrest J Ackerman and Trina Robbins.

 Vampirella, issue 1, flew onto the magazine shelves in September 1969. She was the sister publication to Warren's popular Creepy and Eerie magazines. An evocative front cover by Frank Frazetta set the standard and secured Vampirella's future as a seductive enchantress and fave femme fatale amongst comic book fans. 

Vampirella has been drawn by numerous artists over the decades. Each one bringing an individual look to the character. As such, a metamorphosis takes place, giving her a shapeshifting quality. 

 Arguably, the real continuity to the character's appearance is conveyed through her uncompromising costume; originally designed by comic book artist Trina Robbins. 

 It's fiery red retro-cut is instantly recognisable and reminiscent of a sixties go-go dancer - stylised, sexualised, dangerously revealing... it's not for the faint-hearted or politically correct!

Had she been published in the mid-fifties during the dark days of witch hunts and public comic book burnings, Vampirella would've been moral crusading author Fredric Wertham's arch-nemesis. 

 Thankfully Vampirella went to print in more enlightened times, when the innocent were free to chose their own comic book seduction and corruption.

TB League is the first company to produce a licensed 1/6 collectors action figure of Vampirella. Oddly for a successful comic book character, Vampirella has been under merchandised. 

 Comics and statues aside, an eBay search reveals a handful of Clayburn Moore sculpted figures and some modern model kits. Perhaps the most unforgettable piece of Vampirella memorabilia is the classic 1971 model kit by Aurora. 

A highly controversial full page comic book advert saw Vampirella miscast as an evil villainess in Dr. Deadly's Monster Scenes ensemble.

Vampirella's product box states she is the 'Asian Edition', which may suggest that other cultural versions will follow?

The aloof beauty of the face sculpt may reinforce the comic book origin and sense of subtle otherness that Vampirella is from another world. 

Head sculpts are subjective! Maybe the Caroline Munro sculpt featured on the retired Phicen figure 'Stella Star', would have given Vampirella the ideal look? 

This stunning seventies scream queen was initially chosen for the role of Vampirella, in a Hammer motion picture which in keeping with vampire mythos, never saw the light of day.

The Phicen/TBLeague action figure body design is a radically new concept. A figure is produced by moulding a seamless silicone skin over a stainless steel articulated armature for a lifelike look. 

 Thoughts of the futuristic T-X 'Terminatrix' spring to mind with its metal skeleton concealed beneath synthetic skin. Perhaps this revolutionary design process is the next evolutionary step in 1/6 scale action figure production? 

But could we be forgiven for wondering if Mattel's Matt Mason was the action figure who pioneered hidden-armature design? 

TB League have included a beautifully macabre display stand for their beautifully macabre vampiress. 

Made from polystone, the mound of grinning skulls and the toppled headstone reflect the comic cover world of Vampirella.

The set also includes a red cloak and a vampire bat which slips onto one of her interchangeable hands, to recreate the iconic Jose Gonzalez door poster pose. 

Vampirella was born to an era when Dennis Wheatley novels and Pan Horror books were best sellers... and good old fashioned 'X' rated Hammer horror films were must-see cinema sell-outs. 

 It was a time when the occult and its sexploitation sidekick were in vogue. Even today, the bewitching Vampirella bites into the our obsession for the irresistible fictional Vampire... she feeds upon our guilty fascination with sex and death.

 She is the forbidden pop culture pin-up girl who torments our collective psyche and continues to haunt our troubled dreams. 

Happy Halloween Monster Fans.

Tony K

hop frog: leaping into halloween

When I was a wee lad in the Sixties I was monsterized.

While playing with my Project SWORD, Major Mat Mason, Lite Brite, Action Man and Glow Globs, my older brothers were fully immersed in the monster craze and used to read the brilliant Creepy and Eerie Comics by Warren publishing. 

This came into its own during the dark season starting at Halloween and peaking at Christmas, when new comics arrived as if by magic!

I was hooked!

When I was old enough to go up town on Saturday I continued where they'd left off, buying back issues and new ones from a fabulous comic stall on Preston market. 

But it was my Brothers' earlier copies that have stuck in my mind to this day, as the stories were so genuinely scary and the illustrations out of this world.

One such dastardly tale was Hop Frog. It was originally penned by Edgar Alan Poe and adapted for Creepy. Like the similar Cask of Amontillado [check back here tomorrow for Celtica Radio's Halloween reading of this] it scared me to death! 

You can find it in full online either as Poe's grim original from 1850 or if you have Warren's Creepy comic Issue 11 check out Reed Crandall/ Archie Goodwin's comic-strip masterpiece.

Better still, get hold of an old book of Poe's works, settle in your favourite armchair and read the 'old fashioned' way in front of a roaring fire!

But be warned! Hop Frog, a classic tale of tyranny and revenge, is not for the squeamish or easily offended. 

However, if like me, you like the dark matter of Sixties monster comics, Hop Frog is dripping with gothic grue and ideal for a dark night''s reading this ghostly season.

Hop Frog got another chance to shine, this time in the Roger Cormen 1964 movie masterpiece, Poe's Masque of the Red Death, in which the diminutive jester Hop Toad is superbly played by the talented Skip Martin, pictured below.

Not for the faint hearted, Masque is a tale of love, wrath and grisly revenge in the court of Prince Prospero played exquisitely by Vincent Price.

What will you be reading, watching or listening to this Halloween?

the door mat lies silent as a dead mysteron

Its Saturday morning at Moonbase.

The coffee is hot and the sun is shining on the first of July.

But something's missing.

Nothing has slapped on the door mat. Nothing has flopped through the letterbox.

I've nothing to read!

It'd odd. My childhood was filled with comics and magazines and the best way of getting them was a subscription from the local 'paper shop' and delivered by a paper boy. I loved how our old address was scribbled in the top corner in pencil, 24 Powis ...

I got a few TV21's this way [respect to anyone who got them all through the door!] but the big mat hitter for me was Look-In.

I got stacks of them through the door as a kid and adored the thing. On The Buses, the free gifts, the lot. My favourite was Kung Fu as it tapped into the oriental craze sweeping through the West and right through my bedroom!

Getting your favourite comic through the door was a joy and perhaps a rare joy these days. I'm not sure if its possible to get comics and magazines from the paper shop now and delivered by a paper boy. Is it?

I did enjoy that weekly buzz once more in the Nineties when I subscribed to Model and Collectors Mart and I have to say it was equally as thrilling. I adored that mag as much as Look-In and consumed every word on the steamy bus to work!

But all good things seem to come to an end and Model Mart's sales dropped and it sadly faded away. My pile of magazines was huge and by 2003 when we moved house I had to recycle most of them keeping a few choice ones to follow me into the future.

I have thought about another subscription but nothing leaps out. It could be an age thing with me now. The modern 2000 AD perhaps [is it any good?] or maybe the revamped Warren Creepy of old called Creeps?

Maybe I'm just being an old curmudgeon but perhaps the golden age of kids' adventure comics has gone and subscriptions have faded like the contrails of Thunderbird 2. I've not heard a single modern kid ever mention a subscription comic or magazine to me. If they do talk about them its always superhero stuff, which they got from a city centre comic shop.

Is 2000 AD the last UK gasp for a genre that filled our lungs with the air of excitement and outer space when we were kids in the Sixties and Seventies - and maybe even the Eighties and Nineties?

the beastman stalks

I've been messing with the photomosaic feature on my new PC. Not sure what do with it really! I think its for teenagers.

Anyways, here's a splitscreen classic Frank Frazetta cover on the iconic Creepy comic by Warren Publishing. Not sure splitting it has added anything!

Creepy and Eerie comics were the very essence of my monstrous youth.

Do you like Creepy and Eerie?

VAMPUS: THE SPANISH CREEPY COMIC

I adore Warren's Creepy and Eerie comics. They made my childhood monstrous

.

So I was really pleasantly surprised to see that Spanish children got to see them too!

Vampus was the Spanish Creepy.

It makes perfect sense to see them in Spanish as many of the artists Warren employed were Spaniards from the Selecciones Ilustradas art agency in Barcelona.

Did you read Creepy and Eerie in your part of the world readers?

VAMPUS: THE SPANISH CREEPY

It shouldn't have come as a surprise to me that my favourite horror comic from the Sixties and Seventies was published in other languages but it did. I saw this last week on Todocollecion, the Spanish market place. Its Creepy in Spanish and called Vampus and dated 1973!

Vampus may be re-prints of earlier Creepy's, I'm not sure. This one features the cover of Creepy #3 from 1965 shown below. Does anyone know the story behind Spain's Vampus comics? Were there horror comics in your neck of the woods?

www.cover browser.com

PS. Just found out that the Spanish version of Warren's EERIE horror comic was called RUFUS!

SLURPASAURS IN THE CAPTAIN'S COMPANY

Just spent a few days in our spiritual home of Whitby on the North East coast of England nestling nest to the bleak Yorkshire Moors.

With charity shops, junk shops and indoor car boot sales there's always plenty of collectables to rummage through.

My small catch this trip include a beautiful boxed Super 8 film reel of the 1940 dinosaur epic 1 Million BC starring Victor Mature [pictured is one courtesy of Gasoline Alley, which is slightly different to mine]. I'm sure I recall seeing it advertised by the Captain's Company at the back of Sixties' horror comics like Creepy and Eerie but couldn't find any evidence of this online.

Not to be confused with the later One Million Years BC starring Sixties bombshell Raquel Welch, the Victor Mature movie was also known as Tumak. It was one of the first major films to use what became known as the Slurpasaur, whereby reptiles were filmed larger to look like Dinosaurs! 

The one in the colourised shot above reminds me totally of the slurpasaur's head from Journey to the Centre of the Earth filmed 19 years later in 1959!

Speaking of Raquel, today I also found an old wall poster of Elvis on a motorbike. At £8 it was too steep for me but I used to see this poster next to one of Raquel's cave girl at the back of American comics. It usually sat alongside Steve McQueen's "Halt" motorbike shot from the Great Escape and my personal fave, Frankenstein, which I was lucky enough to re-acquire about 10 years ago, in its original Sixties' postal carton from the Monster Company.

I also passed up on an old record LP I saw many times advertised in Creepy and Eerie magazines in the Sixties, Mike Jones' Hi Fi Spooktacular. At £12 in a record fair box it was a little too much for me, but a lovely item to see and a reminder of happy days reading horror comic ads, in the Captain's Company, in my parents' old front room.

www.neverendingwonder.com

CREEPY MOON CITY SWORDBOMBED BY NUKE FERRY!

During a recent bout of cold and flu last month I settled back to read some horror comics as I have done when I've been ill since I was a kid. Somehow the combination of Lucozade, sleep and horror comics does the trick!

Whilst reading a Dark Horse omnibus of the first four issues of Warren's wonderful Creepy magazine [1964. 1965], in a story called MOON CITY, I noticed a very familiar spaceship, the Nuclear Ferry no less! It appears at the top of the page pictured and the artist Al McWilliams has it approaching a huge space station. The author, Larry Engleheart, has even included the phrase originally used by Bob McCall as the title of his painting of the vehicle, Earth to Moon Shuttle, now hanging in Tucson.

Although Bob McCall's Nuclear Ferry and Creepy magazine were contemporaries, due to the randomness of this appearance I will have to class it as a SWORDbomb! What do you think?