Foreshadowing the Equinox Boy

 Looking up video sleeves of late I saw this one for the early monster movie Equinox on Mountain video and thought, hmm, I've seen that boy's posture before. 

It's this diver on the Warren Eerie cover #3.

Similar? It's the hand that does it for me.

I wonder which came first?

The girl looks familiar too!

A Very Unusual Offer!

 

The only thing to have on Halloween,

One gram of genuine Dracula Soil!

And it's from Warren!

Anyone got any?

Blazing Combat!

As a kid I loved reading my big brothers' Creepy and Eerie comics. It was pure heaven.

Warren advertised their other American comics inside, which I've never seen in the flesh. 

The war one was Blazing Combat.

This is the incredible cover of the first issue, which really made an impression as a kid. The wounded guy always reminded me of a zombified corpse you definitely find in Creepy or Eerie (pics from an auction).

Yep, Blazing Combat used the same roster of world-class artists and writers as its more famous Warren horror stablemates.

That issue one cover was by Frank Frazetta. Who else! 

The inner cover and contents page is a mirror image of the Creepy and Eerie house style.

These are the explosive first four covers I remember.

And the back covers. 

Do you remember Blazing Combat?

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 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?