Creepy #1 (Warren/1964)

Following the introduction of the comics code horror and mystery comics had toned down somewhat, along came James Warren with Creepy, a magazine sized and more expensive comic aimed at adults for the "top shelf" and not for kids.

Problem solved.

Creepy began a whole genre of black & white comics including it's own sister titles Eerie and the more famous Vampirella.

 

There were no less than seven complete uncensored stories in this first quarterly edition beginning with Voodoo! which gives men a lesson on why they shouldn't neglect their wives.....

This is followed by a rather generic science-fiction tale H2O about destroyed civilisations and hidden mutations but Vampires Fly at Dusk makes the heart flutter with a twist to the tale of a vampire that I didn't see coming.

Werewolf is a standard tale of greed and getting what you deserve whilst Bewitched sends a shiver down the hairs of your neck. The moral being: Just don't mess with them witches!

A cracking tale of corruption in the comics industry comes up next when a fraud gets his horrific comeuppance in The Success Story!

The magazine ends with the twisted tale Pursuit of the Vampire.

Up until now I would make some kind of comment about the fact they don't make stuff like this anymore but they do! The Creeps magazine is now out in the Warren tradition, see the post below!

Oh and grab some Creepy's for your night time reading!

Warren revived: The Creeps #11 (Warrant) Out Now!

At long last my copy of the new Creeps magazine arrived in my local comic shop. Although this has been published for a while (hence the issue number) it has only just started being distributed by Diamond. I can only hope that at some stage they will make an arrangement with the publishers to offer the back issues which are still available.

A magazine size black & white magazine in the classic "Warren" style this was a joy to read.  Even the letters page, a welcome feature in the modern age was reminiscent of the days of old. An anthology of horror stories featuring no less than seven stories of varying interest and quality, just like Creepy itself.

Starting off with sibling rivalry in Sister Act the fate of the betrayer will leave you shocked to the core. The "amusing" If you knew Sushi comes up next taking place under the sea. The ending will literally "creep" you out.

The Ringing of the Bell, Parasite and Man's Best Friend are three entertaining little stories but The Flayed Hand didn't work for me nor did Pack Men which I felt was rushed with art that was sub-par.

Overall however this is a package you should pick up in your local comic shop and place a regular order for.

Highly Recommended.

Find out more about The Creeps on facebook.com/creepsmagazine or go to their Website at www.thecreepsmagazine.com/

Scream & Misty Halloween Special

The publishers of 2000AD have purchased the rights to a large amount of old British comics material and have already issued volumes of Misty, the horror comic for girls, Monster a strip from Scream and the Eagle with more on the way. (see post below).

Now they are releasing a Scream & Misty Halloween Special  with ALL NEW STORIES which will hit WH Smiths & all good newsagents and comic shops on 18th October! Price £3.99

Hopefully it will do well enough for more! 2000AD could do with a companion title!

The Leopard from Lime Street (Rebellion)

Photo: 2000AD Shop

Scratched by a leopard being treated for a rare disease with a radioactive serum 13 year old Billy Parmer develops amazing super-powers. Donning a homemade costume Billy takes up fighting crime in the form of Cat-Man, a burglar in a small English suburban town.

Billy also has to deal with school bullies and a revolting "Uncle" who make his life a misery. On top of that the local newspaper the Selbridge Sun tries to make him seem a threat to the good folk of the small market town.

On the face of it so much seems owed to a certain character created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko so many years earlier. The difference being the hero is around 13 and appears in Buster, a comic aged at 7 to 12 year olds.

First appearing in Buster in March 1976 Billy went on to feature in over 450 2-3 page episodes until 1985. This volume features the early stories and is a cracking read for all those who either read it first time round or love to read old British adventure strips.

Published by Rebellion (best known for 2000AD) this is part of a continuing series of reprints which will include The Dracula Files (from Scream), a second volume of horror from girls weekly Misty and Faceache a humour strip from Jet and Buster!

Current titles can be ordered here: https://shop.2000ad.com/catalogue/graphic-novels/treasury-of-british-comics

Arak: Son of Thunder #1 (DC/1981)

Arak: Son of Thunder #1 (DC)

Roy Thomas (w) Ernie Colon (a)

I hadn't read this comic since it first came out back in the early eighties so couldn't resists picking a copy of the first issue when I saw it on display in my local comic shop. This was an unusual title featuring a Red Indian" in Eighth Century Europe with lots of sword and sorcery. How so you may well ask.

This issue contains the origin of Arak (not his "real name") when a Viking longship comes across a young red-skinned boy nearly dead in a sinking canoe in the ocean after having sailed to far to the west as the result of a storm. Adopted by his rescuers young Arak as they name him grows to join their plundering crew.

However destiny has other plans for Arak as he joins the service of the witch  Angelica and uses a Christian icon to slay her serpent.

The adventure is afoot as Arak, more humane and noble than his fellows decides upon a journey to seek answers at the court of Carolus Magnus, King of the Franks.

This series lasted 50 issues and was a brave attempt by DC to create a character to compete with Conan and other barbarian adventurers of the era. I like this one.

  

Monsters Unleashed #10 (Marvel Magazine/1975)

This was the penultimate issue of of the short lived Monsters Unleashed title though readers at the time would not have known that this line of magazines was under threat. Marv Wolfman in his editorial boasted that the Marvel black & white magazine line had expanded to no less than 15 titles. Quite a lot. Most were about to go down starting with Haunt of Horror which had just published it's fifth and final issue.

This is an average issue containing nothing particularly special though both the Frankenstein's Monster  and Tigra stories were a solid read. The third story about a Japanese fisherman and his love for a mermaid was nothing new.

However Frankenstein meets a woman who doesn't treat him as a monster and she enlists his aid to save the President from assassination. A sad ending is involved so have yer hanky ready.

A woman and a vampiric rat with a symbiotic relationship confront Tigra who just happens to be in the neighbourhood when strange disappearances and murders start taking place. Tigra is a sort of a werecat for newbies to the scene. Always had more potential than she got. Joined the Avengers for a while I believe.

  
Other appearances of Tigra & Frankenstein in colour.

Star Lord #1 (1978)

Launched in 1978, Star Lord was a companion title to 2000AD but printed on better quality paper! The first issue saw the introduction of a character who was to far outlive the comic itself, a certain Johnny Alpha, The Strontium Dog.

There were a number of very strong strips in the first issue, Planet of the Damned set inside the Bermuda Triangle with all sorts of weirdness going on. Timequake comes up next where a simple act of smuggling an assassin into Israel sets off World War Three and changes the future. Those responsible? An alien race called the Droon. Who can stop them? None other than Brooker the smuggler himself.

Then there's Ro-Busters a favourite for many readers but not me I'm afraid.

The second issue saw the start of Mind Wars a cracking piece of science-fiction about two siblings given extraordinary powers by an alien race determined to defeat mankind.



Strangely and sadly Star Lord lasted a mere 22 issues before it was swallowed up by 2000AD, a decision taken despite Star Lord selling more than the main prog itself. The cost of production appears to be the main driver for this decision.

There are also three annuals and one summer special.

Nightmare Suspense Picture Library #1 (1966)

Pocket picture libraries were all the rage when I was a kid but most of these were war adventures with some westerns for the boys and of course the girls had their own which I never read, obviously! However there were one or two of other types available but this horror series is entirely new to me.

Nightmare Suspense Picture Library is a horror series and I just had to pick up the first issue when I saw it on sale in my local comic shop. The feature, The March of the Boneless Ones is set in rural Derbyshire sees cannibalistic fleshy things emerge from caves and start eating people and animals threatening to engulf the whole of the UK if they are not stopped.

The army fails to halt the monster advance with either flame-throwers or artillery. Time is running out.....

As far as I can find out this comic lasted 16 issues in 1966/67.

Worth picking up if you find a copy.

2000AD prog 300 (1983)

Britain's most thrill packed week went from strength to strength in the early eighties and prog 300 appeared in January 1983 with the first of seven micro-part works containing a facsimile of Prog 1. Whether any fan actually cut up his (or her) copy remains unknown!

Still 2000AD had really got into it's stride by this issue and featured Sam Slade Robo Hunter in the entertaining (but at the same time annoying) multi-part adventure Play it Again Sam whereby the robots of Brit City were under attack from the Human League.

Harry Twenty on the High Rock follows with a tale of political dissidents and convicts being imprisoned without hope of escape in a satellite orbiting the Earth. In this issue Harry makes it back planetside, but for how long remains to be seen.

Judge Dredd appears in the ultra-violent Shanty Town situated outside Mega City One where survivors of the Apocalypse War remain forgotten by the authorities. Crime of course is rampant. Body parts anyone?

There is the one off Time Twister tale from Tharg called This is You Death and the issue ends with part 10 of the epic Rogue Trooper story Fort Neuro.

 

The First Judge Dredd Annual 1981

Charging from the pages of 2000AD came Judge Dredd in his own annual.  Issued in 1980 (British annuals always had the date a year ahead to give them a longer shelf life) this  book demonstrated the growing power of Dredd amongst not just kids, but older readers as well

Published with much slicker paper than it's parent, this became the format used for future 200AD annuals and although these volumes became slimmer they were of much higher quality than their predecessors.

There was plenty of colour too. The first story Pinboing Wizard certainly showed Dredd at his best and most absurd simultaneously. Other Dredd stories Compulsory Purchase and The Fear that made Milwaukee famous also appeared in full colour. Dredd eventually laying down the law not just to perps and muties but "ghosts" as well!?!

Great stuff.

This volume is actually well worth picking up. The very first Dredd story is reprinted along with a text history of the character and an art sequence showing how Dredd's appearance evolved into the one we are all familiar with today.

 
Dredd first appeared in Prog 2, but didn't actually turn up on the cover until prog 10. 

To my regret I was given a signed copy of this by a girlfriend when it came out. Lost now, so this had to be repurchased, unsigned this time. Never mind, just glad to have a copy!

There are 11 annuals and four "yearbooks" to collect.

 

Nightmare #1 (Skywald/1970)

Cover-dated December 1970, Nightmare number one appeared on the newsagents shelves as the first of a short-lived but fondly remembered line of black & white horror comic magazines from Skwald. These were designed to compete with and complement Warrens long lived line of similar comics which were doing very well at the time.

In fact the growth of the black & white magazine market saw even Marvel muscle in, but this was not to last and was directly responsible for Skwalds demise. Marvel flooded the market with titles that just took up shelf space and didn't last very long. Only the eventual creation of Savage Sword of Conan saw that company get any real success. Even Planet of the Apes only lasted 29 issues.

Still all of Skywalds output are worth picking up, though not so easy to find and a bit more pricey but as with this issue plenty of entertainment for your hard earned buck.

There are 7 stories in this 64 page issue kicking off with an early ecological story The Pollution Monsters which despite it's premise is a wee bit corny for modern readers. Master of the Dead follows on with the villain of the piece getting his comeuppance from the vengeful army he raises from their graves!

Of course there are vampires who appear in Orgy of Blood, more "living dead" in the text feature The Skeletons of Doom and don't wish for immortality if you don't want to end up like Mr & Mrs Torrence in Help us Die.

There is vengeance from the depths in The Thing from the Sea, horror from the mind in The Creature Within plus a grand finale with a little twist on the werewolves in The Deadly Mark of the Beast.

Nightmare lasted 23 issues plus one Annual between 1970 and 1975.

Enter if you dare........

 

2000AD Prog 167 (1980)

Back in the eighties I had virtually given up on British comics more the pity to concentrate on collecting DC & Marvel who were not only booming but readily available in local newsagents. I had tried the Eagle (mainly because of Dan Dare) but had been thoroughly put off by the photo-stories which may well have been popular in girls comics but were certainly not for the boys as the publishers eventually realised.

Meanwhile a cult comic was growing in popularity; 2000AD, home of a very popular new character Judge Dredd. Now I didn't buy this at the time and usually ended up reading my mate Peters copy every week. Even then I usually only read Judge Dredd for some reason most of the other features didn't appeal.

However times and tastes change so today I'm catching up with what I missed including The VC's, Rogue Trooper and yes even Robo Hunter. However there are still a couple of strips of which I'm still not a fan. The ABC Warriors and Nemesis do not appeal.

This issue is significant because it contains the first appearance of Nemesis the Warlock though you don't get to actually see him since he spends the entire episode inside this "vehicle" of sorts. Actually the opening story isn't bad at all but having skipped over later stories my own prejudices remain.

This issue also has episodes of The Stainless Steel Rat and The Mind of Wolfie Smith. Both classics, the latter being a survivor of Tornado which was one of two comics absorbed by 2000AD.

As a "key issue" this costs a little more than the average prog but definitely one for the collection!

 

On Blogging & Collecting

One of the reasons I started blogging about comics was simply because I wanted both share my hobby and write about something other than politics which is the main focus of Howie's Corner, my first and main blog. I had tried putting a couple of pieces up about comics before but unlike the odd "Musical Interlude" they just didn't seem to fit, especially if I started using a lot of illustrations.

So Howie's World of Comics was born and off I went. I make no claims to be an "expert", just a fan from childhood. I love the medium and hope to share some of that magic with other fans and perhaps encourage a few "civilians" to take up the hobby!

Running two blogs was always going to be a bit of a push especially since for a long time I aimed to publish on Howie's Corner daily. I couldn't possibly do both. There were times when that did happen but with lack of time and energy plus added disillusionment I cut back on the politics. I have also cut back here on comics but for different reasons.

The trouble with collecting is that what I buy falls into two distinct groups, new comics and back issues. I have published a few pieces on new comics,especially from smaller publishers where they provide material that can be used. For the most part however I blog about back issues. Herein lies the problem.

For a long time I have randomly collected both British and American comics, but from time to time I get a fad for one or two items and recently have concentrated on collecting black & white magazines from Marvel, Warren and Skywald along with Alan Class reprints and The Savage Sword of Conan.

 

 

Currently I have been collecting 2000AD, one of Britain's last weekly comics (the others being the Beano and the Phoenix for slightly younger readers) which I started getting in March and then just got the bug to buy up back issues.

 

Quite a few actually, with around a couple of dozen, a Special plus a couple of Annuals still to get through. Great stuff, well most of it.

There's also been some technical problems too with illustrations disappearing and having to fix posts. About 80 have been repaired and a few permanently deleted

I've been reading comics since the early sixties with WHAM! #1 being my earliest memory. There have been a couple of gaps in the mid seventies and the nineties but I've always made my way back to the hobby.

  

Sadly British comics are few and far between these days but the US market is still lucrative even if numbers have declined. So much has changed since I was a child growing up in a small market town in the country. Comics were an essential part of our youth when there was little TV, no computer games or internet let alone all these other modern distractions.

So I hope some posts help bring back those memories or encourage the occasional reader to join up to the fanboy legions.

So apologies to readers on the recent gaps in posting. There's a few new posts on the horizon and I hope you'll join me for the ride.

Nuff Said?

 

Kull Eternal #1 (IDW) Out Now!

Kull Eternal #1 (IDW)

Tom Waltz (w) Luca Pizzari (a)

From the creator of Conan, Robert E. Howard comes Kull, King of Atlantis with gun and binoculars in hand.......

Wait what did I just write? 

This story begins in the present day and seems to involve time travel courtesy of some sorcerers mirrors as far as I can work out. Oh and the  Serpent people are back.

Kull gets bored, tricked by some wicked harriden and goes off to seek adventure. Looks promising and worth picking up.

Meanwhile lookout in this months Previews catalogue for a Wonder Woman/Conan mini-series. Pre-order now!

A couple of images tweeted by Tom Waltz: