Eerie 121

The cover for this issue of Eerie is a reprint from issue 26, by Vaughn Bode and Basil Gogos. A reprint cover that does not feature Frank Frazetta, a rarity for warren. This issue is cover dated June 1981.

First is the second story in the Mist series, "Blood Cycles" by Jun Lofamia (art) and Don McGregor (story). Not as strong a story as the previous one, featuring the same characters, Victoria Westgate and her husband Philip, and the mysterious Lucifer de Montalban who is up to no good, including using a voodoo doll and henchmen within the Westgate's building.

Second is a new series, "Born of Ancient Vision" by Bob Morallo (art) and Morallo & Budd Lewis (story). In contrast to the garbage that populated much of Eerie during this time period, this is an interesting new series, featuring arguably the most bizarre looking art in Warren's history. Unfortunately Morallo did only three stories for Warren, those in this series. This story features a six eyed baby born named Mah 'Sess, that is part of a prophecy of doom. He is disposed of in the desert, but is raised by those who live there, then starts a battle between his people and his father Sh Hahd 'Ahn's kingdom. Towards the end of the story demons come out of his eyes, causing havoc.

Third is "Ashes to Ashes" by Al Sanchez (art) and Rich Margopoulos (story). This story features two heroes from Eerie's heydey, Darklon and Hunter. This story continues a practice started by Margopoulos in the previous issue, urinating all over the legacy of Eerie's recurring characters from its peak in the mid 1970's. I suppose one could argue he had more right to do so here since Hunter was his own creation, but that doesn't absolve the fact that Margopoulos continues to completely destroy characters and storylines that made this magazine so good years before. In this story Darklon fights the Acolyte, who is successor to the Nameless One in his own storyline. Darklon for some nonscensical reason brings Hunter back to life shortly after his death and they defeat him. Darklon then explains that Hunter didn't really kill his father Oephal at the end of his serial, but another demon. Blasphemy! Completely embarressing and a stain on Warren's history, thats for sure.

Fourth is the latest Haggarth story, "Fall of the Death Head!" by Victor de la Fuente (story & art). Haggarth talks with the woman revealed in the previous story, and some of his back story is explained. He makes his way to the castle of Sombra, whom he confronted in the previous story and after some fights with his minions is able to defeat Sombra, who suffers from some sort of disease that gives him an ugly skull like face.

Eerie 120

This issue of Eerie from April 1981 features a cover by Jim Laurier.

First is Zud Kamish in "Death of a Cometeer" by E.R. Cruz (art) and Jim Stenstrum (story). Another horrible, horrible Zud story. This time his ex-wife has tied up all his assets in a lawsuit, and he joints an ally of his in transporting some material, during which time his ally dies. Another really bad story with a really bad art job by Cruz.

Second is "The Warrior and the Gunfighter!" by Al Sanchez (art) and Rich Margopoulos (story). Eerie gets worse and worse as Margopoulos starts bringing back old Eerie stars (many of which are dead), starting with Dax the Warrior. In this issue Bishop Dane from the Rook misses a dentist appointment and trying to go back in time in order to make it, instead goes to a medieval era where he meets Dax. The king thinks that Dane is a sorceror due to his gun, and has him and Dax fight an enemy of theirs. Margopoulos clearly has no understanding of Dax nor any respect for the character and its creator Esteban Maroto as Dax in this story acts nothing like the Dax in his original series.

Third is a new series, The Mist, with "A Public and Private Surveillance" by Jun Lofamia (art) and Don McGregor (story). In contrast to the previous two horrific stories, this one isn't bad. The story surrounds a normal woman having issues with the phone company and an evil man calling himself Lucifer de Montalban who also has some problems with them.

Last is the latest story in the Haggarth series, "Sombra the Damned!" by Victor de la Fuente (story & art). In this story Haggarth battles the sorceror who hired his troops to take the skull of three snakes. Haggarth defeats his underlings, then fights the sorceror himself, who escapes. He is then confronted by the monks from the temple who possessed it, who take it back, but bless his sword beforehand. He then meets a fellow traveler and they are confronted by a large stone monolith, which then transforms into a woman as the story ends.

Eerie 114

Sanjulian provides a nice cover for this issue of Eerie, cover dated September 1980.

First is "Star Warrior!" by Al Sanchez (art) and David Jacobs (story). A 31 page story that drags excessively, although its at least a tad better than the garbage from the prior issue. A man is embroiled in a big adventure to kill the brother of his lover, who he killed so she couldn't be targeted to get to him. The story also features our hero's friend, who is forced to give up everything he owns when he loses a race. Although the story has some twists in it (like the killed lover turning up alive, only to die for real), not that good a story.

The next story on the other hand, is terrific. "The Executioners" is by Carlos Giminez (art & story), and like his stories that I've already covered for 1984 on this blog, was originally printed elsewhere and reprinted here. A ship is stranded in space. The older members of the crew decide that in order to survive they need to eat one of their fellow crew members. The young cadets are targetted to be eaten, and one is chosen to be killed. Lots of anguish goes on by the one chosen, along with other members of the crew who do not want to go through with it. Eventually though the boy is killed, but mere seconds later, help arrives, making it all meaningless.

The issue concludes with the latest Haxtur story, "Panthers, Wolves and Death!" by Victor de la Fuente (story & art). Haxtur encounters a woman with a panther for a pet whom he helps. He then later is captured by a clan of wolf men, but manages to defeat their leader, scaring them away.

Creepy 143

Creepy's second to last all original issue, and the last one that I own as I don't own a copy of Creepy's final issue as of this writing.

First is "The Spectator Who Wept" by Isidro Mones(art) and Don McGregor (story). This story marks Mones's return to Warren after a long absence, his second. With his original run at Warren he was one of their best artists. After his first absence his art became quite poor. Here for a third time with Warren his art is fairly good, not as good as his mid 70's stuff, but a hell of a lot better than what he was doing in the late 70's/early 80's. At 28 pages this is the longest self contained story in Warren history. The story features aliens who take all the children on Earth away from their parents because they feel they are being mistreated. Luckily one man is able to convince them that by taking the kids away they are also doing harm to them, so the aliens give them back.

Second is "Moral Blood", a continuation of a story started in issue 141, about monsters in the wild west. Art is by Al Sanchez and story is by Don McGregor. Like the first, a poor, poor story which I'm not gonna bother going in anymore detail about.

Third is "Welcome Home Stranger!" by Martin Salvador (art) and Gerry
Boudreau (story). This story is about a man who returns to the town where his parents were murdered, supposedly by his sister. Through investigation he realizes that his parents were brother and sister and have a freakish monster child that they abandoned. He was eventually killed by town law enforcement. It ended up that a friend of his, a neighbor, killed the parents because she was mad over his death. A fairly good story.

Last is "The Continuing Story of HG Well's The Invisible Man" by Alex Nino (art) and Gerry Boudreau (story). This story features the son of the Invisible Man arriving and getting a doctor to help him get into a mental institution where he kills the creator of the invisibility formula, then frames the doctor to take the rap.

Aside from Moral Blood, this an extremely good issue considering it came around a time when Warren was at its absolute worst.

Creepy 141

One of Creepy's last issues, featuring a cover by Richard Corben.

First story is "I Created the... Gargoyle!" by Delando Nino (art) and Danielle Dubay (story). This story is about a pair of men working on a cancer treatment who find a way to cure it, but it turns the patient into a gargoyle like monster. One of the men thinks that their work has failed because they've done it on animals, so he volunteers for the treatment. His cancer is cured, but he too turns into a monster that runs amok before being destroyed.

Second is "The Puppet Master" by Fred Carillo (art) and John Ellis Sech (story). A hit man gets mad at his mob boss for his treatment of him in public so he kills him. He also kills a homeless puppet player who saw it happen. He tries to escape on a plane, but finds himself controlled by the ghost of the puppet player.

Third is "The Check-Out Counter" by Alfonso DeLeon (art) and Timothy Moriarty (story). An interesting story about a pair of men who are searching for the Garden of Eden in a post apocalyptic world. They kill an old man and follow a boy to find it... which ends up being a convenience store run by a robot which kills them and takes their organs then they try to take some food. The boy survives, but ends up loosing his tongue.

Fourth is "Covering All Bases" by Martin Salvador (art) and Kevin Duane (story). The story features a newscaster who is always all over the place. It ends up that he cloned himself multiple times. Although one is murdered, getting him in trouble, he is able to get out in the end.

Fifth is "Candle in the Wind" by Jun Lofamia (art) and Gerry Boudreau (story). The story features an investigation of people who are spontaneously combusing. Eventually it is discovered that it is due to a nurse treating people for cancer. It cures the cancer, but eventually causes them to burst aflame. By the end of the story the last remaining patient wraps his arms around her and they both burst into flames.

Last is "Moral Blood" by Al Sanchez (art) and Don McGregor (story), the first of a continuing series. The story is Don McGregor's return to Creepy after a long absense. Its a horror story told in an old west setting. A group of demon like creatures attack a caravan. Not that good in this opening entry of the series.

Creepy 111

Here's an issue of Creepy from near the end of Louise Jones's run as editor, in 1979. The cover by Duane Allen is of a vampire. This would be Allen's sole cover for Warren.

Up first is "Dreams of Grandeur" by Val Mayerik & Kllaus Janson (art) and Budd Lewis (story). It features a boiler room worker who has psychic abilities to occupy the mind of another person while he's asleep. This gets him in trouble with both his boss and eventually the pilot whose mind he keeps trying to occupy, and eventually results in all of them being killed.

"A Stiff Named Sczynsky" by Auraleon (art) and Bob Toomey (story) is up next, about a ghoul on a hospital ship who gets haunted by the corpses he's eaten.

"Heart of the Warrior" is third, with art by Alajandro Sanchez and story by Bill Dubay. This is a rather dull medieval story about a warrior going after a sorceror in order to save his lover. The hero ends up losing in the end and his heart is used for a spell. Sanchez's art is hardly all that to my liking either. He'd do another half a dozen or so stories for Warren over the next few years.

The cover story, "Blood Lust" is next, with art by Leo Duranona and story by Cary Bates. The story is about Wilma, a woman who was breeded with blood poisonous to vampires. After being used to kill many vampires, she desires to quit but decides to do one more mission in order to kill the original Count Dracula. Falling in love with him, she tells him the truth, but he reveals that he has taken a serum such that her blood won't be poisonous to him. Her superiors find out and are still successful in killing Dracula by killing her and filling her veins and arteries with garclic embalming fluid. Very good story, best one of the issue.

"Night Wind" by Masanabu Sato (art) and Masanabu Sato & Gary Null (story) is the issue's worst story. 'Gary Null' was actually a pseudonym of writer Bob Toomey, used when he rewrote scripts of other's stories. Jim Stenstrum did the same type of thing using the name 'Alabaster Redzone'. This is a rather dull story of a female knight rescuing another woman and killing a demon. Yawn.

Last up is "A Switch in Dime" by Leo Duranona (art) and Nicola Cuti (story), about a scientist who creates a device which is able to connect to another dimension (which he calls a 'dime'). After activiting the device, he switches places with another man and problems ensue. When both try to return to their home dime and end up getting stuck together, they are put into a freak show as siamese twins.

Overall, an average issue. Duranona's stories are pretty good, but the rest of the stuff isn't that special.