Creepy 103

Walt Simonson and Kim McQuaite provide the animal themed cover for this reprint issue of Creepy, dated November 1978. This reprint issue seems to be animal themed, except for the ridiculous inclusion of "Thumbs Down" which was reprinted numerous times throughout the years.

First is "Angel of Doom!" by Jeff Jones (art) and Goodwin (story), from Creepy 16. This story features Thane the barbarian, a recurring character throughout the years in Creepy. In this story Thane is part of a tribe that continously makes sacrifices to a monster. When his lover is killed, Thane heads out, ignoring the tribe's warnings and battles the monster, a giant insect creature. He defeats the creature, but the tribe decides to continue making sacrifices anyway, so Thane leaves. The tribe is soon plagued by the monster's children and are all killed after Thane leaves.

Second is "Bookworm" with art by Richard Corben and story by Gerald Conway, from Eerie 32. A man goes to work as an apprentice to an elderly man with a large book collection. The elderly man tells him how he's studying the black arts. One night our hero discovers the old man dragging a corpse with him and follows him. The elderly man is in a crazed state and attacks him, but is killed by the apprentice. Suddenly a giant worm appears, who the elderly man had been finding food for, and forces the apprentice to start supplying him with food from now on.

Third is "On Little Cat Feet!" by Auraleon (art) and John Jacobson (story), from Vampirella 38. A witch, Kitty, lives in a rooming house with her artist friend Eulalia. Kitty is kicked out of the place by the landlady and plots revenge by turning into a cat and poisoning her claws. She kills the landlady's cat, taking its place, then kills the landlady as well soon after. Eulalia meanwhile recruits an actor as a model for her latest work, a statue of Nero. Kitty, still in her cat form, wanders by and Eulalia has the actor hold her in his arms. Eulalia reveals herself to be Medusa, and when she reveals herself ends up turning both the actor and Kitty into a statue.

Fourth is "Thumbs Down!" by Al Williamson (art) and Anne T. Murphy (story), from Creepy 6. This story features a crooked arena games master who has his top gladiator killed only for him to com e back from the dead to take revenge. This story would probably be reprinted by Warren over the years more than any other story.

Fifth is "Lucky Stiff" by Ramon Torrents (art) and Gerry Boudreau & Carl Wessler (story), from Vampirella 38. A very cautious man ignores a beautiful young woman who starts at the place where he works. At the end of the day she invites him to come to her home at the other side of town. The story shows what would happen if he went. He arrives there, only to be attacked by cats. She tells him he doesn't deserve to live and that he is going to be fed to him. The narrative then reveals that he actually didn't go there, as he was hit by a car along the way.

Last is "The Black Cat" by Berni Wrightson (story & art), from Creepy 62. This story is an adaption of the Edgar Allen Poe story. A man and his wife own a beloved black cat. Eventually the husband grows tired of the cat, then upset at it. After the cat bites him, he cuts out one of its eyes and soon after hangs it. That very night his house burns down. Wandering into a bar, he finds another black cat that has one eye that starts following him. He brings it home and the wife quickly becomes fond of it. The husband loses control and tries to kill the cat. When his wife gets in the way he kills her by slamming an axe into her head. He hides her beneath a brick wall and is confident that the police won't find it when they stop by. The cat however, which was also walled behind the brick wall ends up attracting them to her corpse due to its screams.

Eerie 106

This issue of Eerie is a reprint issue covering Hard John Apple. The cover is based on art by Jose Ortiz from one of the Hard John stories, along with additional artwork by Walt Simonson. This issue is cover dated November 1979.

First is "An Angel Shy of Hell", by Richard Corben (art) and Jim Stenstrum (story), reprinted from Creepy 64. This story was originally printed in color. It stars Hard John Apple, a bounty hunter hired by "Protstns' in the far future, who goes about the state of Kansas, killing as many 'Catlicks' as he can, including an injured helicopter pilot with a burned face that looks just like the cover painting of Creepy 64. A terrific story, although probably somewhat offensive with the parodies of various relgious groups. Originally published in 1974, it would be approximately 3 years before the next story featuring Hard John Apple appeared, making it clear that this was likely intended to originally be a stand alone story.

Second is the start of the series Hard John's Nuclear Hit Parade, with the story "Kansas City Bomber", from Eerie 83. Art is by Jose Ortiz and story is by Jim Stenstrum. This story takes place in the post-apocalyptic future where 'Catlicks' and 'Protstnts' fight each other. Hard John Apple has fooled the Prot leaders into giving him the state of Kansas, which is filled with nuclear weapons which he plans to use with the help of an orangutan. This story introduces Tarara, a woman who captures John and discovers his plans.

Third is "Brass Monkey", by Jose Ortiz (art) and Jim Stenstrum (story), from Eerie 84. Ortiz uses a new art style in this story, which results in his art looking a lot like Alfredo Alcala's. John and Tarara go to a Catlick base in order to get plans to assist in John's attack on the world. There it is discovered that Zinger, the man who originally told John about the nukes in Kansas is a member of the Catlicks, Protstnts and Tarara's group. He plans to finish off our heroes, but the General (the orangutan introduced in the prior story) arrives and helps our heroes escape.

Fourth is the finale for Hard John's Nuclear Hit Parade, "Gonna Nuke Mankind right Outa My Hair" by Jose Ortiz (art) and Jim Stenstrum (story), from Eerie 85. The Catlicks, Protsnts and Red Threats are all heading towards John's nuclear weapons site to get their hands on the nukes. John and Tarara visit a church then prepare for Zinger's arrival. John outsmarts everyone by launching all his nuclear weapons into the ocean except for one, which he aims right at his base just as everyone is arriving, a blast powerful enough to destroy all the armies left in the world. A pretty good finale to this serial, even though John and Tarara are clearly going to perish when the bomb hits.

Last is "The Super-Abnormal Phenomena Survival Kit!" by John Severin (art) and Jim Stenstrum (story), from Creepy 79. This hilarious story is a parody of the Captain Company ads that appeared in the back of each Warren magazine. Eight pages of parodies and horror movie staples/homages results in a fairly good effort, one of Warren's best humorous stories.

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.

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.

Eerie 96

Jordi Penalva provides the cover for this issue, which features Mac Tavish. This issue is a rarity in that there is no Rook story, most likely due to the fact that the next Rook story was over 30 pages long and took a while to put together.

Up first is "Fallen Angels", three stories by Leo Duranona (art) and Guillermo Saccomano & Cary Bates (story). Given Saccomano's credit here (he was not a regular Warren writer), and the fact that the artwork is dated 1976, one would think that this story was originally printed elsewhere and reprinted here. These stories feature four humanoid characters, Hot Chocolate, Knuckle, Marlene and Toc Toc who were cast out of Heaven and forced to do penance on Earth. They each take the appearance of street dwellers. In the first story, "Revenge", they go after a pimp who has been mistreating his whores. The second story, "The Cutman" features an old assassin who is hired to perform a hit, but he screws up and kills the wrong person, forcing the person who hired him, his own son, to kill him. The final story, "Explosive Issue" is about a pair of crooks who arrange to blow up a building for the insurance money. The Fallen Angels get involved and turn to violence, resulting in criticism from their superior. They work to get the head of the whole scam to end up getting himself killed by running into an exploding building. All three stories are fairly good, with some very good art, as usual from Duranona. Unfortunate that no further stories would ever appear.

Next is "Hero of Zodiac V" by Pepe Moreno Casares (art) and Jim Stenstrum (story, as Alabaster Redzone). This story coninues immediately after the last story. Mac Tavish meets with Ida Lizer, a robot lover, then goes to see Spider Andromeda who reveals that Lazard works with Gorgo the Man, a leading candidate for governor on Rara Avis. It is also revealed that they are after Rara Avis due to a raw material there that permits people to live forever. Mac Tavish and Spider lead an attack on a planet breaker factory.

Next is "The Ark" by Carmine Infantino & Walt Simonson (art) and Roger McKenzie (story). In this story an old man builds an ark, causing the rest of the townfolk to ridicule him. He ends up being right though, as rain soon comes. He and his wife hide in the ark and the rest of the town get angry at him for not letting them in. He is killed by the townsfolk when he comes out and they storm in to the ark, where they are trapped, and the rain stops soon after.

Last is "The Shining Sea" by Alfredo Alcala (art) and Nicola Cuti (story). This odd story features a man living in a water filled world where the other people are humanoid except for their dolphin (or other sea creature) faces. He goes searching for his origin, which appears to be from a spaceship that crashed on this world. Another story in this series appeared a few issues later.

Creepy 84

An all sports issue! Like the Christmas specials, was never a big fan of these, even though I am a sports fan. The cover is by Ken Kelly.

First up is "Hitter's Wind!" by Carmine Infantino & Walt Simonson (art) and Roger McKenzie (story). The story takes place in the negro leagues just before the great depression, and is about a ball player who sacrifices his life to win the pennant, dying just after he hits the game winning hit.

The issue's best story is next, "The Mummy's Victory" by Richard Corben (art) and Roger McKenzie (story). A mummy in museum comes back to life and takes the place of an injured player in a football game, winning the game for them! Funny art by Corben on the mummy. A sequel would be done in the next all sports issue, Creepy 93.

Third is "Till Hell Freezes Over!" by Carmine Infantino & Dick Giordano (art) and Steve Englehart (story). When a hockey player dies during a game due to a hit by an opponent, an angry woman fires a gun into the scoreboard that ends up shorting out the electricity for the whole building. With everyone trapped in the building and the temperature getting lower and lower, everyone eventually freezes to death.

Fourth is "Home Stretch" by Leopold Sanchez (art) and Roger McKenzie (art), about a horse and the hunchback taking care of it who are burned to death when the owner hires a jockey to burn the stable down for the insurance money on the horse. Both the horse and hunchback die, but come back from the dead to take revenge.

Fifth is "Menace, Anyone?" by Carmine Infantino & Al Milgrom (art) and David Micheline (story). A black tennis player is very successful in a tournament, so the racist governor kills him. The player's friend brings him back to life so he can win the tournanment, and also sacrifices his life for him so he can remain alive.

Last is "Relic" by Carmine Infanino & John Severin (art) and Roger McKenzie (story), which features baseball in the future, where robots are all the players. The story focuses on an old human manager, the last one in the game, and his friendship with the first robot to ever play the game, Jackie-7, who is now quite out of date. Despite Jackie-7's destruction, they are able to win their final game together.

Stories for the most part aren't badly written, but having 4 of 6 stories written by the same writer and 4 of 6 stories pencilled by the same artist certainly result in a lot of repetiveness here, at least in my opinion.

Creepy 85

An 'All Monster Issue' of Creepy featuring a Yeti cover by Ken Kelly.

First up is "Like Icarus, Quickly Falling" by Leopold Sanchez (art) and Roger McKenzie (story), featuring a vampire seeking revenge on the vampire who bit his wife years before, who in turn bit him. He eventually succeeds, but the sunlight destroys him seconds later.

Next up is the cover story, "Hide and Go Mad" by the team of Carmine Infantino & Walt Simonson (art) and Budd Lewis (story). This story features a man seeking to hunt the yeti. He does eventually confront it and kills it, causing an avalanche by shooting however. He dons the skin of the yeti for warmth, only for it to get stuck to him until he tears off his own skin.

Third is "The Thing in the Well" by Leo Duranona (art) and Roger McKenzie (story), featuring a girl whose mother is killed by her step-father, but the corpse comes back to life and befriends her, living in a nearby well. The step-father boards up the well and eventually kills the daughter, who is reunited with the mother once again inside the well.

Next is "Orem Ain't Got No Head Cheese!" by Jose Ortiz (art) and Bill Dubay (story). A pair of cannibals living in the woods kill a man with brain cancer and toss his cancer-ridden brain aside when they tear apart his corpse. The cancer melds with various body parts and forms a blob like creature that haunts the woods from this point onward. A sequel to this story would appear in Creepy a number of years later.

Fifth is "The Terrible Turnip of Turpin County" by Martin Salvador (art) and Roger McKenzie (story). Something from the sky crashes to Earth in a field and years later a turnip like plant grows out of the ground and soon odd things start happening. First a cow dies, then corpses come back to life. More odd plants develop and more corpses come back to life, but eventually everything is saved when a bunch of bugs eat them all.

Last is "A Way in the Woods" by Luis Bermejo (art) and Bruce Jones (story). A pilot crashes in the woods and is forced to live in the wilderness. There he meets a beautiful woman who lives with a pack of wolves. She is apparantly killed by them and he kills one of the wolves, only for her to come back healed and the two turn into wolves. Very nice art by Bermejo here.
Overall a fairly good issue. Nothing particularly great, but all are fairly good stories.

Creepy 102

This issue of Creepy is a monsters special. The cover, by Patrick Woodruff, features a bizarre multi-armed worm sporting machine guns. Quite the odd looking cover.

First story is "Pantomine at Sea" by Buz Vaultz (art) and Cary Bates (story). A stuntman wearing a seamonster costume is pursued underwater by multiple hunters who appear to think that he's a real monster. He's captured and put in a tank, so he removes his mask to prove that he's a person. Only they don't let him out, and remove their own masks, revealing that they are aliens! They depart in a spaceship, taking him back to their own planet.

The issue's best story is "Almost Shangri-la" by Leo Duranona (art) and Bruce Jones (story). The story is about two climbers in the himalayas that get lost in the snowy wilderness and come across a paradise. One of the men freaks out and runs off terrified, and turns into a monster.

"The Thing in the Haunted Forest is third, with art and story by Abel Laxamana. The story features a man who kills an old man with an axe and takes all his money. He tries to bury the money in the forest and mark the location by chopping down a tree. Upon chopping at the tree, a spirit comes out and says that she has been cursed to live forever in the tree and that he'll be cursed with eternal life if he chops it down. He goes ahead and does that, releasing her, but the tree falls on him, trapping him under it forever.

"Killer Claw" by Walt Simonson & Klaus Jansen (art) and Mark Lasky (story) features a giant lobster that kills a few people and is attacked, only to release thousands of babies upon its death.

"Night Eyes" with art by Alfredo Alcala and story by Bruce Jones features a man who goes to Africa to head the creation of a railroad in order to earn the respect of his prospective father in law. His team is terrorized by a creature that they are unable to catch. At the end of the story our protagonist is able to escape alive after being concealed in a giant crate. Didn't get the ending of this one.

Last is "Fair Prey" by Isidro Mones (art) and Bruce Jones (story). A derelict ship is spotted, featuring the corpses of multiple people, and a single living person, a woman who tells the story about how their research project on an island was interrupted by giant mosquitoes. At the end of the story, they return.