Creepy was an
American
horror-comics magazine launched by
Warren Publishing in 1964.
Like
Mad, it was a
black-and-white newsstand publication in a magazine format and thus
did not require the approval or seal of the
Comics Code Authority. The
anthology magazine was initially published
quarterly but later went bimonthly. Each issue's stories were
introduced by the host character, Uncle Creepy. Its sister
publications were
Eerie and
Vampirella.
The Creepy launch
Russ Jones, the founding editor of
Creepy in 1964, detailed the magazine's origins and his
lengthy negotiations with Warren in his memoir, "Creepy &
Eerie," at his website. While doing covers, illustrated stories and
photo stories for Warren, Jones continued trying to sell him on the
idea of doing a comics magazine, and eventually Warren agreed:
- Originally it was to be a 64-page magazine. Jim cut it back to
48... I made a sketch of my host for the mag and sent it off to
Jack Davis to work up a cover. Still no title. Titles are tough.
Ask anyone who ever had to come up with one. One night I was
sitting in the studio alone, looking at Woody's tear-sheets from the ECs, when Warren
called. He was furious and demanded a name for Project D. I was
looking at a balloon over an Ingels Old Witch, and in her
narrative, the word "creepy" grabbed out at me. I muttered the name
to Jim... We now had a title for our mag.
Joe Orlando was not only an illustrator
for
Creepy but also a behind-the-scenes
story editor on early issues. His credit on the
first issue masthead read: "Story Ideas: Joe Orlando."
Bill Pearson also worked on the first
issue.
The Archie Goodwin era
Russ Jones soon departed, and in 1965,
Archie Goodwin became the editor of
Creepy. Goodwin, who became one of comics' foremost and
most influential writers, helped to establish the company as a
major force in its field.
Artists during this era included
Neal
Adams,
Dan Adkins,
Reed Crandall,
Johnny
Craig,
Steve Ditko,
Frank Frazetta,
Gray
Morrow,
John Severin,
Angelo Torres,
Alex
Toth,
Al Williamson and
Wally Wood. Originally published quarterly,
Creepy switched to bi-monthly by the end of 1965.
Goodwin resigned as the editor of
Creepy after issue 17
(October 1967). Due to a lack of funds, the majority of the
magazine's leading artists left, and Warren was forced to rely on
reprints, which would be prevalent in the magazine until issue 32
in April 1970. A variety of editors ran the magazine during this
period, including Bill Parente, Nicola Cuti and Warren himself.
Things would pick up starting in 1969 with the premiere of
Vampirella magazine. Some of
Creepy's original artists, including Frazetta, Crandall
and Wood, would return, as did Goodwin, who was associate editor
for issues 35 through 39.
Editors and artists
A variety of editors continued to manage
Creepy after
Goodwin's second departure, including Billy Graham and J. R.
Cochran. William Dubay, who had started at Warren as an artist with
issue 32 in 1970 would become editor of the magazine for issues 50
through 78, except for a short period of time in 1974 where Goodwin
returned for issues 61 through 64. During this period the frequency
of Creepy and Warren's other magazines was upped to nine issues per
year.
Another major development occurred in late 1971 when artists from
the Barcelona Studio of Spanish agency
Selecciones Illustrada started
appearing in
Creepy and other Warren magazines. Artists
from Spain would go on to dominate Creepy and the other Warren
magazines throughout the 1970s. These artists included
Esteban Maroto,
Jaime Brocal,
Rafael Aura León, Martin Salvador,
Luis García,
Fernando Fernández, José
González,
José Bea,
Isidro Monés, Manuel Sanjulián and Enrich
Torres. Additional artists from S.I.'s Valencia Studio joined
Warren in 1974 including
José
Ortiz,
Luis Bermejo, and Leopold
Sánchez. Notable writers during Dubay's era as editor included
Gerry Boudreau, Budd Lewis, Jim Stenstrum,
Steve Skeates and
Doug
Moench.
Themed specials dominated Dubay's era as editor, and included two
Edgar Allan Poe issues (69 and 70),
three Christmas issues (59, 68 and 77), three issues dedicated to a
single artist (71, 72 and 74), a science fiction issue (73) and an
issue where every story was based on the cover painting (64). This
era also featured stories that were printed in color, many of which
were done by
Richard Corben. Towards
the end of his period as editor, many artists from
Creepy's first golden era returned, including
Alex Toth and
John
Severin.
Dubay resigned after issue 78 and was replaced by
Louise Jones, his former assistant. Jones
would edit the magazine until issue 116 in March 1980. Former
DC Comics publisher
Carmine Infantino joined Warren shortly
after she became editor and did pencils for over 50 stories. Much
like the wave of Spanish artists that dominated
Creepy
throughout the mid-1970s, a number of artists from the Philippines
joined Warren during her period as editor, including
Alex Niño,
Alfredo
Alcala and Rudy Nebres, remaining with
Creepy until
its end in 1983. While he had resigned as editor, Dubay remained
with Warren and became their dominant writer during this period.
Other dominant writers during this period included
Bruce Jones, Bob Toomey, and
Roger McKenzie.
After Louise Jones resigned as editor following issue 116, Dubay
returned to edit the magazine using the alias "Will Richardson"
until issue 126. After Dubay's departure, various editors including
Chris Adames and Timothy Moriarty held the position. Reprints would
once again start predominantly appearing in the magazine, with many
reprint issues being dedicated to a single artist. Jim Warren's
last
Creepy (#145) was published February 1983, and then
he went bankrupt.
Harris
Publications bought rights after Warren's bankruptcy and
published a single issue (#146) in 1985.
In 2000, after a protracted legal dispute with Harris Publications,
Jim Warren and Warren Publishing finally regained sole ownership of
all rights to his two iconic and flagship comic book franchises
Creepy and
Eerie.
Archives and the Relaunch
In February 2007, New Comic Company, LLC completed a total rights
acquisition from Warren and his entity for all rights to
Creepy and
Eerie, after seven years of effort.
Terms of the deal were never disclosed. although it has been
rumored it was a complete buy-out. All copyright renewals and
trademarks have been re-established in the name of New Comic
Company LLC.
Shortly after that rights acquisition deal, in June 2007, New Comic
Company LLC principals Dan Braun, Craig Haffner, Josh Braun, and
Rick Brookwell completed a partnership agreement with
Dark Horse Comics and its CEO Mike
Richardson to republish in archival hardcover form all 285 total
issues of the original
Creepy and
Eerie. The
first
Creepy archival volume was published in August 2008,
with additional releases available every four months. The first
Eerie archival volume was released in March 2009, with
subsequent archives available every four months.
In July 2009, Dark Horse Comics and New Comic Company LLC released
the new
Creepy comic. The issue is edited by Shawna Gore
with Dan Braun and Craig Haffner. Writers include Mike Woods, Dan
Braun, Joe Harris, Saskia Gutekunst, and
Bill
Dubay. Artists are
Bernie
Wrightson, Angelo Torres, and Jason Alexander Smith.
Footnotes
- Jones, Russ. "Creepy and Eerie".
- Cory
Doctorow. Creepy horror comic rises from the grave and is
terrifyingly good, Boing Boing, October 13, 2009
References
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