tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post7365459354924031270..comments2024-03-27T05:54:38.797-07:00Comments on <i>bare</i>•bones e-zine: The Warren Report Issue 80: November/December 1976 + The Best of 1975-76John Scolerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14082147756474762000noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-78366719179606839102022-03-16T14:07:38.940-07:002022-03-16T14:07:38.940-07:00Thanks, b.t. Good choices! I especially like the D...Thanks, b.t. Good choices! I especially like the DuBay category.Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-53413016161626396182022-03-15T13:15:20.874-07:002022-03-15T13:15:20.874-07:00TEN MEMORABLE WARREN STORIES (Story AND Art):
Thri...TEN MEMORABLE WARREN STORIES (Story AND Art):<br />ThrillKill<br />In Deep<br />Process of Elimination<br />The S.A.P.S. Kit<br />Shadow of the Axe<br />Unreal!<br />Creeps<br />The Believer<br />Beware Darklon The Mystic!<br />The Blood Red Queen of Hearts<br /><br />SPECIAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE : ALEX TOTH<br />6 outstanding outings — all of them a bit soft, story-wise — each one a triumph of Style Over Substance<br /><br />BEST COVER ARTIST : KEN KELLY <br />Dude was producing nothing but stunners all year long<br /><br />MOST BILL DUBAY-ISH STORY TITLE NOT ACTUALLY WRITTEN BY BILL DUBAY:<br />BIillicar and the Momblywombles of Glass by Steve Clement <br /><br />BEST ALL-AROUND ISSUE:<br />CREEPY 76<br /><br />b.t.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-52048098946247111652022-03-15T09:35:34.916-07:002022-03-15T09:35:34.916-07:00Well, Weezie is definitely flooding the zone with ...Well, Weezie is definitely flooding the zone with Infantino art this month, and that’s a fact. If I’d bought CREEPY 84 off the mag rack at Cork N Bib Liquor back when I was a skinny long-haired 15-year-old, I’d probably have hated it, as I was still just getting used to his unique stylings. I DID get EERIE 79 as part of my 1-year subscription and didn’t like ‘Sam’s Son’ at all, story or art. <br /><br />But as a spry 60-year old, I like Infantino just fine, and found that each of the inkers brought enough variety to the table to keep things interesting. I like John Severin’s inks the best of this lot, but they’re all pretty good. Milgrom’s inks on ‘Menace Anyone…?’ are prettier here than on ‘Sam’s Son’, future ‘Mr. Weezie’ Walter Simonson brings his bag of stylish Toppi-inspired tricks, and Giordano can just about do no wrong, in my book. (BTW, ‘Menace Anyone…?’ sounds EXACTLY like an EC story title to my ear, rather than one of Forry’s clunky groaners).<br /><br />As to the ‘WHY’ of it all — why so many Sports themed stories that they overflow into EERIE, and why are so many of them drawn by Carmine Infantino? I’m thinking DC’s short-lived but often-revived ‘Strange Sports Stories’ series in THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD — many of them pencilled by You Know Who — must have been something of an inspiration to SOMEONE at the helm. I’ve never actually read any of those DC stories myself. Whenever I saw reprints of them at the spinner rack, I avoided ‘em like the plague (can’t think of a subject that interests me less than Sports). But researching them just now at the GCD, story titles like ‘Challenge of the Headless Baseball Team’ and ‘Gorilla Wonders of The Diamond!’ have kinda picqued my curiosity , I can’t deny it.<br /><br />Peter: ‘Mr. Skruffy’s Dad’? That’s very Mrs. Livingston of you ;)<br /><br />b.t.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-85276318515418422872022-03-14T09:52:33.339-07:002022-03-14T09:52:33.339-07:00Quiddity-
Thanks, as always, for your input. As Ja...Quiddity-<br />Thanks, as always, for your input. As Jack knows, I'm a sucker for a Top Ten list. I see you're much bolder and patient than I am and you actually included a Top Ten Stinkers list. Bravo, sir, bravo!<br />As to "Thrillkill": I too think it's lost some of its impact over the years but, for me, it's because we've become numbed to this sort of story in real life. I'm not speaking for you; that's just my take on my feelings.Peter Enfantinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04317575598411394944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-64124262647863750892022-03-14T09:37:04.175-07:002022-03-14T09:37:04.175-07:00My top listing for Warren for 1975/1976:
Stories ...My top listing for Warren for 1975/1976:<br /><br />Stories (Writing and Art):<br />1. The Wolves at War's End (Vampirella #43)<br />2. In Deep (Creepy #83)<br />3. Thrillkill (Creepy #75)<br />4. Mordecai Moondog (Eerie #71)<br />5. The Famine (Eerie #64)<br />6. The Muck Monster (Eerie #68)<br />7. Gamal and the Cockatrice (Vampirella #47)<br />8. Mute (Vampirella #56)<br />9. Death Expression (Creepy #75)<br />10. The House on the Sea (Vampirella #41)<br /><br />Series<br />1. Apocalypse<br />2. Night of the Jackass<br />3. Coffin<br />4. The Butcher<br />5. Within You/Without You (despite it still being in progress)<br /><br />Covers<br />1. Creepy #79<br />2. Vampirella #41<br />3. Eerie #77<br />4. Vampirella #40<br />5. Creepy #76<br /><br />Worst Stories<br /><br />1. My Monster My Dad (Creepy #76)<br />2. Close Shave (Creepy #81)<br />3. Insanity (Eerie #63)<br />4. A Brave Terror Leads to Death (Eerie #71)<br />5. The Terror Stalked Heiress (Creepy #72)<br />6. The Monster Called Vampirella (Vampirella #46)<br />7. The Last Man Syndrome (Vampirella #53)<br />8. Oogie and the Scroungers (Eerie #76)<br />9. Billicar and the Momblywombles of Glass (Creepy #81)<br />10. Gilliam Taxi and the Sky Pirates (Eerie #75)<br /><br />I went back to my top 10 Warren stories ranking from my blog (over 10 years ago at this point!) and I've knocked Thrillkill down a little bit, nothing against the story just liked the other two above it more. Two of my top 5 ranked stories from my ranking are coming up in the very near future, looking forward to seeing if I feel the same way about them now. Creepy #79 may be my all time favorite Warren cover (only other one I think competes with it is Vampirella #35). I actually liked "The Pit in the Living Room Floor" quite a lot, it was a very unique and strange Warren story (although it didn't make my top 10). Quiddity99https://www.blogger.com/profile/17809157926893454731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-47169564147005420232022-03-14T09:29:14.621-07:002022-03-14T09:29:14.621-07:00"Time and Time Again" is a bit overcompl..."Time and Time Again" is a bit overcomplicated (that ending in particular), but then what can one expect from a time travel story? Glad to have a sequel for this and looking forward to the next part. New series kick off with "The Pea Green Boat" which doesn't seem to fit at first only to go much more in a Warren direction later on as it becomes a sort of post-apocalyptic story. I liked this a bit more than you. I was thinking Steve Ditko as well when it came to Darklon. Still not a fan of a superhero in Eerie, but it is a decent story. Hard to believe that "Third Person Singular" was the first time Warren explored this subject matter; but I was still many years from being born when this issue came out, so I suppose I just come from a different era. "Sam's Son and Delilah" is clearly an overflow story originally intended for this month's Creepy (as is the cover, but then why did they have Ken Kelly do 2 different sports covers when there was only one all sports issue?) yet ends up being better than most of the stories that actually made it into the all sports issue.<br /><br />Can't say I expected an all sports horror issue to work, but the issue did turn out better than I thought it would, at least with the writing. "The Mummy's Victory" was far and away the best story for me, with "Hitter's Wind" and "Menace Anyone...?" following it. "Til Hell Freezes Over" was at least decent. Wasn't much of a fan of the other two stories. The decision to hand so much of the art in the issue to Carmine Infantino baffles me though. Not that he isn't a good artist, for I've got to assume that Louise Jones/Jim Warren thought he could handle sports-related stories better than the Spanish artists still dominating the Warren magazines at this point. The problem? First handing so much of one issue to a single artist in an anthology magazine doesn't provide the variety you'd prefer. Second is that Infantino is far more suited for super hero comes than horror and even if these are sports stories, his style still doesn't fit Warren that well for me. Infantino obviously worked super fast, all the more so given that he was only penciling his stories, so he could help Warren meet its publishing deadlines, but I wish they would have thought of the overall impact editorally before putting out this issue. Rant over.<br /><br />I too am not much of a fan of the writing of the Vampi story this month although I absolutely love the artwork. One of Gonzalez's best performances so far. I felt way differently than you on "Mute", I loved the story, and given the subject matter it is one of the most horrifying Warren stories to date for me (see its appearance on my top 10 list I've included). "Scruffy's Gargoyle" was pretty decent, and reminded me of Dubay's earlier "Once Upon a Miracle" story from one of the Christmas issues. Gerry Boudreau continues to go all in with the detective/murder mystery subject for which he's written many stories on as of late, typically drawn by Auraleon or Torrents. This one was just okay for me. "The Free Lancer" I was also pretty happy with. Jones has created quite the ridiculous concept, but I liked it and upon this reading I think I finally got what he was going after with the ending for the first time.Quiddity99https://www.blogger.com/profile/17809157926893454731noreply@blogger.com