tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post9222767544981110959..comments2024-03-27T05:54:38.797-07:00Comments on <i>bare</i>•bones e-zine: The Warren Report Issue 38: September - November 1972John Scolerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14082147756474762000noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-4113284163874287362020-07-27T07:07:42.316-07:002020-07-27T07:07:42.316-07:00Thanks, Grant!Thanks, Grant!Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-1990640749571131692020-07-25T21:59:49.744-07:002020-07-25T21:59:49.744-07:00This is looking far ahead, but Eerie # 59 is full ...This is looking far ahead, but Eerie # 59 is full of Dax story reprints, that are also retitled and rewritten (at least, a lot of them). But I could swear I heard that it was actually the other way around, that those were the ORIGINAL versions by Maroto, and that they get rewritten for Eerie the first time around. <br />If that's true, that would be a way of seeing what you're asking about. But again, I don't know for sure.Granthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09603892208775996594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-32280279994278144062020-07-20T15:30:46.846-07:002020-07-20T15:30:46.846-07:00Thank you both for the detailed comments! I have t...Thank you both for the detailed comments! I have to wonder if some intrepid Spanish-speaking fan ever got a hold of the original Dax stories to compare the writing to the Warren versions. That might settle the matter once and for all, as far as whether the originals are any better.Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-19246526102462392162020-07-20T15:27:44.578-07:002020-07-20T15:27:44.578-07:00Andy - I think the editor is exactly what the issu...Andy - I think the editor is exactly what the issue is for this era of Warren and why the art is great but most stories are lackluster. Warren had this massive revolving door of editors around this time; after Bill Parente left you had Archie Goodwin helping out for a little bit, then Billy Graham, then JR Cochran, then Marv Wolfman (although I don't think he ever got credited). I don't think any lasts more than 6 months before leaving and forcing Warren to move on to the next guy. Net result is I wouldn't be surprised if most of these stories from young guys like T. Casey Brennan, Don McGregor, Doug Moench Steve Skeates, etc... are getting through largely unedited and the art they buy from Spain gets some very lackluster stories/translations to put on top of the amazing art.<br /><br />Once things are stabilized (first with Bill Dubay for 30 issues or so, albeit with some growing pains, then Louise Jones after him for even longer than that) the writing improves considerably. Will be a little bit until we get there, next issue of Creepy in particular I recall having one of the all time worst stories Warren ever published in it.Quiddityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13986124694445522253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-31307260273854557792020-07-20T11:35:03.159-07:002020-07-20T11:35:03.159-07:00The Dracula tale makes no sense at all. The set-up...The Dracula tale makes no sense at all. The set-up is ridiculous – here we have the time-trip spell, yeah, right -, TCB doesn't seem to grasp that for Drakulonians drinking blood is like drinking water for humans, a biological necessity. What shall the cure achieve? That they don't have to eat anymore? They already have their blood-serum. So what is the point? You could argue that it is evil to kill other people for their blood, but this is a moral problem. The Deus ex machine goddess doesn't get it either what the blood thirst is about. Laugh out loud the scene where our vampire-hunters want to call Scotland Yard to extradit Dracula to England for his crimes instead of staking him.<br /><br />But the art is breathtakingly pretty. I have never seen a more beautiful Mina or Lucy.<br /><br />The rest of the stories is not much better. "Gender Bender" is a plotless and pretentious nonsense. I just can't believe Marotto wrote this drivel. I mean the translated text. Still, even with a better text the story itself would not be better. "Love is no Game" is no story, just a fragment. "Eye Opener" is awful. Text and art are often at odds, if Plotkin really sleeps with the girl, shouldn't this be illustrated? To - maybe, it is never spelled out except in the ranting of grandma - let this happen betwween two panels is nonsense.<br /><br />But I kind of liked "Vengeance". It was plotted a bit tighter and was generic fantasy, still it had a beginning, a middle and an end.<br /><br />Eerie #43 is also mostly a disappointment. The twist of "Musical Chairs" is groan-worthy, "Dax" is the same as last month or the month before, and the text is awful. The only story which really works is Corben. But in other hands this would also have been a dud. I like the western artwork of Rego, but the writing again is weak.<br /><br />As far as horror is concerned, the majority of the tales are weak. And the sf and fantasy content is even worse. Warren is – at least this era – all about the art. One wonders if the editor didn't recognize the dire writing or if he just waved it through.andydeckerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01312309519462680892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-51498048089604286552020-07-20T09:49:02.559-07:002020-07-20T09:49:02.559-07:00Although he isn't formally credited as such ye...Although he isn't formally credited as such yet, this is the point where Warren historians generally consider Bill Dubay to have become editor. I think it will be another year or so of issues before he really starts to perfect things, but greatly looking forward to what is coming up as I think his run as editor is Warren's peak, especially the 1974/1975 issues. <br /><br />Shadow of Dracula is the only story out of the entire 112 issue run of Vampirella I've never read, beyond this issue I own all non-reprint issues of Vampirella. The cover features arguably the most popular/well known painting of Vampirella, which was drawn by Jose Gonzalez and painted by Enrich Torres.<br /><br />Love the artwork for "Gender Bender" by Maroto, but yeah, this is the most nonsensical Tomb of the Gods story yet. One of the pages from this story turns up again with the Tomb of the Gods story from Vampirella #22, making me think they didn't just take Maroto's original stories and translate them, but made some edits and rewrites too, and they do quite the bad job at it. Like most of the Spanish artists currently working for Warren, Luis Garcia did a lot of romance comics work, which is what "Love is No Game" comes off of. Still, I liked it quite a lot. Auraleon continues to impress with "Eye Opener". Dominguez's work is fairly strong too. This was one of the earliest issues of Vampirella I read and its mostly enjoyable to me, granted more so due to the art than the stories.<br /><br />"Someday" is not Rich Margoulos' first story for Warren, he did a Tom Sutton drawn story an issue or two back in Creepy. Love the Grandenetti art here, will sure miss him when he wraps up his Warren career in the near future. "Musical Chairs" I enjoyed quite a bit, beyond just the excellent Sutton art, I too thought of the obvious inspiration from "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge". "The Hunt" seems to be dedicated to that ending twist of the pursuers being part animal part-human. I too spotted the obvious reference to the original Planet of the Apes movie. "Showdown" is memorable for featuring art from Jesus Suso Rego, one of the very few great Spanish artists that Warren let get away to Skywald, where he did a ton of work and was arguably their best artist.<br /><br />Rather poor writing for "Buried Pleasure", with far too many leaps of logic by the captain, although very fun to see Maroto drawing pirates. Even more great Auraleon art with "The Severed Hand", a story that reminds me a lot of a very old EC tale where it was a famous pianist instead of a surgeon. Awesome premiere for Jim Stenstrum with "The Third Night of Mourning". Stenstrum will go on to be one of the better writers during Bill Dubay's run as editor and will eventually write what many consider to be the best Warren story of all time (although its not my #1), "Thrillkill". "The Accursed Flower" is one of the quintessential Jose Bea stories for me (the others being "The Picture in the House" from Creepy #45 and "The Other Side of Heaven which is still a ways off). No one at Warren, artist or writer can pull off stories as bonkers and out of this world as he does and this story is such a great example of that. Bea will continue to return to a similar setting/protagonist (Spanish farmer) many times with future stories. Alas, the issue concludes with the horrifically stupid ending to "Wedding Knells" where the guy offs his wife with so little to go on.Quiddityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13986124694445522253noreply@blogger.com