Customer Reviews

Eerie Archives Volume 1

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Dark Horse returns after their first 2 Warren Publishing outings of the Creepy Archives, Vols. 1 & 2, with Eerie Archives, Volume 1. It's every bit as good as the Creepy collections. This one contains the first 5 editions of Eerie. It should be noted that the first Eerie is simply a reprint of three stories that previously appeared in Creepy magazine; one in Creepy No. 7 (Image of Bluebeard), and 2 from Creepy No. 8 (Death Plane and The Invitation). Those who have purchased Creepy Archives vol. 2 may feel a bit cheated, but Dark Horse wanted to be inclusive and I don't mind a bit.

Following the first issue, which has a black and white cover, we get three gorgeous Frazetta covers, most notably the one which graces the cover of the book from Issue 2, and a fourth cover from Gray Morrow that is equally beautiful. As for the stories, they are on par with those from Creepy, which is not surprising as they used many of the same artists and scripters. It's especially fun to read the old advertisements for records, models and masks that are included. If you had those today, they'd be worth a fortune. As a bonus, they've reprinted a six panel comic by Frazetta on quitting smoking, and this was from the mid Sixties!

As I continue to buy back one piece of my childhood at a time, I am grateful to Dark Horse for their faithful reproductions of these magazines to which I had subscriptions in my youth. Can't wait for future volumes and maybe even Vampirella?

I bought this book for my husband and all the CREEPY ARCHIVES out so far. He collected them in his younger days and still has some of the original magazines. He said he read there was a rush on the first EERIE and put out quickly to keep a competitor from have a magazine with the name. EERIE has the same artist and writers of CREEPY and the art is just fantastic. The story lines became more advanced through the years. Some of the stories just pull you into them better than watching tv! It was fun watching a man relive his early days and having these magazines in a hard bound book once again. We will buy them as they come out. Collecting them is a lot of fun and the price for them at AMAZON is just right. Great job Dark Horse Comics great job AMAZON.com

An amazing book but sadly Amazon seems unable to deliver a copy that is not damaged significantly. The first copy I received was simply thrown in a box with no packing material and arrived with a severe ding in the front cover. I sent it back for replacement and received one packed very well but even worse damage, this time the top right front and back covers were completely crushed along with the book sleeve. I'm sending that one back too and buying elsewhere. The price is great but for books as nice as this one I think most people will want one in like new condition that does not look like it was thrown down a flight of steps.

I was very pleased to see that Dark Horse publishing is releasing archive editions of Warren Magazines seminal publications, Creepy and Eerie. It brings back memories of me and my brother sneaking to the magazine section while Mom was grocery shooping, and reading these "forbidden" mags on the cold grocery store floor... and, of course, having nightmares later that night! Since then, I've discovered the originator and prime inspiration for Creepy and Eerie, which was EC Comics' "Tales From the Crypt", "The Vault of Horror", and "The Haunt of Fear"--also (slowly) being made available in archive editions available right here on Amazon.

Eerie and Creepy were not as good as EC's books, but they were certainly a welcome treat. The stories aren't always that great, and Cousin Eerie and Uncle Creepy aren't as good as the original Cryptkeeper, Vaultkeeper and the Old Witch, but Warren presented its stories with some of the most incredible artwork seen since the death of EC in 1955. Jim Warren managed to coax many of the classic EC artists into his stable, such as Jack Davis, Reed Crandall, George Evans, Al Williamson, Frank Frazetta, Joe Orlando, Johnny Craig (writing and drawing under the pseudonym "Jay Taycee"), and Angelo Torres. Warren also provided a platform for new, just-as-talented artists such as Gray Morrow, Alex Toth, and the large number of artists from Spain that would soon be gracing these pages with their work. In short, the artwork is SPECTACULAR!!!

The magazine format gave the artists the freedom of stretching out and using different styles besides simply pencil and ink. Although the pencil and ink is done beautifully, you also get to see these guys using charcoals, ink wash, stippling and pixelation, and it adds a whole new dimension to the art. As an artist myself, the Eerie and Creepy archive books are worth the money for the artwork alone!

The books are presented in the original black & white format, cleaned up and restored to immaculate condition, with the full color covers done mostly by the legendary Frank Frazetta, with a few done by the talented Gray Morrow. The books are high-quality hardcover editions, I believe with sewn binding, gorgeous dustjackets, and the grinning visage of either Cousin Eerie or Uncle Creepy presented in gold-leaf on the front of the hard cover beneath. The mags are presented complete with fan club pages, letters pages, and the original ads of the time (which are quite amusing, endearing, and which bring back a lot of memories). Each hardcover edition holds five issues each, as well as nice introductions written by the likes of Forrest J. Ackerman and Roy Thomas.

These books were the inheiritor of the EC legacy and they carried that legacy on until 1983. They were great fun, creatively inspirational, and now you can re-live them in a beautiful, high-quality format. If you were (or are) a fan of EC Comics, or remember Eerie and Creepy from your youth, these books are a must-have! And while the retail cover price is $49.95, you can get them from Amazon for only $32.95... the lowest price I've found for these yet!

Cheers

Brent A. Soileau
The Deep Purple Hub

How much better can this get ?? All the scary fun from when I was a kid ! I am so glad it's finally back and in hardback. Now I can relive all the tales I remember and finally catch the ones I missed. I'm just gonna have to keep getting these books as they become available.... this is just great !!

If you've been collecting Dark Horse Comics' amazing CREEPY ARCHIVES, you'll pretty much know what to expect from the first volume of their EERIE ARCHIVES. The same staff of Writers (Primarily Archie Goodwin, with a few others thrown in for good measure) and Artists (Gene Colan, Gray Morrow, Angelo Torres, Alex Toth, Steve Ditko, and more, with covers by Frazetta, Morrow, and the great Jack Davis) deliver punchy, EC-esque Horror stories, with introductions by a gruesome, pithy host. The stories are fun, and the presentation is beautiful. Dark Horse is doing some truly outstanding work on the Warren Archives. My only beef is that EERIE #1 was apparently an ashcan issue, comprised of work that had previously appeared in CREEPY. So basically, if you've been buying the CREEPY ARCHIVES, 1/5th of this book is reprints that you just read a few months ago. It wouldn't have stopped me from buying the book, but I wish Dark Horse had been a little more forthcoming with that information in their advance solicitations. Aside from that small complaint, I'm in love with these books, and I'll keep buying them as long as Dark Horse keeps making them.

Dark Horse Comics presents "EERIE ARCHIVES VOL.1 HC" [Hardcover], Have collected the 'Creepy' Archives from Dark Horse, am now getting into the 'EERIE' zone of the Warren Publishing phenomena of the 1960s.

Take note as one reviewer commented the first Eerie is simply a reprint of three stories that previously appeared in a Creepy magazine, those who have purchased 'Creepy Archives Vol. 2' may not care for this, Dark Horse wanted to keep this accurate and clean, I'm not disappointed in their decision. The stories and artwork are fabulous. Archie Goodwin has to be one of the most talented writers on the planet, and Warren Publishing, don't ever lose him, he's your ticket to some of the success you've been having.

Cousin Eerie doesn't disappoint with at the helm, James Warren (publisher), Archie Goodwin (editor), Frank Frazetta (covers), Ben Oda (lettering), Eando Binder, E. Nelson Bridwell, Eugene Colan, Reed Crandall, Jack Davis, Steve Ditko, Frank Frazetta, Archie Goodwin, Roy G. Krenkel, Larry Ivie, Rocco Mastroserio, Gray Morrow, Joe Orlando, John Severin, Jay Taycee, Angelo Torres, Alex Toth, Al Williamson and Wally Wood (staff) - an all-star line up sure to hit a home run every time.

The bull-pen above is only a hint at the kind of HORRORIFFIC HAPPENINGS in the first and future issues of this GHOULISH GAZETTE, hosted by COUSIN EERIE. He's taken the CREEPY COLLECTION of artists and writers, and brewed a monstrous mixture of TERROR TALES to keep you on the edge of your seat (if you're not hiding under it). FEAR FANCIERS will want to avoid missing the future fright in sight, by surfing the Amazon sites for EERIE the CREEPY HOME COMPANION.

For product description and editorial review check this out on the Amazon site above my review.

* Special footnote: -- One of the top Eerie artists is Reed Crandall, who has worked for most of the top names in comics. He achieved recognition for his art on Quality Comics "Blackhawk" series and his many more contributions for EC COMICS. He has been a major artist in the early years for Warren Publishing, creating some of their most moody and dramatic tales. His accomplished use of fine line shading gave these stories an almost Gothic quality. The feeling of studied realism he's created gives his horror stories believability. They are both frightening and memorable.

Superb, terrific, fabulous, magnificent, excellent, gorgeous, sumptuous, beautiful, stunning, and even GOOD! These are the words in describing this Eerie release, only because I can't find other words to fill in the gaps. The writers keep you horrified and they dream up some of the best plots ever put on paper.

In closing -- Here is a poem from the "poison pen" letter section:

"Eerie, Eerie, kind of dreary,
What is your monsters' food?
With ghouls and vampires, werewolves and witches,
All in a killing mood"!

Highly recommend, to bring back those memories, you never really forgot....

Total Page: 240 Pages ~ Dark Horse Comics #ISBN-13: 978-1595822451 ~ (March 10, 2009)

This first volume of Dark Horse's Eerie Archives reprints issues 1-5 of the classic Warren Publishing horror comic magazine Eerie. The book is a deluxe, oversized, coffee-table book, and the issues themselves are reprinted in their original black and white, save for the brilliant and dazzling covers of issues 2-5, by Frank Frazetta and Gray Morrow. The stories, originally published on relatively cheap paper, are lavishly reproduced here on wonderfully thick and white paper stock, making this book quite the weighty tome. Overall production values are well beyond first class. The book looks luxuriant and select. Holding it in your hands, it feels substantial and exclusive.

The book opens with an informative and rather delightful two-page introduction by the late Forrest J. Ackerman, legendary science-fiction, fantasy, and horror expert, collector, and promoter. Ackerman explains that Eerie was the sister magazine to Jim Warren's Creepy magazine. The first issue of Eerie premiered in 1966 with an extremely limited print run and a black and white cover. Both the first issue and its original cover are faithfully reproduced within this collection. The range of talented and legendary artists who worked on the five issues reprinted within the volume is extraordinary to say the least. This list includes but is not limited to John Severin, Steve Ditko, Alex Toth, Angelo Torres, Jack Davis, Joe Orlando, Al Williamson, Wally Wood, Reed Candall and Gene Colan. The degree of knack, skill, method, and artistry is astounding. The consistently brilliant art also really shines on the ritzy paper stock.

The stories will almost certainly appeal to a wide spectrum of horror fans. The book is a proverbial must-have for serious horror readers and collectors. If you've no prior experience with Eerie but are perhaps interested in the history and legacy of horror in relation to the comic book medium, this book makes these extremely difficult to find issues available, prettier than ever. If perhaps you're simply interested in extremely well crafted horror, you'll find these stories ceaselessly inventive and entertaining. Many of the scripts were written by Eerie editor Archie Goodwin (also noted for many projects he did at Marvel Comics throughout his storied comics-industry career).

The inclusion of letters to the editor and horror-themed ad pages throughout is reflective of the overall attention to detail and quality that Dark Horse invested in the production of this book. The brilliant work of the creators is showcased as it deserves to be and the publisher's presentation of the material is top-notch.

-- Jeffery Klaehn

I am not a horror genre fan but I have to say that these Eerie archives are quite fun to read. The stories were illustrated by very good artists. Practically all these stories are crafted in exactly one way - the main character always gets his just desserts in true ironic fashion and there is always Cousin Eerie with his usual tongue-in-cheek wrap-up of every story.

But after you have read them, you wouldn't want to re-read them again for a while. The sameness of each issue eventually gets to you.

I remember going to the newsstand when I was a teen and seeing comic books at half the price of Eerie and Creepy magazines. I wondered why Creepy and Eerie would cost three times more than other comics? Well I found out why. The quality of the art and story telling is wonderful. It reminded me of EC comics which an older cousin had; but these were my generation's horror comics!

If you would like to see what your parents or grandparents read as a teen or, if you are like me a Boomer, go ahead and order your copy for step in the past that will make you sometimes shiver for fear and at other times shiver for how naive we once were.

It is a fine and fun trip back to yesterday and I am glad to see it back today. Stay around Uncle Creepy and Cousin Eerie!