A Spooktacular Experience!

The Creeps is like a time-travel device. The ideas and writing and art all look like they could've come out of a vintage Warren magazine like Creepy or Eerie. That's intentional, and in lesser  hands would not be as effective. Many have tried to tap the vein that the Warren mags found in the 60's and 70's themselves trying to update the basic zeitgeist of the classic EC Comics. In this iteration they realized that black and white was the key to success. While Warren dabbled in color from time to time, and splendidly so, the latchkey to find the balance between horror and awful was the refined lines of black and white artwork.

Getting artists of some reputation and skill and letting them dance was important, but almost always within the parameters of the black and white world. It kept the gore at an acceptable distance and so did not allow the gross to undermine the truly impressive allure of the grotesque. Sex and violence alas will always sell, but in some packages it speaks out with exceeding craft allowing for the vicarious experience to be one of catharsis and not merely banal indulgence. I'm a late comer, but an enthusiastic one as I explained last Spring. Get The Creeps while you can, and the first annual The Creeps Spooktacular is a dandy place to dive in.

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Getting The Creeps!

I pretty much noticed Warrant Publishing's The Creeps right away when it hit the stands, but for whatever reason I have just this week picked up my first issue. The magazine fills a nifty space as I am still casting around for proper entertainment to complete the gap left by cancellations of all my current favorite comics. The premise of Warrant's magazine is dead simple -- imitate Warren publishing as much as possible. What we have here is a weird zombie-like imitation of Creepy and Eerie from the halcyon days of Jim Warren's maverick magazine line which gave us top-flight characters like Uncle Creepy, Cousin Eerie, Vampirella, Hunter, and The Rook among many others. Now we can add "The Old Creep". It's a weirdly charming idea.

The talent has been pretty darn good with reliable names like Roger McKenzie, Nicola Cuti, T. Casey Brennan and Don Glut as writers and Frank Frazetta, Ken Kelly, Sanjulian, and Rich Corben on covers. Inside has been handled by a bevy of talented young pros who do a grand job evoking recognizable styles. Even Groovy Friends of the Dojo have had a hand in the production of the magazine. In fact with the fourteenth issue Nick Cuti joins the editorial staff headed by Rich Sala, so it does rather feel even more like old times. So add The Creeps to the list. Now I have some back issues to chase -- sounds like fun.

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