Sunday, October 17, 2010

Retro-View: Comix International #2 (Warren Publ.) + "The Ghost Light" (St. John; 1953)



In 1974, editor Bill DuBay added a new title to the line of black & white magazines published by Warren Communication. Comix International was a full-color magazine, however it merely served as a forum for reprinting earlier stories from various Warren publications. Comix International was a short-lived magazine, with only five annual issues published between 1974-1977 (although two issues were released in 1975) .

Issue #2 is a showcase of topnotch work from artists such as Richard Corben, Berni Wrightson, Reed Crandall, Wally Wood and Esteban Maroto. Some of the stories included were an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven" by Richard Corben reprinted from Creepy #67 (December 1974). Corben also illustrated two additional tales in this issue. "Dracula: The Circus of King Carnival" from Vampirella #39 (January 1975) was written by Gerry Boudreau and illustrated in a somewhat psychedelic-style by Esteban Maroto (who also contributed another Dracula story); "The Manhunters" from Eerie #60 (September 1974) written by Gerry Boudreau and drawn by EC Comics great Wally Wood; "The Beast on Bacon Street" from Creepy #74 (October 1975) written by Budd Lewis and lovingly drawn by Reed Crandall and "The Muck Monster" by Bernie Wrightson from Eerie #68 (September 1975).

The inside back cover includes artist profiles of Corben, Crandall, Wood, Wrightson, and others. The cover of this issue is a montage of selected interior panels. With the addition of colorization, the series became a forum for re-presenting some of the best of Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella.

As a "Strange Terrors Month" bonus today, I am including a single page feature (above; top) from Strange Terrors #6 (Jan. 1953); "The Ghost Light" was originally published by St. John The writer/artist is unknown.

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