Another super Frazetta cover and art by Torres, Williamson, Ditko, et al, all held together with solid stories in the EC fashion by Archie Goodwin. Warren's CREEPY clone found its stride and began to be published on a regular schedule.
A couple of notables in this issue: The "Easy Way to a Tough Surfboard" appeared here first before it was used in other Warren 'zines. It is regarded as Frank Frazetta's last comic strip art before he went on to his monster career of book covers and posters; the "Dear Cousin Eerie" letter column explains the story behind the EERIE #1 ash can edition; and Jerry Grandenetti ghosted the pencils for Joe Orlando's story, "Under the Skin" (Orlando did the inks).
EERIE
Vol. 1 No. 3
May 1966
Warren Publishing
Editor: Archie Goodwin
Cover: Frank Frazetta
Pages: 68
Cover price: 35 cents
CONTENTS
"Soul of Horror!"
Script: Archie Goodwin
Art: Angelo Torres
"The Lighthouse!"
Script: Archie Goodwin
Art: Al Williamson
"Room With a View!"
Script: Archie Goodwin
Art: Steve Ditko
"Monsterwork"
Script: Archie Goodwin
Art: Rocco "Rocke" Mastroserio
"Under the Skin!"
Script: Archie Goodwin
Art: Jerry Grandenetti/Angelo Torres
"Eerie's Monster Gallery No. 1: The Vampire"
Script: Archie Goodwin
Art: Johnny Craig
"The Monument"
Script: Archie Goodwin
Art: Alex Toth
"Full Fathom Fright"
Script: Archie Goodwin
Art: Gene Colan
NOTE: Lettering for all stories is by Ben Oda.
 |
| Art by Jack Davis. |
Thanks for posting this! It's always a joy to revisit these classic Warren comics!
ReplyDeleteOne correction: on "Skin Deep" it's Joe Orlando finishes over uncredited Jerry Grandenetti pencils-- credited solely to Orlando-- not Angelo Torres inks over Grandenetti.
Grandenetti did similar ghosting jobs throughout 1966, also providing pencils for EERIE #2, #4 and #5 that were credited solely to Joe Orlando. After those four issues of EERIE, he got his first solo job in CREEPY #12 (dated DEC 1966) and worked alone from that point on, always credited.
I was actually unaware that this had occurred until you posted, and had to look up those details. But man, you can REALLY see the Grandenetti in all those stories in the layout and action-- it's really obvious.
I guess Orlando was getting so much work over at DC at this time that he needed the help, though he did some solo work for Warren after that, even a cover.
-- hsc
Yep! Lost something there while transferring the details to the post. Grandenetti had a very distinct style apart from the others. I wouldn't say they were more "refined" but Grandenetti (who I didn't originally care for but now do) had a bolder stroke is the best way I can put it. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGrandenetti ghosted for Will Eisner on THE SPIRIT and probably acquired some of that style he later displayed. But when he moved over to DC for a long stint, his work on their war and western comics was more restrained-- and pretty much unrecognizable if you only know him from his Warren work.
ReplyDeleteLike Grandenetti, Angelo Torres is an artist I enjoyed at the time, but have come to appreciate even more than when I was first reading the Warren comics as a kid.
What really stands out to me now are his perfectly spotted blacks and his use of open edges on panels to pull the eye around the page. Take a look at the first page of "Soul of Horror" with that full-page borderless splash panel, and how Torres defines the left edge of that panel with the body of one of the mob, and the right edge of the entire page with the twisted forms of the tree and cliff edge!
-- hsc
I agree completely. Torres was perfectly suited for these types of stories and he got some good ones to illustrate. Back in the day, I really didn't like Grandenetti's art but luckily later I realized what great things he did with his technique -- his montage panels add a great touch to his work during this particular period. Toth was good at these mind-bending panels, too.
ReplyDelete