Horror Magazine Cover Art

September 16, 2006 1:37 PM

In the 1960s, as a response to the Comics Code Authority's attempt to sanitize comic books, Warren Publishing^ created a series of Graphic Magazine style horror books (using the "see, they're MAGAZINES, not comics, so that's why it's okay" defense), picking up the gauntlet from EC's Tales of the Crypt & other 50's era horror comics. The magazines, Creepy (and later) Eerie & Vampirella were rife with sex & gore, and featured full color well illustrated front covers by fantasy artists like Frank ("Conan") Frazetta & H.R. ("Alien") Giger. The Warren Magazine Collection Site (warning: annoying non-skippable flash intro) has put the entire catalog of cover art from the full run of all three magazines online. Skip the flash intro, and go straight to the galleries: Creepy, Eerie & Vampirella.
posted by jonson (12 comments total)

Cool stuff, thanks jonson.
posted by doctor_negative at 1:53 PM on September 16, 2006

Man, jonson, this totally rocks. Gracias.
posted by nixerman at 1:55 PM on September 16, 2006

Though not as well received as the Warren magazines, EC did try to run content outside the jurisdiction of the Comics Code with their Picto-Fiction magazines.

The EC library set of these was released just recently by Russ Cochran. The cool thing about this EC Library set is that the magazines were originally in black and white, so you don't have to wonder what the stories look like in full color like the other EC Library stuff. (For non-EC geeks, the Library issues are all B/W but the original comics were in color).

On a related note... I've always wanted to read Seduction of the Innocent, but I have yet to track down an affordable copy.
posted by blackvectrex at 2:03 PM on September 16, 2006

See also:

Confessions Illustrated

Crime Illustrated

Shock Illustrated

Terror Illustrated
posted by blackvectrex at 2:08 PM on September 16, 2006

MeTa.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 2:17 PM on September 16, 2006

PS... Great post, Jonson! As always.
posted by blackvectrex at 2:39 PM on September 16, 2006

Jonson, you've done it again!

(Always wanted to say that!)
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 2:39 PM on September 16, 2006

Joining the choir: This is fucking awesome. Thank you. Some of my favorite stuff in the world.
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 2:54 PM on September 16, 2006

Nimrod is nature's most ferocious killer.
posted by pokermonk at 8:10 PM on September 16, 2006

blackvektrex, just for the record, Russ Cochran is now re-issuing all of his EC reprints in color (Mad was formerly available in color). Same boxed beautiful hardcover volumes and, if I didn't already have a complete set of the b/w, I might well go for the color reprints (available cheaper to subscribers to the original sets). There is some new content. Commentary in the original b/w sets was by EC fanaddicts, the new color volumes have added stuff by other people. The first offering, Weird Science, has an intro by George Lucas. Spielberg does one for Shock. This hasn't been announced on line yet, so this is a MeFi exclusive! Spa fon!
posted by CCBC at 10:23 PM on September 16, 2006

Ah, Vampirella...all that time I spent with your illustrations as a teen, holding on to them with one hand.

...good times.
posted by thanotopsis at 12:04 PM on September 17, 2006

Very nifty post, thanks.
posted by Smedleyman at 10:55 AM on September 18, 2006