''Creepy'' was an American

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction ** Korean horror, Korean horror fiction *Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing on ...

- comics magazine launched by

Warren Publishing Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades. Magazines published by Warren include '' After Hours'', '' Creepy'', '' Eerie'', '' F ...

in 1964. Like ''

Mad Mad, mad, or MAD may refer to: Geography * Mad (village), a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia * Mád, a village in Hungary * Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, by IATA airport code * Mad River (disambiguation), several ri ...

'', it was a black-and-white newsstand publication in a magazine format and did not carry the seal of the

Comics Code Authority The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA allowed the comic publishers to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. ...

. An anthology magazine, it initially was published quarterly but later went bimonthly. Each issue's stories were introduced by the host character, Uncle Creepy. Its sister publications were ''

Eerie ''Eerie'' was an American magazine of horror comics introduced in 1966 by Warren Publishing. Like '' Mad'', it was a black-and-white magazine intended for newsstand distribution and did not submit its stories to the comic book industry's voluntar ...

'' and ''

Vampirella Vampirella () is a fictional vampire superheroine created by Forrest J Ackerman and comic book artist Trina Robbins in Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror comics magazine ''Vampirella'' #1 (Sept. 1969), a sister publication of '' Creep ...

''.

Launch

Illustrator and editor

Russ Jones Russ Jones (born July 16, 1942 in Ontario) is a Canadian novelist, illustrator, and magazine editor, active in the publishing and entertainment industries over a half-century, best known as the creator of the magazine '' Creepy'' for Warren Pu ...

, the founding editor of ''Creepy'' in 1964, said he approached ''

Famous Monsters of Filmland ''Famous Monsters of Filmland'' is an American genre-specific film magazine, started in 1958 by publisher James Warren and editor Forrest J Ackerman. ''Famous Monsters of Filmland'' directly inspired the creation of many other similar publicat ...

'' magazine publisher Jim Warren with the idea of

horror comics Horror comics are comic books, graphic novels, black-and-white comics magazines, and manga focusing on horror fiction. In the US market, horror comic books reached a peak in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, when concern over content and the ...

similar to the 1950s'

EC Comics Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books, which specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950 ...

comic books. Warren also choose not to use the comics industry's voluntary self-censorship

for his black and white magazines. Warren eventually agreed. Jones recalled that:

Joe Orlando Joseph Orlando (April 4, 1927 – December 23, 1998) was an Italian American illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades. He was the associate publisher of '' Mad'' and the vice president of DC Comics, w ...

was not only an illustrator for ''Creepy'' but also a

story editor Story editor is a job title in motion picture and television production, also sometimes called "supervising producer". In live action television, a story editor is a member of the screenwriting staff who edits scripts, pitches stories, and reports ...

on early issues, with his masthead credit reading: "Story Ideas: Joe Orlando". Bill Pearson also worked on the first issue.

The Archie Goodwin era

In 1965, Russ Jones had a falling out with publisher Jim Warren and departed. Archie Goodwin, having already been writing most of the stories and working with most of the regular artists, succeeded him as editor. Goodwin, who became one of comics' foremost writers, helped establish the company as a prominent force in the field of black-and-white comics magazines. Artists during this era included

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...

Dan Adkins Danny L. AdkinsDanny L. Adkins
at the Reed Crandall Reed Leonard Crandall (February 22, 1917 – September 13, 1982) Reed Crandall
at ...

Johnny Craig John Thomas Alexis Craig (April 25, 1926 – September 13, 2001),John T. Craig
at the ...

Steve Ditko Stephen John Ditko Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular act ...

Frank Frazetta Frank Frazetta (born Frank Frazzetta ; February 9, 1928 – May 10, 2010) was an American fantasy and science fiction artist, noted for comic books, paperback book covers, paintings, posters, LP record album covers, and other media. He is ...

Gray Morrow Dwight Graydon "Gray" Morrow (March 7, 1934 – November 6, 2001)Gray Morrow
at the ...

John Severin John Powers Severin (; December 26, 1921 – February 12, 2012) was an American comics artist noted for his distinctive work with EC Comics, primarily on the war comics '' Two-Fisted Tales'' and '' Frontline Combat''; for Marvel Comics, ...

Angelo Torres Angelo Torres (born April 14, 1932, in Santurce, Puerto Rico) is an American cartoonist and caricaturist whose work has appeared in many noteworthy comic books, as well as a long-running regular illustrator for '' Mad''. EC Comics Torres was fr ...

Alex Toth Alexander Toth (June 25, 1928 – May 27, 2006) was an American cartoonist active from the 1940s through the 1980s. Toth's work began in the American comic book industry, but he is also known for his animation designs for Hanna-Barbera throughout ...

Al Williamson Alfonso Williamson (March 21, 1931 – June 12, 2010) was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western, science fiction and fantasy. Born in New York City, he spent much of his early childhood in ...

and

Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as '' Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', and ''MAD Magazine'' fro ...

. Originally published quarterly, ''Creepy'' switched to bi-monthly by the end of 1965. To help draw the best possible performance out of the artists working on the series, prior to writing a story Goodwin would ask the artist what type of story or setting he would like to work in; this also served to narrow Goodwin's thinking, making it easier for him to come up with a story idea. He also wrote a considerable number of

adaptations In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

works for ''Creepy''. Initially, out of a feeling that the original works were overly familiar, he would change either the ending or the beginning of the story when doing these adaptations. Eventually he concluded that this was presumptuous, and began adhering more closely to the original stories. Goodwin resigned as the editor of ''Creepy'' after issue #17 (October 1967). Warren was going through a financial crisis at the time, forcing pay cuts for both writers and artists, driving the majority of the magazine's leading artists to leave, and making Warren fill much of their content with Goodwin-era reprints, which would be prevalent in the magazine until issue #32 in April 1970. A variety of editors ran the magazine during this period, including Bill Parente, Nicola Cuti and Warren himself. Things would pick up starting in 1969 with the premiere of ''

'' magazine. Some of ''Creepys original artists, including Frazetta, Crandall and Wood, would return, as did Goodwin, who was associate editor for issues #35 through #39.

Editors and artists

A variety of editors continued to manage ''Creepy'' after Goodwin's second departure, including Billy Graham and J. R. Cochran. William Dubay, who had started at Warren as an artist with issue #32 in 1970, became editor of the magazine for issues #50 through #78, except for a short period of time in 1974, when Goodwin returned for issues #61 through #64. Awkward questions of authority which arose between Dubay (who was still editing sister magazine ''Eerie'') and Goodwin were not adequately resolved by publisher Jim Warren, leading to Goodwin's early departure. During this period the frequency of ''Creepy'' and Warren's other magazines was upped to nine issues per year. In late 1971, artists from the Barcelona Studio of Spanish agency

Selecciones Illustrada Selecciones Ilustradas (sometimes known as ''S.I.'') is a Spanish art agency founded by Josep Toutain. Warren Publishing Selecciones Ilustradas is probably most well known in America due to its connections with Warren Publishing, where S.I.'s arti ...

started appearing in ''Creepy'' and other Warren magazines. Artists from Spain would go on to dominate ''Creepy'' and the other Warren magazines throughout the 1970s. These artists included

Esteban Maroto Esteban Maroto (born 1942) is a Spanish comic book artist. Career Born in Madrid, he began his career in the 1960s with series like ''Cinco por infinito'', published in English by Continuity Comics as '' Zero Patrol'' (heavily retouched by e ...

, Jaime Brocal,

Rafael Aura León Rafael Aura León (22 December 1939 - 24 June 1993) was a Spanish comics artist, known primarily as Auraleón, which is how he signed his work. Biography Born in Barcelona, Auraleón's career began in 1959 when he joined the Spanish agency Sel ...

, Martin Salvador, Luis García, Fernando Fernández, José González,

José Beá Josep Maria Beà i Font, in Spanish José Beá (born 11 March 1942) is a Spanish comic book artist. Career Born in Barcelona, Catalunya, Beá joined the art agency Selecciones Ilustradas at 15 and started his comic book career in the late 1950 ...

Isidro Monés Isidre Monés Pons, also Isidro Monés (born 1947) is a Spanish comic book artist. Career Isidro Monés was born in Barcelona, Catalunya. He started his career as an artist doing children's books, covers and trading cards. He joined the agen ...

Sanjulián Manuel Pérez Clemente (better known as Sanjulián; born 24 June 1941) is a Spanish painter, most notable for his magazine and novel covers. He was born in Barcelona, and studied at Belles Arts of Sant Jordi. Sanjulián began working for Selecc ...

, and Enrich Torres. Additional artists from S.I.'s Valencia Studio joined Warren in 1974, including José Ortiz,

Luis Bermejo Luis Bermejo Rojo (12 August 1931 – 12 December 2015) was a Spanish illustrator and comics artist known for his work published in Spain, Italy, Great Britain, and the United States. He has illustrated a number of novels, and worked for a while ...

, and Leopold Sánchez. Writers during Dubay's era as editor included Gerry Boudreau, Budd Lewis, Jim Stenstrum,

Steve Skeates Steve Skeates (; born 1943) is an American comic book creator known for his work on such titles as ''Aquaman'', ''Hawk and Dove'', ''T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents'', and ''Plop!'' He has also written under the pseudonyms Chester P. Hazel and Warren Savin. ...

and

Doug Moench Douglas Moench (; born February 23, 1948) is an American comic book writer notable for his ''Batman'' work and as the creator of Moon Knight, Deathlok, Black Mask, '' Electric Warrior'' and '' Six from Sirius''. He is also known for his critical ...

. Themed specials dominated Dubay's era as editor, and included two

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

issues (69 and 70), three Christmas issues (59, 68 and 77), three issues dedicated to a single artist (71, 72 and 74), a science fiction issue (73) and an issue where every story was based on the cover painting (64). This era also featured stories that were printed in color, many of which were done by

Richard Corben Richard Corben (October 1, 1940December 2, 2020) was an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in '' Heavy Metal'' magazine, especially the '' Den'' series which was featured in the magazine's first film a ...

. Towards the end of his period as editor, many artists from ''Creepys first golden era returned, including

and

. Dubay resigned after issue 78 and was replaced by Louise Jones, his former assistant. Jones would edit the magazine until issue #116 in March 1980. Former

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...

publisher

Carmine Infantino Carmine Michael Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics artist and editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creations are ...

joined Warren shortly after he became editor and did pencils for over 50 stories. Much like the wave of Spanish artists that dominated ''Creepy ''throughout the mid-1970s, a number of artists from the Philippines joined Warren during Jones' period as editor, including

Alex Niño Alex Niño (born May 1, 1940) is a Filipino comics artist best known for his work for the American publishers DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and Warren Publishing, and in '' Heavy Metal'' magazine. Biography Early life and career Alex Niño was born ...

Alfredo Alcala Alfredo P. Alcala (August 23, 1925 – April 4, 2000) was a Filipino comics artist, born in Talisay, Negros Occidental in the Philippines. Alcala was an established illustrator whose works appeared in the ''Alcala Komix Magazine''. His 1963 c ...

and

Rudy Nebres Rodolfo D. Nebres (born January 14, 1937) is a Filipino comics artist who has worked mostly as an inker in the American comic book industry. Known for his lush, detailed inklines, Nebres' most prolific period was in the late 1970s and the 1980s. ...

, remaining with ''Creepy'' until its end in 1983. While he had resigned as editor, Dubay remained with Warren and became their dominant writer during this period. Other frequent writers during this period included

Bruce Jones Bruce Jones may refer to: * Bruce Jones (actor) (born 1953), British actor *Bruce Jones (American football) (1904–1974), American football player *Bruce Jones (comics) (born 1944), American comic book writer *Bruce Jones (surfboards) (?–2014), ...

, Bob Toomey and

Roger McKenzie Roger McKenzie (22 July 1971 – 25 November 1995) also known under his production aliases of Wildchild or DJ Wildchild, was an English musician and DJ. Biography Born in Southampton, England, he released many singles on labels such as ...

. After Louise Jones resigned as editor following issue #116, Dubay returned to edit the magazine using the alias "Will Richardson" until issue #126. After Dubay's departure, various editors including Chris Adames and Timothy Moriarty held the position. Reprints once again began in the magazine with many reprint issues being dedicated to a single artist. Warren's last ''Creepy'' (#145) was published February 1983, and then he went bankrupt.

Harris Publications Harris Publications Inc. was an American special interest media company, operating over 75 brands with print, digital, mobile and live event platforms prior to its sale to Athlon Media in 2016. It produced magazines that educate, entertain, inf ...

bought rights after Warren's bankruptcy and published a single issue (#146) in 1985. In 2000, after a protracted legal dispute with Harris Publications, Jim Warren and Warren Publishing finally regained sole ownership of all rights to his two iconic and flagship comic book franchises ''Creepy'' and ''Eerie''.

Archives and the relaunch

In February 2007, New Comic Company, LLC completed a total rights acquisition from Warren and his entity for all rights to ''Creepy'' and ''Eerie'', after seven years of effort. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. All copyright renewals and trademarks have been re-established in the name of New Comic Company LLC. Shortly after that rights acquisition deal, in June 2007, New Comic Company LLC principals

Dan Braun Dan Braun (born circa 1962) is an American musician, composer, writer, editor, art director, and film producer. Early music career Dan Braun and his twin brother Josh have performed, separately and together, in bands including Circus Mort with si ...

, Craig Haffner,

Josh Braun Josh Braun (born 1961) is an American businessperson, film producer, musician and comics publisher known for his work in the bands Circus Mort and The Del-Byzanteens, for his formation in the companies Submarine Entertainment, and New Comic Co ...

and Rick Brookwell completed a partnership agreement with

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

and its CEO Mike Richardson to republish in archival hardcover form all 285 total issues of the original ''Creepy'' and ''Eerie''. The first ''Creepy'' archival volume was published in August 2008, with additional releases available every four months. The first ''Eerie'' archival volume was released in March 2009, with subsequent archives available every four months. In July 2009, Dark Horse Comics and New Comic Company LLC released the new ''Creepy'' magazine. Edited by Shawna Gore and Dan Braun with Craig Haffner, it displayed the work of artists

Bernie Wrightson Bernard Albert Wrightson (October 27, 1948 – March 18, 2017), sometimes credited as Bernie Wrightson, was an American artist, known for co-creating the Swamp Thing, his adaptation of the novel ''Frankenstein'' illustration work, and for his o ...

, Saskia Gutekunst and Jason Shawn Alexander illustrating scripts by Michael Woods, Dan Braun, Joe Harris and

Bill Dubay William Bryan Dubay (January 11, 1948 – April 15, 2010William Bryan Dubay
Social Security Number ...

Awards

In 2009, Dan Braun and Shawna Gore won the Eisner Award for best archival project for ''Creepy Archive'' #1.

Cultural legacy

Uncle Creepy is mentioned in an early scene in '' Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief''. The back cover of Roger Taylor's (drummer of rock band

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

) solo project album ''

Fun in Space ''Fun in Space'' is the debut solo album by English musician Roger Taylor, the drummer of Queen. It was released on 6 April 1981 in the UK and 9 May in the US. The album peaked at number 18 in the British charts, while it performed poorly in the ...

'' shows him reading the July 1980 issue of ''Creepy''. The album's front cover flips the image, showing the alien from that issue reading a magazine about Roger Taylor. In 2010, New Comic Company, LLC signed a deal with mask company Trick or Treat Studios to release the first officially licensed Uncle Creepy mask in almost 20 years. The mask was sculpted by Trick or Treat Studios Art Director Justin Mabry and was available in Halloween and costumes stores across the world for the 2011 Halloween season. By September 2012, the apparel company Stüssy launched a line of T-shirts and hats titled "Stüssy x ''Creepy''" featuring Uncle Creepy, the ''Creepy'' logo and graphics from the magazines. An issue of creepy is visible on the second panel of the first page of ''The Immortal Hulk'' #30.

References

External links

* Additiona
Webcitation archive
*
"Jim Warren Meets Vampirella"
''

Philadelphia City Paper ''Philadelphia City Paper'' was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The independently owned paper was free and published every Thursday in print and daily online at citypaper.net. Staff reporters focused on labor issues ...

'', Jan. 6-12, 2005
''The Comics Journal'' #253: "The Vampirella Wars"