Crestwood Publications, also known as Feature Publications, was a magazine publisher that also published

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

s from the 1940s through the 1960s. Its title ''Prize Comics'' contained what is considered the first ongoing horror comic-book feature, Dick Briefer's "

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...

". Crestwood is best known for its Prize Group imprint, published in the late 1940s to mid-1950s through packagers Joe Simon and

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

, who created such historically prominent titles as the horror comic ''Black Magic'', the creator-owned

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

'' Fighting American'', and the first romance comic title, '' Young Romance''. For much of its history, Crestwood's publishers were Teddy Epstein and Mike Bleier. In the 1940s the company's general manager was Maurice Rosenfeld, and in the 1950s the general manager was M.R. Reese. In the mid-1950s, the company office manager was Nevin Fidler (who later became Simon & Kirby's business manager). In addition to Simon and Kirby, notable Crestwood/Prize contributors included Leonard Starr, Mort Meskin, John Prentice,

Joe Maneely Joseph Maneely (; February 18, 1926 – June 7, 1958) was an American comic book artist best known for his work at Marvel Comics' 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics (1950s), Atlas Comics, where he co-created the Marvel characters the Black Knight (Si ...

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, e ...

Will Elder William Elder (born Wolf William Eisenberg; September 22, 1921 – May 15, 2008) was an American illustrator and comic book artist who worked in numerous areas of commercial art but is best known for a frantically funny cartoon style that helped ...

Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics artist and editing, 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 ...

, Bruno Premiani,

Dick Ayers Richard Bache Ayers (; April 28, 1924 – May 4, 2014) was an American comic book artist and cartoonist best known for his work as one of Jack Kirby's inkers during the late-1950s and 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comics, including on s ...

, George Klein, Jack Abel, Ed Winiarski, and Dick Briefer.

History

Origins: ''Prize Comics''

In 1940, Crestwood's Prize Publications, already established as a producer of

pulp magazines Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 until around 1955. The term "pulp" derives from the wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed, due to their cheap nature. ...

, jumped onto the superhero bandwagon with the new title ''Prize Comics''. The first issue (March 1940) featured the non-superpowered, costumed crime fighter K the Unknown, whose name was changed to the Black Owl in issue #2 (April 1940). In ''Prize Comics'' #7 (December 1940), writer-artist Dick Briefer introduced the eight-page feature "New Adventures of

", an updated version of 19th-century novelist

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...

's much-adapted

Frankenstein monster Frankenstein's monster, commonly referred to as Frankenstein, is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' as its main antagonist. Shelley's title compares the monster's ...

. Considered by comics historians, including Don Markstein, "America's first ongoing comic book series to fall squarely within the horror genre",Frankenstein (1940)
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

the feature, set in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, starred a guttural, rampaging creature actually dubbed "Frankenstein" (unlike Shelley's nameless original monster).

Simon and Kirby's Prize Group

''Young Romance''

Launched with a

cover date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

of September 1947, the Prize Group title '' Young Romance'' signaled its distinction from traditional superhero and genre comics with a cover banner stating the series was "designed for the more adult readers of comics". Told from a first person perspective, underlining its claim to be recounting "true" stories, the title was an instant success, "becoming Jack and Joe's biggest hit in years" and selling "millions of copies"Ro, p. 46 and a staggering 92% of its print run. Crestwood increased the print run by the third issue to triple the initial numbers, as well as upgraded the title from bimonthly to monthly through issues #13–72 (Sept. 1949 – Aug. 1954). Howell, Richard, "Introduction" to Real Love – The Best of the Simon and Kirby Romance Comics" 1940s–1950s (Eclipse Books, 1988). Miller, J. J., Thompson, Maggie, Bickford, Peter & Frankenhoff, Brent, ''The Comic Buyer's Guide Standard Catalog of Comic Books'', 4th Edition (KP Books, 2005) – "Young Romance", pp. 1599–1601 Within a year and a half, Simon & Kirby were launching companion titles for Crestwood to capitalize on the success of this new genre. The first issue of '' Young Love'' (Feb. 1949) also sold well with "indistinguishable" content from its parent-title. Further spin-off titles ''Young Brides'' (married couples' stories) and ''In Love'' ("book-length" stories) also followed from Crestwood/Prize, and were produced by the Simon & Kirby stable of artists and writers.

''Black Magic''

The long-running horror/suspense title ''

Black Magic Black magic (Middle English: ''nigromancy''), sometimes dark magic, traditionally refers to the use of Magic (paranormal), magic or supernatural powers for evil and selfish purposes. The links and interaction between black magic and religi ...

'' debuted in 1950. According to Jack Kirby, the idea for

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

originated with him and Simon, who developed a character called The Silver Spider for ''Black Magic'', who was subsequently not used. Ironically, eventual Spider-Man co-creator

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 ac ...

drew a six-page story in ''Black Magic'' vol. 4, #3 (Dec. 1953).

Controversy

In 1954, a Crestwood/Prize salesman urged Kirby and Simon to launch their own comics company, Mainline Publications, while the duo continued to produce work for Crestwood under contract. When the duo rearranged and republished artwork from an old Crestwood story in the Mainline title ''In Love'', Crestwood refused to pay Simon and Kirby. After reviewing Crestwood's finances, Simon & Kirby's attorney stated that the company owed them $130,000 over the past seven years. Crestwood paid them $10,000 in addition to their recent delayed payments.

Decline

Crestwood gave up publishing comics in 1963, selling off its remaining

romance comics Romance comics are a genre of comic book, comic books that were most popular during the Golden Age of Comics. The market for comics, which had been growing rapidly throughout the 1940s, began to plummet after the end of World War II when military ...

to publisher

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

.Don Markstein's Toonopedia
"Romance Comics".
Accessed May 27, 2008. It continued to publish humor magazines, such as '' Sick'', up until 1968 (when ''Sick'' was acquired by Hewfred Publications).

Comic-book characters

*Airmale *American Eagle * Atomic Man * Black Owl *Blue Streak *Bulldog Denny *Captain Gallant *Dr. Dekkar, Master of Monsters *Dr. Frost *The Futureman & Jupiter * Green Lama (also published in

and by Spark Publications) *Junior Rangers *Master Magician *Power Nelson *Ted O'Neil * Yank & Doodle

Titles published

References

Notes

Sources

* *

External links

Crestwood/Prize characters at International Superheroes
{{GoldenAge Defunct comics and manga publishing companies Defunct companies based in New York City American companies established in 1940 American companies disestablished in 1968 Publishing companies established in 1940 Publishing companies disestablished in 1968 1940 establishments in New York (state) 1968 disestablishments in New York (state) Publishing companies based in New York City