Creepy Archives, Volume 1

September 1, 2008
Creepy was a 1960s effort to recapture the spirit of the beloved EC horror comics of the 1950s that, by publishing in larger magazine format, ducked the Comics Code imposed to quiet public outcry over precisely such lurid fare as the EC horrors. Creepy hewed as closely as possible to the EC model, rounding up many of the lines most talented artists, including Al Williamson, Jack Davis, Reed Crandall, and Joe Orlando, and using a comically grisly host to introduce the tales la ECs Crypt-Keeper. The magazine sported lush, eye-grabbing covers by painter Frank Frazetta, who became one of the most acclaimed sf-fantasy artists. Creepy arguably outdid its inspirers. The scripts, mostly by editor Archie Goodwin, were less text-heavy than ECs, and the black-and-white printing and larger page size showed off the detailed artwork to fuller advantage. Creepy and its stablemate Eerie would soon augment the EC-veteran contributors with other artists as good. The brilliant Alex Toth appears in the last of the issues reprinted here, and forthcoming volumes will spotlight more top talent.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)