Review: Eerie Archives Volume 11 Hard Cover

Eerie Archives Volume 11 continues Dark Horse's trend of collecting and printing Warren Publishing's horror anthology. Set in an impressive deluxe hard cover edition, this volume contains issues #52-55 of the original Eerie magazine. The book features 248 pages of black and white comics (besides two Will Eisner comics colored by the master Richard Corben), which is currently being sold for a little under $30 now at Amazon.

As far as artwork goes, this Eerie volume features roller coaster highs and lows of artistic talent: Neal Adams, Vicente Alcazar, Aldoma, Jaime Brocal, Rich Buckler, Richard Corben, Bill DuBay, Will Eisner, Ken Kelly, Esteban Maroto, Isidro Mones, Paul Neary, Martin Salvador, Sanjulian, and Tom Sutton. Although each artist is different in their own ways, they all demonstrate classic comic art that evokes the tone and atmosphere of Eerie comics. Gently haunting, unexpectedly gruesome, and creatively inspiring--always a pleasure to behold.  My personal favorite artist goes to Tom Sutton, whose short Fathom Haunt tale "Spawn of the Dead Thing" strangely reminds me of Rick Veitch and Steve Bisette's bizarre art and layouts in Saga of Swamp Thing. Also strange how Sutton's Fathom Haunt character is strangely reminiscent of John Contantine (I smell a conspiracy).

Story is where this book is mostly lacking. Many of the comics that appear in this volume are Warren's attempt to create on-going characters, like the Mummy, the Werewolf, and Dax the Warrior. Most of these characters are blatant ripoffs of classics and show Warren's attempt to cash-in on famous but unregistered Universal and Hammer monsters. Personally, I was afraid my generation leap from the original readers of Eerie magazine might have caused this objective attitude. But according to letters from readers that are reprinted in these volumes, I am not the only ones who was put off. One reader writes: "What the $#%(& do you think you're doing to EERIE? These series of yours are terrible...It's like having one long, boring story instead of ten short, good stories. Enough!" This letter made me laugh and nod in agreement. Strange how the years may pass but like minded individuals remain the same.

 One particular on-going story that stood out was written by Doug Moench and illustrated by Vincente Alcazar called "Schreck." Undeniably similar to Richard Matheson's I Am Legend, the first "Schreck" story is a brilliantly narrated account of a man struggling to survive in a post-apocalyptic world filled with "loonies"--an infected group of lunatic people caused by radioactive testing on the moon. The first Schreck story, "First Night of Terror" is a brilliantly narrated account that switches from past to present causing a perfect amount of tension for the series to take off. 

All together, this Eerie Archives Volume makes for some perfect lazy Sunday reading. Although some of the stories are not too original by today's standards, the art work is sure to please fans of horror and emits a desire to stroll through all of the Warren Publications yesteryear.

Overall rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Ragemoor #2 - Review

Welcome back to Castle Ragemoor! On April 18th, Dark Horse Comics releases the second installment of this four-part mini-series about a living castle, the cursed owners, and the bevy of beasts harbored inside. Like all great Gothic horror, Ragemoor #2 begins with poetry; Herbert Ragemoor (the "Master" of Ragemoor) longs for his heart's desire: the newest castle guest, the lovely Anoria. In effort to win her affection, Herbert sets forth on a heroic hunt to eliminate the plague of baboons which infests the castle grounds. Little does he know, in the deep, dark recesses of Castle Ragemoor, far worse creatures are certain to appear.

To be honest, the sole reason I've purchased Ragemoor revolved around my fancy for Richard Corben's artwork. But with each issue, I'm beginning to admire and take notice of Jan Strnad's delightfully poetic prose. The beginning of this issue is the best example of Strnad's writing I can recommend. His choice of using a poem as a means to transition the first issue to the second works flawlessly. Throughout the issue, Strnad's writing remains passionate and deceptively dark ultimately equating a wonderful Gothic tale.

As always, Corben's artwork bends the gap between illustration and reality. A couple weeks ago I read an article on Corben's method of creating the characters and environments for Ragemoor, specifically with the help of clay and CGI 3D models. I honestly wish Corben included some special feature in the back of each issue just how he created each page--one can only hope it appears in the trade. With this second issue Corben continues depicting wonderful characters and fantastical creatures. I only have one complaint for the mini-series so far; please make this ongoing!

Rating: 4.5/5

Creepy #8 - Review

Horror comic fans rejoice! Dark Horse Comic unearths another spine-chilling horror anthology with the quarterly release of Creepy #8 (available in stores tomorrow). Lurking the black and white pages of this new horror collective appears brand-new stories from the likes of Jeff Parker (Thunderbolts, Hulk), Colleen Coover (X-Men: First Class), Rick Geary (A Treasury of Victorian Murder), Doug Moench (Batman), and Kelly Jones (Criminal Macabre), with a classic reprint of Bruce Jones and Bernie Wrightson's "Jenifer", all wrapped in a glorious cover by Richard Corben.


Every issue of Creepy is a Pandora's box of chocolates. Whimsically unrelenting, brutally honest, and frightfully electric, you really never know what you're going to get. And dammit if it isn't nice to open and find out! This holds true for this quarter's issue. Five shorts float above a seemingly calm surface, where far below in the murky uninhabitable depths many surprises hungrily await. 

The strongest of this new batch of tales is definitely "The Lurking Fate that Came to Lovecraft Part 1" written by Moench with art provided by Jones). Set in the manner of many Cthulu mythos, Moench and Jones will captivate any fans of H.P. Lovecraft with this twist filled tale. Jones grisly and gruesome portrayal of Lovecraft beasties sent my toes curling from fear. Like Alan Moore's Neonomicon and Neil Gaiman's Only the End of the World Again, Lovecraft connoisseurs will appreciate the amount of detail put forth here. But the best has yet to be mentioned; there is promise of a part two in next quarter's Creepy!


The weakest and more lackluster of the bunch is "Loathsome Lore" (written by Dan Braun, art by Kyle Baker). This two page "story" is less of a weird-tale and more of a historical ramble that revolves around the theme of horror in rock n' roll. As both a fan of horror and music, I must express my distaste with the two featured among other worthy tales. Perhaps if this two-pager were tagged on at the end with a historical note, "Loathsome Lore" would feel more fitting. Otherwise it stands out equally unimpressive as it is unfitting. Despite the content, Baker's artwork does exhibit the gritty edge I look for in an issue of Creepy. A consolation prize, I suppose.


The three remaining stories "Nineteen" (written by Parker, art by Coover), "The Mausoleum" (Geary), and Jones and Wrightson's classic "Jenifer" are each splendidly different in artistry and narration; a batch certainly worth reading with the lights on. And for the price of $4.99 this 48-page black and white comic is worth the penny for Richard Corben's cover art alone.


Rating: 4/5

Review: 'Murky World'--Old School Corben Keeping it New

Originally published in Dark Horse Presents (#1-3),
Murky World is now collected in a one-shot and available today.

The first time I encountered Richard Corben's artwork was while marathon reading Mike Mignola's Hellboy series. The issue in particular was Hellboy: Makoma--one of the most overlooked Hellboy comic's featuring the big-red guy and his adventures in Africa. I am a Mignola fan through and through--one of the reasons I love Hellboy so much--however, as soon as my eyes poured over the pages of Hellboy: Makoma, I knew this artist, this Richard Corben, could drawn anything and I would be compelled by his artistic talents. I'm sure if he drew a picture of Sarah Jessica Parker I would like it. And that's saying a lot.

Page 2 of Corben's Murky World

Last year Dark Horse Comics serialized a new short by Corben, titled Murky World in their monthly anthology Dark Horse Presents (issues 1-3). Unsatisfied by the hit-and-miss quality in the genre of collection comics (and the steep cover-price), I decided to pass on the first three issues of DHP. Good reason I did too, because out today is a collected one shot of Corben's Murky World with all the original content, a low-low price (beats paying for three copies of DHP--$24+, are you freaking kidding me?), and includes the beautifully illustrated and colored cover featured above. 

Speaking of the cover artwork, this is one of the pride and joys of owning the Murky World one-shot. Corben's use of warm colors is particularly delightful and the detail on Tugat's cloak creates a wonderful illusion, as if readers could grab the cloak from the page and feel it's worn, rugged texture. The comic's title is also worthy of noting. This is the kind of comic title that pops out at readers and distinguishes itself from all the other comic books in the room. The mirror image of the letter "M" and the letter "W" is an extremely clever graphic design. I have seen cover art by Corben created in the late '70's at comic conventions and this  is the kind of title design I am reminded of. Fat, bloated lettering with eye-catching colors. It truly is a treat owning something so aesthetically pleasing.

Richard Corben's legendary talent of title design

on such works as Mutant World and Den

However, we all know the cliche "never judge a book by it's penis." Or was it "never judge a man by his book?" I'm sure you understand my meaning... 

The story in Murky World is extremely simplistic. We begin by following a snarky nomad named Tugat through the desolate and remote lands of Naughton. Our protagonist holds qualities the likes of brave Conan the Barbarian and the arrogant Ulysees. Upon Tugat's travels we encounter female-warrior twins, Sorgof the necromancer, a female cyclops named Butterfly, and deadlings (cursed human slaves--similar to zombies). The story is a neat blend of action-adventure and situation comedy. This being a one-shot, any room for an expansion story is possible but at his point appears null. For comic readers expecting a great story, don't look for Alan Moore or Warren Ellis style prose within these pages. This comic is pure-pulp entertainment and should be treated as such.

My only disappointment with the comic is Corben's decision to keep his work black and white. As much as I love his comics, I feel like they are more pleasing when done in color. Once again, I refer you to look at the cover and see the potential there. Other than this small complaint, Murky World is filled with artwork that shows Corben's skilled talent at character depiction. Each character has wonderfully detailed facial expressions (see Sorgof the necromancer as an example), the women are robust and built, very similar to Corben's other work (large, overly-ripened breasts), and the deadlings show the amount of horror he can achieve through pencil and ink.

Page 3 of Corben's Murky World

By the end of this one-shot, fans of Richard Corben will not be let down. If you are unfamiliar with his talent I would advise starting else where--any of his work on Hellboy is a good start. This story might not hold the attention span of new readers and for 26 pages for the price of $3.50 some comic readers might feel a bit gypped. But for Corben fans the world around, I say pick this copy up before your retailer sells out. As an owner, I'm certainly feeling proud having an original Richard Corben comic.

More information on Richard Corben can be found at his personal website here.

Check back to Go Suck a Comic next month for a review of Richard Corben and Jan Strand's new Dark Horse Comic series Ragemoor #1!