Reading – Creepy Presents: Bernie Wrightson

Creepy Presents: Bernie Wrightson* is a necessary addition to any comic fan’s collection if only because the work, some of Wrightson’s best from the seventies, has been beautifully reproduced in this new hardcover from Dark Horse Comics. If you’re also a fan of the old horror stories of the seventies comic magazines then there’s a pretty damned good chance you own this already.

Presented as “The Definitive Collection of the Artist’s Work from Creepy and Eerie,” I saved reading the book until my flight to Boston a few days ago and I’m now finding myself dying to grab some more of the Creepy and Eerie collections. There’s nothing like reading a book of scarily spooky and frighteningly fun comic stores to have me itching for more, and what we get in here demonstrates just why so many people consider Wrightson a real master.

A Dozen Great Tales

A 144-page hardcover collection, Creepy Presents: Bernie Wrightson* includes twelve different stories by Wrightson . . . and, at times, other contributors. The stories are from both Creepy and Eerie and are:

• The Black Cat — An adaptation and telling of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Black Cat, this 12-page long story is one of the longest in the book . . . and one of the more disturbing works. You can read the original at Online Literature and feel safe in knowing that Wrightson’s adaptation does a great job of capturing this sick and twisted story.

• Jenifer — Written by Bruce Jones, Jenifer is the story of a man who stops someone from killing a girl . . . and soon wishes he had never raised his weapon to defend the woman. The story really makes me wonder how the Comics Code of the seventies never stormed the Warren offices despite the fact that Creepy was published as a magazine and not a comic. Wrightson’s illustrations of the woman, Jenifer, will haunt your dreams.

• Clarice — Also written by Bruce Jones, this 5-page story is one of the weaker ones in the book for me. It’s an illustrated poem and poetry has never been one of my interests. Of course this statement will make me sound like an idiot soon enough . . .

• Country Pie — Written by Bruce Jones and penciled by Carmine Infantino (you may remember him as my favorite Star Wars artist), this is one story that looks great and has a fun twist. The twist’s reveal comes a few pages before the end of the story — which isn’t at all the EC style that Creepy was known for — but it works and the story looks great and is a fun read. The victim is not who you expect it to be.
  

• Dick Swift and his Electric Power Ring! — My absolute least favorite story in the book, this tells of a boy who is dying and his imaginary friend. It’s an okay idea, but the execution struck me as kinda dull. It looks nice — again, penciled by Carmine Infantino — but I didn’t like it.

• A Martian Saga — Remember that comment about poetry? Well, this 6-page story is an illustrated poem and it’s my favorite story in the book. Each page is four vertical panels and the art is some of the best in the book while the tale itself is a great take on Mars sci-fi like we don’t see today. The story makes me want the Creepy issue it originally appeared in . . . or the collection that includes that issue.

• The Laughing Man — Great ink work by Wrightson in this story by Bruce Jones and a fun twist at the end. Not my favorite in the book — not even in the top three — but it’s one you will never forget as the African explorers uncover a tribe of primates that are far more intelligent and crafty than they first expect.

• The Pepper Lake Monster — The first of the stories from Eerie, this 10-page story was completely created by Wrightson and is one of the best examples of his line work that you’ll ever see. Heavy, solid blacks and tons of intricate linework all come together to make this art that will make any artist jealous. Is there anyone out there creating comics like this these days?

• Nightfall — Bill Dubay and Wrightson tell of a child’s problem with monsters in his room at night. Another weak tale — Dubay also wrote Dick Swift, so it appears I’m not a fan of his writing — it still is fun to look at.

• Cool Air — Wrightson adapted this H.P. Lovecraft story (one I don’t remember ever reading) and shows what happens when science and technology fail. The last page is fantastic!

• Rueben Youngblood: Private Eye! — Confession time. I have tried to read this story a few times now but it’s so very boring and I just cannot get into it. This one feels very out of place in the book. To be fair this one ranks even lower on the chart than Dick Swift because I at least read Dick Swift.

• The Muck Monster — The last story in the book — and the only one in color — this 7-page story is a Frankenstein-like work in which a madman tries to create life. Looking at this story I can clearly see why Wrightson would go on to create his own Frankenstein adaptation . . . a work that’s now considered a classic retelling of a classic tale. I suspect the colors were altered for this collection but they look good so I don’t mind.

Illustration Gallery

The book closes with almost three dozen covers and frontispiece illustrations by Wrightson and one fan illustration that Creepy ran when he was a teen. That Mars cover has me wanting to track down the stories in that issue; even if they aren’t as good as A Martian Saga I still want the chance to read them. But no matter the quality of the comics in that issue all of the art included in this section is remarkable and worth studying if you have any dreams of being a master artist.

Closing Thoughts

I have been meaning to post about the Creepy and Eerie collections for over a year now but it took Creepy Presents: Bernie Wrightson* to spur me to do more than think about writing and actually put together a post. And at just $20 this is a great introduction to those collections; just keep in mind that not every story in Creepy or Eerie was as beautifully-illustrated as what you find in this book.

I should write about one or two of the main collections soon while this book is still fresh in my mind. But anyway, I hope you enjoy the Flickr set I posted and I really hope you at least flip through this book when you see it. Truly great stuff unlike any comics I see on shelves today.