Eerie Archives Volume 15

Published by: Dark Horse Comics
Released on: Jan. 22, 2014
Writers: various
Artists: various
Cover: Ken Kelly (reprinted from issue #74)
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As with the previous 14 volumes from Dark Horse, Eerie Volume 15 collects a number of issues of the classic black-and-white comic magazine from the 60's and 70's, showcasing the covers in full color. Some advertisements and letters pages are included, only adding to the nostalgia and satisfaction of revisiting these issues. It also gives first time readers a nice snapshot of the era in which these magazines were printed. Without further ado, here're the issue breakdowns:

• Issue #70: Cover by Sanjulian, “Cousin Eerie” front page by Bernie Wrightson; “The Final Sunrise” continues the ongoing saga of Coffin, by Budd Lewis and illustrated by Jose Ortiz; “Goblin Thrust” continues the serial story of Hunter II and his robot companion Exterminator, by Budd Lewis and drawn by Paul Neary; “Code Name: Slaughter Five: From the Cradle to the Grave” by Gerry Boudreau and Leopold Sanchez; “Crooked Mouth”, another ongoing serial with the character El Cid, written by Budd Lewis with pictures from Gonzalo Mayo; “Oogie and the Junkers”, from Bill Dubay and Esteban Maroto
• Issue #71: Sanjulian cover, “Cousin Eerie” front page by Bernie Wrightson; “Goblin” by Budd Lewis and illustrated by Jose Ortiz; continuing the Hunter II saga with “Time In Expansion” by Budd Lewis and Paul Neary; “Irving and the Devil Pie” from Bill DuBay and Leopold Sanchez; Pooter and the Magic Man” by Bill DuBay and Luis Bermejo; and El Cid chapter titled “Demon's Treasure”, written by Budd Lewis and illustrated by Gonzalo Mayo; “Mordecai Moondog”; from Bill DuBay and Esteban Maroto
• Issue #72: Sanjulian cover , “Cousin Eerie” front page by Bernie Wrightson; “The Demons of Jeremiah Cold: Daddy was a Demon Man” by Bill Dubay and Jose Ortiz; “The Valley of Armageddon” continues the Hunter II storyline by Budd Lewis and Paul Neary; “Reuben Youngblood: Private Eye!” from Budd Lewis, illustrated by Bernie Wrightson with inks by Howard Chaykin; “The Freaks: A Thin Dime of Pain” written by Doug Moench and drawn by Leopold Sanchez; “The Pie and I” by Budd Lewis and Luis Bermejo; “The Incredible People-Making Machines”, by Jose Bea
• Issue #73: Ken Kelly cover; Hunter II continues from Budd Lewis and Paul Neary in “Death of the Phoenix”; Budd Lewis does another The Freaks chapter with Leopold Sanchez in “Carnival at Mid-Night”; “Day of the Vampire- 1992: The Tombspawn” by Bill DuBay and Gonzalo Mayo; ab It…The Dead Thing story called “A Grave Terror Leads To Death!” comes to you courtesy Carl Wessler and Josep Gual on the pencils and inks; “Voyage to the Final Hole” by Jose Bea
• Issue #74: Ken Kelly cover, “Cousin Eerie” front page by Rafael Auraleon; “The Demons of Jebediah Pan” by Bill DuBay and Jose Ortiz; “Father Creator” from Bill DuBay and Paul Neary; Budd Lewis and Gonzalo Mayo create “A Secret King” tale with Merlin; and “The Expedition!” from Budd Lewis and Leopold Sanchez

Dark Horse has reprinted certain stories from the various issues of Eerie over the last number of years, such as Hunter, Coffin, and El Cid, and when reading the tales within these pages it's easy to see why. The stories deserve to be re-instated into the comic book world, as they are really good reads with awesome pen and ink work by some of the best from the era in the black-and-white magazine-formatted comics: Esteban Maroto, Jose Ortiz, and Gonzalo Mayo to name a few. Their work in Vampirella has never been matched in any of the stuff to come in the 90s and later, in this reader's opinion. They worked so well with the Warren material that they may well have set the standard for the format. Plus, to only be able to have the whole series in one collection makes for a far more satisfying read than in small segments over numerous issues. The artwork in El Cid by Gonzalo Mayo is simply fantastic: deeply layered with intricate detail and great shadow work. And who could draw sexier 70s women than Esteban Maroto? No one, that's who. And his artwork is just as mind-melting as Mayo's. The amount of stuff those guys could cram into a panel…

The issues within also contain a number of self-contained stories as well. One of them, “Reuben Youngblood: Private Eye!” is penciled by a personal favorite, Bernie Wrightson, and with inks by Howard Chaykin(!). Some artists are meant to ink their own stuff, because it simply isn't representative of Bernie Wrightson's fantastic style. Issue #72 has a color section, containing a story of The Freaks, which is a welcome addition, but the colors date the material, which doesn't seem at all dated when in black-and-white. Other than some tales are told in the future, which is now the past in many cases. Kind of cool though.

Aside from old advertisements as extra entertainment (which for this reader as a kid, were some of the most entertaining portions of these old mags), there is also a reward poster inside of issue #74, discussing counterfeit copies of Eerie #1 being sold. Mike Ploog contributes to the book with a forward and shares a story about his only work for James Warren before he went on to stardom with Marvel Comics. And there is a section “Presenting the 1975 Warren Awards!” which is what it sounds like, and they give little blurbs about the talents Warren employed.

While not entirely horror at this stage in its run, Eerie is more of a fantasy-adventure story publication, absolutely with elements of horror, and certainly with plenty of monsters, violence, and a bit of sex hidden in there as well. The old Warren pubs were such a product of so many of our youths, whether you were around to buy them or you blew through your uncle's copies like they were Dick and Jane books. If you missed them for whatever reason when they were around, you can't go wrong picking it up and pouring through this or any of the Eerie volumes for that matter. Simply put, this stuff is a blast.