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Post by brutalis on Aug 15, 2016 10:13:37 GMT -5
Oh the supernatural bliss found within the 1970's resurgence of horror comics. So much goodness to be found and enjoyed from so many companies making this a spectacular time for reading of the terror's in the night. From Marvel's Frankenstein Monster, Dracula, Werewolf by Night, Ghost Rider, Son of Satan, Simon Garth the Zombie and other creatures of the night to DC with Swamp Thing and it's many Haunted Houses and Weird Wars to the black and white haunting's from Warren in Eerie, Creepy and Vampirella. It was a wonderful time to find the monstrous, horrific, scary and terror filled dreams of writers and artists in the comic book racks. Every week you could find some new horror themed comic book or story to entertain you during the day and haunt your thoughts at night.
I searched avidly for Swamp Thing, Tomb of Dracula and Werewolf by Night each month while grabbing up any House of Mystery,Weird War. If a comic had a werewolf, vampire or mummy on the cover it was an instant buy for me. Something in the dark and sinister world of those horror comics drew me to them time and again and entertained my youthful imagination providing chills and shivers in the best ways imaginable.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Aug 15, 2016 10:16:38 GMT -5
Just you wait for the 2016 CCF Long Halloween event  |
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Post by Warmonger on Aug 15, 2016 10:39:33 GMT -5
Best era for horror comics IMO, especially when you take the Creepy and Eerie mags into effect.
I first saw a few of the Hammer Dracula films on TV at my cousins house in the mid-70's and was hooked from thereon out. Immediately started snatching up every issue of Tomb of Dracula, Werewolf by Night, Swamp Thing, Man-Thing, Chamber of Chills, etc that I could get my hands on.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Aug 15, 2016 11:02:30 GMT -5
Not trying to be snarky or troll-ish, but were any of these horror titles actually scary? I would read issues of DC's Unexpected, House of Mystery or Witching Hour as a kid, and they never once scared me. I could happily read those comics late at night, with the closet door open -- no problem.
I'm not familiar with Marvel's horror characters at all, apart from the occasions when Dracula or the Frankenstein Monster would team-up with or against Spider-Man. But I wonder if any of these '70s horror revival books were genuinely scary for kids back in the day?
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Post by brutalis on Aug 15, 2016 11:20:35 GMT -5
For myself, only the occasional Marvel ever seemed scary. DC was watered down EC but still had some scares within if you delved deep enough. Eerie and Creepy were the "adult" horror of the day and carried some true scares. I think mostly it was my pre-teen years where i found some scares and more the remembrance of late night readings and the subsequent dreams vaguely remembered which has the taint of scary for me. So while it may be true they weren't horrific or truly scary they were the entry way of my young mind along with the Universal and Hammer films that brought me into being a horror fan.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Aug 15, 2016 11:42:20 GMT -5
Not trying to be snarky or troll-ish, but were any of these horror titles actually scary? I would read issues of DC's Unexpected, House of Mystery or Witching Hour as a kid, and they never once scared me. I could happily read those comics late at night, with the closet door open -- no problem. I'm not familiar with Marvel's horror characters at all, apart from the occasions when Dracula or the Frankenstein Monster would team-up with or against Spider-Man. But I wonder if any of these '70s horror revival books were genuinely scary for kids back in the day? I don't know if I ever get scared by anything that calls itself "horror," and certainly never by a comic. I adore the '70s Marvel stuff for its tone, for its morbid themes, and for its shock value. Several stories from the b/w Marvel horror mags definitely shocked me in a way that other horror fare had not. I was never scared, but I had several "what the---?!!" moments all the same. |
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Post by Warmonger on Aug 15, 2016 11:43:48 GMT -5
Not trying to be snarky or troll-ish, but were any of these horror titles actually scary? I would read issues of DC's Unexpected, House of Mystery or Witching Hour as a kid, and they never once scared me. I could happily read those comics late at night, with the closet door open -- no problem. I'm not familiar with Marvel's horror characters at all, apart from the occasions when Dracula or the Frankenstein Monster would team-up with or against Spider-Man. But I wonder if any of these '70s horror revival books were genuinely scary for kids back in the day? I don't know if I ever get scared by anything that calls itself "horror," and certainly never by a comic. I adore the '70s Marvel stuff for its tone, for its morbid themes, and for its shock value. Several stories from the b/w Marvel horror mags definitely shocked me in a way that other horror fare had not. I was never scared, but I had several "what the---?!!" moments all the same. This |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2016 12:25:27 GMT -5
Swamp Thing is now my Number 1 and the premier artist of all time is the Master himself - Bernie Wrightson!
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Post by draculafan1 on Aug 15, 2016 12:34:54 GMT -5
Horror is not scary it's the mundane that's scary, they were there to entertain you as a reader. Yes I had a few nightmares and to be fair some of them were after reading some of these stories before I fell asleep. If you want scary in spades then read some Victorian horror novels and I can bet that you won't sleep with that closet door opened again. I especially recommend the collected Victorian and Edwardian editions which are more novelette's. As my user name implies I'm a big Gene Colan fan his use of shadows and light really made the story lines standout.
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Post by brutalis on Aug 15, 2016 12:37:08 GMT -5
Swamp Thing is now my Number 1 and the premier artist of all time is the Master himself - Bernie Wrightson! The Un-Men really did creep me out. So thank you(?) Bernie for that? Thought Wrightson's Swamp Thing design was truly in the Universal Monster's mold. A large hulking mostly shadowy creature of the shadows. I always thought Man-Thing looked more like a Swamp Thing and Swamp Thing more like a Man-Thing. The newer incarnation's of Swamp Thing have done more to increase the plant/swamp creepy creature feeling that a Swamp Thing would be like but all are updates/deviations still inspired and reflecting Wrightson's original design element(al)s which perfectly suited the 1970's. |
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Post by tingramretro on Aug 15, 2016 12:37:27 GMT -5
Not trying to be snarky or troll-ish, but were any of these horror titles actually scary? I would read issues of DC's Unexpected, House of Mystery or Witching Hour as a kid, and they never once scared me. I could happily read those comics late at night, with the closet door open -- no problem. I'm not familiar with Marvel's horror characters at all, apart from the occasions when Dracula or the Frankenstein Monster would team-up with or against Spider-Man. But I wonder if any of these '70s horror revival books were genuinely scary for kids back in the day? was proper horror, as was Man-Thing. Quite a bit of Marvel's 70s horror stuff really got to me as a kid, in fact. |
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Post by tingramretro on Aug 15, 2016 12:39:24 GMT -5
Horror is not scary it's the mundane that's scary, they were there to entertain you as a reader. Yes I had a few nightmares and to be fair some of them were after reading some of these stories before I fell asleep. If you want scary in spades then read some Victorian horror novels and I can bet that you won't sleep with that closet door opened again. I especially recommend the collected Victorian and Edwardian editions which are more novelette's. As my user name implies I'm a big Gene Colan fan his use of shadows and light really made the story lines standout. I agree. Though I still think Colan's work frequently works better in black & white than colour. |
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Aug 15, 2016 13:40:19 GMT -5
Horror is not scary it's the mundane that's scary, they were there to entertain you as a reader. I get what you're saying, but I beg to differ -- a good horror film/book/story can scare the bejesus out of you and leave an indelible mark in your memory, if it's done well. Yes I had a few nightmares and to be fair some of them were after reading some of these stories before I fell asleep. If you want scary in spades then read some Victorian horror novels and I can bet that you won't sleep with that closet door opened again. I especially recommend the collected Victorian and Edwardian editions which are more novelette's. Thanks for the tip-off. I've read relatively little Victorian horror, aside from Dracula and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, but I do enjoy Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories and some of those can have a decidedly horror-esque bent to them on occasion. I guess an attendant question to all this is whether or not comics can ever really be scary? There were a couple of moments in Leah Moore & John Reppion's semi-recent The Complete Dracula comic adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel that did creep me out a bit, but I'm struggling to think of another comic that has scared me in any way. Also, for the record, I'm a big wuss when it comes to horror films generally. I can't bear to watch most of them, so I'm not a hard person to scare all. I'm a big fan of the '40s and '50s horror comics of EC and other lesser known publishers and have a few collections of those, but my girlfriend always teases me by saying that the only reason I like them is because they're not really scary.  |
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Post by brutalis on Aug 15, 2016 14:46:42 GMT -5
Horror is not scary it's the mundane that's scary, they were there to entertain you as a reader. Yes I had a few nightmares and to be fair some of them were after reading some of these stories before I fell asleep. If you want scary in spades then read some Victorian horror novels and I can bet that you won't sleep with that closet door opened again. I especially recommend the collected Victorian and Edwardian editions which are more novelette's. As my user name implies I'm a big Gene Colan fan his use of shadows and light really made the story lines standout. I agree. Though I still think Colan's work frequently works better in black & white than colour. Agreement! The Essential Tomb of Dracula allowed Colan and Palmer's art to be highlighted in all of its pure beauty and splendor. The black and white treatment truly suits their artwork and the moodiness and atmosphere comes through making the stories read better and scarier if only at least to me. any Colan in black and white needs to be seen and enjoyed. Whether Dracula, Daredevil, Captain America or Doctor Strange. A guaranteed purchase from me every time. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2016 15:44:28 GMT -5
Another reason to love comics in the 70's. I can't believe how many different genres I enjoyed back then. No they weren't scary but they were great reading...
And I agree some of the art from that time looks amazing in B&W. Definitely Gene Colan. |
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