Eerie Comics

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Eerie Comics
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Publication information
Publisher Avon Periodicals
Format Standard
Publication date January 1947
Number of issues 1
Creative team
Writer(s) Edward Bellin
Artist(s) Fred Kida
George Roussos
Penciller(s) Joe Kubert

Eerie is a one-shot horror comic book cover-dated January 1947 and published by Avon Periodicals as Eerie #1. Its creative team includes (among others) Joe Kubert and Fred Kida. The book's contents comprise six full-length horror feature stories and a 2-page humorous tale. The title went dormant for a number of years but returned to newsstands as Eerie #1 in 1951. The book holds the distinction of being the first true, stand-alone horror comic book and is credited with establishing the horror comics genre.

Description, contents, and creative team[edit | edit source]

Eerie is a full-color, 52 page, standard format, one-shot horror comic published by Avon Periodicals with a price of US$0.10 and cover-dated January 1947. The book was released as Eerie #1.[1][2]

The comic book's glossy,[1] cover depicts a red-eyed ghoul clutching a dagger and a rope-bound, voluptuous young woman in a derelict moonlit ruin.

The issue featured six stories that were fairly tame in the depiction of the gore and violence generally found in horror fiction.[3] "The Eyes of the Tiger" follows a man haunted by the ghost of a stuffed tiger;[1][3] "The Man-Eating Lizards" (with a script by Edward Bellin and pencils by Joe Kubert), tells the story of an island infested with flesh-eating lizards;[1][3] and another, "The Strange Case of Henpecked Harry" (with art by Fred Kida), follows a man spooked by the bloody corpse of his murdered wife.[1][3] Other feature stories include "Dead Man's Tale", "Proof", and "Mystery of Murder Manor". A two-page humorous tale starring Goofy Ghost rounds out the issue.[1] Members of the creative team include Fugitani,[2] and George Roussos.[3]

Legacy[edit | edit source]

Following the January 1947 issue, Eerie disappeared from newsstands shelves. In 1951, Eerie #1, cover-dated May/June 1951, was published by Avon and saw a run of seventeen issues.[3] The first issue of Eerie reprinted "The Strange Case of Henpecked Harry" from one-shot Eerie of 1947 as "The Subway Horror",[1] and issue 12 printed a Dracula story based on the Bram Stoker novel. Several covers featured large-breasted women in bondage. Artists Joe Orlando and Wallace Wood were associated with the series. The title saw a run of seventeen issues, ceasing publication with its August/September 1954 issue. Eerie then morphed into Strange Worlds with #18, October/November 1954.[2]

Eerie of January 1947 has the distinction of being the first out-and-out horror comic book, and is credited with establishing the horror comics genre.[2][3]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Smith, Keith (2009). "GCD Issue Details: Eerie #1". Grand Comics Database. Retrieved 2009-02-07. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Overstreet, Robert M.. (2004). Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide. Random House. 527.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Goulart, Ron. (2001). Great American Comic Books. Publications International, Ltd.. 173.