Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Eerie Archives Volume 26

Eerie Archives Volume 26Eerie Archives Volume 26 by Archie Goodwin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Eerie Archives collects most of the stories from Eerie 126-131.

After reading Creepy Presents Alex Toth, I decided to pick this up in order to sample more of Warren's horror comic magazines of the 70s and 80s. Lots of prominent Bronze Age artists cut their teeth at Eerie and its sister magazine, Creepy, like Neal Adams, and some EC artists had some of their last work there, like Wally Wood, so I was expecting the second coming of EC Comics.

The art here is top notch, as expected. The last issue is all Wally Wood, for example, and artists like Howard Chaykin, Richard Corben, Pat Boyette, and Jim Starlin are featured. The art is tailored to the black and white format instead of being color artwork that hasn't been colored yet, moody and gritty, full of life.

The stories, however, are a mixed bag. I wouldn't say any were outright duds but most of them were pretty unmemorable, especially since I can't remember many of them without thumbing through the book again.

Another gripe is that for a magazine entitled Eerie, there wasn't all that much horror to be had. Most of the tales were science fiction or fantasy and there were only a few genuinely Creepy or Eerie moments. The undead baby was great, though, and I liked the story about Houdini and Merlin going up against Lovecraftian beasties even if it had unspectacular art.

I'm giving this three stars but I'd probably give it a two if I paid full price for it. The paper is high quality and this sucker is built to last but I don't think it's worth 50 bucks unless you're already a Warren fanatic.

Eerie Archives Volume 26 had its moments but I'm going to be more selective the next time I buy one of these archives. Three out of five undead babies.

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