Creepy Presents: Bernie Wrightson

Creepy Presents

by Bernie Wrightson, Bruce Jones, Nicola Cuti

All of horror legend Bernie Wrightson's Creepy and Eerie short stories, color illustrations, and frontispieces are finally collected in one deluxe hardcover! These classic tales from the 1970s and early 1980s include collaborations with fellow superstars and Warren Publishing alumni Bruce Jones, Carmine Infantino, Howard Chaykin, and others, as well as several adaptations and original stories written and drawn by Wrightson during one of the most fruitful periods of his career! All stories and images in this collection are restored with care and reprinted in the same oversized format as Dark Horse's award-winning Creepy Archives and Eerie Archives series.

Genres: Comics, Horror, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Art, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics Manga

144 pages, Hardcover

First published September 7, 2011

About the author

Artist known for his horror illustrations and comic books.

Reviews

[María · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una recopilación de relatos MARAVILLOSA con un dibujo absolutamente genial.
Me han encantado todas las historias, mis favoritas serían Jennifer, El hombre que rie, El monstruo del Pepper Lake y las adaptaciones de El gato negro de Poe y Aire frío de Lovecraft.

[Ctgt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Update March 19 2017
One of my favorite comic book artists, Bernie Wrightson has died at the age of 68. Do yourself a favor and check out some of his work.



Just so you know, I'm a complete fanboy of Bernie Wrightson. Unless this had blank pages inside, it was gettin' a five. As you can tell from the title this is a collection of some of his work from Creepy and Eerie which includes his interpretation of Poe's The Black Cat and Lovecraft's Cool Air as well as original stories written for the magazines. These are mostly black and white, which is how I prefer his artwork. His use of blacks/shadows is fantastic. It also includes some covers, pinups and frontispiece from many single issues.

I could look at his art all day.

If you like horror shorts and great artwork, check this out.

[Ana Cristina Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excelente recopilación de historias publicadas en Creepy y Eerie en los años 70-80 de la mano de este auténtico clásico que es Bernie Wrightson. El dibujo en blanco y negro es poderosísimo y destaca los matices y las atmósferas de todos los relatos. Los temas de la historias son muy variados y los dibujos simplemente espectaculares.

Mención especial para las adaptaciones de dos relatos clásicos 'The Black Cat' de Edgar Allan Poe y 'Cool Air' de Lovecraft. En general son historias muy entretenidas y bien narradas, una gozada para los fans del género. Al final hay una colección de portadas y un par de historias en color. Una antología imprescindible para conocer al maestro.

Para una reseña más completa: http://amrazgz.blogspot.com/2018/07/1...

[Bracken · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I love Bernie Wrightson, some of the reproductions are really poor and some stories that originally appeared in color are in B&W but appear to be sourced from color material. Still Bernie Wrightson horror comics!

[Berna Labourdette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una antología impecable (historias realizadas tanto para Creepy como para Eerie) de un dibujante virtuosísimo y que fue capaz de plasmar como nadie monstruos repulsivos, pero entrañables (¿alguien dijo la criatura de Frankenstein?) en un glorioso blanco y negro. Incluye la adaptación de "El gato negro" de EA Poe y "Aire Frío" de HP Lovecrat y por supuesto su famosísima "Jennifer", adaptada luego como capítulo de "Masters of Horror" por Dario Argento. 

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Video Review - https://youtu.be/JVMoZva7FAo

[Eddie B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this beautiful volume I've seen outstanding adaptations of Poe's Black Cat and Lovecraft's Cool Air. I've also met again with Bruce Jones; one of my favorite writers. But most importantly, I've encountered "The Laughing Man"; one of the scariest stories I've ever seen in a comic book and "Dick Swift And His Electric Power Ring"; one of the saddest.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of stories perfectly illustrated by Bernie Wrightson. The illustrations go great with each story and are beautifully done in Bernie' s famous black and white style. Highly recommended for fans of horror fiction and comics. Only wish this collection was longer.

[Badseedgirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hunted this short story down because it was the basis for one of my favorite anthology series on tv "Masters of Horror." Although not a huge graphic novel fan girls, I did enjoy this one.

[Carlos J. Eguren · Rating 5 out of 5]

269/365

Que cuando Bernie Wrightson nos dejó se terminaba una época legendaria para el cómic de terror, nadie lo discute (su epílogo sería la marcha de Richard Corben, otro grande que nos dejó el año pasado). Durante los últimos años se han ido recopilando varias obras firmadas por el artista estadounidense como Creepy presenta: Bernie Wrightson, que recoge varias de las mejores historias dibujadas (y en ocasiones escritas) por este gran creador que se atrevió a atisbar en la oscuridad.

Siguiendo al tío Creepy, comenzamos con una adaptación de Edgar Allan Poe: El gato negro. Tras intentarlo con El pozo y el péndulo, sería esta otra obra donde tendría que demostrar su dominio de la expresividad, el trazo y la habilidad narrativa. Es todo un desafío adaptar una obra que ha sido llevada tantas veces a diversos medios, entre ellos el cómic, pero Wrightson había nacido para dibujar esta historia y podemos observar, más allá de las líneas originales de Poe, todo el poder de las sombras y el blanco y negro del dibujo del artista (su dominio de las sombras es deudor de Frank Frazetta). Para aquellos que no hayan leído el relato, El gato negro está protagonizado por un hombre que poco a poco enloquece y se cobra la vida de su felino, un ser capaz de volver del mismísimo infierno para atormentar al personaje y condenarlo al más terrible de los destinos. Es un formidable cuento sobre el alcohol, el maltrato y la locura, y Wrightson sabe captar perfectamente la atmósfera de Poe. Como señala José Villarrubia en su introducción, la última página apareció convertida en una pintura por Ken Kelly como portada del número especial a Poe donde se publicó.

La crítica continúa en el blog

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for a good spooky story, and there's just something about the old horror comics that draws me right in. "Creepy Presents: Bernie Wrightson" hits two sweet spots - good art, and good story-telling. From a beautifully rendered version of Poe's "The Black Cat" to an eerie poem about a man on Mars, who is (to paraphrase) left with three days of air, with rescue ships three weeks away, there’s plenty to pique the reader’s interest… and fear level. The level of attention to detail in the artwork is astounding - really, it's something you don't see any more. This is the perfect book to curl up on a dark night.

[Artur Coelho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bernie Wrightson trouxe ao mundo dos comics um estilo muito próprio, combinando mestria gráfica com um elegante barroquismo visual, alicerçado num fortíssimo sentido de composição e um olho para a espectacularidade visual. O ilustrador teve rédea solta nas páginas da clássica revista Eerie, conferindo às histórias que ilustrava uma qualidade muitas vezes superior aos argumentos. Os confinamentos da história de terror gótico, base das revistas de horror dos anos 70, de que a Eerie (e a Creepy, revista irmã, ambas da Warren Publishing), foram terreno fértil para a iconografia de Wrightson.

[Orrin Grey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very nice collection, but I was surprised that it wasn't longer. I guess Wrightson didn't do as many Creepy/Eerie stories as I'd figured. Most of the ones that are real classics ("The Black Cat," "Jenifer," "Cool Air," "The Pepper Lake Monster," etc.) weren't new to me, but it's nice to have them in a decent format.

Maybe the best part of this particular collection was the inclusion of all of Wrightson's frontispieces from Creepy and Eerie, which were pretty great.

[Gary Chapin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wrightson the artist is, as ever, brilliant and perfect for the material. That's why I bought this one. What surprised me was how much I liked the writing, which I expected to be cheesy, but found to be WONDERFULLY cheesy. Just very over the top, chewing up the scenary (after the body parts were done), and being joyfully over the top. Loved this.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can you say about Wrightson? I'm so grateful that dark horse has put out this edition of his stories for Warren. This stuff is truly "creepy."

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hate redundancy so I will just say that I thought that the collection was brilliant and anything I would say has already been written better in Karissa’s stellar review.

[Nick LeBlanc · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a sucker for classic horror comics and I don’t think there has ever been a better illustrator for horror (or really for anything) than Wrightson. Every panel on every page is brilliantly drawn, the shadows, the movement, the faces, just real ace stuff. Sure some of the stories in this collection are duds, but that’s the beauty of classic horror comics. It’s more about the vibes, bruh.

Read in a hardcover collection from the library.

[Javi Silver · Rating 5 out of 5]

El talento de Wrightson en todo su esplendor, cada viñeta es arte. La compilación es genial teniendo en cuenta que los Creepy donde se publicaron en España son casi inencontrables. Ojalá hubiera más... es muy corto. Una maravilla.

[Karissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got an advanced reading copy of this book through NetGalley.com. I had seen Berni's artwork before and was anxious to read some of his stories. I really enjoyed this and now I wonder why I never read anything by him before!

This collection of Bernie Wrightson's work is broken into three parts. The first contains Bernie's independent works: The Black Cat, Jenifer, Clarice, Country Pie, Dick Swift and His Electric Power Ring, Martian Saga, and the Laughing Man. The second part contains stories that were featured in the Creepy Stories series of comics: The Pepper Lake Monster, Nightfall, Cool Air, Reuben Youngblood-Private Eye, and The Muck Monster. The third part features Bernie's covers from both Creepy Stories and Eerie Stories comic book collections.

There are some wonderful stories in here and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It made me want to go out and by more things by Berni. His stories have a very HP Lovecraft or Eager Allen Poe feeling to them; in fact some are retellings of stories by those writers. Some highlights for me were Black Cat (a wonderful creepy story about a black cat that drives a man insane), Jenifer(super creepy but strangely ironic story about what happens to men who find Jenifer in the woods), Martian Saga (a hilarious poem about a man landing on Mars), The Pepper Lake Monsters (about a man fighting a sea monster, again very darkly funny), and The Muck Monster (only color story of the bunch, Frankenstein-like story with a twist).

These stories are pretty much all horror stories/poems. They are very dark and many of them have a very morbid sense of humor about them. Lots of irony in these and I was definitely laughing out loud a few times. I guess if you have a bit of a twisted sense of humor you will really enjoy these.
The artwork is creepy and absolutely amazing. So much detail and such beautiful drawing. The mood of the drawing fits the stories perfectly.

Overall a wonderful collection for both fans of Berni's art and for people interested in the horror end or fantasy or urban fantasy. The artwork is fantastic and the stories are dark yet ironic and humorous in turns. Definitely worth checking out. See below for brief summaries of each story included in this collection.

The Black Cat - Wonderfully done. Creepy story about a black cat that drives a man insane. (5/5)

Jenifer - A super creepy and ironic story worthy of Edger Allen Poe himself :-) (5/5)

Clarice - Creepy poem about a husband who asks his wife's forgiveness for the atrocious deeds he's committed. (4/5)

Country Pie - a psychic tracks down two seemingly innocent killers. Ironic in how the typical killer and victim stereotypes are switched. (4/5)

Dick Swift and His Electric Power Ring - About a chronically sick boy and how he deals with his disability (4/5)

Martian Saga - Poem about a man crashing on mars. Very funny and ironic. (5/5)

The Laughing Man - A hysterical man who wanders into a small village and tells a gruesome and ironic story (4/5)

- Creepy Stories

The Pepper Lake Monster - Starts with a tale of a young man who tries to capture a sea monster. Loved it, absolutely hilarious ending...in a dark way. (5/5)

Nightfall - About a young boy who is tormented by monsters in his bedroom at night (3/5)

Cool Air - A young man takes up boarding beneath a doctor who needs cool air to keep himself alive. (4/5)

Reuben Youngblood - Private Eye! - A young private investigator gets drawn into a blood smuggling mystery and fights vampires on a German zeppelin. (4/5)

The Muck Monster - A Frankenstein-like story where the monster comes alive in a different way, beautifully done in color. (5/5)

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before I begin this review, I want you to humor me and pause long enough to just go ahead and order this book. Seriously. The man, Bernie Wrightson, designed things that are pop culture - consulting on Ghostbusters, Creepshow, and more. If you value my words at all - and you are spending time reading them so one would hope - go order it. I'll wait. Use whatever book provider you want. Seriously, I'll wait. Back?

Good! While this book collects the best of Bernie Wrightson's art for Creepy and Eerie and has tales written by others (and Wrightson himself), it is really just a tour de force for anyone who loves horror. I am a big Poe fan/geek/nerd - you can look at some of the other books I have reviewed and see examples of other readings I have done from academic texts to fictional references, but Mr. Wrightson's beautiful, quietly unnerving illustrations for The Black Cat as shown here are so spot on, I found myself thinking that I almost wish I was still teaching English. If you remember the Masters of Horror series, you may remember the unnerving episode Jenifer. Guess what? It was originally a story in Creepy illustrated by Wrightson, and if the Masters of Horror unnerved you, well... imagine what would happen if there were no budget considerations. I could give you a play by play, but Mr. Wrightson is just a phenomenal force, best known for his art, when he turns to writing a tale or adding a line, it stings with the same force of his art.

Wrightson is a force of nature here - well after you forget the tale, the image sticks in your mind and brings it all roaring back to you sometimes with terror and sometimes with humor. While many people celebrate his work on Frankenstein - which is well earned celebration - this book reminds us that if you like the creepy, crawly and want to see a view of all things Poe, Lovecraft, and more modern tales pivoted into your brain by excellent art, you owe it to yourself to pick this work up.

Even if comics are not your thing, this is a book of art - and it is just that. Once I got deluged in great tales with piercing art, we end with his cover illustrations and frontispieces for magazines, etc. An honor to read and something you will go back to time and time again - when the night is long and terrible, or the sun just becomes too much to bear.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy Presents: Bernie Wrightson (Dark Horse, 2011) is a newly released hardcover collection of the works of comic book artist Bernie Wrightson that appeared in Creepy and Eerie. Also included is an introduction by Bruce Jones that gives insight into Wrightson’s talent, and the behind the scenes workings at Warren Publishing. Reading these comics really took me back. These are the same gruesome tales that were originally presented in the 1970s and 1980s, and the presentation is beautiful. One of the most striking tales in the book is “Jenifer,” with story by Bruce Jones and the art by Wrightson. Together, they present a chilling tale about a man who rescues a mentally disabled, horribly disfigured girl in the woods, and his ironic reward for the good deed of adopting her.
Another spooky presentation is Wrightson’s interpretation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Black Cat.” Presented in claustrophobic panels, closely spaced, then with wide panels filled with sweeping angles, Wrightson’s illustrations build tension in concert with the narrative, emphasizing key points of action and drama through art and page layout.

Reading this was a real treat for me, and gave me the right kind of thrill late at night, reading with the lights out, the way I imagine my dad did as a kid reading the original publications. This book is sure to appeal to both collectors and new fans of the genre, and will let you enjoy the comics without having to soil your original collectibles or removing them from their mylar wrappers.

*Digital review copy received courtesy of the publisher through NetGalley

[Zac · Rating 3 out of 5]

I believe this is the complete collection of Bernie Wrightson's work from the horror magazines Creepy and Eerie from throughout the 1970s. Some of this had previously been collected in the first few issues of 'Master of the Macabre' but the colouring job was quite bad. This collection presents the stories mostly in the original b&w, with some tasteful colour towards the end of the book.

Horror comics tend to be pretty formulaic and include an obligatory twist ending, but that doesn't make these stories any less enjoyable, especially when the twist is accompanied by some shockingly great art as seen in 'The Laughing Man'. The 'Dick Swift' and 'Reuben Youngblood' stories aren't really horror and are a bit out of place here. In both cases, the art isn't anything special and you get the sense that Bernie's heart isn't in it. The latter story also suffers from some confusing layouts.

But most of the stories have really excellent art. The highlights include 'A Martian Saga', 'The Pepper Lake Monster', and the 'Muck Monster', and these alone are worth the price of purchase. (Wrightson also wrote those latter two stories). As a bonus, there is a gallery of all the full-page art that Wrightson did for Creepy and Eerie, including a fan club drawing that Bernie submitted when he was 17.

A must-have for Wrightson collectors, and definitely worth checking out if you have any interest in this great horror illustrator. 3 1/2.

[Sara Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bernie Wrightson's claim to fame began in the seventies. A leader in the new wave of comics, Bernie created a darker sort of comic in contrast to the superhero comics that came before. Some might contribute the salvation of comics to artists like Bernie Wrightson. His work was featured in Creepy and Eerie, two publications of his time.
While I don't have a reader relationship with Bernie Wrightson, I know his work. In fact, I'm rather sad that I didn't know his name before. His art is black and white and his stories borderline on the bizarre but all frightenly good.
For those familiar with the Masters of Horror television series, you might recognize Jenifer - a tale about a man who rescues a woman from murder in the woods only to find that there was a good reason for her to be killed.
This Galley had only half of the book but since it's a compilation of short tales, I didn't feel like anything was missing. I look forward to getting my hands on the complete manuscript and hunting for more of Bernie's works.
If you like horror comics, is this for you. It's not overly scary but it does get a little gruesome (muted by the black and white). Some of the stories were just slightly spooky and may be well received by young teens. However, older braver teens and adults will love this work.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm somewhat new to the horror comic genre, and this was quite the introduction. This is a collection of stories from the mid to late seventies and it's funny to look at them with a modern eye.

We've seen so much that it takes quite a bit to shock or disgust us. I found myself smiling at the quaintness of some of the stories, or rolling my eyes at the predictability of the story lines.

The first story was a huge turn-off and actually one of the more shocking ones in the collection, but I decided to plow ahead and see where all of this was going. You are brought through the lows of society, the strange and unusual. The only major fault that you will find is that some of the stories are too short and don't make complete sense.

The artwork is perfectly appropriate - it oozes, drips and slithers across the pages and was one of the things that made me keep reading.

I would recommend this collection for people who enjoy short horror, and don't mind being mildly grossed out. There is so much more that we endure these days, not just in film, but in every corner of media, that these stories seem almost charming.

*** 1/2 = glad I read it, I enjoyed it.

ARC provided by NetGalley

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

During my teenage years, no magazines had a greater influence on my imagination than Creeepy and Eerie. These magazines also featured work from perhaps the greatest horror comics artist of all time, Bernie Wrightson. He's one of those people whose impact was far greater than his output, especially in the case of these two magazines. I remember most of his ghoulish stories to this very day, but its shocking to see just how slim this "definitive" collection actually is. There are twelve stories here, and three of which he shares illustrating chores with other artists. These stories are the least impressive of the lot, but there sure is some amazing stuff here. Some of the best include "Nightfall," "The Pepper Lake Monster," The Laughing Man" and his Poe and Lovecraft adaptations. My absolute favorite however, is the wonderfully twisted "Jennifer." The book concludes with the numerous frontispieces he did for both titles. Great stuff, I just wish Bernie drew more of it!

[MB Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bernie Wrightson is quite possibly the best comic artist of the macabre. Creepy Presents: Bernie Wrightson gathers the work he did for the Warren magazines "Creepy" and "Eerie" after leaving DC and "Swamp Thing" (probably my first exposure to his art).

The only problem with this collection is that it isn't big enough. However as it appears to contain all of Wrightson's art fron those two magazines, I don't really have anything to omplain about.

The collection doesn't contain a story he wrote, "Cold Cuts", that was illustrated by Jeff Jones. I wouldn't have minded one bit if that story had been included; Jeff Jones is one of those artists whose paperback covers enticed me to buy books I might not have bought otherwise.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great introduction to Wrightson's work at Creepy and Eerie, especially for those who are new to "old school" 70s and 80s horror comics. No matter what the story is about, Wrightson finds just the right tone, including classics such as Poe's "The Black Cat" and Lovecraft's "Cool Air," as well as several other great stories.

My only criticism is that this collection includes too many frontpieces from the magazines featuring Uncle Creepy and Cousin Eerie. Fewer of these, and we would've had more room for one or two additional stories.

Still, a hardcover collection of Wrightson's work for $20 is a no-brainer. Buy it.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent collection of horror comics from the 70s, all drawn by Bernie Wrightson (who is, according to the introduction, a pretty decent human being in addition to being a great artist). I haven't read a lot of EC-style horror comics (although I have fond memories of the collection in the waiting room of the hair salon my mom went to circa 1983), but the ones collected in this book were uniformly enjoyable, assuming you don't mind a gruesome story.

[Bob Wolniak · Rating 3 out of 5]

These collections are a helpful way to separate out the wheat from the chaff in the Warren horror magazines, and focus on the best sequential art creators. I like Wrightson's attention to detail, his gaunt, impossibly long limbed monsters, broad sweep of style and story, and his adaptations of famous writers (Poe, Ellison, Shelley, etc.) This is a handsome compilation. Unfortunately there wasn't more stories. A good portion of the collection is cover art and splash pages.

[doowopapocalypse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent collection. The artwork is beautiful and the book itself is large and solid, so it will hold up for a while. I think that there is a half-truth about the actual length of the work. It comes in at 144 pages, but a decent portion of this is just various covers he did, while one would assume that it'd be stories all the way through. Not that there is anything wrong with his covers, mind. It just seems a touch misleading.