Skywald

[berk]

I just found out about this line of B&w magazines from the early 70s from seeing a couple panels posted up at Groovy Age. And now I see theres this book (http://www.amazon.ca/Skywald-Complete-Illustrated-History-Horror-Mood/dp/1900486377/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225242796&sr=1-1), which looks like it contains quite a few stories from their various mags, as well as a history of the enterprise.

Anyone remember these? I don't, so I'm pretty sure they never made their way to Nfld when i was a kid. But I see they had Pablo Marcos doing some art for them, and the panel at Groovy Age looks awfully familiar; I'm sure it's one of the Spanish or Philipino Warren artists, can't quite place it right now.

[Lone Ranger]

I own a bunch of the horror mags (Sream, Nightmare etc...) and many are quite good but they do get quite trippy in the later issues (the "Saga of the Victims" is one of the craziest ongoing strips I've ever seen).

The Human Gargoyles was a nice series that ran off and on in Nightmare (I think), and it may have even been reprinted at some point.

They are worth grabbing on the cheap to satisfy your curiosity.

I can't say the same for their comic books - not much quality there.

[dan bailey]

Of the 5 businesses (2 pharmacies, one sort of proto-convenience store, 2 grocery stores) in my very small hometown that carried comics when I was a kid, 1 (the smaller drugstore) carried the Skywald mags, or at least the first few issues of SCREAM, because I bought them there. (Not sure about NIGHTMARE & PSYCHO.)

They were as to the Warren titles as ... ummm ... well, I guess I'm not awake enough this a.m. to come up with a decent comparison. Let's just say they were pretty weird.

[Bill Angus]

I didn't have any of them, but Comic Book Artist (vol 2) #5 (about half-way down this page (http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog.php?type=4)) had an interesting article about Skywald.

[i*love*comics*247]

Here's a link to the Lonestar comics webpage to look at what some of the magazines from Skywald looked like.

http://www.mycomicshop.com/search?q=&pubid=11251&PubRng=&GrdRng=

[Kid Monster]

I own a bunch of the horror mags (Sream, Nightmare etc...) and many are quite good but they do get quite trippy in the later issues (the "Saga of the Victims" is one of the craziest ongoing strips I've ever seen).


I own the SAGA OF THE VICTIMS trade paperback that came out a few years ago. It's very, very weird- "Psychedellic S&M hippie horror" is about the only label that fits.

When I was a kid, I had a few of their B&W mags, but I think they were stolen or lost somewhere over the years. Their stuff wasn't as "Good" as Warren's, but it was tasty to my evil young mind because of it's cheap, sleazy groove -lots of gore and girls tied up.

[dan bailey]

When I was a kid, I had a few of their B&W mags, but I think they were stolen or lost somewhere over the years. Their stuff wasn't as "Good" as Warren's, but it was tasty to my evil young mind because of it's cheap, sleazy groove -lots of gore and girls tied up.

Of course, compared to the Myron Fass & Stanley Publications horror b&w's, Skywald was publishing Sunday school tracts ...

[Kid Monster]

Not to derail the thread from Skywald, but-

Of course, compared to the Myron Fass & Stanley Publications horror b&w's, Skywald was publishing Sunday school tracts ...

I had never heard of Fass, so I Googled the name...

Holy crap! Did those things actually live up (or down) to their demented covers? The one that really got my attention was GASM, the sci-fi porno comic... it just looked incredibly trippy, scummy, and "Only in the Seventies" (in other words, PURE ENTERTAINMENT). I always thought of Warren's 1994 as HEAVY METAL's horny, stupid, redneck little brother, but that thing looks like 1994 would be Eisner in comparison.

When I was a kid, CREEPY and EERIE rocked my world. I also had some Skywald stuff I got a flea market. Over the past few months I have been surprised (and fascinated) to learn that there were other 1970's B&W adult-audience horror anthology mags out there.

[T GUy]

What was it with using a lamp-post as their cover emblem?

[T GUy]

Not to derail the thread from Skywald, but-



I had never heard of Fass, so I Googled the name...

Holy crap!

Have you never come across Captain Marvel version 2?

[Kid Monster]

Have you never come across Captain Marvel version 2?

The one that could dis-connect his limbs?

(Off to go Google some more)

[T GUy]

The one that could dis-connect his limbs?

(Off to go Google some more)

Correctimundo.

Spread this one around the www, guys! (http://bp0.blogger.com/_tHVfHpnv17g/Rh9wmhFFv0I/AAAAAAAAAOQ/cA3RuMv_Uqs/s1600-h/scan0010.jpg)

Oops! Credit dept.: That link was seen by me here. (http://booksteveslibrary.blogspot.com/2007/04/well-xam.html)

[Rob Allen]

The best source of info on Skywald is still Richard Arndt's Skywald Checklist (http://enjolrasworld.com/Richard%20Arndt/The%20Complete%20Skywald%20Checklist.htm). Richard posts here from time to time; I'm sure this thread title will attract his attention.

The Skywald b&w horror magazines had two editors - first, Sol Brodsky, who hired a lot of old Atlas/Marvel colleagues in the beginning, and turned to Spanish artists to save money; and Alan Hewetson, who really gave the magazines a lot of personality even though the budget was miniscule. The book berk mentions is focused on the Hewetson era.

I saw the Fass mags on the stands in the 70s, but I could never bring myself to buy one. They were ugly, lurid and garish. I realize that those are positive qualities in some eyes, but not mine.

[berk]

Thanks everyone, lots of good info. I'll definintely try to look around for some of these, or maybe the book. Looks like Pablo Marcos did quite a bit of work for them, and I always liked his b&w work in Marvel's Tales of the Zombie. How was the artwork on Saga of the Victims?

Never heard of the Fass publications, but unless the interior artwork was a lot different from some of those covers, probably not my cup of tea.

[Captain Jim]

I had a few of these way-back-when (they even published a very few color comics). They definitely weren't as good as Warren, but on the other hand, they were the only B&W comics of the period that were worth picking up.

[dan bailey]

I saw the Fass mags on the stands in the 70s, but I could never bring myself to buy one. They were ugly, lurid and garish. I realize that those are positive qualities in some eyes, but not mine.

I bought, I dunno, maybe 3 or 4 during the early '70s, & "ugly, lurid and garish" is a pretty accurate assessment. The contents tended toward pre-Code horror from the early '50s, sometimes redone so as to accentuate the grotesqueness (as in Dick Ayers' "I Killed Mary," particularly gruesome panels of which I still remember nearly 4 decades after reading it -- the original '50s version, which I believe I've got in an issue of Tales Too Terrible to Tell or an equivalent publication, was rather restrained in comparison), with a smattering of new stories that were very much in that vein.

Anyone morbidly (a wonderfully apt adverb in this instance) interested in these publications should take a look at last year's Zombie Factory collection -- http://www.amazon.com/Zombie-Factory-Bizarre-Madness-Beyond/dp/1419667483.

(One such ish formed one of my earliest vivid comics memories back in 2nd grade, as it happens, for better or worse. I rhapsodized about my tracking it down some 40 years later in this post last year -- http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showpost.php?p=4588095&postcount=603.)

I've seen the somewhat similar Stanley Publications from the same era blasted as being even more gratuitously ghastly than Fass' mags, but that doesn't jibe at all with my own memories of the couple of Shock issues I owned as a kid. I'd be happy as a clam to find cheap copies of those, but none has crossed my path as yet.

[dan bailey]

Double post. *sigh*

[berk]

BTW, here's the image that initially caught my eye:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c259/bmaclean/skywald.jpg

I'm thinking it looks like the work of Esteban Maroto or someone like that. Anyone have any ideas?

[dan bailey]

It does look quite Maroto-esque. I'm wondering if it appears in the Skywald book, my copy of which is at home.

[Kid Monster]

Mr. Baily & Others- Thanks for the information! As soon as I have some extra ill-gotten spoils in my pocket I may go on a horror spree and pick some of these up. And yes, the Fass stuff (a revelation to me) appeals to me for pretty much the same reasons most normal people would avoid them (i.e. those covers look like they were painted by demented 14-year-old sex criminals).

[rarndt39]

The artist shown is actually Zesar Lopez. The artist on The Victims was Jesus Rego Suso, probably the best artist that the latter day Skywald magazines had, with the notable exception of Maelo Cintron.

There are plans to revive and complete the Human Gargoyles book with Cintron again providing artwork. Whether this comes to pass or not is entirely dependent on funding and reader desire.

Rich Arndt

[Sir Tim Drake]

I just bought my first Skywald comic, Sundance Kid #2. The stories honestly don't look all that interesting, but it was only a dollar, and the trade dress is pretty cool.

[Captain Jim]

I just bought my first Skywald comic, Sundance Kid #2. The stories honestly don't look all that interesting, but it was only a dollar, and the trade dress is pretty cool.

That was one of the color ones, wasn't it?

[Sir Tim Drake]

That was one of the color ones, wasn't it?

Indeed it was. It contains one new story, by Wein and Ayers, I think, and a bunch of reprints.

[berk]

It does look quite Maroto-esque. I'm wondering if it appears in the Skywald book, my copy of which is at home.How is that book, BTW? Good selection of stories? I'll definitely have to look for that Victims collection.

[berk]

The artist shown is actually Zesar Lopez. The artist on The Victims was Jesus Rego Suso, probably the best artist that the latter day Skywald magazines had, with the notable exception of Maelo Cintron.

There are plans to revive and complete the Human Gargoyles book with Cintron again providing artwork. Whether this comes to pass or not is entirely dependent on funding and reader desire.

Rich ArndtAh, thanks for that. I'm not familiar with Zesar Lopez at all, but I really like the look of those panels, so I'll be seeking out his stuff.

BTW, your site is much appreciated for all the detailed info on the Warren magazines and so on. Very helpful in figuring out which Creepy and Eerie back issues I want to hunt down. It's even convinced me to give Vampirella a try - didn't realise so many of my favourite Warren artists had appeared in that magazine, or that they ran non-Vampirella stories in addition to the regular title character features. Many thanks.

[Scott Shaw!]

I dunno why, but reading the later issues of Skywald's horror mags always made me feel queasy, and not in a grossed-out sort of way. It was more akin to the sickened feeling I would get from reading Don McGregor's over-written stories; Skywald's Al Hewetson wrote in a similar overblown style, but applied to horror.

On the other hand, I kinda dug Skywald's color comics and early horror magazines. HELLRIDER is gonna get my ODDBALL COMICS treatment one of these days.

Aloha,

Scott!

[dan bailey]

How is that book, BTW? Good selection of stories? I'll

I'll take another look at it when I get home tonight & let you know, but I remember being pretty impressed. The fact that I haven't picked it up in probably 3 years is testament only to the fact that I've got too much stuff to read, rather than to the volume's quality or lack thereof.

[Drusilla lives!]

... HELLRIDER...

A picture of the first "Hellrider" issue in Overstreet led me just recently to the Skywald titles. That cover just reeks of that special (if not unique) trend of gratuitous exploitation/sexploitation that one finds (dare I say at the risk of sounding naive) only in those war torn days of the early 70's. That was the first thing to pop into my head... the other was "hey, this title came out before Marvel's Ghost Rider... very interesting."

BTW, does anyone know if the artist who painted many of the "Nightmare" covers (I think his last name was Domingo) is still around... really wild stuff.

[T GUy]

A picture of the first "Hellrider" issue... "hey, this title came out before Marvel's Ghost Rider... very interesting."

What makes it even more interesting is that both series were, at least initially, writte by Groovy Gary Friedrich.

[Drusilla lives!]

What makes it even more interesting is that both series were, at least initially, writte by Groovy Gary Friedrich.

Wow, now that is interesting. Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Hell-Rider was a prototype for Ghost-Rider? I don't know why, but to be honest I was never a big fan of GR. But HR for some reason really catches my eye... really down to earth and gritty... also maybe those flame throwers on the front of the bike... really nice touch IMO. :)

[Drusilla lives!]

If anyones interested there's some info on Hell-Rider on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell-Rider) and here. (http://www.stomptokyo.com/badmoviereport/evidence/EV19_hellrider.html)

HR "starred the titular vigilante motorcyclist, a Vietnam War veteran, lawyer, and black belt martial artist named Brick Reese. With his tricked-out, flamethrower-equipped bike, and temporary super-strength courtesy of the experimental drug Q-47, the Los Angeles, California-based Hell-Rider battled The Claw, a masked, heroin-smuggling, secret society leader in issue #1, and a bestial rampager called The Ripper in issue #2. The stories featured scantily clad rock starlets, nightclub waitresses, and groovy, pot-smoking ' 70s chicks all quickly losing what little clothing they wore."

Sounds to me like someone should grab the rights to revive this title... anyone from Avatar Press listening? The "Wild Bunch" backup feature sounds good as well. But that "super-strength courtesy of the experimental drug Q-47" bit sounds familiar... oh yeah, Ellis' Hero's. Yeah a team-up with Spidey and HR would have been spectacular IMO... forget GH... to bad it would never happen.