Eerie #117 - Warren

Dec. 1980 - If you're going to talk about an issue of Creepy, a look at Eerie can't be far behind--its, like, the law.

Anyway, I bought this issue solely because of the beautiful cover by Enrich--its got that classic sex and death combo that horror mags did so well in the 70s.

Sadly, nothing inside really matches it, content-wise. Warren was in its post-Star Wars phase (the company's final phase, also sadly), where almost all of the horror content got shoved aside for sci-fi/fantasy material. Even the Captain Company pages feature mostly Star Wars stuff (there are ads for the Kenner figures on both inside covers).

First up is "Cagim: City of Fire" by Budd Lewis and E.R. Cruz:

...a longish story, by Warren standards (thirteen pages), about a succubus named Vivien who wants to destroy the world. Nicely drawn by Cruz, and a good story, albeit one with a kind of cheesy ending.

Next is probably the best story in the bunch, "His Brother's Keeper!" by the always-entertaining Jim Stenstrum, drawn by Neil McFeeters:

A story that leaves you wondering if what you just saw really happened, the same fix the protagonist is in. McFeeters has a Moebius-esque drawing style, which worked well with the story.

Next is "Bruce Bloodletter: The Jalopy Scam" by Cary Bates and Fernando Fernandez:

A goofy, fanciful story about a guy trying to enforce the tedious laws of the galaxy, drawn with real flair by Fernandez. I'm not familiar with his work--I would've loved to have seen him draw some DC sci-fi stuff, like Adam Strange.

Last is "Haxtur: A Time For Dying" by Victor de la Fuente:

Haxtur is a warrior who finds himself in another time, and tries to survive in this harsh new world. At sixteen pages, it kinda goes on forever, but the art is well done and the ending is a real kick in the pants.

Afterwards are the Captain Company pages, like I said above, mostly featuring Star Wars stuff (interesting to note: the one Empirial flunky figure is still called the Death Squad Commander, long after Kenner changed its name to the more neutral Death Star Commander).

All in all, not a bad issue, but that cover makes me miss the horror content all the more...