RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Comic Books Bernie Wrightson Dead

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An early swamp creature illustration by Wrightson, possibly preceding the very first Swamp Thing story in HOUSE OF SECRETS 92 that same year.

This went unpublished for many years. I first saw it in the AMAZING WORLD OF DC COMICS 6 fanzine in 1976, an issue dedicated to editor Joe Orlando and his line of DC mystery titles, that Wrightson contributed a lot of exceptional stories, covers, and splash pages to. Some of which sat around unused for up to a decade later.

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EDIT: At second glance, while there is an earlier version, this is a 1974 version that Wrightson did for THE MONSTERS: COLOR THE CREATURE coloring book, that comics convention host Phil Seuling commisioned Wrightson to do in late 1974, right after he'd left the SWAMP THING series. A set of 16 new full-page illustrations, each accompanied by humorous verse by Phil Seuling, and published in an oversize 11" X 17" format. It was recently re-released in a new edition.



When Wrightson sold the original art through Russ Cochran, he offered to color the originals for an additional fee, and buyers had him color 5 of the 16.
I like them in both color and black and white.

Here's a color version of the above illustration:



And here's a link to the earlier AMAZING WORLD OF DC COMICS 6 illustration I mentioned, from 1970, that clearly far pre-dates any of his SWAMP THING work :

https://comiconlinefree.net/amazing-world-of-dc-comics/issue-6/2
https://readcomicsfree.com/comic/amazing-world-of-dc-comics/issue-6

Also at :
https://viewcomiconline.com/amazing-world-of-dc-comics-issue-6/

And :
https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/Amazing-World-of-DC-Comics/Issue-6?id=100342#2

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This image is not by Berni Wrightson, but by artist Nestor Redondo. Used as the cover for COMIC BUYER'S GUIDE 439, April 1982.
Which shows Redondo was a good and natural choice to succeed Wrightson in 1974 on the SWAMP THING series.

I also like how it combines Swamp Thing and Man Thing in one image. The playful ribbing at Marvel and DC about who came up with the swamp creature idea, and who ripped off who, is the source of a lot of playful back and forth in the fan press in images like this.
Although both characters were preceded by Theodore Sturgeon's "It", and by the character "The Heap" in the 1940's AIRBOY comic series. And probably a few others.
https://stevedoescomics.blogspot.com/2011/09/swamp-thing-vs-man-thing-poll-results.html

Another updated link, a book I particularly enjoyed, not just for the classic Wrightson intro pages and stories, but also for reprints of a nice thick 100-page sampling of other HOUSE OF MYSTERY, HOUSE OF SECRETS and PLOP material, by Neal Adams, Wallace Wood, Jim Aparo, Sergio Aragones, Mike Sekowsky/Tom Palmer, Gil Kane, and Alex Nino.

https://viewcomiconline.com/welcome-back-to-the-house-of-mystery-tpb/

Since I first posted this link, DC has also released thick hardcover reprint collections BRONZE AGE HOUSE OF MYSTERY OMNIBUS,
and BRONZE AGE HOUSE OF SECRETS OMNIBUS.
I think in eithr case, the wide assembly of talent reprinted in its entirety is about a billion times better than doing individual collections of selected Wrightson or Adams or other artists included. The whole is so much better than the sum of its individual parts.

a second link, with the full poster :
https://stuartngbooks.com/images/detailed/33/38860.jpg

It was also used in cropped form as the cover for a fanzine reprint collection DEJA VU in 1982.

And also the cover for CARTOONISTS AND ILLUSTRATORS PORTFOLIO 2 in 1978.

Updated with a new image. Too nice to lose.

Resurrecting another horrific Wrightson masterpiece, just in time for Halloween.

In the pre-internet era, there was a 12-page text article with photos on the source material for this, the murders by Ed Gein, in DEATH RATTLE , issue 7, Oct 1986. Gein's home is photographed in the article, his pickup was purchased and turned into a traveling sideshow at county fairs. Only an anonymous arson of Gein's family farm in rural Plainsville, Wisconsin prevented it from becoming an intended museum of the murders, burned to the ground before it could be sold at auction to someone who voiced a desire to do so. That was clearly an indefinite fame for decades that the small town of 600 people didn't want.

And beyond Psycho and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, influenced John Carpenter's Halloween film series, and the Friday The 13th film series as well. And Silence of the Lambs.
The true story being stranger, or at least equally strange, as these fictional versions.

Robert Bloch, author of the novel Psycho, lived in nearby Milwaukee, and read in the local papers about the Ed Gein case, and used it as source material for his book. Made even more famous in director Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 movie of the same name. And in the films that followed in the same vein. As I recall, Wrightson's above illustration was initially done as the cover for a Texas Chainsaw fanzine, circa 1975.

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Here's another gorgeous Wrightson page that's very season-appropriate.

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The introduction splash page from EERIE 57, June 1974.

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From EERIE 63, Feb 1975.

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Wrightson's cover for HOUSE OF SECRETS 94, Nov 1971.

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CREEPY 138 intro page, June 1982.
(Just 8 issues before CREEPY was cancelled, with issue 146. )

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Inside cover of CREEPY 64, August 1964.

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CREEPY 75, Nov 1975.

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An illustration Wrightson did of the EC host characters, the Old Witch, the Vault Keeper, and the Crypt Keeper.

A nice piece for Wrightson to do, giving beautiful tribute to EC as the source for the Warren host characters (Uncle Creepy, Cousin Eerie,and Vampirella), and the DC mystery host characters (Cain, Abel, Eve.)
And Wrightson with this page shows he is among the most talented artists to draw the EC characters, just as he was on the characters inspired by them.


In the wonderful age of the internet, I can link all the source material, just a click away. For most of the time I've collected comics, for exactly 50 years now, the EC line were almost impossible to find, and very prohibitively expensive if you could even locate a few issues. Now you can sample it easily for free, in its entirety :

TALES FROM THE CRYPT (27 issues)
https://viewcomiconline.com/tales-from-the-crypt-1950-issue-46/

THE HAUNT OF FEAR (28 issues)
https://viewcomiconline.com/haunt-of-fear-20/

THE VAULT OF HORROR (28 issues)
https://viewcomiconline.com/the-vault-of-horror-1950-issue-26/

CRIME SUSPENSTORIES (27 issues)
https://viewcomiconline.com/crime-suspenstories-23/

SHOCK SUSPENSTORIES (18 issues)
https://viewcomiconline.com/shock-suspenstories-issue-5/

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Cover from HOUSE OF MYSTERY 211, Feb 1973.

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cover for HOUSE OF MYSTERY 213, April 1973

Wrightson's clever parody of a Norman Rockwell's SATURDAY EVENING POST cover for November 5 1949.

I might check my comic shop and see if these are in trades. I doubt I could afford the original issues.

For the HOUSE OF MYSTERY and HOUSE OF SECRETS, they have Bronze Age Omnibus editions.

The first volume of HOUSE OF MYSTERY collects issues 174-200.
And a 2nd volume I saw collects H O M issues 201-226.
https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=47930099

The range of outstanding artists doing work in these issues, particularly when Adams and Wrightson, Kaluta, Redondo, Nino, Toth and others began, you really can't go wrong.

I have no interest in the black and white SHOWCASE reprints of these issues, but those are available too.
https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=754721

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https://raggedclaws.com/tag/bernie-wrightson/


A blog showing several very obscure but beautiful Wrightson stories, two of them in collaboration with Jeffrey Jones.


"The Believer" from VAMPIRELLA 33, May 1974, by Wrightson/Jones.

"Captain Sternn" the very first Captain Sternn story, and the inspiration for the animated segment in the 1981 Heavy Metal movie, that first appeared in HEAVY METAL magazine in June 1980.

And "Cold Cuts", from CREEPY 91, August 1977. Wrightson story, Jones art.