Well, “Happy 60th” if the company was still around, that is…
If you’re a longtime comics fan, you’ve probably at least heard the name Warren Publishing. Launched in the 1950s by president/publisher/editor in chief James Warren, this indie magazine house was the home of the horror-comic anthologies Creepy and Eerie, the horror-entertainment mag Famous Monsters of Filmland, the time-traveling adventures of The Rook, and, most famous of all, the queen of the bad girls: Vampirella, created by Warren with FMoF editor/creator Forrest J Ackerman, and designed by art legends Frank Frazetta and Trina Robbins.
But even though Warren Publishing had been firmly established since 1958, the first Warren comic-book publication didn’t star a couple of creepy and eerie-looking horror hosts, or even a scantily clad vampiress from outer space, but a “modern Stone Age family” from the town of Bedrock: Hanna-Barbera’s The Flintstones.
That first Warren comic, in fact, was The Flintstones at the New York World’s Fair, a 64-page, full-color promotional “comic souvenir” produced under Warren’s JW Books, Inc. imprint—through a licensing deal with Gold Key Comics—and sold at the 1964–1965 World’s Fair, which was held at what is known today as Flushing Meadows Corona Park in the borough of Queens. (These days, the area is recognized more for being the annual site of tennis’s U.S. Open and, across from the park, Citi Field, home of the New York Mets. The park was also featured in the first Men in Black film and, in a heavily fictionalized version, was home to the Stark Expo in Iron Man 2.) Although the writer is unknown—the comic contains no creative team credits—the artists involved have been identified by auction house Heritage Auctions as penciler Harvey Eisenberg and inker Steve Steere, with Mel Crawford providing the cover art.
So, what makes today Warren Publishing’s 60th comic book anniversary? Because this is the day in 1964 when the New York World’s Fair opened, and the Flintstones comic went on sale!
Warren Publishing stopped publishing in 1982 and completely shut down just months later, but its characters still live on, with Vampirella ultimately ending up at Dynamite Entertainment (after a decade-plus run at Harris Comics, starting in the 1990s), and Uncle Creepy, Cousin Eerie, and time-traveling cowboy The Rook finding a home at Dark Horse Comics. (And in case you were wondering, no, Warren Publishing’s Rook—created by writers Bill DuBay and Budd Lewis, and artist Luis Bermejo—has nothing to do with Image Comics’ recently published dystopian sci-fi comic Rook: Exodus.)
So, Happy Anniversary to James Warren and his late, lamented Warren Publishing. You might not be in the comics game anymore, but fans like me will always treasure the memories!
And while we’re on the subject of Warren Publishing (he said slyly), you might be interested in a nonfiction book we have that’s all about that company’s most famous comic character. Cue the shameless sales plug!
From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures, from author Steven A. Roman (that’s me!) is SWC’s critically acclaimed and fan-favorite examination of every Vampirella story that appeared during her Warren Publishing days from July 1969 to December 1982 (plus a list of the modern-day books that reprinted them), along with essays on related spin-off material; an autopsy of the awful 1996 movie that starred Talisa Soto of the Mortal Kombat movies as Vampi and rock-god Roger Daltrey as a scenery-gulping Dracula; and a pretty extensive—and quite possibly the only in-depth—look at the history of Hammer Films’ planned Vampirella movie, announced in 1975 with model/actress Barbara Leigh and Hammer legend Peter Cushing as its stars, but which was never produced.
“This is without a doubt the essential, authoritative reference book for anything related to the Warren-era Vampirella… There are lots of books out there with good information—Empire of Monsters, The Art of Vampirella: The Warren Years, The Art of Jose Gonzalez, etc.—but none offers such a broad, all-encompassing look at the history of this character.”—Vampirella of Drakulon (news site)
From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures is available in print and digital formats, so visit itsproduct page for ordering information.
