Creepy #65: "The Land of Bone"

Download Creepy #65






By the Nine Bloody Gods! When I was a kid growing up in small-town rural America, there was this kindly young woman who lived up the block from me who advertised used comic books for a dime. That was unusual for the small city, but being a comic book fanatic I jumped for joy, rode my bike to her house and eagerly knocked on her door. She brought out this large box of comics for me to peruse and, while we were swapping stories about our favorite comic books, she abruptly announced that she was a witch! That really surprised me, but she went on to regale me with tales of her supernatural powers, none of which I privately believed. Still, she was one of the most interesting people I had ever met and very friendly, too. I had nearly forgotten about her, until I decided to upload this particular issue of Creepy.

I purchased Creepy #65 from my friendly neighborhood "sorceress" for only a dime, which I thought was a steal of a deal even back in 1974. I also thought that this was one of the slickest magazines that I had ever read and I was no fan of "mere black and white" back then either. I drooled as I was witness to fantastic and gorgeous art by illustrators I had never heard of before, such as Esteban Maroto, Ramon Torrents, José Luis García-López, Reed Crandall, Auraleon, Felix Mas, Jose Bea, Jorge B. Galvez, and Jamie Brocal. All of this was topped off by that beautiful Ken Kelly cover painting. I was in heaven! While I was downright fanatical about keeping my comic book collection in near mint condition, I literally read and reread this magazine until the cover fell off, it was that good.

The first two stories are "The Land of Bone" by Buddy Saunders & Esteban Moroto and "Star Slaughter" by Richard Margopoulos and they are the two best. I have often debated with myself whether or not "The Land of Bone" is what all sword and sorcery stories should strive to be, or is nostalgia coloring my thoughts? I will say it's my personal favorite from the entire genre, but everyone is different and please share your thoughts by commenting on what your favorite swords and sorcery story is. "The Quaking Horror" by Gardner Fox and Auraleon is also very good, all of which I will upload here in time.

Please enjoy "The Land of Bone."

Note: this was originally posted on 7/14/09, but a software conflict with a widget forces me to post this anew.