Friday, October 31, 2008 Halloween Treats: The Warren Companion

Warren Publishing holds a special place in the hearts of a generation of horror fans. Not only was their Famous Monsters of Filmland the only magazine of its kind available for years, but they published horror comics that were actually scary!

(I still remember one of their magazines, purchased coverless in a plastic bag for half-price, that disturbed me so badly as a child that it was the only comic my mom ever threw out. I offered no resistance to her decision whatsoever.)

Creepy, Eerie, Vampirella, Blazing Combat, 1984 - Warren established a legendary black-and-white magazine line that was unbeholden to the Comics Code Authority. They not only paved the way for more graphic depictions of horror in comics, but more mature storytelling in general. Warren's comics were aimed an older reader and not the typical ten-year-old targeted by Marvel and DC at the time. As a result, creators like Don McGregor, Richard Corben, Steve Englehart, Gene Colan, and many other were allowed a freedom of expression that was almost unheard of in mainstream comics, and often resulted in some of the best work of their careers.

The Warren Companion is a comprehensive overview of the publisher from beginning to end. Dozens of writers, artists, and editors were interviewed for the project, including the publisher's founder, Jim Warren. The book is lavishly illustrated with rare photos, excerpts from classic stories, and unpublished artwork. There's also an exhaustive checklist, including detailed creator info, that covers just about everything put out by the publisher. (Famous Monsters gets a somewhat short shrift, however, as the authors' focus is on comic books.)

Sadly out-of-print, The Warren Companion typically commands prices over $100 when copies come up for sale. But you can download the book free in cbr format as part of today's Halloween treats. You'll need to download all three parts and use WinRar or a similar program to unpack the file, and a comic reader program such as CDisplay to read the book.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3