Welcome to yet another edition of Off The Rack Comics. Travel back in time to revisit comic book titles of yesteryear. Once again I am covering comic book publisher Charlton Comics with one of their less popular horror comics, Creepy Things. In fact, it only ran for six issues.
Charlton Comics was one of the many comic companies in the 70s and early 80s. They tried to compete with Marvel and DC. Their quality and productivity may not have matched the two big guys. However, what they produced was still fun. It had a lot of charm and texture. As a child, I have more comic book memories of the Charlton titles. I remember them more than the superhero ones.
This short-lived series ran from July 1975 until June 1976. As was the case with many of Charlton’s horror titles, they featured beautifully drawn and painted covers. These covers always drew your attention on the comic book racks. It didn’t start as a hosted title. However, issues two through six featured a character who would introduce each story. This was much like the Crypt Keeper in the Tales From The Crypt comics of the 1950s. This became the norm for many of Charlton’s horror comics.
Each issue featured three illustrated stories and then usually one page of a written horror short story. The stories and artwork varied in quality with each issue. However, some great artists contributed to the series. These artists include Tom Sutton and Steve Ditko.
In 1977, Modern Comics released reprints of several issues. Specifically, issues two, three, four, and six were reprinted. These were available in 3-pack sets sold in plastic bags. You would find them in department and toy stores. The Modern Comics reprints featured the original art. They even retained the same issue number. However, they did not reprint the full series. The cover price increased from 25 to 35 cents. You would only get them as a three pack. The Charlton logo was replaced. A message was placed in place of the bar code. It included phrases such as “Read Comics!” and “4 Color Thrills and Chills.” The tag line at the top of the cover of “all new” was also replaced with sayings such as “IT’S SCARY!” and “CRANKY…CRAWLY…”
It’s a shame that this title didn’t last longer. It is one I thoroughly enjoyed, despite the inconsistencies in storytelling and artwork. These issues also featured well-known problems with Charlton titles. These included offset pages and printing errors. To be honest, none of these were too distracting. I am still holding out hope that one day, these series will be released in their entirety in a collection.
Make sure to check out my entire series of OFF THE RACK COMICS!