If you missed the last one…
The list of artists and writers continues to change in 1979. Of the old school of writers only Budd Lewis and Bill DuBay remain. The new writers, Like Cary Bates, Bob Toomey and Laurie Sutton, bring a Science Fiction sensibility and even parody. “Quimby the Barbarian” pokes fun at Warren’s rival, Conan. The perfect artist for this is, of course, Pablo Marcos. One writer is a nice surprise and the oldest of the Old School. Archie Goodwin came back for Thane’s final romp.
The Spanish School of art is still present but only about half of the strips. Isidro Mones, Moreno Casares, Jose Ortiz and Victor de la Fuente are all here. Of the others, two are famous Filipino artists who came to America: Alfred Alcala and Alex Nino. One American artist in particular, Val Mayerik, does several strips here. Other Americans include Jan Duursema, Joe Rubensteina nd Frank Thorne. Frank needs special mentions because with this year he left Marvel’s Red Sonja to do his own version, Ghita of Alizar. The sex is ramped up for 1984 , which was till competing with Heavy Metal.
Warren Presents The Ring of the Warlords (January 1979) was a reprint magazine taken mostly from Vampirella.
“Shrivel” (Creepy #105, February 1979) written by Bob Toomey.
“Quimby the Barbarian” (Creepy #106, March 1979 ) written by Bob Toomey.
“Fangs” (Creepy #106, March 1979 ) written by Laurie Sutton.
“Primal Equation” (Creepy #106, March 1979 ) written by Budd Lewis and John Sinsky.
“The Art of Killing” (Creepy #106, March 1979 ) written by Larry Hama.
“Swift Sculpture” (Vampirella # 76, March 1979) written by Bob Toomey.
“Sultana” (Creepy #108, June 1979 ) written by Budd Lewis.
“Going by the Book” (Creepy #107, May 1979 ) written by Kevin Duane.
The Lord of the Rings Special (June 1979) offered no comics but a recap of the Ralph Bakshi film.
“The Horizon-Seekers: Siege” (Eerie #102, July 1979) was written by Leopoldo Duranona and Cary Bates.
“Edward & Griselda” (Vampirella #79, July 1979) written by Cary Bates.
“Ghita of Alizarr Part 1” (1984 #7, August 1979) art and story by Frank Thorne.
“The Open Sky: Arianne” (Eerie #103, August 1979) written by Bob Toomey.
“Heart of the Warrior” (Creepy #111, September 1979) written by Bill DuBay.
“Night Wind” (Creepy #111, September 1979) written by Masanabo Sato & Gary Null.
“Ghita of Alizarr Part 2” (1984 #8, September 1979) art and story by Frank Thorne
“The Open Sky: Vladimir” (Eerie #104, September 1979) written by Bob Toomey.
“Thane: The Last Sorcerer” (Creepy #112, October 1979) written by Archie Goodwin.
“Ghita of Alizarr Part 3” (1984 #10, December 1979) art and story by Frank Thorne
“Haxtur Part 1” (1984 #10, December 1979) Art and story by Victor de la Fuente. For more on the Haxtur series, go here.
“The Prophesy” (Eerie #107, December 1979) written by Bill Kelly.
Conclusion
Some of these choices are debatable as Sword & Sorcery. “The Open Sky” is probably more Science Fiction. “Fangs” is an underwater fantasy. “The Art of Killing” is a manga-inspired piece. I include them because they still have the feel of heroic fantasy. Not all good tales have to have a Conan figure. In fact, that is what “Quimby the Barbarian” may be saying. There are other comics I could have included but they possess some small element that clearly marks them off as SF. It gets hard to tell after 1977. Some people care; some don’t. I have tried to stick to what I think is on this side of the line. You may disagree with my choices.
