Growing up in Staten Island there wasn’t a lot to do really so we made it a weekly occassion to go to the local mall. The mall not only had a Waldenbooks but a newstand that sold everything from newspapers to comic books. One of the comic books they sold was a magazine called Creepy and it had stories ranging from horror to science fiction. It had some great tales that I can recall to this very day however, it was gone too soon. Granted Dark Horse tried bringing back both Creepy and Eerie and while they had some good stories it didn’t recapture the vibe of the original Warren Publishing magazines. However, there has been a magazine called The Creeps that has surfaced recently and I reached out for an interview with the mastermind behind this project and he had this to say:
TR: Please introduce yourself.
RS: My name is Rich Sala, I am the publisher and editor at Warrant Publishing Company. Our magazine is titled The Creeps, which launched in the Summer of 2014. The Creeps, is an actual newsstand magazine, not one of those little standard sized, 36 page comic books. The Creeps will be five years old this summer. We switched from a quarterly to a bi-monthly release schedule at the beginning of this year.
TR: What inspired you to create your company Warrant Publishing?
RS: I was inspired by the lack of really great horror anthologies out there. In my opinion, no one ever topped or even equalled the Warren illustrated horror books of the 60’s and early 70’s. I believe that they are still at the pinnacle of horror/fantasy publications. No one was even trying to create anything similar, so after a few decades of waiting for someone, anyone, to attempt another black and white illustrated horror magazine, I decided that I should give it a shot myself, before I got too old!
TR: Tell us about your magazine The Creeps.
RS: The Creeps was created as both a tribute and as an attempt to help continue the legacy of the great Warren horror magazines. We’ve tried to contact as many of the old Warren team members as possible, the original artists, writers and editors, to try re-establishing a Warren-styled publication for the twenty-first century. Those guys are all very old and many have passed away, but some of the staff members who were younger guys back in Warren’s time are still actively creating. We’ve been lucky enough to recruit Warren editor Nicola Cuti as our Associate Editor. Mr. Cuti also contributes several stories to each issue. We’ve also had the good fortune to sign on Warren writer Don Glut. Mr. Glut is one of the most respected and prolific writers in the business. He wrote the novel, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back that remained at number one on the New York Times Bestsellers list for months after it was released. He also produced a massive body of work for literally every comic book publisher in existence during the 1970’s.
TR: Are these original stories or are they reprints from older magazines?
RS: The Creeps features all original material, with the exception of a few of our covers. We are using some very select cover pieces from some of the iconic Warren cover artists, like Frank Frazetta, who have already passed away, but these are all pieces that were never used by Warren, so from that perspective, it is ALL NEW Warren-like material.
TR: Who are some of the artists that are featured in your magazine?
RS: Some of the Warren artists that have done work for The Creeps include Basil Gogos, Frank Frazetta, Richard Corben, Frank Brunner, Neal Adams, Ken Kelly, Sanjulian, Rich Buckler, Ralph Reese, Bill Black, Val Mayerik, Pablo Marcos, Alex Nino, Alan Weiss, Kenneth Smith, Jeff Easley, Isidre Mones and a few others I’m probably forgetting.
TR: How many issues are currently available?
RS: We’ve just printed issue #18, which carries a Frank Frazetta cover and we’re preparing issue #19 which sports a terrific cover by the great 1960’s Warren cover artist Vic Prezio. We also just received the cover art for our 20th issue, which will be released in the late summer. It is a beautiful piece of work newly created by the awesomely talented Richard Corben. The Creeps #20 will be a special Halloween edition.
TR: Where can they purchase them?
RS: If your local comic book shop doesn’t already carry The Creeps, just ask them to order it for you. We can get it with their regular weekly delivery from Diamond Distributors. You can also pick up copies at various newsstands all over the United States, including all 700 Barned & Noble newsstands. If all else fails, copies, including all back issues, can be ordered from our website www.TheCreepsMagazine.com
TR: Can you subscribe?
RS: Yes, subscriptions can be ordered from our website www.TheCreepsMagazine.com.
TR: Will there ever be a collected paperback of the first few issues?
RS: We’ll probably release the collected editions in hardcover, eventually, but that will be a ways down the road, The Creeps is still relatively new. But last year, we began producing a special annual edition of The Creeps. The first annual issue, The Creeps 2019 Spooktacular, collected the top stories from our first eight issues, which covers our first two and a half years of publishing. We’re starting to assemble The Creeps 2020 Spooktacular right now.
TR: If you could have any artist or writer featured in your magazine who would it be?
RS: They are all Warren artists and writers. Of those who have died, Archie Goodwin, Reed Crandall, Johnny Craig, Tom Sutton, Wally Wood, Bernie Wrightson, Jeffery Catherine Jones and Jack Davis top my list. We’ve pretty much acquired work from all of the living Warren artists that we’ve wanted to feature, with the exception of Angelo Torres and Mike Ploog, who are both too involved in their own publishing projects to accept commissions. Maybe one day soon…
TR: Any chance to branch out into other territories?
RS: Yes, we have another bi-monthly publication in the planning stages that will launch the end of next year. I can’t release any details yet, but it’s also in the horror/fantasy vein.
TR: Any final words?
RS: Check out The Creeps, It’s the closest thing to the Warren magazines of the past that you’ll ever be able to find in today’s world!
And there you have it folks! For more information about the magazine or where you can get your own subscription head over to www.TheCreepsMagazine.com and get ready to enter a world of horror.
