Despite some supernatural or sci-fi elements, this issue’s tales hardly live up to the monster mayhem promised by the cover. The four main stories in this anthology are all written by artist Gray Morrow. Perhaps not surprisingly, his rendering and layouts prove more accomplished than his tales.
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On a stormy night, a young man hitches a ride from a vampire – and lives to tell the tale! The lead feature is one of four sub-par stories from the likes of Enrique Nieto, Dick Piscopo and, thankfully, Tom Sutton (who also crafted that excellent cover!)
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With Weird Tales of the Macabre, Atlas (Seaboard) was clearly looking to emulate Warren’s Creepy-and-Eerie formula. The short-lived company actually did a pretty good job of it, with nice art here from the likes of Jeffrey Catherine Jones, Pat Boyette, Ernie Colón and others.
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Series host Colonel Whiteshroud explains the Monster Hunters Club to the visiting Countess Von Bludd. While a better debut than sister series Scary Tales, this first issue by the likes of Nicola Cuti, Joe Staton, Wayne Howard and others lacks any real creative spark.
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A secret race of Cat People turns Greer “The Cat” Nelson into Tigra, a werewoman who must battle both Werewolf by Night and Hydra. Another winner from Tony Isabella, this one illustrated by the journeymen art team of Don Perlin and Vince Colletta.
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In a dystopic future, warring factions fueled by black arts and souls of the dead lead to a zombie apocalypse. This early effort from brothers Tom and Rick Veitch is actually more sci-fi than straight-up horror. It’s raw, but shows potential.
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Soldiers modeled on classic horror monsters storm a French castle where Nazis are building android duplicates of world leaders. This debut of the Creature Commandos, crafted by J.M. DeMatteis and Pat Broderick, shows potential, but weak backup features bring down this issue’s overall grade.
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Despite a nice Neal Adams/Bernie Wrightson cover and a pair of tales featuring Jack Kirby art, this collection of reprints from House of Mystery just isn’t very scary. Cool? Yes. Scary? No.
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Captured by Magneto, the X-Men are soon battling for their lives within a secret base under an active volcano. The legendary X-Men creative team of Chris Claremont, John Byrne and Terry Austin serve up an electric, issue-long fight scene.
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The Beast investigates the X-Men’s disappearance, only to find his former team trapped as circus freaks by Mesmero. The team of Chris Claremont, John Byrne and Terry Austin settle into their historic run on X-Men.
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