Eerie #3
Written by Landry Q. Walker, Jonathan Case, Gerry Boudreau
Illustrated by Troy Nixey, Jonathan Case, Wally Wood
Lettered by Nate Piekos of Blambot
Cover by Jim Pavelek
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: July 10, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Eerie #3 from Dark Horse Comics blasts off with three new tales of “Close Encounters of the Spooky Kind” from Landry Q. Walker, Jonathan Case, and Gerry Boudreau. Unlike its recently-revived relative Creepy that’s taken on a shockingly modern feel, Eerie has held on to its vintage vibe in both story and artwork. This Golden Age atmosphere is crystal clear in the bizarre cosmic shorts of its latest issue.

Hunger (written by Landry Q. Walker and illustrated by Troy Nixey) tells of the plight of a benevolent alien who crash-lands on Earth and struggles to survive in an environment void of food. Upon making the discovery that human flesh satisfies his tastes, he struggles with the moral conflicts of devouring the race that he was sent to study. You can bet the tale takes a turn for the gruesome “” in the best and most Outer Limits way possible.

The Saturnian Infantroids (written and illustrated by Jonathan Case) has an almost Jetsons-meets-Archie look that blends remarkably well with the darker and more insidious story of “Commie” birth control at space colonies. If any of the plots in Eerie #3 were to scream Cold War Era B-Movie, it would be this one. I was simultaneously laughing and horrified. (Well played, Mr. Case.)

Finally, The Man Hunters (written by Gerry Boudreau and illustrated by Wally Wood) presents the young widow Brenda, an explorer of other worlds, who sets out to learn the details of her husband’s final mission. Upon landing at her husband’s crash site, a disgusting creature — complete with tentacles and multiple eyes “” kills the men in her crew, but spares her. When the creature takes Brenda to a deserted city and hooks her to a laboratory device, she is finally able to see the fate of her husband. It isn’t pretty.

What really stands out in Eerie #3 is the artwork by Wally Wood. One of the founding cartoonists of Mad Magazine, his style drives home the point that this is not a slapdash collection of reprints simply tossed together to make a buck “” Dark Horse has kept its promise to satisfy horror fans by packing new Eerie issues with only the best of the best!