Creepy Archives, Volume 18
Hardcover | Kindle Edition
Written by Various
Illustrated by Various
Dark Horse Comics
Release date: February 18, 2014
Cover Price: $49.99

Creepy Archives, Volume 18, covers issues 84-88 of the original magazine series, wherein each issues had a theme. For instance, #84 was an “all sports issue,” which while an odd fit on the surface, worked surprisingly well. “All monster” stories was the focus of #85. The next two were Christmas and Mars-themed, with issue #88 being a free-for-all smorgasbord of stories.

Overall, these Creepy Archive collections are blasts from the past, when seemingly all comics seemed more a bit more wondrous, even innocent “” including the horror ones. This volume features art from some of the big, and not so big names of yesteryear, with quality craftsmanship being a key element that they have in common.

As for those big names, you’ll see stories from writers such as Bruce Jones, Roger McKenzie, Steve Englehart, and David Micheline, along with pencils and inks from giants such as Carmine Infantino, Walt Simonson, Bernie Wrightson, Richard Corben, John Severin, Al Williamson, and Dick Giordiano, among others.

Any of these editions are perfect jumping-in points, as the stories are all self-contained. That said, and while I strongly suggest giving this 18th edition a good look, I’d also recommend going back a bit farther, not only to build towards these newer volumes, but also to see the work of other legendary writers and artists.