31 Days of Halloween - Awesome Art - Warren Publishing Part Three - Vampirella

When it comes to Warren magazines, I preferred Creepy and Eerie (check out parts One and Two. However, I also would pick up an occasional Vampirella, particularly back issues in the late-Eighties. The stories were usually cheesy (and chesse-cakey) but entertaining enough. What always stood out about Vampirella were the covers. While a the work of a variety of artists can be found, the ones that best exemplified the comics were provided by Enrique Torres. Starting with issue 17 (June 1972) his work emphasized the sexiness in very pulp/pin-up style.

While many of the covers are repetitive (scantily clad pin-up shots of Vampirella, sometimes menaced by a monster) there was some pretty sensational art produced for this magazine. Narrowing the list down to my top ten wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. Still I somehow manged to slog through over a hundred covers worth of horror/pin-up art. The sacrifices I make for you people.

I had to include issue one with its Fazetta cover. This is a great mix of sexiness and playful menace (the batwing shadows framing her hips, the skull her boot rests on) that exemplifies the character.

Another work by Frazetta. When I think of how fantasy should look, this is one of my reference pieces. That's probably why I was always drawn more towards the work of Robert E. Howard (e.g., Conan, Kull), as opposed to more epic, stuffier work like Tolkien. Buff barbarians and buxom babes are what I wanted to read about when it came to swords and sorcery. My tastes have changed; but I still love to sit back and read about the bloody adventures of my favorite Cimmerian.

This is a cover that I always found very kinetic. Vampirella looks fetching in chains, Dracula looks pretty horrific and you know that she'll be getting free momentarily and kicking his ass.

Yes, another Frazetta cover. This captures the whole scary/sexy vibe perfectly. The central figuring is freaking hot. She's also likely to cut your head off and feed you to her pet lizard. Might be worth it...

This cover by Torres is one of the first I remember. I probably saw it advertised in an issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland. It's such a bright, yet creepy cover. While Vampirella looks more sexy than distressed, the skull as sun is a great, disturbing image.

Torres created a superb piece here. I know the chick would probably want to eat me (I mean, look at the left overs at her feet) but she exudes sultriness...at least, as much sultriness as can be managed while sitting on some sort of Satanic throne.

Ken Kelly provided this piece and it is awesome. You have an inhuman monster babe getting off on a skull. How can that be wrong? The only answer is, it can't be.

Torres did a number of covers that were pure pin-up art; but, for me, this is the best. There's not much to say other than Vampirella looks hot and inviting. Of course, she's also a blood drinking alien...so, keep that in mind when approaching her

Another sweet Ken Kelly monster hottie. I like how colorful this piece is with the sickly green of the woman offset by the bright colors of the serpent that is entwined around her. Or, is it part of her? You be the judge of that.

Finally, what probably is my favorite "scary" cover of Vampirella. The figure - the Angel of Death, I guess - is weird looking, but in a good, frightening way. When I first saw this issue in a used comic store in the Eighties, I actually had a couple of nightmares about it. So, well done.

And there you have it. I think I'm done with covers for now. Hope you enjoyed this look at some of the best horror and fantasy art produced during the Sixties and Seventies.