1st Print Bernie Wrightson Reaper of Love TPB 1988 Fantagraphics Horror Comics

This book is in very good condition. It has somewhere. But the spine is tight. A great collection of Bernie Wrightson s early horror work.

This is a collection of Wrightson's earliest stories, printed in this collection chronologically of the years spanning from 1968-1972, the artist's work from fanzines and other alternative-press (i.e., not DC or Marvel) publications. This is not Wrightson's best work, but it's an interesting supplement to other books that present Wrightson's work from a later time he reached peak form as an artist. It's interesting to see the evolution of his talent in this 144-page volume (124 of which is comic stories, the remainder pin-up fanzine pages.)

Frustratingly, it mostly does not credit the sources these stories were originally published in. I drafted my own contents page you can benefit from:

1. "A Case of Conscience" 10 pages, r CASTLE OF FRANKENSTEIN 16, 1969. [][]

2. [Overcooked Frankenstein Monster] 1 page, r SQUA TRONT 3, 1969 [][]

3. "Uncle Bill's Barrel", 8 pages, r GRAPHIC SHOWCASE 2, Summer 1969, and

BADTIME STORIES, 1972 *

4. "Ghastly Horror Comix", 1 page, r GOTHIC BLIMP WORKS 6, 1969 [][]

5. "Maudlin Love Comix", 1 page, r GOTHIC BLIMP WORKS 7, 1969 [][]

6. "The Game That Plays You", 6 pages, r WEB OF HORROR 1, Dec 1969 [][]

7. "Mother Toad", 5 pages, r WEB OF HORROR 2, Feb 1970 [][]

8. "Breathless", 7 pages, r WEB OF HORROR 2, Feb 1970 *

9. "Feed It", 6 pages, r WEB OF HORROR 3, April 1970 *

10. "Legend of Sleepy Hollow", 11 pages, r THIS IS LEGEND 1, 1970 [][]

11. Limpstrel [Buy a Girl a Drink?], 1 page, r WITZEND 7, Spring 1970 [][]

12. Limpstrel [I Can See You're Distraught...] 1 page, r WITZEND 7, Spring 1970 [][]

13. Limpstrel [Limpstrel Dear Fellow I Tell You...] 1 page, r FUNNIEST CARTOONS, Nov 1972

[][]

14. "Wrightson's Revolting Rhymes", 7 pages, r ABYSS 1, Nov 1970 *

15. "Stake Out", 4 pages, r I'LL BE DAMNED 2, July 1970 [][]

16. "Beneath the Dignity of the Apes", 5 pages, r BLAST 1, Feb 1971

17. "Conjure Woman", 3 pages, r IMAGINATION 1, 1971 [][]

18. "Out On A Limb", 6 pages, r I'LL BE DAMNED 4, Jan 1971 [][]

19. "King of the Mountain Man", 8 pages, r BADTIME STORIES, 1972 *

20. "The Task", 8 pages, r BADTIME STORIES, 1972 [][]

21. "Ain't She Sweet", 7 pages, r BADTIME STORIES, 1972 *

22. "The Last Hunters", 7 pages, r BADTIME STORIES, 1972 *

23. "The Reaper of Love", 8 pages, r BADTIME STORIES, 1972 [][]

24. "Nosferatu", 2 pages, r THE MONSTER TIMES, Jan 26, 1972 [][]

25. PORTFOLIO, 12 pages of fanzine pin-ups

There are two previous partial collections of these stories, I indicated with two different asterisks where they previously appeared

* BACK FOR MORE (1978) that was 68 pages,

and

[][[] THE MUTANTS (1980) that was 96 pages

As you can see, this volume collects the contents of both books, plus the previously unreprinted "Beneath the Dignity of the Apes".

If you're looking for a volume that presents Wrightson's art in peak form, I recommend CREEPY PRESENTS BERNIE WRIGHTSON, or SWAMP THING: DARK GENESIS, or A LOOK BACK, or THE STUDIO. But this volume is a nice complement to those. You can see the seeds of greatness forming, and in the latter BADTIME STORIES offerings, I'd say Wrightson finally reached peak form.