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See also: creep

Jack Davis cover for the first issue of Creepy

Creepy was a horror-comics magazine launched by Warren Publishing in 1964. Like Mad, it was a black-and-white newsstand publication in a magazine format and thus did not require the approval or seal of the Comics Code Authority.

Russ Jones, the founding editor of Creepy in 1964, detailed the magazine's origins and his lengthy negotiations with Warren in the memoir "Creepy & Eerie" at his website. While doing covers, illustrated stories and photo stories for Warren, Jones continued trying to sell him on the idea of doing a comics magazine, and eventually Warren agreed:

Originally it was to be a 64-page magazine. Jim cut it back to 48... I made a sketch of my host for the mag and sent it off to Jack Davis to work up a cover. Still no title. Titles are tough. Ask anyone who ever had to come up with one. One night I was sitting in the studio alone, looking at Woody's tear-sheets from the ECs, when Warren called. He was furious and demanded a name for Project D. I was looking at a balloon over an Ingels Old Witch, and in her narrative, the word "creepy" grabbed out at me. I muttered the name to Jim... We now had a title for our mag.

Jones soon departed, and in 1965, Archie Goodwin joined Warren as the editor of Creepy. Joe Orlando was a behind-the-scenes story editor. Goodwin, who became one of comics' foremost and most influential writers, helped to establish the company as a major force in its field.

Illustrators included such established artists as Orlando, Neal Adams, Gene Colan, Frank Frazetta, Roy G. Krenkel, Gray Morrow, Al Williamson and Wally Wood, plus a newer group of talents, including Dan Adkins, Richard Bassford, Roger Brand, Frank Brunner, Rich Buckler, Dave Cockrum, Richard Corben, Nicola Cuti, Al Hewetson, Ken Kelly, Mike Royer, Tom Sutton, Esteban Maroto and Boris Vallejo. Writers included T. Casey Brennan.

The anthology magazine was initially published quarterly but later went bimonthly. Each issue's stories were introduced by the host character, Uncle Creepy. Its sister publications were Eerie and Vampirella.

Creepy ran through issue #145, in 1983.

• Philadelphia City Paper, Jan. 6-12,2005: "Jim Warren Meets Vampirella"
• History, bibliography and interviews by Richard J. Arndt

Look up creepy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• The Comics Journal #253: "The Vampirella Wars"
• Creepy and Eerie
• Creepy covers