Premiering in December 2021 with a special collector’s edition, Shudder is the newest magazine from Warrant Publishing Company. With a tag line touting itself as the world’s #1 illustrated horror magazine, this bi-monthly title channels early horror magazines such as The Vault of Horror, Creepy, and Eerie while providing fresh stories with entertaining twists by skilled writers and artists.
I took notice of Shudder about two months ago when issue three showed up on the magazine shelf at my local Barnes & Noble. The cover featured a fantastic Jeff Jones Egyptian-themed tomb scene advertising one of the stories in the issue. I picked up the slim magazine to read the mummy story and figured I would probably skim the rest of the stories. After reading the ‘Tomb of the Mummy’ written by Don Glut and illustrated by Reno Maniquis – a great Hollywood set story with a macabre twist ending – I found myself going back to the beginning of the magazine and reading every story as well as all the regular columns and even the advertisements!
The slick cover encases newspaper print pages filled with thick black ink balanced with white space which caused me to expect I would have a fine dusting of ink on my fingertips once I finished the magazine. Also reminiscent of the early EC horror comics, a ghoulish Auntie Shudder must be related to the Crypt Keeper. Auntie introduces each tale and typically closes out each with a pithy observation in the last panel. Auntie also has an ongoing column, Auntie’s Fearsome Fables! located on the inside cover of each issue. The column spotlights a monster’s mythology, so in issue three, Auntie featured werewolves and issue four, mummies. It’s a quick summary or high level overview that highlights the essence of the monster’s lore and is useful to readers who may not be familiar with a particular monster’s origins.
As mentioned above, there are six stories in each issue. Five are new tales, but one is a “Decrepit Classic” meaning it is a retelling of a classic horror story. In issue three, it was M. R. James’ ‘Lost Hearts!’ and issue four it was Ambrose Bierce’s ‘The Famous Gilson Bequest’. This is a structure that the early publications used and again, it provides new readers an introduction to classic storytellers or provides a re-visit for readers already familiar with the feature author.
I just picked up issue four which features a brilliant Frank Frazetta cover that is highly dramatic. Auntie showcased mummies in her fables column and all six stories were entertaining and a fun read from cover to cover. Shudder will appeal to fans of horror comics who like Creepy and Eerie collections but are looking for updated, fresh storytelling.
Editor: Rich Sala
Associate Editor: Don Glut
Newsstand single issues: $5.95 (U.S.)
Annual subscription: $53.00 (U.S.)
Issues one through three are still available for mail order.