Weirdom’s “Tales From The Plague” by Richard Corben —

[1] Richard Corben, color by William Skaar, April 2023

Introduction

Bill Leach, contributor of much Ally Sloper material to YESTERDAY”S PAPERS, has published a limited edition reprint of Dennis Cunningham’s THE PLAGUE, drawn by Richard Corben, under the imprint of his own EC HorrorZine, HORROR FROM THE CRYPT OF FEAR  Available through BUD PLANT ART BOOKS (HERE).  Bill used the original first cover and included 12 pages of engravings that had not been used in subsequent editions. William Skaar, artist of DEANNA OF THE DEAD, provided the cover color. This welcome reissue of THE PLAGUE brought back warm memories. I was a contributor to WEIRDOM No. 12 (a very small and amateurish pen & ink contribution in the interior) in 1968. The next issue, No. 13, introduced the brilliant cartoonist Richard Corben with his startling and unique Special Plague Issue. Dennis Cunningham was kind enough to send me a copy of Nos. 12 and 13, thus introducing me to one of the greatest fantasy artists of all time. Corben’s story was gothic horror drawn in the painstaking style of medieval engravings. Bill Leach provides a brief printing history of THE PLAGUE which I reproduce below. — John Adcock

[2] Weirdom Illustrated No 13, 1969. Dennis Cunningham, 

Publisher, editor and writer, illustrator Richard Corben 

You hold in your hands the fifth version of Weirdom’s “THE PLAGUE”. Dennis Cunningham and Bill Leach are thrilled to present this very special edition of HORROR FROM THE CRYPT OF FEAR to the countless Corben fans throughout the world.  We lost Richard Corben in 2020, but his creative expertise lives on through his amazing body of work and the many reprints that are currently being published.

[3] Richard Corben page

This was Richard Corben’s first attempt at illustrating a graphic novel.  Corben was 28 years old and still working at Calvin Productions when he began working on “THE PLAGUE” in 1968.  Dennis Cunningham was one of the first publishers to use Corben’s art in the comic book industry.  During the late sixties and early seventies Cunningham published a series of underground comics titled “Weirdom Illustrated.”  It was here in number 13, the “Special Plague Issue” that Corben’s first graphic novel saw print.  It didn’t take long before Richard Corben was recognized as one of the top artists in the country.

[4]Tales From The Plague, comic book, second edition, November, 1971.

“THE PLAGUE” has been published on four previous occasions.  First in April 1969, falling under the title “Weirdom Illustrated, Number 13, Special Plague Issue,” this small digest size edition was printed by Dennis himself, while on leave from the Army.  There were only 1,000 copies printed, which makes them extremely rare today.  The second printing came two years later in November 1971.  Now titled “TALES FROM THE PLAGUE” and featuring a new cover comprised of panels from the story.  This comic book size edition had a print run of 10,000, which makes it a very scarce comic book.  

[5] Preliminary watercolor for the third edition by Richard Corben.

Jumping forward fifteen years, Dennis’ friend and business partner, Bill Leach, printed the third edition still using the title “TALES FROM THE PLAGUE.”  This magazine size graphic novel would feature a new cover painting by Corben.  Bill routinely boasts at having his likeness used in the new Corben cover painting, featuring “Braggart Bill” as the torch wielding maniac.  The print run of 15,000 sold out quickly as the public’s appetite for Richard Corben’s art had grown to international heights since the first two editions. 

[6] Third edition cover painting and publisher Bill Leach.

In 1989, a European publisher, Toutain-Editor, created the fourth iteration using the newer cover painting and translating it into Spanish. The title is quite long and was just one volume in the series: “Richard Corben, Obras Completas No. 9, MANUSCRITOS DE LA PLAGA.”

This fifth edition takes us back to the beginning.  Printed digest size and including the twelve pages of vintage engravings that had been discarded in the second, third and fourth editions.  Cunningham and Leach are proud to publish this “Artifact Edition” and hope you will enjoy making it part of your “Richard Corben Collection.”

HORROR FROM THE CRYPT OF FEAR, Number 16, April 2023

First printing 500 copies.  Contact Bill Leach at ComicArt4u @comcast.net for more information.  All contents written and copyright 2023 Dennis A. Cunningham.   All artwork created by artistic genius Richard V. Corben (1940-2020).  Cover colorist:  William Skaar.

[7] “Braggart Bill” Leach

Bill Leach is headed to the San Diego Comicon this week. He will be part of an EC FanAddicts panel Saturday night and showing off the new issues of HORROR FROM THE CRYPT OF FEAR. Issue #17 is a 104 page Complete EC Checklist-1942-1956. See details HERE.

 RVC

The Ally Sloper Mask

Publisher, art teacher, and Ally Sloper collector Bill Leach has been collecting Ally Sloper original art since the 1980s. His latest acquisition is a Victorian era papier-mâché Ally Sloper mask created in a factory using a mask mold. The mask has no manufacturer’s name or labeling. The mask is a bit damaged, says Bill, but he intends to repair and repaint the piece. “Some might say to leave it as it is — But it will bring me more joy when it is nicely painted.” The Victorian British establishment was said to be startled by rumors that British railway-strikers were seen wearing Sloper masks at their rallies…

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[8] Stereograph photo card of a man in Ally Sloper mask posing with a 3D stereo-view camera.

A❦S

Original Art from the “Sloperies”

[1] Ally Sloper in Close-Up. William Baxter original, 
ink on lightweight paper, 1886.

American publisher Bill Leach has been collecting Ally Sloper original art since the 1980s. His mother’s maiden name was Sloper, so “what started out as a minor interest has become a major addiction.” Along with Dennis Cunningham, founder of Weirdom fanzine, later Weirdom Illustrated, Bill Leach ran the graphic print shop Grafitti Graphics in Clearlake, California, from 1977 to ’87.

In 1986 Leach bought all of the Rich Corben art Cunningham had in his possession and republished Corben’s Tales from the Plague, originally published in Weirdom Illustrated no. 13 in 1969. Corben supplied a new cover and “I got Corben to use my face on the torch wielding maniac, so I have that on my resume now!…” With Barry Cunningham, brother of Dennis, he published four issues of County Comix in 1981-82, featuring Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake, and Clearlake titles.

[2] Heads of the People. Full-page William Baxter cartoon, Ally Sloper’s Half-Holiday, Oct 23, 1886, one of his last for the paper.

ABOUT 150 years ago, Judy (subtitled: ‘or The London Serio-Comic Journal’) began to be published in London, its first issue was dated 1 May 1867, its last 23 October 1907. The comic character Ally Sloper F.O.M. (Friend of Man) came into the world on 14 August 1867 in a comic page with the strange title “Some of the Mysteries of Loan and Discount,” by author-artist Charles Henry Ross.

FUN. Then, in 1870, the comic journal Fun, rival to the weeklies Punch and Judy, was bought by the Dalziel Brothers, a long-established family firm of wood-engravers, the largest in London at the time. The firm was started in 1840 by the two brothers George (b.1815) and Edward Dalziel (b.1817). In 1872 the Dalziels also purchased the title Judy. Edward’s son, Gilbert Dalziel became its business conductor. In 1883 Charles Henry Ross sold all rights to his Ally Sloper character to Gilbert Dalziel of Dalziel Brothers, who then launched Ally Sloper’s Half-Holiday with proprietor W.J. Sinkins on May 3, 1884. This publication ran until September 9, 1916. It was revived unsuccessfully in 1922 and again in 1948. The address of its editorial offices was given as “The Sloperies,” 99 Shoe Lane, EC. The first years, primary art was by William Giles Baxter or W.G.B. (1856-88), who drew Sloper in 1884-86. He left at the end of 1886 to work on a different project, but then died in mid-1888, alcohol was given as the cause. According to Bill Leach, William Fletcher Thomas (1862-1922) had been drawing Ally Sloper’s Half-Holiday covers even before Baxter, and took over full time in late-1886 upon Baxter’s leave. 


NO FUN. The Dalziel Brothers who bought those magazines in the 1870s, saw their wood-engraving business dwindle during the 1880s photomechanical reproduction revolution, and went bankrupt in 1893.    

[3] “May Your X-MAS Day Be Happy, and Your Bills Be Light.” Original William Thomas art, 1899.

[4] Bill Leach with the William Thomas original.

[5] The “Sloperies” – Editor’s Bell. Sloper and Freedom. Original William Baxter art, 1880s, 32 x 25 cm.

[6] “Billstickers will be prosecuted!” Original William Baxter art, Christmas 1880s, 33 x 27 cm.

[7] The Eastern Crisis. – Grease: Its Use and Abuse. Full-page William Baxter strip of cartoons, Ally Sloper's Half-Holiday, Feb 6, 1886.

[8] A Cabinet Council at “The Sloperies.” Full-page William Baxter cartoon, Ally Sloper’s Half-Holiday, Aug 21, 1886.

[9] Turning over a New Leaf. William Baxter cover, Ally Sloper’s Half-Holiday, Jan 2, 1886.

[10] Our Contempo-Raree Show. Businessman Gilbert Dalziel pictured by Houghton, FUN, May 21, 1895.

[11] Bound volume, Gilbert Dalziel’s signature, 1886.