Badtime Stories: 1972
Editor/publisher: Ron Barlow
Well now, here we are in the big leagues! I assume many of you are at least somewhat familiar with this pinnacle of fanzine achievement, Badtime Stories, by the late and most certainly beyond great Berni Wrightson. If you have already seen it in it’s entirety, then you might move on…but for anyone that has NOT seen it, boy are you in for a treat! Totally Berni all the way through. Six stories in several mediums and approaches, from early work (1968) through what was current at the time of publication. I don’t really have much to say, since I have no inside info and Berni is obviously gone. I will show few sample pages from each story, and you can see everything in the pdf, as usual. Great ready to pick your jaw up off the floor!
Following is King of the Mountain, Man, and some of those panels definitely seem to have a bit of Jeff Jones in them!
Above is the back cover that ends this incredible publication. I wish I had some inside info, as several notable people are listed in the “thank you” section. I did hear from Ronn Sutton, and he said,
My name appeared in the “Thank You” section of Badtime Stories, not because I’d drawn any anonymous art assistance on the project, but rather because Berni and I were close friends, especially in those days, and I acted as something of a “cheerleader ” regarding his career. I hadn’t known that he was publicly thanking me in the book. I didn’t see it until it was published and someone else pointed it out to me.
Badtime Stories was published in a prestige format and was a remarkable achievement for the time. A number of varied stories (horror, humor, sci-fi), each drawn in a different technique (ink, gray wash, craftint, pencil) serve as a notable portfolio showcasing Berni’s considerable talents, with each strip visually unique.
It wasn’t without snags, though. It took a long time and eventually publisher Ron Barlow issued a letter (from Berni) advising the faithful that the book WAS coming and to remain patient. Berni certainly poured his heart, and considerable talents, into it. But he finally “hit a wall” and couldn’t even complete one story, “King of the Mountain, Man” (with pal Jeff Jones drawing the final page. Just as he hit that same wall years later and called Jeff to ink the final 10 pages of Swamp Thing #9). Another advertised story was never drawn and a reprint of the delightful “Uncle Bill’s Barrel” was substituted to get Badtime Stories finally out.
Even more than 50 years later, it’s still an incredible portfolio of prime work by Berni.
Thanks, Ronn! Thanks also to Alan Williams for selling me the zine! Hope you liked it and again, see it all in the pdf.
Ken Meyer Jr
kenmeyerjr@yahoo.com
