Crestwood Publications
Encyclopedia
Crestwood Publications, also known as Feature Publications, was a magazine publisher that also published comic book
s from the 1940s through the 1960s. Its title Prize Comics contained what is considered the first ongoing horror comic-book feature, Dick Briefer
's "Frankenstein
". Crestwood is best known for its Prize Comics imprint
, published in the late 1940s to mid-1950s through packagers Joe Simon
and Jack Kirby
, who created such historically prominent titles as the horror comic Black Magic, the creator-owned superhero
satire
Fighting American
, and the first romance comic title, Young Romance
.
For much of its history, Crestwood's publishers were Teddy Epstein and Mike Bleier. In the 1940s the company's general manager was Maurice Rosenfeld, and in the 1950s the general manager was M.R. Reese. In the mid-1950s, the company office manager was Nevin Fidler (who later became Simon & Kirby's business manager).
In addition to Simon & Kirby, notable Crestwood/Prize contributors included Leonard Starr
, Mort Meskin
, Joe Maneely
, John Severin
, Will Elder
, Carmine Infantino
, Bruno Premiani
, Dick Ayers
, George Klein
, Jack Abel
, Ed Winiarski
, and Dick Briefer
.
In Prize Comics #7 (Dec. 1940), writer-artist Dick Briefer
introduced the eight-page feature "New Adventures of Frankenstein
", an updated version of 19th-century novelist Mary Shelley
's much-adapted Frankenstein monster. Considered by comics historians including Don Markstein as "America's first ongoing comic book series to fall squarely within the horror
genre", the feature, set in New York City
circa 1930, starred a guttural, rampaging creature actually dubbed "Frankenstein" (unlike Shelley's nameless original monster).
, the Prize Comics title Young Romance
signaled its distinction from traditional superhero and genre comics with a cover banner stating the series was "designed for the more adult readers of comics". Told from a first person
perspective, underlining its claim to be recounting "true" stories, the title was an instant success, "bec[oming] Jack and Joe's biggest hit in years" and selling "millions of copies" and a staggering 92% of its print run. Crestwood increased the print run by the third issue to triple the initial numbers, and well as upgrade the title from bimonthly to monthly through issues #13-72 (Sept. 1949 - Aug. 1954).
Within a year-and-a-half, Simon & Kirby were launching companion titles for Crestwood to capitalize on the success of this new genre. The first issue of Young Love (Feb. 1949) also sold well with "indistinguishable" content from its parent-title. Further spin-off titles Young Brides (married couples' stories) and In Love ("book-length" stories) also followed from Crestwood/Prize, and were produced by the Simon & Kirby stable of artists and writers.
debuted in 1950. According to Jack Kirby, the idea for Spider-Man
originated with him and Simon, who developed a character called The Silver Spider for Black Magic, who was subsequently not used. (Ironically, eventual Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko
drew a six-page story in Black Magic vol. 4, #3, Dec. 1953.)
, while the duo continued to produce work for Crestwood under contract. When the duo rearranged and republished artwork from an old Crestwood story in the Mainline title In Love, Crestwood refused to pay Simon and Kirby. After reviewing Crestwood's finances, Simon & Kirby's attorney's stated that the company owed them $130,000 over the past seven years. Crestwood paid them $10,000 in addition to their recent delayed payments.
to publisher DC Comics
. It continued to publish humor magazines, such as Sick
, up until 1968 (when Sick was acquired by Hewfred Publications).
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s from the 1940s through the 1960s. Its title Prize Comics contained what is considered the first ongoing horror comic-book feature, Dick Briefer
Dick Briefer
Richard "Dick" Briefer was an American comic-book artist best known for his various adaptations, including humorous ones, of the Frankenstein monster...
's "Frankenstein
Frankenstein (Prize Comics)
There have been many comic book adaptations of the Frankenstein monster story created by Mary Shelley in her 1818 novel Frankenstein. Writer-artist Dick Briefer presented two loose adaptations of the story in the Prize Comics series Prize Comics and Frankenstein from 1940 to 1954...
". Crestwood is best known for its Prize Comics imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
, published in the late 1940s to mid-1950s through packagers Joe Simon
Joe Simon
Joseph Henry "Joe" Simon is an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s-1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the first editor of Timely Comics, the company that would evolve into Marvel Comics.With his...
and Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
, who created such historically prominent titles as the horror comic Black Magic, the creator-owned superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
Fighting American
Fighting American
Fighting American is a patriotic comic book character created in 1954 by writer Joe Simon and artist Jack Kirby, published by Crestwood Publication / Prize Comics and, against normal industry practices of the time, creator-owned...
, and the first romance comic title, Young Romance
Young Romance
Young Romance is a comic book series created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby for the Crestwood Publications imprint Prize Comics in 1947. Generally considered the first romance comic, the series ran for 124 consecutive issues under Prize imprint, and a further 84 published by DC Comics after Crestwood...
.
For much of its history, Crestwood's publishers were Teddy Epstein and Mike Bleier. In the 1940s the company's general manager was Maurice Rosenfeld, and in the 1950s the general manager was M.R. Reese. In the mid-1950s, the company office manager was Nevin Fidler (who later became Simon & Kirby's business manager).
In addition to Simon & Kirby, notable Crestwood/Prize contributors included Leonard Starr
Leonard Starr
Leonard Starr is a Golden Age comic book artist, an advertising artist and award-winning cartoonist, notable for creating the newspaper strip On Stage and reviving Little Orphan Annie.-Early life:...
, Mort Meskin
Mort Meskin
Morton "Mort" Meskin was a prolific American comic book artist best-known for his work in the 1940s Golden Age of comic books, well into the late-1950s and 1960s Silver Age.-Early life:...
, Joe Maneely
Joe Maneely
Joseph "Joe" Maneely is an American comic book artist best known for his work at Marvel Comics' 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics, where he co-created the Marvel characters the Black Knight, the Ringo Kid, the Yellow Claw, and Jimmy Woo.An exquisite draftsman whose delicate yet solid, fine-line...
, John Severin
John Severin
John Powers Severin is an American comic book artist noted for his distinctive work with EC Comics, primarily on the war comics Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat; for Marvel Comics, primarily on its war and Western comics; and for the satiric magazine Cracked...
, Will Elder
Will Elder
William Elder was an American illustrator and comic book artist who worked in numerous areas of commercial art, but is best known for a zany cartoon style that helped launch Harvey Kurtzman's Mad comic book in 1952....
, Carmine Infantino
Carmine Infantino
Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino (born May 24, 1925, in Brooklyn, New York is an American comic book artist and editor who was a major force in the Silver Age of Comic Books...
, Bruno Premiani
Bruno Premiani
Giordano Bruno Premiani , whose work is credited as Bruno Premiani, was an Italian illustrator known for his work for several American comic book publishers, particularly DC Comics...
, Dick Ayers
Dick Ayers
Richard "Dick" Ayers is an American comic book artist and cartoonist best known for his work as one of Jack Kirby's inkers during the late-1950s and 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comics, including on some of the earliest issues of Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four, and as the signature...
, George Klein
George Klein (comics)
George D. Klein was an American comic book artist and cartoonist whose career stretched from the 1930s and 1940s' Golden Age of comic books...
, Jack Abel
Jack Abel
Jack Abel a.k.a. Gary Michaels was an American comic book artist best known as an inker for leading publishers DC Comics and Marvel Comics. He was DC's primary inker on the Superman titles in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and inked penciler Herb Trimpe's introduction of the popular superhero...
, Ed Winiarski
Ed Winiarski
Ed Winiarski , who sometimes signed his work "Win" or "Winny" and sometimes used the pseudonym Fran Miller, is an American comic book writer-artist known for both adventure stories and funny-animal cartooning in the late-1930s and 1940s Golden Age of comic books.A former animator, Winiarski was one...
, and Dick Briefer
Dick Briefer
Richard "Dick" Briefer was an American comic-book artist best known for his various adaptations, including humorous ones, of the Frankenstein monster...
.
Origins: Prize Comics
In 1940, Crestwood's Prize Publications, already established as a producer of pulp magazines, jumped onto the superhero bandwagon with the new title Prize Comics. The first issue featured a non-superpowered, costumed crimefighter called "K the Unknown", whose name was changed to the Black Owl in issue #2, April, 1940).In Prize Comics #7 (Dec. 1940), writer-artist Dick Briefer
Dick Briefer
Richard "Dick" Briefer was an American comic-book artist best known for his various adaptations, including humorous ones, of the Frankenstein monster...
introduced the eight-page feature "New Adventures of Frankenstein
Frankenstein (Prize Comics)
There have been many comic book adaptations of the Frankenstein monster story created by Mary Shelley in her 1818 novel Frankenstein. Writer-artist Dick Briefer presented two loose adaptations of the story in the Prize Comics series Prize Comics and Frankenstein from 1940 to 1954...
", an updated version of 19th-century novelist Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus . She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley...
's much-adapted Frankenstein monster. Considered by comics historians including Don Markstein as "America's first ongoing comic book series to fall squarely within the horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
genre", the feature, set in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
circa 1930, starred a guttural, rampaging creature actually dubbed "Frankenstein" (unlike Shelley's nameless original monster).
Young Romance
Launched with a cover date of September 19471947 in comics
-January:* All-Winners Comics #21 - Timely Comics* Captain America Comics #60 - Timely Comics* Marvel Mystery Comics #80 - Timely Comics-March:* Captain America Comics #61 - Timely Comics...
, the Prize Comics title Young Romance
Young Romance
Young Romance is a comic book series created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby for the Crestwood Publications imprint Prize Comics in 1947. Generally considered the first romance comic, the series ran for 124 consecutive issues under Prize imprint, and a further 84 published by DC Comics after Crestwood...
signaled its distinction from traditional superhero and genre comics with a cover banner stating the series was "designed for the more adult readers of comics". Told from a first person
First-person narrative
First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the...
perspective, underlining its claim to be recounting "true" stories, the title was an instant success, "bec[oming] Jack and Joe's biggest hit in years" and selling "millions of copies" and a staggering 92% of its print run. Crestwood increased the print run by the third issue to triple the initial numbers, and well as upgrade the title from bimonthly to monthly through issues #13-72 (Sept. 1949 - Aug. 1954).
Within a year-and-a-half, Simon & Kirby were launching companion titles for Crestwood to capitalize on the success of this new genre. The first issue of Young Love (Feb. 1949) also sold well with "indistinguishable" content from its parent-title. Further spin-off titles Young Brides (married couples' stories) and In Love ("book-length" stories) also followed from Crestwood/Prize, and were produced by the Simon & Kirby stable of artists and writers.
Black Magic
The long-running horror/suspense title Black MagicBlack Magic (comics)
Black Magic was a horror anthology comic book series published by Prize Comics from 1950-1961. The series was notable for being packaged by the celebrated creative duo Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, and for its non-gory horror content....
debuted in 1950. According to Jack Kirby, the idea for Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
originated with him and Simon, who developed a character called The Silver Spider for Black Magic, who was subsequently not used. (Ironically, eventual Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko
Steve Ditko
Stephen J. "Steve" Ditko is an American comic book artist and writer best known as the artist co-creator, with Stan Lee, of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange....
drew a six-page story in Black Magic vol. 4, #3, Dec. 1953.)
Controversy
In 1954, a Crestwood/Prize salesman urged Kirby and Simon to launch their own comics company, Mainline PublicationsMainline Publications
Mainline Publications, also called Mainline Comics, was a short-lived, 1950s American comic book publisher established and owned by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon.-Foundation:...
, while the duo continued to produce work for Crestwood under contract. When the duo rearranged and republished artwork from an old Crestwood story in the Mainline title In Love, Crestwood refused to pay Simon and Kirby. After reviewing Crestwood's finances, Simon & Kirby's attorney's stated that the company owed them $130,000 over the past seven years. Crestwood paid them $10,000 in addition to their recent delayed payments.
Decline
Crestwood gave up publishing comics in 1963, selling off its remaining romance comicsRomance comics
Romance comics is a comics genre depicting romantic love and its attendant complications such as jealousy, marriage, divorce, betrayal, and heartache. The term is generally associated with an American comic books genre published through the first three decades of the Cold War...
to publisher DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. It continued to publish humor magazines, such as Sick
Sick (magazine)
Sick was a satirical-humor magazine published from 1960 to 1980, lasting 134 issues. It was created by comic-book writer-artist Joe Simon, who also edited the title until the late 1960s. Sick was published by Crestwood Publications until issue #62 , when it was taken over by Hewfred Publications...
, up until 1968 (when Sick was acquired by Hewfred Publications).
Comic-book characters
- Airmale
- American Eagle
- Atomic Man
- Black Owl
- Blue Streak
- Bulldog Denny
- Captain Gallant
- Dr. Dekkar, Master of Monsters
- Dr. Frost
- The Futureman & Jupiter
- Green LamaGreen LamaThe Green Lama was an American pulp magazine hero of the 1940s. In many respects a typical costumed crime-fighter of the period, the Green Lama's most unusual feature was the fact that he was a practicing Buddhist...
(also published in pulp magazines and by Spark PublicationsSpark PublicationsSpark Publications was a short-lived comic book publisher in the mid-1940s, during the Golden Age of Comic Books. Most of their comics was produced by a studio run by Jerry Robinson and Mort Meskin. Other creators who worked for Spark included Joseph Greene and Mac Raboy...
) - Junior Rangers
- Master Magician
- Power Nelson
- Ted O'Neil
- Yank & DoodleYank & DoodleYank & Doodle are a pair of fictional superhero characters who first appeared in the Prize Publications title Prize Comics in 1941.-Fictional biography:...
Titles published
| Title | Series | Issues | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All for Love | #1 - 17 | Feb/Mar 1959 | Went on hiatus, relaunched as Young Love. | |
| Black Magic | #1 - 50 | 1950 - 61 | renamed Cool Cat. | |
| Cool Cat | #51 - 53 | 1962 | ||
| Charlie Chan Charlie Chan Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Earl Derr Biggers in 1919. Loosely based on Honolulu detective Chang Apana, Biggers conceived of the benevolent and heroic Chan as an alternative to Yellow Peril stereotypes, such as villains like Fu Manchu... |
#1 - 5 | |||
| Fighting American Fighting American Fighting American is a patriotic comic book character created in 1954 by writer Joe Simon and artist Jack Kirby, published by Crestwood Publication / Prize Comics and, against normal industry practices of the time, creator-owned... |
#1 - 7 | 1954 - 55 | ||
| Frankenstein Comics Frankenstein (Prize Comics) There have been many comic book adaptations of the Frankenstein monster story created by Mary Shelley in her 1818 novel Frankenstein. Writer-artist Dick Briefer presented two loose adaptations of the story in the Prize Comics series Prize Comics and Frankenstein from 1940 to 1954... |
#1 - 33 | 1945 - 54 | ||
| Headline Comics | #1 - 77 | 1943 - 56 | ||
| Justice Traps the Guilty | #1 - 92 | |||
| Prize Comics | #1 - 68 | 1940 - 48 | ||
| Prize Comics Western | #69 - 119 | 1948 - 56 | continues from Prize Comics | |
| Strange World Of Your Dreams | #1 - 4 | |||
| Treasure Comics | #1 - 12 | |||
| Western Love | #1 | |||
| Young Brides | #1 - 29 | 1952 - 56 | ||
| Young Love | Series 1 | #1 - 73 | 1949-57 | |
| Series 2 | #18 - 38 | 1960-63 | continued from All For Love, continued at DC Comics DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner... . |
|
| Young Romance Young Romance Young Romance is a comic book series created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby for the Crestwood Publications imprint Prize Comics in 1947. Generally considered the first romance comic, the series ran for 124 consecutive issues under Prize imprint, and a further 84 published by DC Comics after Crestwood... |
#1 - 126 | 1947 - 63 | Continued at DC Comics DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner... . |