Eerie #80
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeEerie #80 is the concluding chapter of Jim Starlin's two-part origin for Darklon the Mystic, the cosmic anti-hero he began building in issue #79. Published outside the Comics Code Authority's reach, Warren's magazine format gave Starlin the creative latitude to tell a darker, more psychologically raw story than mainstream superhero books of the era would permit — one saturated with sacrifice, self-loathing, and cosmic dread that would directly seed the thematic DNA of his celebrated Dreadstar work. The issue also captures a transitional editorial moment at Warren, arriving right as Louise Jones assumed the editor's chair and the roster of contributors began to diversify with Spanish and Filipino artists, reshaping the magazine's visual identity for its final decade.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Eerie #80 was published by Warren Publishing with a cover date of January 1977, on sale in late 1976 under the new editorship of Louise Jones, who had just replaced Bill DuBay beginning with issue #73. DuBay nonetheless remained Warren's dominant freelance writer during this period. Jim Starlin — fresh from his celebrated Adam Warlock run at Marvel — contributed both story and art for the Darklon chapter, reportedly channeling intensely personal circumstances, including his father's battle with cancer, into the character's brutal power-for-pain origin. Carmine Infantino, the former DC publisher and Flash artist, was among the other contributors, reflecting Jones's efforts to bring in new creative voices alongside Warren's established stable of Spanish artists such as Luis Bermejo and José Ortiz.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Contains 'Retribution,' the second and concluding chapter of the two-part origin story of Darklon the Mystic, picking up directly from Eerie #79.
- Darklon the Mystic was created entirely by Jim Starlin — writer, penciler, and inker — making it one of the purest auteur strips in Warren's catalog.
- Darklon first debuted in Eerie #76 (August 1976); his origin arc ran across issues #79 and #80 (November 1976–January 1977).
- Cover painting by Ken Kelly, one of Warren's premier painted-cover artists of the era.
- Additional contributors to this issue include Carmine Infantino, Luis Bermejo, Al Milgrom, José Ortiz, Gonzalo Mayo, Leopoldo Sánchez, Bruce Jones, Budd Lewis, Nicola Cuti, and Gerry Boudreau — an unusually large and eclectic talent roster for a single issue.
- Starlin's Darklon origin themes — a sacrificial bargain with a demonic power, a son forced to kill his own father — were later reworked by Starlin for Syzygy Darklok in his 1981 Epic/Marvel graphic novel The Price and informed the Dreadstar universe.
- All five of Starlin's original Darklon stories (from Eerie #79, 80, 84, and 100) were collected and reprinted in full color by Pacific Comics as Darklon the Mystic #1 in 1983.
- The issue falls at the editorial transition point where Louise Jones replaced Bill DuBay; as a black-and-white newsstand magazine, Eerie operated entirely outside Comics Code Authority restrictions, allowing the graphic content of Darklon's origin to be published unaltered.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Vampus #67 (1977), Vampirella #[25] (1977), Vampirella #[28] (1977), Darklon the Mystic #1 (1983)
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