Warren Publishing

Warren Publishing is a defunct American comic book and illustrated magazine publishing company. It was founded by James Warren in 1957 and based out of New York City. The company specialized in the publication of material of the horror, science fiction and fantasy genres.

By publishing comics in the magazine format, Warren was able to circumvent contemporary restrictions of the Comics Code Authority, which demanded that all comic book publications "clean, proper and family-oriented", thereby gaining access to an adult audience with more mature stories. In this way, Warren paved the way for such later graphic-story magazines as the American version of Heavy Metal, Marvel Comics' Epic Illustrated and Psycho and other series from Skywald Publications.

James Warren's bad health, combined with changing tastes and business problems, led to internal turmoil and editorial turnover. The company suspended publishing in late 1981, and Warren declared bankruptcy in 1983. In August 1983, Harris Publications acquired the company assets at auction.

Warren's most celebrated title was Vampirella, which was published from September 1969 to March 1983, spanning a total of 112 issues. The titular character, Vampirella, was an sultry and voluptuous alien woman that hailed from the planet Draculon - a world populated by creatures similar to vampires. The first issue was composed by several renowned talents in the comics industry including artwork by Frank Frazetta, Tom Sutton, Neal Adams and Reed Crandall.