It’s unusual for a Stephen King book to be out of print, but that’s been the case with Creepshow, the 1982 adaptation of the George Romero-directed, King-scripted move of the same name. The original edition published by Plume has only been available on the collector’s market—usually at a cost well above its original $6.95 price tag.
If you’ve been holding out, your luck’s about to change. In honor of the 35th (!) anniversary of the book and movie, Gallery 13 is releasing a brand new edition of Creepshow. It arrives May 9 full intact and nearly identical to the original edition, albeit with a slightly higher cover price ($18) and some minor cosmetic differences.
I’m lucky enough to count the original edition as part of my collection, and was fortunate to receive a nice review copy from Gallery 13, so I was able to compare the two editions side-by-side. Both feature the same dramatic cover by EC Comics artist Jack Kamen. The paper quality of the new edition isn’t quite as good, but the colors still pop and Bernie (credited as “Berni” on the ’82 cover) 
Wrightson’s gorgeously grotesque illustrations still look fantastic. The back cover of the new edition features the most drastic changes, as it contains actual sales copy, a newer photo of King, and the requisite social media icons that would have been so much arcane nonsense if placed on the 1982 cover. It’s fine, but I admit I prefer the dramatic back cover of the original—the bold red, the stark list of story titles, and one of those great early author photos of King in which he looks like a stark raving madman.
The new edition lacks any of the bells & whistles you might expect in such a re-release—a new introduction, a new interview, etc.—but given how long Creepshow has been out of print, it’s really no big deal. It’s good enough to have this available, affordable and accessible once again—especially with the recent loss of Wrightson. The world needs reminders of what a great talent he was, and there are few better showcases of that talent around.
More information on Creepshow:
