Editing Bernie Wrightson (section)

===Warren and The Studio===
In the summer of 1973, Wrightson saw the [[Tod Browning]] [[horror film]] ''[[Freaks (1932 film)|Freaks]]'' for the first time; in the years immediately afterward, the film influenced much of Wrightson's creative output.<ref>{{cite web|first=Joel|last=Pollack|title=Our History|website=Big Planet Comics|url=https://www.bigplanetcomics.com/big-planet-a-history|access-date=March 1, 2023|quote=I helped with the third [[Metro Con]] in 1973... For the con,... my friend Warren Bernard... was able to secure a rare (for the time) showing of the film ''[[Freaks (1932 film)|Freaks]]''. Attending the convention that year was Bernie Wrightson. It was the first time he had seen the movie and it proved to be a major influence on his work over the next few years.}}</ref>

In January 1974, Wrightson left DC to work at [[Warren Publishing]],<ref name="Gustines" /> for whose black-and-white [[horror fiction|horror]]-comics magazines he produced a series of original work as well as short story adaptations. As with ''BadTime Stories'', Wrightson experimented with different media in these black-and-white tales: [[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s "[[The Black Cat (short story)|The Black Cat]]" featured intricate pen-and-ink work which stood in direct contrast with his brush-dominated ''Swamp Thing'' panels. "Jenifer", scripted by [[Bruce Jones (comics)|Bruce Jones]], was atmospherically rendered with gray markers. "The Pepper Lake Monster" was a synthesis of brush and pen-and-ink, whereas [[H.P. Lovecraft]]'s "[[Cool Air]]" was a foray into duotone paper. "Nightfall" was an exercise in ink wash. "Clarice" was also drawn in pen, brush, and ink, and with ink wash.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Cooke |first=Jon B. |date=Spring 1999 |title=Wrightson's Warren Days |url=https://twomorrows.com/comicbookartist/articles/04wrightson.html |journal=Comic Book Artist |location=Raleigh, North Carolina |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |issue=4 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220130510/https://twomorrows.com/comicbookartist/articles/04wrightson.html |archive-date=December 20, 2016}}</ref>

In 1975, Wrightson joined with fellow artists [[Jeffrey Catherine Jones|Jeff Jones]], [[Michael Kaluta]], and [[Barry Windsor-Smith]] to form [[The Studio (commune)|The Studio]], a shared loft in Manhattan where the group would pursue creative products outside the constraints of comic book commercialism.<ref name="Barney">{{cite web |url=http://www.wtv-zone.com/silverager/interviews/barney2.shtml |title=Joe Barney Interview (Pt. 2) |last=Daudt |first=Ron E. |website=The Silver Age Sage: A Tribute to the Silver Age of DC Comics |access-date=May 18, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151013001622/http://www.wtv-zone.com/silverager/interviews/barney2.shtml |archive-date=October 13, 2015}}</ref> Though he continued to produce sequential art, Wrightson at this time began producing artwork for numerous posters, prints, calendars, and even a highly detailed coloring book, ''The Monsters''.<ref name="Gustines">{{cite news |last=Gustines |first=George Gene |date=March 24, 2017 |title=Bernie Wrightson, Artist and a Creator of Swamp Thing, Dies at 68 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/24/arts/design/bernie-wrightson-dead-comic-book-artist.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=March 24, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170325222942/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/24/arts/design/bernie-wrightson-dead-comic-book-artist.html |archive-date=March 25, 2017}}</ref> He also drew sporadic comics stories and single illustrations for ''[[National Lampoon (magazine)|National Lampoon]]'' magazine from 1973 to 1983.<ref name="lambiek" />

Wrightson spent seven years drawing approximately 50 detailed pen-and-ink illustrations to [[Bernie Wrightson's Frankenstein|accompany an edition]] of [[Mary Shelley]]'s novel ''[[Frankenstein]]''. The illustrations themselves are not based upon the [[Boris Karloff]] or [[Christopher Lee]] films, but on the actual book's descriptions of characters and objects.<ref name="niles">{{Cite web |url=http://www.steveniles.net/2012/05/frankenstein-alive-alive-a-conversation-with-bernie-wrightson.html |title=Frankenstein Alive, Alive! A Conversation with Bernie Wrightson |last=Niles |first=Steve |author-link=Steve Niles| date=May 8, 2012|website=SteveNiles.net|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171014235546/http://www.steveniles.net/2012/05/frankenstein-alive-alive-a-conversation-with-bernie-wrightson.html|archive-date= October 14, 2017|url-status= live|df= mdy-all |access-date=October 14, 2017}}</ref> Wrightson also used a period style, saying "I wanted the book to look like an antique; to have the feeling of woodcuts or steel engravings, something of that era" and basing the feel on artists like [[Franklin Booth]], [[J.C. Coll]] and [[Edwin Austin Abbey]]. ''Frankenstein'' was an unpaid project, Wrightson describing it as a "labor of love" he worked on over seven years.<ref name="carey" />