A four-part anthology film devoted to Creepy, the seminal horror comic magazine, is being planned by director Chris Columbus and producer brothers Dan and Josh Braun of New Comic Company.  Columbus, who directed two of the Harry Potter films, will write and produce one of the anthology segments.  The Brauns acquired the rights to both Creepy and Eerie magazines, along with partners Rick Brookwell and Craig Haffner under the holding entity New Comic Company in 2007.

Creepy may be best known for its iconic covers by Frank Frazetta, but it also boasted a number of well-respected contributors such as Spider-Man artist Steve Ditko as well as Bernie Wrightson, Gene Colan,Richard Corben, Al Williamson, and Wally Wood.  The magazine published from 1964 to 1983, and in later editions the stories were hosted by Uncle Creepy (as frightening as Creepy Uncle?).  For more on the project, hit the jump.

A film revival of Creepy has been in talks for many years, and as the Brauns explained to Deadline:

“We have always been fans of Anthology horror films such as the Trilogy of Terror and Tales from the Crypt and it has been our goal to figure out a way to make a great Creepy anthology. Chris and Michael and their team at 1492 are the perfect partners to bring this to life.”

Not everyone may be thrilled with Columbus' inclusion in the process, but he has a fanboy history with the publication as well, saying in a statement:

“I am thrilled to be immersed once again in the world of Creepy and Eerie [Creepy's sister publication]. They featured some of the most important comic book artists of the time and were incredibly influential in my desire to become a filmmaker. It is really exciting to have the opportunity to bring these unique tales to the screen and share them with today’s audiences.”

The new comic series of Creepy is currently up to issue 8, which was released in April of this year.  The revival of Eerie magazine starts this month.