Creepy #2
The triumphant return of the venerable horror anthology is... not so triumphant. I picked up issue two on one of my grazing trips to the comic store. It's how I discovered Scalped and innumerable favourites, so the grazing method of comics buying is nothing to sneeze at. Anyway, I picked up Creepy, then I went home, drew a bath and settled in to read and relax.
Creepy is presided over by Uncle Creepy, who is basically the Cryptkeeper (please don't tell me I have to explain who he is). So that should give you an idea of the flavour of horror contained therein. It's pretty light-hearted, as horror goes, even with gross-out stories like a man-eating car. Light-hearted horror is great, in principle, but in Creepy it's just... not working as of yet. We're only on issue two, so it's possible that the editors and writers just haven't hit their stride yet. Horror comedy works best not when it relies on lololgross, but when it draws on a deep well of schadenfreude-motherfucker-oh-yes, or as a way to release some tension. Things are tense, our hero is in mortal danger, everything go sideways, the scene flips, and all of a sudden that nervous tension that's been gripping you tight is released in surprised laughter. It shouldn't be billboard-obvious silliness: "HEY GUIZE, I FED MY ARM TO THE CAR!" That way lies Rob Zombie's oeuvre. I mean, part of the problem here is a serious paucity of anything like depth in several of the stories - shit ain't scary or funny if I don't care about the characters, or about the gauntlet they're running.
The standout story of this issue is The Curse, (story by Dan Braun, art by Jason Shawn Alexander), mostly because of the art. The story itself is lackluster and at times obvious, but I'm really digging the stark, sketchy but stylized, black and white work by Alexander. It's kinetic and expressive, and admirably economical. The issue is rounded out by two morality tales, a simple gross out story, and a bizarre, Twilight Zone/Tales From the Crypt opener. Classic Creepy at its best was simultaneously scary, and gleefully silly. This relaunch has yet to be either. Still, venerable horror anthology - I have my hopes.
Alternate: http://schmevil.dreamwidth.org/231897.html.
Creepy is presided over by Uncle Creepy, who is basically the Cryptkeeper (please don't tell me I have to explain who he is). So that should give you an idea of the flavour of horror contained therein. It's pretty light-hearted, as horror goes, even with gross-out stories like a man-eating car. Light-hearted horror is great, in principle, but in Creepy it's just... not working as of yet. We're only on issue two, so it's possible that the editors and writers just haven't hit their stride yet. Horror comedy works best not when it relies on lololgross, but when it draws on a deep well of schadenfreude-motherfucker-oh-yes, or as a way to release some tension. Things are tense, our hero is in mortal danger, everything go sideways, the scene flips, and all of a sudden that nervous tension that's been gripping you tight is released in surprised laughter. It shouldn't be billboard-obvious silliness: "HEY GUIZE, I FED MY ARM TO THE CAR!" That way lies Rob Zombie's oeuvre. I mean, part of the problem here is a serious paucity of anything like depth in several of the stories - shit ain't scary or funny if I don't care about the characters, or about the gauntlet they're running.
The standout story of this issue is The Curse, (story by Dan Braun, art by Jason Shawn Alexander), mostly because of the art. The story itself is lackluster and at times obvious, but I'm really digging the stark, sketchy but stylized, black and white work by Alexander. It's kinetic and expressive, and admirably economical. The issue is rounded out by two morality tales, a simple gross out story, and a bizarre, Twilight Zone/Tales From the Crypt opener. Classic Creepy at its best was simultaneously scary, and gleefully silly. This relaunch has yet to be either. Still, venerable horror anthology - I have my hopes.
Alternate: http://schmevil.dreamwidth.org/231897.html.