Comics
Review: ‘The Creep’ #3
With an intriguing main protagonist, The Creep #3 delivers an enjoyable crime tale with gripping plot twists. The storyline examines loneliness and isolation through the eyes of a disfigured loner. As he strays from the rest of civilization, the loner becomes cut off and drifts off into madness. It’s hard to escape feelings of melancholy and sadness while reading John Arcudi’s character driven crime story.
WRITTEN BY: John Arcudi
ART BY: Jonathan Case
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: November 14th, 2012
A pair of teen suicides has been causing a lot of grief in a small town. While no one else wants to get involved, a disfigured private eye, named Oxel Karnhus, finds himself investigating the seemingly solved case. Riddled with doubt, Oxel wonders if he will uncover the truth at the crime scene. With no help from the local police, Oxel finds himself in an unlucky and tough situation. As nighttime approaches, Oxel must wander through the freezing snow to discover the truth.
Dealing with a rare condition, Oxel suffers from acromegaly, an excess of growth hormones that causes enlarged physical features and height. Though he’s a grotesque man, Oxel is a deeply flawed and relatable protagonist. No matter how good of a person he is, Oxel is always seen as a freak. Because his mind is plagued with doubt and self-pity, Oxel might not realize the suicides are more than they appear.
If you enjoy classic crime novels as much as I do, you will definitely get a kick out of “The Creep”. Oxel is the anti-Mike Hammer, he is desperate for companionship from women rather than fending them off. Arcudi steers the mystery into different directions throughout the issue, leading up to a nice final few pages. By sticking to Oxel’s perspective, readers discover the important clues at the same time he does.
Jonathan Case captures the silent atmosphere and saddening loneliness that Oxel feels everyday. On Oxel’s bus ride, Case uses wide shots of to enhance Oxel’s yearning for acceptance. Oxel has no one to talk to as he is surrounded by empty seats. Outside the bus, not a single person is around and the mountain range represents how detached he is from reality. As Oxel walks into the dead zonbe of the woods, his radio is completely useless and his lonesomeness because all the more potent.
With the lack of dialog during the dream sequence, Case is able to draw upon Oxel’s constant fear of failure without words. Flashes of Oxel’s past and present crash into one another as they reveal his darkest fears. Case illustrates a surreal hallucination when Oxel imagines what happened before the suicides.
With a spectacular final few pages, “The Creep” #3 provides ample reason to see how the mystery is resolved in the concluding chapter.
Rating: 4/5 skulls
Reviewed by Jorge Solis
Comics
‘Curse of the Where Wolf’ Bites Into August Release With Trio of Werewolf Theatrical Screenings [Exclusive Preview]
Larry Chaney‘s hairy misadventures are continuing in the sequel graphic novel Curse of the Where Wolf from creative team Rob Saucedo, Debora Lancianese, and Jack Morelli, and its author is celebrating with a trio of horror’s greatest werewolf films.
The Curse of the Where Wolf hits shelves on August 7 from Encyclopocalypse Publications.
That coincides with the launch of a theatrical screening event in Houston, Texas, featuring a trio of seminal werewolf flicks turning 45 this year: The Howling on August 7, Wolfen on August 14, and An American Werewolf in London on August 21.
Each screening features a “werewolf in film” presentation as well as a book signing from Where Wolf author and River Oaks Theatre artistic director Rob Saucedo.
In the new graphic novel, “Being a werewolf sucks. Reporter Larry Chaney wanted to be a hero. Instead, he became a werewolf. Now, caught between incredible new powers and a desire to eat everything (and everyone) in sight, Larry must find a cure for his curse. Or die trying.”
“With Where Wolf, I wanted to tell a whodunit set in a furry convention, so the story was pretty contained within a very specific setting and genre. With Curse of the Where Wolf, I wanted to celebrate everything I love about the possibility of comic books. Curse of the Where Wolf is a funny book, in every sense of the phrase, but it’s also an earnest look at a person’s struggle to become a better version of themselves, especially when the alternative is to become a literal monster,” Saucedo says of Curse.
The original graphic novel was previously serialized as the first webcomic hosted on Fangoria before being collected by Encyclopocalypse Publications in 2023 and has already been optioned for film, podcast, and television development ahead of launch by producers James Fino (“The Freak Brothers” for Tubi, “Rick and Morty” for Adult Swim) and Charles Horak (First Date for Magnolia Pictures).
Expect Larry to find himself in even weirder situations in the 362-page full color sequel; Saucedo has provided Bloody Disgusting with exclusive art pages from the upcoming graphic novel that showcase lupine humor.
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