Comics
Review: ‘Creepy’ #16
I get too excited each time Dark Horse releases a new issue of “Creepy,” their deliciously sensationalized, ongoing anthology comic. This vintage-style, exploitive black & white pulp rag never disappoints, and this issue is certainly no exception to that rule. Turn your lights on for this issue. Because, frankly, I had to.
WRITTEN BY: Ted Naifeh, Rachel Deering
ART BY: Ted Naifeh, Peter Bagge, Vanesa R. Del Rey
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: April 9, 2014
This balls to the wall installment of Dark Horse’s “Creepy” doesn’t pull any punches. It starts of terrifying and moves seamlessly into horrifying. It continues to showcase Creepy’s signature style via classic illustrations, gorgeous cover art, eerie anecdotes, and perfectly peppy puns from Uncle Creepy himself.
In typical “Creepy” fashion, there is no slow build up. We are tossed into a spooky vortex and aren’t released for 40 pages. “Do Not Click,” the first story, written and illustrated by Ted Naifeh (“Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things”) is reminiscent of The Ring meets the Slender Man mythos. Not a lot makes me want to look over my shoulder while simultaneously being afraid of what I will actually see if I look over my shoulder. But this disturbing little tale of technology-gone-wrong had me shaking in my boots. (Seriously, guys.)
Next up, “In the Dark” editor/author/letterer Rachel Deering brings us her signature brand of real life psychosis in “Like Clockwork,” a Norman Bates-like loves story. Both sickening and (oddly) sickeningly sweet, this morbid tale follows a young clockmaker deep into his chilling delusions of love and humanity. Evoking the likes of some of history’s most notorious serial killers, Deering sews together a unnerving as hell look at the modern dating dilemma. Now with even more rotting flesh!
In what feels like a gift from the comic gods, the Creepy Family gives us a comic adaptation of H.P Lovecraft’s “The Cats of Ulthar.” This story has always hit my horror threshold because, well, cats are the worst. It combines several of my greatest fears: cats, owning cats, being eaten by cats, and cats.
“I Hate You! I Hate You!” gets real, real quick. Exciting our sociopathic, Bad Seed-like anxieties. I don’t know about you all, but I’m terrified of raising a real-life little monster. And therein lies the genius of “Creepy.” It’s a mixture of sobering realism, exploitive surrealism, and of course, hellish supernaturalism. This is, hands down, way way down, one of my favorite issues of the rebooted “Creepy” series. Don’t pass up the opportunity to partake in these frightening comic shorts by horror veterans and newcomers alike.
4.5/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – Bree Ogden
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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