The Universal Monsters line was meant to be a slam dunk. Bring the world’s most ghoulish monsters into the realm of comics, pair them with young and/or hot creators, and let the horror madness commence. So far, the line’s got a 1-0 record thanks to the really great Universal Monsters: Dracula from James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds.
But I’d be lying if I didn’t share my uncertainty about Universal Monsters: Creature From The Black Lagoon Lives! Sure, there’s an all-star creative team (writers Dan Watters and Ram V alongside artist Matthew Roberts), but the Creature has always felt a little too much like a joke. If he was an “icon,” then the Creature exemplified the uber-tongue-in-cheek tendencies of Universal. Plus, with Frankenstein due out this August, there just seemed more terrifying subjects to grow this run before we sunk so low as to given the Creature his due.
But as it turns out, maybe the Creature from the Black Lagoon is more than ready for his time in the comics spotlight.
It helps that the book doesn’t spend too much time engaging with the original Creature from the Black Lagoon film — or, at least as directly as they could have. (Probably because not nearly enough people have a relationship with it, and any interest in the Creature from the Black Lagoon is solely in what he represents as a Universal monster.) V and Watters use our iffy awareness of the creature to springboard into a story about a journalist, Kate Marsden, as she spends her days in the Amazon tracking down a serial killer named Darwin Collier.
Courtesy of Skybound.
And it’s a generally powerful way to treat and regard this monster. With what’s basically a giant fish man, it’s really hard to make a story that wouldn’t have to spend the entire time in the water. This way, we get a more nuanced and robust story, and Marsden already comes off as a rather interesting lead dealing with her own guilt and trauma surrounding an earlier run-in with Collier. She’s sharp and plucky — like an R-rated Lois Lane, really — and having such a properly compelling lead makes this a story of humans hunting monsters that feels really resonant and not at all the hokey version it could be if this was hyper-focused on the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
If anything, regarding the Creature from the Black Lagoon as something scary but altogether unclear really plays with some of the tidbits from the 1954 film. (Sure, that Creature mauls a lot of folks, but you could make the argument that he was really just trying to protect its home from the invading idiots, like a waterlogged King Kong or something.) That overall treatment doesn’t necessarily humanize the creature, but it does position him in a way that we get some larger exploration of the nature of man, and how the worst of us may not be a gross gill-man. In that way, the Creature from the Black Lagoon is properly mythologized, and given the status befitting a proper monster as this fuel for stories much bigger than itself.
Courtesy of Skybound.
Sure, he’s still a big silly fish mutant, but that more textured and robust framework does wonders to treat the subject matter in new and interesting ways. It makes this a human story with monsters, and we get all of the best of that without having to rely on something awkward like somehow making the Creature from the Black Lagoon a more leading figure. He’s meant to be a force of nature, and it’s good to see he’s regarded that way as this book tries to focus on larger themes and what this creature might really represent in this day and age (which is to say, this sense of unknowable fear as well as some grander lesson about what lies in the world beyond our tiny experiences).
If there’s any downside to the treatment surrounding the Creature from the Black Lagoon, it’s that I’m curious how long this approach can work. Yes, he’s regarded so far as a proper mystery and threat (or something else), but that’s mostly the first issue. With three more to go, I wonder how well the Creature from the Black Lagoon can move in this story that feels satisfying for the character and also respects his specific limitations/parameters. The same very much goes for the core drama: with a fish man involved, how far can our killer run in the Amazon? These are little issues, yeah, but they’re certainly worth watching out for as this story must grow/extend.
And speaking of things to watch, I have to say as powerful as the story is so far, I love the work of Roberts (as joined by veteran colorist Dave Stewart). I started this review off by fretting over whether this book would feel overly connected with the past of the Creature from the Black Lagoon. But while the narrative’s doing some interesting things with what’s basically a white-hot detective story, the art feels very old-school in a really significant way.
Courtesy of Skybound.
When I say old-school, of course, I really mean that there’s a certain timeless quality to it all. The whole vibe or aesthetic here really plays into the specific tone you’d want/expect from a properly cheesy, nonetheless gritty piece of proper horror. Those features/elements do a lot to connect the book to some greater tradition while still allowing it the room to do what it wants in telling a story wholly disconnected from your expectations. (The story may buck decisions/perceptions, but it also still makes for a potentially great horror flick in and of itself.) There’s a kind of minor filth and intensity baked into the look of this book, and it respects the deeply human story even as it adds more layers and textures to it.
But it’s not just that the book’s achieved the proper feel. I think there’s quite a few other decisions made visually here that are equally important. The way humans are captured here, especially when it comes to acts of violence, have such detail and depth that you feel so much of the shock and awe beyond the Creature from the Black Lagoon being the sole source of violence/terror (which works nicely to extend his role and make his presence feel more robust and varied). Their take on Peru, meanwhile, may feel a little one-sided so far, but you do get the sweat and that specific feeling in the air, and having that draws out the emotions and tension of this place and just how much setting adds to and extends the Creature from the Black Lagoon’s whole mystique/power.
Courtesy of Skybound.
Finally, we have to mention the Creature’s design. It’s very familiar and similarly old-school, but with a kind of organic spin and slight air of pulpy romanticism. That really draws out that this is a different take on the Creature, and that fear and understanding aren’t as simple as we’d expect, which heightens the moral vein of this story.
So, no, this ain’t your grandpa’s Creature from the Black Lagoon. It’s a story that’s as much about things we don’t understand popping into our world as much as it is the true nature/scope of evil in the world. That dynamic isn’t just effective, but does wonders to set this book apart at a time when it needs it most. Maybe I’m still not 100% sold on the viability of the Creature from the Black Lagoon, but it’s already clear that the this book wants to use that apprehension/uncertainty to tell a story that’ll reach out and grab us all the same.
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