The Creeper

By: Kurt Amacker
Review Date: Friday, September 08, 2006

Spiraling out of the events of BRAVE NEW WORLD, Steve Niles's THE CREEPER retells the origins of Steve Ditko's grinning yellow antihero. Last issue, gadfly television reporter Jack Ryder a liberal take on Bill O'Reilly broke into Dr. Vincent Yatz's lab for an early story about regeneration using nanotechnology. Unfortunately, he learned where Yatz's funding came from a mob boss trying to go legit with a loose cannon of a son. Said son and his goons want to know why Yatz used the money to create a regenerative artificial skin, instead of the mega-fertilizer for which the old man paid him. Said son is not happy and, unlike his father, he doesn't mine bloodying the good doctor for answers. In Ryder's bungled attempt to save Yatz, the human test subject a burn victim growing new skin mutates and escapes. On top of that, Ryder takes a bullet to the forehead but not before Yatz injects him with the remainder of the experimental nanotech that not only saves his life, but curses him with a psychotic alter ego with visions of heroism.

This issue, Ryder still struggles with his dual personality via an internal dialogue. It finally turns quite literal when he faces the Creeper in his apartment a la the mirror scene in Sam Raimi's SPIDER-MAN. The conflict between Ryder and the Creeper stands as the highlight of the series, thus far. Last issue felt like a standard "science gone wrong" hero origin story. This issue shows more of Yatz's out-of-control monster, along with Ryder's encounter with both the Batman and a third-string antihero-villain called the Axeman. When Ryder as the Creeper sees the damage to reformed gangster Bolo Hewson's home after his mutant counterpart, he feels a shred of pity for the old man and his now-dead son. Vowing to stop the monster and make Dr. Yatz answer for his deception, he leaves the old man. Then, things get ugly.

Niles succeeds by introducing a level of moral ambiguity in both his heroes and villains. However, his usually sharp, engaging dialogue falters here in favor of surprisingly awkward, wordy exchanges. Niles has always shown great skill at revitalizing horror clichés, both through clever subversions of old ideas and engaging, sympathetic characters. Here, he spins a more generic hero story one sporting some of the grisly gore Niles usually offers, yet still fits neatly into a mold.

Justiniano draws monsters and violence with as much over-the-top intricacy as his solitary moniker. In quieter moments, his all-knees-and-elbows, MacFarlane-eque characters look awkward, but his strength shows when the beasties arrive. Like Niles's script, it all works best when you can sit back and watch the monsters tear it up.


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