THE CRYPTICS

By: KURT AMACKER
Review Date: Friday, July 14, 2006

Steve Niles has a side that only comes out every so often, probably during lunar eclipses or something. In sharp contrast to his grisly mature readers material in 30 DAYS OF NIGHT or CRIMINAL MACABRE, he also writes children's horror stories. In fact much of his all-ages stories fare better than his straight horror. Stories like THE CRYPTICS, THE VERY BIG MONSTER SHOW, and ALEISTER ARCANE resonate with an atmosphere of childhood awe in the face of the classic monsters of our cultural landscape. Niles knows how to make you feel like a kid the first time you saw FRANKENSTEIN on television, with equal parts shock and wonder.

THE CRYPTICS feels like a cartoon on Nickelodeon or the Cartoon Network with its scary-meets-kiddy tone. The cast presents Dracy, Wolfy, Jackie Jekyll, Jr., and Sea-Boy as child-sized versions of classic monsters with quintessentially American childhoods. The little monsters live in the suburbs with their parents, they go to school, shoot each other with toy guns, and generally raise hell. I hate to say it, but it's really damn cute. Niles and Ben Roman race through a series of short vignettes with the kids, some of them only a couple of pages long. The comic's only weakness lies in its brevity. Niles baits you with a clever hook, only to conclude with a quick punch line. It has the effect of reading a Sunday newspaper strip. In fact, the opening two-page splash pays tribute to a famous image from CALVIN AND HOBBES, where the two jump off a cliff in a wagon while Calvin clutches an umbrella.

Ben Roman's art portrays the goofy, cartoon-like atmosphere of the mini-monsters very well. Given the lighter tone, this isn't a job for Frank Frazetta or anything. Roman's sweet, slightly exaggerated characters capture an imaginary animation in mid-stride. It fits the material perfectly, and the whole comic goes down like a sugar-rush bag of Halloween candy. And like candy corn and fun-size chocolate bars, you'll finish THE CRYPTICS quickly but you'll finish it smiling and wanting more.

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