To be continued...
Monday, January 25, 2010
The Creature (Part One)
If you know me personally, or have been a long time follower of THOIA then you also probably know what I consider to be one of the greatest movie monsters of all time--- The Creature from the Black Lagoon! The Dec-Feb 1963 issue of Dell Movie Classic #142 "The Creature" hit stands nearly 10 years after the Jack Arnold film was released, and like most Dell monster comics from this series (see also Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolfman, and The Mummy) is not a direct adaptation of the Universal movie, though the Creature's design is identical. It's a rather lengthy comic at 32 story pages, so today I'm posting the first 2/3rds of it... you'll have to come back later this week for the exciting conclusion which I promise contains much less talk and lots more creepy Creech action!
My brother or I had this comic book, and the Dell Frankenstein, when we were children.
ReplyDeleteI've always been curious about this one. Thanks for posting it, Karswell.
ReplyDeleteTHE CREATURE SEEMS ALOT CLOSER TO THE MOVIE THAN THE FRANKENSTEIN AND MUMMY COMIC VERSIONS THAT I STILL OWN TOO. I JUST READ THEM AGAIN A FEW MONTHS AGO. I LOVE THAT COVER!
ReplyDeleteKarswell: I really enjoyed this one, being a fan of the movie as well as Jack Arnold in general. I appreciated the patience here, the discipline to tell a story well. With many comic adaptations of comics, you get the disjointed highlights. Not here. Plus, along the way, there was some great art.
ReplyDeleteThere is a great deal of character development here as well, lacking in many comic scripts. The character of Dudley Gaustad is particularly vivid. I love when he flat says (in post-code comic book speak) that he gets to make the frogman's sister as Scotty’s price of admission.
My guess is were are in for a slam-bang part two.
PS: My favorite Arnold is Tarantula. -- Mykal
>My guess is were are in for a slam-bang part two.
ReplyDeleteIf seeing the Creech in full-on, head knockin', savage slaughter mode is your idea of "slam-bang" then yes Mykal, haha! Plus: spear guns, vicious pirahnas, Monica in her swimsuit, and a crazy new ending--- the Black Lagoon turns blood red in just a few days, don't miss the grand finale!
>My favorite Arnold is Tarantula.
Tarantula is great, and aside from his other sci-fi classics I'm pretty fond of High School Confidential myself!
Wow, I might even go so far as saying that this comic version has greater development than the film. I love the addition of having nazis come along for the ride. Something tells me the Creature won't be too kind towards their ilk.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite panel in this comic is the last one... can't wait for it!
ReplyDeleteLove this so far, very much looking forward to the rest!
ReplyDeleteAwesome, I'm a huge 'Creature' fan. I'm definitely amped for part deux.
ReplyDeleteGASP! I had no idea they made a comic of this movie!
ReplyDelete>I had no idea they made a comic of this movie!
ReplyDeleteAnd don't miss Art Adam's Creature Feature which is another really good comic book adaptation of Creature from the Black Lagoon too, check this:
http://www.amazon.com/Art-Adams-Creature-Features/dp/156971214X
Wow. This is sort of an unexpected delight. I'd never even heard of this. I love the really smart ways this is veering from the film's story, the new ideas they've come up with for characters and character tensions, etc. The dialog is crisp and mature and tells the exposition without seeming clunky. The people come off as smart and motivated. The Portuguese is spelled correctly.
ReplyDeleteI'm a little alarmed that the story is going to finish up in a few less pages than we've read already, but by now I'm giving the creators the benefit of the doubt. Is the WOLF MAN comic this good? If so, I may very well have to track that down.
Wow!
ReplyDeleteAn AWE-some creature cover!
And then a long, slow tease, building up slowly, slowly, too slowly - we want Creech!
I'm drooling and slathering for the creature now, Karswell! I can't wait!
BTW, I agree with you on High Scool Confidential -- it's a hoot!
Does Wonder Woman put him down? She's an Amazon.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen "The Creature from the Black Lagoon." Might check it out.
Yes, that's quite a cover. I wonder if in a parallel time Capt. Kirk would have to do battle with it. :-p
>Is the WOLF MAN comic this good?
ReplyDeleteI would say no, Mr C. In fact, of all the Dell Movie Classic monster comics with the Universal connection, it's easily the worst of the lot. Mostly because the familiar Wolf Man that we all know and love (that actually appears on the comic cover) never even appears in the comic! Instead we get a slightly transformed man with pointy ears and a widowspeak, and to make matters worse he wears a floppy hat and cloak the whole time. It comes off more like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde than The Wolf Man. Not a fan, and most likely not posting that one any time to soon.
Love that frame of the boat entering El Lago Del Muerte!
ReplyDelete"I would say no, Mr C."
ReplyDeleteWell that's a shame. I guess I won't try too hard to track it down then. But beyond the shifty bait-in-switch of offering THE WOLF MAN and then providing more of a WEREWOLF OF LONDON, is the writing handled with the same mature storytelling panache as we're seeing with this one? Or is it just a crap sandwich all around? I mean, with the proper forewarning, which you've given me, I could probably enjoy a mere Jekyll and Hyde (or, notably, Werewolf of Paris) type changeling tale. If done well otherwise, that is.
>is the writing handled with the same mature storytelling panache as we're seeing with this one?
ReplyDeleteBarely remember anything about the writing, it's been years since I read it but I mostly remember it just being dreadful. I could be wrong of course about the writing though, I pulled it out and flipped through it real quick and the artwork just reminded me of how NOT to do a comic book version of The Wolf Man.