Reviews: "The Creeper" & "Hellboy"

The new DC limited series, "The Creeper" (written by Steve Niles, art by Justiniano & Walden Wong), thus far, is a good example of how pretty pictures can't save a poor story.

This is an attempt of updating yet another old DC character into the "modern" DC Universe, and as usual, the writer wants to take all of the real fun out of the book and turn the character into a darker version of the original.

In this story, Jack Ryder (The Creeper's alter ego) is injected with a nano-technology serum which was supposingly created to regenerate destroyed skin tissue: a "smart skin", it's called.

However, when Ryder first becomes The Creeper, it is like there's no big surprize to him at all. I dunno. Say, someone stuck this needle in my stomach full of an unknown substance and I suddenly became this highly atheletic person with yellow skin and green hair and "whatever the hell is this red-thing that's supposed to be growing out of my back", and instant healing abilities of the X-Men's Wolverine, I really think it'd be more of a shock. But obviously NOT to Ryder. He even creates a name for himself (i.e., "The Creeper") right out of thin air when asked who he is. This is all just a bit TOO unimaginative and poorly handled by writer Steve Niles to me.

Also there's this matter of a "smart skin". Yeah. So smart it knows how to make itself look like gloves and boots...and trunks. Albeit that DC wouldn't want The Creeper to have this long, flowing green pubic hair between his legs, but really. The formula knew how to make clothing??? Have I really missed that much by reading the first two issues of this limited series?

Then he tells one guy that he's known as "The Creeper". By who (or is that, "whom")? Who knows he's The Creeper outside as a few bad guys he told that to while beating the crap out of them, and to The Batman in the second issue?

I can see why Steve Ditko is pissed at comics these days.


And...I hate to give two poor reviews in a roll here, but I watched the animated Hellboy: Sword of Storms flick on The Cartoon Network last night. Just barely, however as it was so boring I had a difficult time trying not to fall asleep during its running time of 90 minutes, crammed with commercials every ten of that.

If you're looking for any indication that Mike Mignola is involved in this flick outside of the names of the characters being the same, you probably want to pass on seeing this. It certainly lived up ("down"?) to any expectations I had read about it well over a month ago. (Best to just re-watch the live-action movie again and not waste your time on it.)