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• Price: $3.99
• Rating: T+
• Pages: 32
• On Sale: April 25, 2018
• Writer: Marc Andreyko
  
• Artist: Kewber Baal
  
• Color: Jorge Sutil
• Letterer: Taylor Esposito
• Editor: Matt Idelson
• Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment

From the publisher – Grad student Devin Toulson is writing his dream thesis on Myths in American History, but when his research takes him on a journey reaching back centuries, Devin finds something horrifying. Something that crosses cultures, locations, and eras. Something that returns for a bloody feeding every 23 years. Will this young man’s investigation uncover simply an urban legend or will he come face to face with an immortal monster that has terrorized humanity from the shadows since man first walked the country?

Our We Talk Comics WeView – Hmm, how do I approach this one?

When I saw that Jeepers Creepers had a comic book up for review I immediately volunteered. After all, I’m a big fan of the source material and I’d consider reading this book anyway. But I’ve always been a little uncomfortable admitting my fandom, because of writer/director Victor Salva’s  well publicized past. I’ve always held a no tolerance policy towards others accused of similar indiscretions even if they weren’t convicted. Yet here I am supporting a man once jailed, and deservedly so given his crimes.

I didn’t want to get too far off topic here, but let’s face it, I already am, so here it goes (The review of the actual comic book is below if you want to skip this part)… I try to tell myself the man paid his debt to society. He served 15 months of a 3 year prison term and was fully paroled in 1992. That’s a quarter of a century ago, and in that time Victor Salva’s directed a movie for Disney and been mentored by the great Francis Ford Coppola. Meanwhile no further accusations have been levied towards him for inappropriate acts, at least publicly. He came from a difficult background and was at the time of his crimes unquestionably a confused individual. In some ways I suppose he should be applauded as a success story, overcoming his demons to rebuild his life and career.

On the other hand, his crimes are appalling. I know to this day it follows him everywhere he goes and while he has rebuilt his career, it’s still no where near what it could be, and I’m good with that. His actions should haunt him, I’m sure they still haunt his victim.

So here is a new comic based on his creation, and I know he doesn’t own the property, but this is the first time the Jeepers Creepers has been put in the hands of someone else creatively, and I’m betting he still gets a cut. So I’m conflicted, as I have been since I learned of Victor Salva’s conviction well after already becoming a big fan of the franchise.

When Jeepers Creepers came out in 2001 it didn’t get a lot of good reviews from the mainstream press, but true horror fans saw the genius behind it, and there was indeed genius behind it. Especially considering the budget was drastically cut just before filming and Silva had to quickly conceive of an entirely new climatic scene.

The second film was a cracker as well, about as entertaining a sequel as the genre will give. And even the recently released 3rd film is very enjoyable, especially considering it was filmed after a near 15 year break between it and part 2. Like I say, I’m a big, big fan. But these are beyond guilty pleasures, they’re films I literally have great guilt finding pleasure in.

Whew… OK, sorry about that. On to the comic.

The enjoyable part of the book for me was the visuals. Notice I didn’t say art, because I don’t want to focus too much on one or minimize the effort of the other. Both penciller/inker Kewber Baal and colorist Jorge Sutil deserve praise. Rarely have I seen two people whose work melds so well together on page. They highlight each other strengths, and if there are any weaknesses they sure hide them well. The images, particularly where the Creeper is involved, capture the sun soaked northern Florida feel of the films so perfectly it’s almost scary. The look, movements, menace of the Creeper are spot on. I hope these two gentlemen always work together, because it’s magic what Baal and Sutil have captured.

The series is written by Marc Andreyko, and I’m a definite admirer of his work. He’s written some terrific comic books over the years. After a few pages without dialogue featuring the Creeper he introduces the protagonist, Devin Toulson, and he’s a very likeable character. Andreyko uses first person caption boxes as a narrative to get inside of Toulson’s head, and while I’m not a big fan of this technique as it’s been overdone, I can forgive Andreyko largely because he doesn’t use it on every book he pens like some writers do. With him if this is being used I trust it’s because he feels this is simply the best way to tell the story. The dialogue, as with any Andreyko script, is snappy and witty. Overall the flow of the story is strong.

I’m not sure if Victor Salva had any say in the crafting of this story or comic at all. Normally I’d be up in arms about that, after all he has built the mythology and no one knows it or the world better, but given everything I stated above in this case I don’t mind. Still, there is nothing worse for fans of the movies then to see the world they feel connected to not respected, or changed, or introduced something in a book like this that then doesn’t fit into any possible future canon. And given we don’t know the future of the film franchise, though I suspect we’ll see another made at some point, this is a tough obstacle for the comic to overcome.

Andreyko and the editorial team certainly seem to understand the events of the films, but I question if they’re fans. They reference and present characteristics from the movies as they should, but the actual tone of the book is a little off. The comic is also rated T+, and that makes no sense. Maybe there just wasn’t a place in this issue for more adult content? Indeed, anything introduced of that nature, given the story we got, would have felt forced. But this is still Jeepers Creepers. It SHOULD be Mature Reader fare. Period. End of story.

During issue #1 a possible backstory for the Creeper is introduced, and while it’s interesting to dig further into his history, it just doesn’t feel like this is the place to do it. The films have been a slow drip so far as to telling us who or what the Creeper is, but that’s a key part of his attraction. The mysteries in the film series are equal parts frustrating and intriguing. but It’s also a big reason to keep coming back. There’s always the hope that the next film may finally give you the answers you want. And one has to think the only man who really knows the Creeper’s history is Victor Salva, so getting this vital piece of the Creeper’s past in a comic book seems to undermine all the work done in the movies, and take away the need for another.

Also, the Creeper speaks.

I repeat. The Creeper… speaks.

Sure, that may not be a big issue to casual or curious readers picking up the comic to try something new, but to Jeepers Creepers fans it feels almost… Blasphemous.

The Creeper character doesn’t talk. He’ll hiss, but that’s it. Sure there’s a deleted scene where he seems to be mimicking speech in a way similar to The Predator, but it never made it into the actual movie. Larry Hama fought them tooth and nail to keep Snake Eyes from talking in the G.I. Joe movie. Now imagine how Joe fans would have felt if Hama had lost that battle? That’s the same basic principle here. And it’s that type of thing that makes me question the project.

I asked for the opportunity to review Jeepers Creepers #1 because I’m a fan. Now I realize I was both the perfect person to review the book, and the worst at the same time. For Creeper fans I’m sure what I say is valid, but comic fans likely will just be more interested in the quality of the actual book. There’s still lots here for Creeper fans, depending on how much they can get past the issues I laid out. Some though may not be able to get past these things at all. Others may be excited to see a fresh take on the character and finally have some mysteries solved.

I’m not sure whose decision it was to have the Creeper talk or add his potential origin. It very well may not be the core creative team, so I don’t want to blame them, but this hurts the book for me. Still, it’s not just me and hardcore Jeepers Creepers fans who this book or this review are written for. Many readers will likely enjoy issue #1, and I have no doubt the fun will ramp up as the series gets going. So I’ll say this is a 7/10 for Creeper fans, and 8/10 for comic fans, leaving it as a…

Rating: Very Fine- (VF-) or 7.5/10

Review by Mo

Love the review? Hate the review? Disagree with me? I’m happy to talk comics on twitter @Mo_WeTalk

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