My Rating
“Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives!”
Reporter Kate Marsden has come to the Amazon rainforest looking for the man who almost killed her. Darwin Collier, a murderer of women, has escaped justice on more than one occasion. This time, however, he may not be the only killer stalking the waters surrounding a small riverfront town in Peru. Kate Marsden must now investigate two very different predators before her editor decides to kill the story!
Something strange is also happening among the local population. Corpses have disappeared from the coroner’s office, and the townsfolk seem determined to keep outsiders from discovering why. Kate came to Peru hunting a human monster, but the deeper she travels into the Amazon, the more she hears whispers about something far older lurking beneath the dark waters.
Will Kate finally bring the American serial killer to justice? Why are the Peruvian townsfolk stealing corpses from their local coroner’s office? And what truth lies behind the legend of the Creature from the Black Lagoon? Collect the series to find out!
Reviewer Notes
This is one of the newer Universal Monsters series I’ve been anxious to get my hands on, as I’m a huge fan of the Creature from the Black Lagoon. He is, without a doubt, my favorite of the classic Universal Monsters. I remember my mom letting me watch all those old Universal Monster movies when they aired on television back in the 1970s. The St. Louis area had some awesome TV stations back then, and whenever Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolf Man, or the Creature appeared on the screen, I was glued to the television. Those movies left an impression on me that has never really gone away.
Unfortunately, we don’t get nearly enough monster time in Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives! #1. Writers Dan Watters and Ram V spend most of the issue establishing Kate Marsden, her obsession with Darwin Collier, and the mystery surrounding the disappearances in Peru. I understand the need for setup in an introductory chapter, but when I’m buying a comic book with the Creature splashed across the cover, I want a little more Gill-man for my money! Still, the slow-burn approach does create a creepy atmosphere, and the human serial-killer storyline gives the book a darker, more modern edge than the original Universal films.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that issue two lets the Creature loose and gives us more action in the Amazon. I’m also curious whether Watters and Ram V will explore some of the more sympathetic or romantic qualities associated with the Gill-man. Could we possibly see a little influence from The Shape of Water mixed with the classic Universal version? That would be a nice touch if handled correctly. For now, Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives! #1 is a solid introduction that spends a little too much time on its human monsters and not enough on the monster I came to see. I give this introductory issue three out of five stars.