The Creep #1
Written by John Arcudi
Art by Jonathan Case
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: September 12, 2012
Cover Price: $3.50
There are a few things to be said about comics that are relentlessly dark. On one hand, the soul-crushing bleakness of these comics makes them almost completely inaccessible to new readers. On the other hand, however, these are the types of comics that push the boundaries of what we have come to expect as comic book readers. The creators who pen these miserable tales seem to understand that moving readers is a matter of throwing them in the deepest darkest pit they can conjure. The Creep #1 has the makings of a deep and very dark pit — one full of crime, suicides, and slugs of whiskey taken in smoke-filled rooms.
Like any great pulp detective story, The Creep #1 starts in a cheap hotel room with an even cheaper woman. To say that this comic is brutally dark is in many ways a contradiction. When we think of modern gritty comics, books like The Walking Dead spring to mind. However, The Creep #1 in no way achieves grittiness through violence or shocking viciousness. Make no mistake this book is dark and gritty, but only by virtue of its uncompromising sadness.
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