A Cult Classic: Creature Feature #1 (Review)
A Cult Classic: Creature Feature Episode 1
Writer: Eliot Rahal
Artist: John Bivens
Colorist: Jerrie & Monahan
Letterer: Taylor Esposito
Publisher: Vault Comics
What a treat to read something more pulpy from Vault Comics this week. Despite their books being much sought out in the stands, each of them feel like a cult classic, the publisher’s true appeal. Vault’s cover designs are easily an old-fashion standout from comics’ weekly releases, and inside Cult Classic is a unique design in itself, adding another issue to the versatilely fresca styles Vault contributes. We see you with those fire variants, Vault! This week’s alternative offers us their homage to Francavilla’s Afterlife of Archie, another sleeper for the books, yet the original cover has a recognizable black background with its title gleaming in red, a true 80’s horror design.
Flipping through the issue, we are greeted with martians from eons ago in a neon-green spaceship that contrasts the eye-candy purple-magenta and lime-blue pages. These martians dropped an egg-shaped object that made its way across Land Before Times, sinking through the water and staying buried until creatures have long passed.
Sixty-five million years later, in the town of Whisper, radio host Rip G. Raves shares the 1956 movie hit, Night of the Saucer People, during the midnight hour. Below the raging gargoyle head of the neon-yellow QYET’s radio antenna, he’s surrounded by all things macabre in the room - bats, skeletons, Jason’s mask, and other horror films replicas and posters.
You really have to read this book in natural sunlight to appreciate the colors Jerrie & Monahan devoured. The difference in contrast in certain areas of these purple-forward pages allow it to feel like a modern read while its balancing shadows are nostalgic. John Bivens showcases us his talent with the difference in illustration in these two distinct time periods and gives us another style when the fabulously rubbish story begins! Taking inspiration from our yesteryear’s favorites, movies such as The Thing, E.T., Creepshow, Necronomicon, The Blob, and Night of the Living Dead come to mind as the comet’s radioactive waves awaken a sluggish monster to feed on our favorite youth group! Cult Classic is an entertainingly wistful and art-forward book that will make you dig up some horror VHS. If you’d like a break from excessive story-telling and just wanna vibe in 80’s style, don’t forget to pick this up.