Creepshow #4 // Review
Tommy was an officer in the golden age of the British Empire. He traveleed all over the globe defending the interests of the empire in every corner. Then a Bedouin stabbed at him. Damn near killed him in the process. It was bound to happen sooner or later the longer and longer he was on the bielf of combat. That wound didn’t kill him, but it DID get him thinking about death in Creepshow #4. Writer Mike Carey tells a tale that is brought to page and panel by Mark Torres. Also featured is a story called “Face” written by artist Acky Bright.
The concern over Tommy’s mortality finds him in an ancient tomb calling upon the spirit of a powerful man to protect him from mortal harm on the battlefield. Petitioning the powerful being from beyond the grave seems to work, but Tommy gets more than he bargained for in a dark cautionary tale. In the second story, a young woman named Abigail is given a chance to attain the kind of beauty that will make her irresistible in a game that may be an equally uncertain deal in a Faustian bargain double-feature. Two people dream for something more with dark consequences.
Carey’s opening story is a rather clever look at the concept of immortality. It’s an often overlooked aspect of the dream of life without fear of death that can always look a bit concerning. There’s always a possibility of things turning around in a negative way and Carey does a good job of framing the potential horror of life without end. Bright has a rather novel and allegorical look at the problems of beauty that feels particularly horrifying in its own right. It’s a fascinating perspective on potential dangers that feels remarkably interesting on a few different levels.
The dark aspects of war have been brought to the comcis page dfor decades now. The golden age of the British Empire IS, however, an era that isn’t often explored in dark fiction on the comics page, though. Torress is given tyhe opportunity to do some pretty remarkable stuff by simply presenting the ranks of British soldiers and the dark, dehumanizing nature of that kind of war. Pretty remarkable stuff. Bright’s work in the sceond story feels remarkably crisp in its own way. The basics of the visual of Abigail’s affliction is remarkably vivid throughout the second story. The horror and terror can be read quite vividly in the faces of both Abigail and Nancy. It’s remarkably dark dstuff.
With its simple and clean presentation of a couple of well-realized horror concepts, Creepshow #6 might be one of hte better issues in the series thus far...and also might be one of the strongest pairs of stories ever to be presented for the franchise in any format. It can be very, very difficult to find the right kind of flash fiction to place into the comic book format without making it feel too rushed. The sixth issue of the current series is remarkably sharp.
