"Creature Tech" Review!

Mr. Doug TenNapel, you are afriggenmazing!

I had the pleasure of meeting this gentleman at San Diego Comic Con and made sure to add anything by him to my must-read list. The first of my adventures into his mind: Creature Tech! I had high expectations for this novel, and I have to say, he fulfilled them and then some!

The novel is about one Dr. Ong, a scientist working under a place nicknamed "Creature Tech". I'm jealous of Dr. Ong's job at Creature Tech! He gets to sort through crates of supernatural and unique artifacts/items. One day, things go horribly wrong. A Slug-Creature is set free by a spirit intent on stealing Christ's burial cloth. The spirit is that of Dr. Jameson who was smooshed by a giant space eel back in the Gold Rush days. He and his Hellcat are back! By making a soul-endangering deal, Jameson can avoid judgment and continue to walk the Earth. During the battle, Ong is stabbed. Instead of dying, a parasite from the dead Slug-Creature attaches itself to where his heart should be. The two are cooperative, Ong needs it to survive and it needs Ong's willpower. Kind of a crappy trade, huh?

 As Dr. Jameson desperately tries to steal the burial cloth (after all...it has instant healing powers!), he ends up kidnapping the apple of Ong's eye, Katie and turning her pet into a Hellcat. Ong frees Katie and struggles for the healing cloth. It's a very clever but irritating move for Jameson to throw the cloth onto Dr. Ong. This heals Ong and releases the parasite. Jameson, in desperation, shoots himself in the chest, causing the parasite to latch onto HIM. He now has the powers that Ong needs. When it comes down to it, the cloth is destroyed (turns out his boss wanted it for selfish reasons...he had incurable cancer). A tiny shred remains and Ong uses it to revive Katie's father's prized alien mummy. The alien speaks to Dr. Jameson's eel and convinces it to throw the crazy man off of its back. The alien and eel sail off into space, reunited at last.

Ong gets his parasite back, and has the opportunity to heal Katie. The way he does it is incredibly cute. You'll have to read to find out! I'm not spoiling THAT one!

What'd I think? 

Creativity of Writing: 5/5 The ideas are BRILLIANT. The situations and solutions (such as Dr. Jameson throwing the healing cloth over Dr. Ong to rid him of his powers) are very well thought out, creative, and unpredictable. Each character has such a personality that, although wacky, are very relate-able. The whole idea of having a man with a Parasite rescue everyone and have it be a POSITIVE sickness is insane. Who'd have thought it up? Mr. Doug TenNapel, that's who! I love how the plot flows and how, even at the end, little details from the beginning of the book are tied in (the alien mummy, for example!). 

Creativity of Art: 5/5 The look is definitely unique and definitely Mr. TenNapel. I had the good fortune of seeing him create a few pieces in front of me and I love how his style is HIM as an artist. I'm not sure how the book was illustrated, but I love the heavy, bold, brush-like black lines and high contrast. Another thing that I REALLY enjoyed was the silhouettes. EVERYONE does black silhouettes on white backgrounds, but the use of white silhouettes on black backgrounds was shocking to the eye and a pleasant change. From Miss Katie's "deformities" to Blue's ginormous bug head, every character is unique and beautifully drawn. 

Overall Casual Read: 5/5 I enjoyed every aspect of this book. The plot, the dialogue, the layout, the art, the character development...EVERYTHING! I'm excited to read more from Doug TenNapel and I highly recommend him based upon his skill as an artist, creativity as a writer, and little bits of humor that he slips in.