Like a lot of kids, I grew up loving horror films, and had a borderline fanatical obsession with Stephen King. I remember watching Creepshow – the King-written, George A. Romero directed film – on WPIX 11, one of my local TV stations, during their October horror marathons. The film always struck me as a little odd, and it was only after getting older and finding out about the EC Comics inspirations that I was able to fully appreciate the film.
For years, I had known that Bernie Wrightson had adapted the film into a comic, but for whatever reason didn’t ever pick it up. After being out of print for years, new Simon and Schuster imprint Gallery 13 recently reprinted the book and, with the unfortunate death of Wrightson (and Romero) still fresh in my mind, it seemed like a good time to rectify my ignorance and read the book.
Written by Stephen KingCover by Jack Kamen
Illustrated by Bernie Wrightson
Colored by Michelle WrightsonThe graphic novel adaptation of the classic horror anthology film written by Stephen King, with art by Bernie Wrightson!
Now back in print: the graphic novel adaptation of Stephen King’s Creepshow, based on the 1982 horror anthology and cult classic film directed by George Romero (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead)—and featuring stunning illustrations by the legendary Bernie Wrightson and cover art by the acclaimed Jack Kamen! A harrowing and darkly humorous tribute to the controversial and influential horror comics of the 1950s, Creepshow presents five sinister stories from the #1 New York Times bestselling author—“Father’s Day,” “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill,” “Something to Tide You Over,” “The Crate,” and “They’re Creeping Up on You”…unforgettable tales of terror to haunt your days and nights!
The first bit about the book – and the film – is that it is clearly an homage to the EC Comics of the 1950s. Wrightson’s style always had more than a drop of EC-DNA in it, so this is clearly a case of him leaning into an influence, full stop. Wrightson fully embraces the genre, and does his best to adapt not just King’s words but, to a certain degree, Romero’s visuals into the book. I can only presume that Wrightson saw the film before starting on the adaptation, because there are some panels that are, more or less, perfect simulacrums of shots in the film, to the degree that it would be weirdly prescient of Wrightson to match styles with Romero so perfectly.
One thing Wrightson doesn’t do, thankfully, is try to perfectly align his characters with their on-screen counterparts. There are more than a few adaptation that try to be photo-realistic to the actors, and it always winds up hurting the storytelling of the book. Sure, the Ted Danson character in ‘Something to Tide You Over’ isn’t a 7’4″ long-haired Samoan, but he looks enough like Danson to not distract you if you’ve seen the film before reading the book, which would seemingly be just about everyone.
Wrightson excels most in the sequences that go full-on horror. When the stories begin, his work is fine – he can handle his way around a dinner party scene just fine – but when he gets to fully embrace the horror, he thrives. ‘The Crate’ and ‘Something to Tide You Over’ suffer the most because they don’t allow Wrightson to dig deep into that EC playbook. ‘They’re Creeping Up on You’ doesn’t go for the traditional horror style, but Wrightson draws on creepy cockroach, and constructs the panels like a “Where’s Waldo?” page, with roaches hiding everywhere in plain sight.
King’s script is full of cheese, seemingly on purpose, and the book reads quite dated. Again, this is because he’s trying to cop a tone, and he does a good job doing it. Everyone is speaking their intentions aloud, or thinking in complete sentences that detail their every intention, so it reads very much like a 50s horror comic. King is always adept at nailing tone when paying homage to something he loves, and this is no different.
Of the five stories in the book, I think the aforementioned ‘They’re Creeping Up On You’ and ‘The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill’ work the best on the page, for different reasons. Jordy Verrill, in the film, is played by King himself, and while he handles himself decently in front of the camera, he’s distracting in his performance, as he goes full-dumb and makes his eyes like saucers at every possible moment. His performance has its charms, but the story works just as well, if not better, on the page, when you’re not distracted by King’s on-screen shenanigans.
‘Creeping’ succeeds because of the added tension that Wrightson’s art brings to the story. The sterile apartment looks even more immaculate on the page, and the roaches blend in more fully, so when you notice them, there’s a palpable moment of fear. It also helps that Upson Pratt, the main character, appears somehow even sleezier when his words are written out, and the misogyny and racism sting even more when reading it. So, seeing him taken over by the bugs feels more victorious.
Overall, the book is a fine adaptation of the film which, itself, is a fine tribute to EC. Wrightson is one of the masters of horror, and his pairing with King feels as natural as you’d hope. The book made me want to revisit the film which, I’m sure, will make me want to re-read the comic.
