“Jeepers Creepers” #5

The Jeepers Creepers spin-off wraps up its poorly expanded mythology with claustrophobia and blood.

Cover by Stuart Sayger

Following their short-lived fight, Devon awakes to find himself in the lair of The Creeper praying to survive the night and destroy the creature that has been the cause for so much death and mayhem for centuries.

As this miniseries has progressed, we have learned more about The Creeper’s origins and history, all while keeping up the same vague storytelling that is present in the film series. Writer Andrekyo keeps things rooted in the film lore all while new details regarding its immortality and ties to the Aztec Empire come into light…sort of. As Devon wakes up and comes face to face with unbeatable creature, we are shown a never before seen pre-feeding ritual that, like most of the series, does not even come close to being fully explained. It is disappointing that what could have been an interesting, clever and scary addition to the world of Jeepers Creepers ended up being nothing more than a forgettable and unevenly entertaining story.

There is very little external speech in this issue, as Devon is alone with The Creeper, his thoughts are the bulk of the dialogue. This final issue focuses on what little bit of action is shown. A thin issue that is light on actual story and serving as a simplistic ending, it is not worth the full $3.99 cover price. There is barely enough to this issue to even discuss here. The best reveal is the idea that every single one of the Creeper’s victims is connected to him and one another after death. It is a creepy and unsettling piece of information and it is the only thing that even comes close to scary in this entire series. With many ghostly victims wandering an indistinct void between life and death this purgatory would have been another great detail that could have been explored some more.

Kewber Baal does a great job with the detailing of The Creeper’s face. He truly captures the emotions and great expressions that actor Jonathan Breck somehow conveys under the prosthetic makeup in the Jeepers Creepers films. This detail makes up some of the best work in the book. Baal does a decent job throughout, but as with most of the books published at Dynamite Comics, it is decent enough to get the job done, but won’t stir a conversation at your local shop. I feel like I come down on the artists on Dynamite books any time I review one of their issues and that is not really my intention. “Jeepers Creepers” just falls into the same groove that a lot of their other books do. Decent, but it does not have the impact that should be present in a truly scary horror comic. Sutil’s colors are uneven as well, to match Baal’s drawings. He does some nice work on the characters, but most of the setting and other details like blood and gore are left feeling a bit incomplete. Again, the best looking thing in the entire book is the Creeper’s face. The cover art by, veteran comic book artist, Stuart Sayger is one of the best things about this issue. Delightfully nightmarish. I just wish it was a better representation of what the issue had in store.

This is a mediocre issue at best and it does not delve deep enough into the new parts of the mythos it helped set up. At least it is a little better than Jeepers Creepers 3. This series may work better in trade paperback form, reading it all in one clip, but broken into chapters, it is much easier to see its weaknesses and make note of exactly what could have made it a better run. Anyone outside of extreme fans of the franchise will be disappointed by this. As a fan of the series, I was hoping for a better book than this.

Final Verdict: 4.0 – A weak final issue with a few decent moments that is ultimately a letdown.