Review by Karl Verhoven
R.L. Stine has a considerable backlist, primarily in young adult horror fiction, with Goosebumps his best known series, so he brings a heavyweight reputation to his first comics work. He also chooses some heavyweight fiction to modify for Stuff of Nightmares.
Isaac and Jacob Cameron are in the business of creating new life from parts of dead bodies, these procured by their collaborator Stella Gregory. As with any new procedure there are few mis-steps along the way, but the Camerons consider that collateral damage, and a subsequent murder is merely a lab accident to them, so their ethical boundaries aren’t as much loose as slack and frayed.
In his introduction Stine fondly recalls the EC horror comics of his 1950s youth, and he modifies their template to frame his four chapters, having a mysterious narrator comment on events. Artist A.L. Kaplan’s influences are more recent, with nods to the graphic reality of Neal Adams, Mike Mignola’s use of darkness, and some Kyle Baker also. There’s an unconventional use of black space in the framing sequences, seemingly without purpose other than saving actual illustration, yet Kaplan can’t be faulted for the detail he packs into those same pages. However, chapter by chapter the art becomes skimpier, with deadlines obviously a problem.
The level of horror lives up to the title, making this a no go area for the younger readers of Stine’s novels, but it’s consistently imaginative. For all the blood and guts, perhaps the most horrifying feature is the homunculus Frankie’s constant cry of “help me”.
Anyone who hasn’t read the 1950s horror comics Stine loved so much may find some of the writing a little florid and affected by today’s standards. Lines like “You’re not squeamish are you? Try hard not flinch or look away” are straight from the Crypt-Keeper’s handbook. So is much else, as Stine gleefully supplies murders, the perversion of science and buckets of blood. It’s so far over the top it’s not intended to be taken seriously, and the dark humour provides a grim delight.
