With TALES FROM THE CRYPT NO. 8 — DIARY OF A STINKY DEAD KID, I see a marked improvement over the revived title’s initial issues. Of course, this still isn’t really the CRYPT of yesteryear you know and love. In fact, with this issue, it’s more like MAD magazine than anything else.
Two main features send up popular young-adult franchises. One is “DieLight,” which puts a well-deserved stake through TWILIGHT, of course. In just a handful of pages and lines like “Wait! See how shiny I am! Don’t you think it’s a shame we can’t be together now?,” Stefan Petrucha’s version has the distinction of being funnier than The Harvard Lampoon’s full-length NIGHTLIGHT parody.
The other, featured on the cover, is “Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid,” Petrucha’s affectionate, kid-gloves take on Jeff Kinney’s enormously beloved DIARY OF WIMPY KID books. Rather than really make fun of the source material, it more uses its distinct template — pencil drawings on handwritten notebook pages — to play “what if?” with its characters. In this case, what if the protagonist was killed and rose from the dead? Well, he’d still play video games.
A third story, the werewolf tale “Carrier,” leans more toward the traditional horror, even if it’s too sketchy to achieve pure lucidity. All of these features come wrapped in fairly amusing, pun-laden host segments featuring the old-style Cryptkeeper and f(r)iends.
Several of CRYPT’s critics fail to grasp that Papercutz’s relaunch of the EC title isn’t for those of us who loved the originals. It’s for kids, pure and simple, and it’s not out to rock the boat with the decapitations and other gruesome scenes of the past. Think R.L. Stine’s GOOSEBUMPS, and you’re there. —Rod Lott
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS SERIES:
• TALES FROM THE CRYPT: NO. 1 – GHOULS GONE WILD!
• TALES FROM THE CRYPT NO. 2 – CAN YOU FEAR ME NOW?
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As the artist who drew the Diary of A Stinky Dead Kid, I’m glad you noticed the influence on my work of the original EC Comics and the early Mad Magazine. They were great! I come directly out of that tradition and try to live up to that high standard. Thanks for noticing. One big difference, though between R.L. Stine’s GOOSEBUMPS, and our book is that ours is fully illustrated and not just text. Think comics, and you’re there.
Of course, there’s that difference. I drew the comparison from a thematic standpoint, of horror tame enough for kids’ consumption. You do good work, Rick.