Marvel’s resident swamp monster gets a revamped origin in DEAD OF NIGHT FEATURING THE MAN-THING, a four-chapter miniseries under its edgy MAX imprint. That means it should be rated R. That means it is awesome.
Writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa resurrected Marvel’s graveyard denizen/Cryptkeeper-style host Digger to introduce the quartet of tales of terror. They don’t necessarily stand alone, but they don’t necessarily tell a continuing story, either. They do have characters that weave in and out, and all have brutal Man-Thing action.
Man-Thing, of course, is what good-guy scientist Ted Sallis eventually becomes. In the first chapter, Ted is in the Florida swamps with his lab assistant/fiancée Ellen and his partner Eric, seeking to replicate the serum that once birthed a super-solider (i.e. Captain America). Unbeknownst to Ted, Eric has been testing on humans, resulting in some fucked-up mutants. When Ted realizes all that’s been going on behind his back, he has to jump into swamp clutching chemicals to save his hide, and is changed into the horrific, silent, giant, mossy beast with the power to melt people’s faces with one touch.
Chapter 2 involves a curvy young blonde who is raising her 10-year-old brother and moonlights as a stripper in a witch outfit. Some guys decide to kidnap her for a little rape-and-murder session after her shift, but she has other plans. And so does Man-Thing. She pops back up briefly for the next section, in which an amateur camera crew explores the swamp at night, looking for proof of the rumored Man-Thing. Oh, boy, do they find it.
Finally, the marsh becomes the site for an all-out war between a revenge-seeking Ellen, her heavily armed troops and Man-Thing. Guess who wins! That’s right: You do, because DEAD OF NIGHT is a barrel of fun. It doesn’t pretend to be a horror comic, but actually acts like one, with just enough nudity and violence to prove its might without being exploitative.
A different artist handles each of the four issues, with Nic Klein’s work on the final story being the most impressive, because his pages look painted. DEAD OF NIGHT delivers thrills on a B-movie level; it has all the right elements (something the actual MAN-THING movie has none of). The only thing that sucks? It purposely ended after four issues. I could handle 40 more. —Rod Lott
Related posts:
- Night Watch
- Swamp Thing: Spontaneous Generation
- Swamp Thing: Healing the Breach
- Spider-Man Family Featuring Spider-Clan
- Night Life
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Brutal Man-Thing action…heh.
Sounds like a trade collection well worth picking up.
Man-Thing!! Cool!! I remember him from many moons ago and I always thought he was so much cooler than the wimpier Swamp Thing!
Thanks for spreading the word!