By Ariel Baska — As an ardent fan of John Bivens’s work on Spread, how could I pass up an opportunity to check out his new work on Cult Classics: Creature Feature? In this work, he applies his unique style to a tale of the town of Whisper, where the same aliens who wiped out the dinosaurs happened to submerge a mysterious capsule.

The narrative is structured around the local television station of QYET that screens 1950’s sci-fi monster movies, and our first human contact in the issue is with Rip G. Raves, a foul-mouthed host styled after Vincent Price (I have to admit, his regular profanity kept me giggling quite a bit). While many other characters appear in this narrative that rapidly switches perspectives in a large cast of characters, Graves as drawn and written feels so recognizable and so distinct at the same time, that my brain processed him as the protagonist.

The back of the book, though, and probably some modicum of common sense tells me that this is not the case, but the narrative thrust hurtles forward with so much momentum there is hardly time to really get to know anyone else as a full person. The nature of the storytelling can give you a bit of motion sickness as you veer from one setting to another, but the fidelity to 1950’s tropes with 2020 editing feels intentional and earned.

And then there are the creatures. Bivens gets to display his toothsome talents to full effect in the form of a fleshy, ooky, and altogether invasive species. His line drawings convey the deliciously pulpy elements we’ve come to expect from so-bad-they’re-good cult classics like The Blob, but better. The creatures are given brilliant, poppy colors by Hannah Jerrie and Iris Monahan, who give this retro-fitted vision of our times contrasting hues that recall the monochromatic television broadcasts of The Twilight Zone and its ilk.

The lettering in this series is extraordinary as well. Taylor Esposito creates an alien language script for Eliot Rahal’s words that fascinated me as I attempted to decode it. A fitting easter egg if you can manage it. Plus, on top of all the usual lettering duties, Esposito’s letters give unique voicing to emphasize the otherness or bossiness of certain characters, and the effect works well in this world. 

Overall:  An irreverent and satisfying take on the science fiction tropes of the 1950’s, with deliciously pulpy artwork and creatures that chase your fingers across each page. Move over Kang and Kodos. 9.7/10

Cult Classic - Creature Feature

Cult Classic Creature Feature
Writer: Eliot Rahal
Artist: John Bivens
Colorist: Hannah Jerrie and Iris Monahan
Letterer: Taylor Esposito
Publisher: Vault Comics
Eons ago, visitors from outer space buried an item of unimaginable power in the primordial swamps that would one day become King Lake--a quaint little basin on the edge of Whisper, USA. Millions of years later, a comet's radioactive waves awaken the monster slumbering beneath the lake. As the beast feeds on America's sweet, delicious youth, brain-slugs infect the quiet town, causing victims to vomit up their kill-hungry, zombified skeletons. But for seventeen-year-old Jarrod Parker, none of that stuff matters much. For him, this isn't about the Apocalypse. It's about payback. Nothing--not his friends, not the undead, not even the end of the world--will keep him from vengeance.
Released: August 2020
Buy It Here: Cult Classic Creature Feature

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Ariel Baska pretends to know many things. And yeah, she has a pop culture podcast, Ride the Omnibus. Which may or may not be exactly as pretentious as you think.