By Zack Quaintance — I remember when I first heard about Vault Comics’ shared Cult Classic Universe. It must have been 2017 or so. I was aware of Vault, having read (and loved) Heathen, as well as some of their other early titles, specifically Alien Bounty Hunter, Zojaqan, and Spiritus. It was billed (if I remember correctly) as a shared universe of horror-tinged stories set in the same small town and owing a bit to ‘80s teen genre films (although I can’t remember if that last part is just me projecting).

A lot has changed in the past two years or so since Cult Classic was announced. Vault Comics has blown up, with a line of aspiring creators waiting to pitch them as all-time greats like Warren Ellis regularly sing its praises. Cult Classic, meanwhile, stumbled a bit out of the gate. The first series in the universe (Cult Classic: Return to Whisper) was very good, but delays robbed it of its momentum a bit. I recently read it in full, and I was struck with how strong the ideas in it were, essentially using our current trend of teen adventure nostalgia (lead by the television show Stranger Things) to take a realistic look at how people grow up, extreme flaws and all. The books writer, Eliot Rahal, is also on the rise, having had some major critical success, especially with his Midwestern noir comic, Hot Lunch Special.

So, that’s where I was at coming into Cult Classic: Creature Feature #1, which is written by Rahal (who also wrote Return to Whisper), illustrated by John Bivens, colored by Jerie & Monahan, and lettered by Taylor Esposito. The first thing I noticed about this book is the confidence. With the work of setting the tone done by the first series, Creature Feature feels more at home in the town of Whisper, more aware of the type of stories it wants to tell there. We start with Kirby-esque deep space imagery, space ship control panels, and even dialogue in an alien language (absolutely nailed by Esposito’s lettering). 

The story leans into its visuals early on, with Bivens giving us an exciting and kinetic opener the segues perfectly to a Cult Classic framing device we got a bit of in the first story—the excellent named radio host Rip G. Raves. By the sixth page we’ve gotten a taste of fantastic B-movie sci-fi, an establishing shot of the town of Whisper, and the first glimpse of some of our young heroes. This is something I’ve written about in other Vault reviews, but one thing that sets their comics apart is how deftly these books introduce readers to their worlds without sacrificing creative artistry (which is something I think a good number of creator-owned books suffer from). This comic, like The Plot #1 before it, is a prime example of how to open your damn story and make sure readers have everything they need to sit back and enjoy without wondering basic things about the world and characters that distract from the plot.

Also, I absolutely love Bivens linework in this comic, which combined with his eye for perspective really makes for interesting and varied pages throughout. Bivens doesn’t shy away from drawing backgrounds either, giving his figures detailed environments to inhabit that brim with details (posters, set aside board games, books on shelves) that tell us more about our characters and the town where they live. He’s also adept at body horror (which I won’t say more about, so as not to spoil a key surprise), and, overall, his work reminds me of the all-time great run of comics Guy Davis illustrated within the Mignolaverse’s earliest B.P.R.D. volumes, which is high praise because I love those books.

In the end, I’m so thrilled that Cult Classic is back, and — to sound cliche — better than ever, created as it is by a set of writers, artists, and editors who are among the fastest rising in comics. Simply put, this is going to be a fun place to be scared out of your wits.

Overall: Vault Comics’ shared Cult Classic universe is back, and the mix of rising creators/rising publisher gives us a confident book loaded with body horror, nostalgia, and surprise. What else could you want? 9.5/10

Cult Classic: Creature Feature #1
Writer: Eliot Rahal
Artist: John Bivens
Colorist: Jerie & Monahan
Letterer: Taylor Esposito
Publisher: Vault Comics
Price: $3.99

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Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.