Creature Tech

If you had told me that Creature Tech would combine a man's search for his faith in God, space eels, ghosts, aliens (including an alien Jesus!), demon cats, giant praying mantis heaven, romance, and a heavy dose of sass, I would've tell you that it's not possible. You just cannot fit that much stuff into one graphic novel and have it make any sense! Well, for the most part, Creature Tech makes sense and is a moving, fun exploration of Dr. Michael Ong's journey through life.

Dr. Ong is the lead researcher/director of Creature Tech, an institute dedicated to cataloging hundreds of crates of alien, paranormal, and just plain weird stuff. Think of the warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Creature Tech exists in the tiny town of show more Turlock (ah, alliteration), a place full of hillbillies, church picnics, and museums devoted to the campy and mysterious. When Creature Tech opens a crate containing the "Shroud of Turlock," a vengeful ghost (are there ever other kinds?) named Jameson uses it to bring himself back from the dead, complete with his demon hand, and sets his plan in motion to resurrect the alien that killed him... a giant space eel! Yeah, see what I mean?

This book seems like it should be shaky. It's covering a fairly wild story mixing sci-fi and horror. To complicate matters even more, Dr. Ong struggles with his father, a pastor, and his own lack of faith. Science has become all-important to him, though what he sees at Creature Tech often defines explanation through science. Ong himself is transformed during the examination of the Shroud, when an alien destroys his heart and attaches itself to him. He and symbiote must work together and this unexpectedly brings up his lost faith.

I felt like this book could've been divided into a few volumes and really taken the time to explore some of the heavier issues TenNapel brings up. The one-liners spouted by Ong and Jameson are funny but lighten the mood too much. The artwork is excellent, particularly anything involving Blue, the praying mantis sidekick. While I don't think this is the greatest graphic novel of all time, it's one I would happily recommend. show less

While quirky and original, this book was also inelegant and unpolished. The storytelling was often awkward, with sudden breaks of exposition which broke up the flow. The story didn't as much develop as it piled up on itself. This frantic plot movement was fast-paced when at its best, but just as often felt rushed and unsure.

This continued in the characterization. Some characters were allowed to grow gradually, but others remained half-formed. The villain was so ridiculous that he was less a foil for the hero than a plot device. Yet, he was not ridiculous enough to be campy, which has saved other villains (and heroes) in TenNapel's idiomatic works.

The art also had its highs and lows. At its best, his minimalist chiaroscuro evoked an show more exciting, fluid world, filled with both the surreal and the recognizable. Other times, the rough starkness lost the cohesion which made it so evocative. It vacillates between the brilliant illustrations of Calvin and Hobbes and the unsureness of a mid-level webcomic.

The entire work gives the impression that TenNapel is throwing his story out as it comes, unplanned and spontaneous. Whenever he achieves something difficult with his deceptively simple style, it seems all the more impressive. However, whenever he fails to do something simple, it drags the whole work down. It feels as if there was no editor to ground his flights of fancy.

Likewise, the religious subtext which makes this less of an adventure and more of a morality play felt shallow and tacked on. I really enjoy the inherent philosophy of a work, and whether or not it agrees with me, I appreciate seeing authors tackle ideas. However, TenNapel's atheist is a straw man, and though his progression is spiritualized, it is achieved wholly by tangible proof and revelation. The small moments of argumentation were more like Plato's instructional 'dialogues' than real, human interaction.

The wild, far-flung aspects of this book were interesting and amusing, but the specifics were murky and roughshod. While this was, in part, the result of stylistic choices, TenNapel's characteristic flair never really overcomes the sense that this is just a rough draft. In the end, TenNepel's spirituality could not exorcise the devil in the details. show less

Giant space eels. A mummified alien. A symbiote. The shroud of Turin. A secret (?) government facility. All in Turlock.

I found the symbiote to actually be a really clever and interesting idea. Because why not? Maybe it has been done before, I really am not a fan of hard sci fi.

The 7th grader deems this his favorite TenNapel book. And he is the target audience, so who am I to argue?

Doug has a weird neo-Gnosticism all his own and Creature Tech, so far, is the one that is the most there. It’s a funny sort of Raiders of the Lost Ark with space eels and mad magicians. The gnostic elements simply add to the fantastical feel of the piece, and didn’t bother me all that much.

http://blog.worldmaker.net/2008/jan/03/books-moment-doug-tennapel-graphic-novels...

Another great story by TenNapel. A government scientist reluctantly returns to small hometown to work in a top secret lab. An accident unleashes a 300 year old ghost, a technologically advanced alien parasite looking for his next host, and a space eel. Can this small-time scientist save the day.

Funny, off-the-wall, great story, and great illustrations.

Picked this one up randomly at the library, although I had apparently added it to my to-read list about a year and a half ago. A bit scattered/hard to follow at times, but the art was good, the dialog pretty funny and over all a quite enjoyable romp.

Who knew you could combine sci-fi action with deep religious/moral thought and a pinch of snarky humor. Really hilarious. Good times.