The Creep #0 Review

I’m a sucker for detective stories, and The Creep #0 has just about everything I love about them: an engaging mystery, a lead with a troubled past (and in this case, current affliction), a suspicious supporting cast, and pitch-perfect narration that never feels the need to over-explain things. Writer John Arcudi and artist Jonathan Case are confident in the abilities of their readers, and this issue shines because of it.

The Creep is about a private detective named Oxel who suffers from a disease called acromegaly, which causes him physical deformities as he ages. An old flame from his college days, Stephanie, seeks his help after her son commits suicide, but she hasn’t seen Oxel since he was young and handsome. While the death of the boy is this book’s primary narrative, Arcudi masterfully weaves in the troubled relationships of Oxel and Stephanie underneath the mystery. At this point, this could be indicative of their connection having something to do with the case at hand or it could just be an added bonus to make us care about these characters. But in terms of just issue #0, it makes the read fleshed out and engaging.

The only thing that struck me as odd is the case of Oxel’s acromegaly; it seems rather arbitrary at this point. Though it does offer up some really nice word/imagery juxtaposition in a beautifully crafted scene aboard a train, it remains to be seen what purpose it serves the story, if any. That said, even if the disease is merely an additional character trait, the character moments it provides the deeply lonely Oxel is much appreciated.

Jonathan Case’s artwork impresses, not just in storytelling ability but also in diversity. The Creep #0 has two distinct styles, one of which is a gritty and straightforward approach supplemented by a cold color palette. The other is a more painterly approach with warmer colors and thin, sketchy lines. Case employs the latter style when appropriate, usually during flashbacks or hallucinations, though its usage in one particular instance is what really sold Oxel’s character to me. When Oxel finally calls Stephanie, speaking to her for the first time in over two decades, Case cuts between Oxel on the phone and Stephanie at home, with Stephanie’s two brief panels being rendered in the aforementioned warmer style.

The fact that this style had previously only been used in an “imaginary” capacity indicates how Oxel still views this woman – a warm reflection of his old, and presumably better, life. It’s a heartbreaking moment that is completely visual and happens during a scene when the tragedy should really be about Stephanie’s son’s death, not Oxel’s loneliness, and thus creates an unexpectedly complex moment for the reader.

And that’s what I really enjoyed about this debut issue. There’s so much weight to Arcudi’s words and Case’s visuals, but they do so in a way that keeps the mystery at the forefront and everything else sitting subtly in the background. The Creep #0 requires a bit of careful, thoughtful reading in order to fully appreciate everything that’s being done, but I promise that the effort is worthwhile.

Joey is IGN's Comics Editor and a comic book creator himself. Follow Joey on Twitter, or find him on IGN. He loves superhero pets so hard.

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