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Cult Classic: Creature Feature #1-5
Cult Classic: Creature Feature
Jarrod Parker was the perfect teenager. Until the million-year-old monster in King Lake killed his little brother. Now Jarrod only cares about one thing: sweet revenge. He'll face down friends, zombies, even the end of the world to get it.
NOTHING—NOT FRIENDS, NOT ZOMBIE SKELETONS, NOT THE END OF THE WORLD—WILL KEEP JARROD PARKER FROM REVENGE.
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.
Collects the complete five issue series.
NOTHING—NOT FRIENDS, NOT ZOMBIE SKELETONS, NOT THE END OF THE WORLD—WILL KEEP JARROD PARKER FROM REVENGE.
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.
Collects the complete five issue series.
144 pages, Paperback
First published August 25, 2020
32 people want to read
About the author
Eliot Rahal
130 books10 followersEliot Rahal is a comic book and screen writer/creator.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 31, 2021
Your classic monster movie of the week. It really takes on that 50's B-movie feel. Like one of those old movies you can't expect it all to make sense. It does borrow from the 80's movie, Night of the Creeps, as well. I just wish the art had been cleaner.
March 27, 2021
This was so much fun.
I admit I found the pacing a little shaky, but the art and the story just dove into the midnight-creature-feature vibe so hard it completely made up for it. The cast is large, but I found that it never really fell into an uncontrolled sprawl; the plotlines were coherent, and I found it pretty easy to distinguish between characters. I would have loved to see more of some of them, but I respect that there were only five issues.
And the monsters. Oh, damn, that was just... they were clearly designed, and the 'rules' were coherent, and generally all the mechanics got the heck out of the way of the B-movie vibe.
I would revisit Whisper in a heartbeat, and am off to get my hands on Cult Classic: Return to Whisper Vol. 1 (Cult Classic: Return to Whisper.
I admit I found the pacing a little shaky, but the art and the story just dove into the midnight-creature-feature vibe so hard it completely made up for it. The cast is large, but I found that it never really fell into an uncontrolled sprawl; the plotlines were coherent, and I found it pretty easy to distinguish between characters. I would have loved to see more of some of them, but I respect that there were only five issues.
And the monsters. Oh, damn, that was just... they were clearly designed, and the 'rules' were coherent, and generally all the mechanics got the heck out of the way of the B-movie vibe.
I would revisit Whisper in a heartbeat, and am off to get my hands on Cult Classic: Return to Whisper Vol. 1 (Cult Classic: Return to Whisper.
August 24, 2020
First book read for #summerween :)
October 24, 2021
Great horror art and story. Fun Halloween time read.
May 27, 2020
"Why did any of this happen?"
It's never a good thing when that's your story's final line. If the characters (or writer) couldn't figure out a good reason for the events leading to the ending, then why should the reader? I know the line was uttered partially as a joke and partially in final bitter frustration by the character, but it still left an unfulfilling taste to me.
That said, this might stratch a particular itch for old school schlock horror fans, which is why it's under the umbrella title "Cult Classic." Loads of those horror movies weren't looking to tell strong stories with well developed characters. Nor were they trying to impart any sort of message or meaning, beyond something hazy like "atomic weapons are bad" or "humans are the real monster." Cult Classic: Creature Feature is totally in that vein, and if that's what you want from your horror, then go for this.
The horror in this story really reminded me of the 2006 body horror film Slither . That movie, in turn, was a pastiche of many 1980s horror movies. So, movies like Slither and Cabin in the Woods have spoiled me by subverting the old tropes and often offering a meta-commentary on the material. Cult Classic: Creature Feature, on the other hand, is a straight homage with no updates.
It's actually a little unclear when this story takes place given the low tech on display. That makes it feel much more like a 1980s horror.
I didn't really connect with any of the characters. So the piles of dead bodies didn't land emotionally for me. Granted, many of those characters are presented as unlikable on purpose, so it's a little cathartic to see their demises. But I guess I've had my fill of that type of death in horror.
The final sequence at King Lake was very hard to decipher with confusing panel layouts and too dark a color palette. It was also unclear if the sacrifice actually worked.
I actually didn't realize I was subscribed to this series since I didn't really enjoy the first issue of the previous Cult Classic series from Vault Comics. I should have cut my losses and skipped this one.
It's never a good thing when that's your story's final line. If the characters (or writer) couldn't figure out a good reason for the events leading to the ending, then why should the reader? I know the line was uttered partially as a joke and partially in final bitter frustration by the character, but it still left an unfulfilling taste to me.
That said, this might stratch a particular itch for old school schlock horror fans, which is why it's under the umbrella title "Cult Classic." Loads of those horror movies weren't looking to tell strong stories with well developed characters. Nor were they trying to impart any sort of message or meaning, beyond something hazy like "atomic weapons are bad" or "humans are the real monster." Cult Classic: Creature Feature is totally in that vein, and if that's what you want from your horror, then go for this.
The horror in this story really reminded me of the 2006 body horror film Slither . That movie, in turn, was a pastiche of many 1980s horror movies. So, movies like Slither and Cabin in the Woods have spoiled me by subverting the old tropes and often offering a meta-commentary on the material. Cult Classic: Creature Feature, on the other hand, is a straight homage with no updates.
It's actually a little unclear when this story takes place given the low tech on display. That makes it feel much more like a 1980s horror.
I didn't really connect with any of the characters. So the piles of dead bodies didn't land emotionally for me. Granted, many of those characters are presented as unlikable on purpose, so it's a little cathartic to see their demises. But I guess I've had my fill of that type of death in horror.
The final sequence at King Lake was very hard to decipher with confusing panel layouts and too dark a color palette. It was also unclear if the sacrifice actually worked.
I actually didn't realize I was subscribed to this series since I didn't really enjoy the first issue of the previous Cult Classic series from Vault Comics. I should have cut my losses and skipped this one.
June 27, 2023
This is a perfectly adequate sci-fi horror, built on a mash-up of classic tropes. The book is a very fast read.
UFOs drop an object to Earth that creates the K-T extinction event. 65 million years later a meteor wakes the giant creature inside. It spawns palm-sized slugs that infect humans, eventually causing them to shed their skin and go on as kill-crazed skeletons. A small group of survivors work together to uncover a conspiracy and a way to end the craziness.
After all that happens it just feels like it ends abruptly. The art style is mostly fine, although it took a character talking about school or ages for me to realise some characters were meant to be teenagers and not adults.
UFOs drop an object to Earth that creates the K-T extinction event. 65 million years later a meteor wakes the giant creature inside. It spawns palm-sized slugs that infect humans, eventually causing them to shed their skin and go on as kill-crazed skeletons. A small group of survivors work together to uncover a conspiracy and a way to end the craziness.
After all that happens it just feels like it ends abruptly. The art style is mostly fine, although it took a character talking about school or ages for me to realise some characters were meant to be teenagers and not adults.
April 9, 2025
Sigh... At the beginning of this zany take on a B movie, this crazy fun was going to get a 5! Aliens, brain slugs (reminded me quite a bit of Night of the Creeps), late night TV host, teenagers, brainiac teenage science whiz (reminded me of village of the giants) but then... A weak rushed ending did it in. 3 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2023
Loved, loved, loved the homage to creature features and horror B-movies. Given the story employs an ensemble from the beginning, there’s little time afforded to flesh any of the characters out. Because of that, the story latches onto the shock and awe of body horror to lurch itself forward.
August 15, 2020
Aliens and monsters to take you back to the days of Creature Double Feature. Great fun!
April 9, 2023
A meteor unleashes monsters from a lake to attack a small town. I don't know if it was the material or my mood but I couldn't get into this one.
November 30, 2021
A pretty fun monster from outer space story that plays like a mash up of Night of the Creeps, the body horror of The Thing, and features the small suburban town of a slasher film. It has some fun characters, some great gross out moments, and plenty of heart
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews