The Thing from Another World: Eternal Vows 1 (December 1993)

Eternal Vows is the Thing comic I had expected from Dark Horse. Not a direct sequel to the movie, but some lame story set in the “same universe.”

David de Vries sets this one in Australia (presumably because it’s close to the Antarctic location of the movie, but he doesn’t explain) and it’s a murder mystery in a small fishing town. Or dock town. Something.

It’s Paul Gulacy on pencils and Dan Davis does a fine enough job inking him. This art is Gulacy-lite, a little earlier than I’m used to seeing it, but it’s still competent enough Gulacy.

What de Vries does though, in an amazing move, is give the “Thing” thoughts. He apparently didn’t realize if you go into the mind of the monster, you get the converted from Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Besides the gross out horror, de Vries totally misses the point.

It’s bewildering.

CREDITS

Writer, David de Vries; penciller, Paul Gulacy; inker, Dan Davis; colorist, Matthew Hollingsworth; letterer, Steve Haynie; editors, Randy Stradley and Bob Cooper; publisher, Dark Horse Comics.

The Thing from Another World: Climate of Fear 4 (December 1992)

Here’s one thing about comic book sequels to movies. Look, I know you can do things in a comic book you can’t do in a movie, but respect the level of reality in the source. You shouldn’t all of a sudden have a giant monster just because Somerville can draw it badly.

In other words, Climate of Fear kind of limps to its finish. Arcudi gets in a good final moment, something not as good as the Thing movie, but a tonal homage.

And most of the issue isn’t bad. Arcudi’s pacing is great. He takes his time establishing and following through. He just can’t get away with a giant monster.

Instead of a sequel to The Thing, it becomes an awful fifties radiation monster movie with bad special effects.

There is more of that sparse third person narration. Arcudi uses it sparingly and well.

I nearly recommend this comic.

CREDITS

Writer, John Arcudi; penciller, Jim Somerville; inker, Robert Jones; colorist, Matt Webb; letterer, Richard Starkings; editor, Randy Stradley; publisher, Dark Horse Comics.

The Thing from Another World: Climate of Fear 3 (November 1992)

Arcudi gets to the cliffhanger I imagine readers had been waiting for since the end of the movie. I won’t spoil—which is not to recommend the series, I really can’t with Somerville’s artwork. He ruins the cliffhanger. It looks like something out of a Saturday morning cartoon, not a horror comic.

But Arcudi tries some different things this issue—he’s got third person narration, location tags, and some close third person examining the female doctor. It’s not exactly insightful—she’s got the hots for MacReady (there’s a hilarious line about her not knowing MacReady’s first name—it wasn’t in the movie either). But Arcudi’s trying something with the comic, he’s being ambitious with a licensed property. Doesn’t happen often.

As the series goes, I’m less excited to see how the cliffhanger resolves (since it was inevitable) than to see how Arcudi develops the series in terms of narrative devices.

CREDITS

Writer, John Arcudi; penciller, Jim Somerville; inker, Robert Jones; colorist, Matt Webb; letterer, Richard Starkings; editor, Randy Stradley; publisher, Dark Horse Comics.

The Thing from Another World: Climate of Fear 2 (September 1992)

It’s shocking how much better Climate of Fear reads when it’s not about MacReady and Childs (from the movie).

Arcudi continues—for the majority of the issue—his version of The Thing, only in a warm climate with a female scientist as the protagonist. It’s mostly a talking heads book, with the tensions rising among the people as they get more and more scared.

Somerville is still a bad artist, so the book must succeed because of Arcudi’s scripting. He twists the tension tighter and tighter and the explosion, cinematic and bloody, works great.

Even his immediate follow-up is good. But then MacReady comes back into it. Or, actually, doesn’t, because Somerville doesn’t know how to establish the absence of someone in his composition.

Once the confusing moments are aside, the issue has a big chase and then has a big cliffhanger.

Unfortunately, Somerville’s art ruins the cliffhanger’s effectiveness.

CREDITS

Writer, John Arcudi; penciller, Jim Somerville; inker, Robert Jones; colorist, Matt Webb; letterer, Richard Starkings; editor, Randy Stradley; publisher, Dark Horse Comics.

The Thing from Another World: Climate of Fear 1 (July 1992)

It didn’t occur to me until I read the letters page… but here you’ve got a comic book with grotesque graphic violence and still the %@!!$ for curse words. Kind of funny.

Anyway, Arcudi doesn’t do bad with a Thing series. He moves the action to some remote Argentinean peninsula and provides a whole new cast of morons who ignore MacReady (Kurt Russell from the movie) and his warnings.

Politely speaking, it’s an unlikely sequel… but not one without its merits.

Arcudi gets how to pace the thriller aspect and the action aspect. His MacReady is a joker card, able to screw up the predictable behavior.

Still, penciller Jim Somerville and inker Brian Garvey bring a new level of incompetence to how to convey a visual thriller. These guys are silly when they should be serious and cartoonish when they should be frightening.

It’s pointless licensed Dark Horse comics.

Totally harmless.

CREDITS

Writer, John Arcudi; penciller, Jim Somerville; inker, Brian Garvey; colorist, Matt Webb; letterer, Richard Starkings; editor, Randy Stradley; publisher, Dark Horse Comics.

The Thing from Another World 2 (January 1992)

I think Pfarrer really likes The Thing, the movie I mean. It wasn’t as clear the first issue, but this one, it really feels like Pfarrer is trying to make a sequel to something he likes. Maybe because he brings back the Keith David character, Childs.

Sadly, Pfarrer doesn’t seem to get how to write a movie adaptation. He writes these lines you can’t imagine the actors saying and, when it’s a sequel to a movie—with the characters who are only in that movie—there’s an expectation. When Childs’s dialogue is full of “dudes,” you know, because he’s black, it’s ludicrous.

Sadly, while the writing is a smidgen better, the art is worse. Higgins has a lot of action and talking heads to do; he doesn’t manage either. Painted art is just wrong here.

Just when it’s getting interesting, Pfarrer runs out of pages.

And the abbreviated finish’s weak.

CREDITS

Writer, Chuck Pfarrer; artist, John Higgins; letterer, Richard Starkings; editor, Randy Stradley; publisher, Dark Horse Comics.

The Thing from Another World 1 (December 1991)

Do how does Dark Horse handle a sequel to a film unable to have a sequel?

Lamely.

Chuck Pfarrer’s writing is weak all around. Some of it isn’t his fault. Making Kurt Russell’s character talk to himself more than Peter Parker is a necessity. What if a reader hasn’t seen the movie? Too bad it’s poorly written dialogue.

The plot is also problematic. Macready gets away and heads immediately back to the site of the film to destroy it. I thought the movie ended with it being destroyed but apparently not. Men with guns–they have some lame backstory (Pfarrer’s not good, really not good)–appear and predictable complications ensue.

I suppose the pacing’s all right (I kept expecting to the issue to end, but Pfaffer kept having more).

John Higgins’s painted art is wrong for the title and his action inserts are sometimes painful.

Still, there’s worse licensed material.

CREDITS

Writer, Chuck Pfarrer; artist, John Higgins; letterer, Richard Starkings; editor, Randy Stradley; publisher, Dark Horse Comics.