Reader's Diary #1678- R.L. Stine (writer), German Peralta (artist): Man-Thing Those Who Know Fear

Earlier this year I read a collected volume of Man-Thing by Steve Gerber and while I didn't regret it, it was a bit of a let down, especially when compared to the DC equivalent Swamp Thing. I complained at the time that due to Man-Thing's almost complete lack of rational thought, there was hardly anywhere to go with the character.

In R.L. Stine's version, however, Ted Sallis (i.e., the man trapped inside the Man-Thing's body) has not only reclaimed his mind but even the ability to speak. However, he's at risk for slipping back into his more animalistic self.

This should make for a decent premise: a man trapped inside himself a la Metallica's "One." Unfortunately, it's ruined by ban pun after ban pun. I like Marvel's sense of humour, I even like puns (I'm a dad after all), but it's absolutely relentless here and it's quite awful. I went from wanting Man-Thing to be able to express himself more to wishing he'd shut up.

The art, I suppose, is decent and it would seem that some was at least inspired by the Swamp Thing's more surreal moments. It's too bad that it's undermined by Stine's terrible cheesiness.