Superheroes and vampires collide in ‘Super Creepshow’ #2, the latest issue in the series helmed by industry icons Marv Wolfman and Gerry Duggan.
If the debut issue of Super Creepshow proved anything, from Kieron Gillen’s skin-crawling spider-body-horror to Ryan North’s nightmare vision of super-speed, it’s that superhero storytelling and horror lend themselves to one hell of a blend. The anthology has now returned for its sophomore issue, penned my two more industry titans: Gerry Duggan (Deadpool) offers a biting story on the danger of influencer heroes, while legendary Tomb of Dracula scribe Marv Wolfman returns to the shadows of vampire storytelling.
Following the release of Super Creepshow #2, we recently caught up with the issue’s creative team to discuss their top-tier short stories. In Gerry Duggan‘s story, we follow The Keg, a superhero based in the Twin Cities, who has a long-standing feud with his super-intelligent arch-nemesis The Scholar. The story is a commentary on influencer culture, wrapped up in a brilliantly ‘creepified’ plot. “It’s always fun to swing superheroes into horror, I think many of my best superhero collaborations are also horror stories, especially my first rodeo with Pepe on Uncanny Avengers, and late the entirety of Savage Avengers with a cannibal wizard,” Duggan said. “This short was a delight and a special chance to drop superheroes into the world outside our window, which is pretty horrifying of late.”
Of course, the hero is only as good as the villain, especially for Creepshow. “Everyone deserves a great nemesis — it turns out the Scholar was just deeper inside the Keg than he knew at first.”
In his story, our protagonist The Keg is not all what he’s cracked up to be — but we’re not spoiling things here. “I think really it was the concept of our hero the Keg, and his secret,” he explains, “but it’s definitely something he felt would affect his ability to net endorsement deals. It was also because Ben was also excited to work with Scott Buoncristiano – and I asked to tailor this story for him. He’s such a talent.”
This story certainly feels like a not-so-subtle commentary on influencer culture. “Short answer: yes,” Duggan says. “He also was a man of privilege who seems to get away with collateral. He has an ‘oopsie’ on page one, and it results in a death. He’s not even reprimanded.”
For Duggan, the biggest catalyst for this story coming together was the opportunity of working with Scott Buoncristiano. “Scott was the only one I imagined for this – I really did it write it with him in mind — few artists can do as many things well as Scott. His pacing/composition/storytelling and his characters’ acting — all top notch. I told him this story – and he told our readers the best version of it.”
With Super Creepshow being an anthology series, Duggan had to master the art of telling a complete story in just a few pages. He achieves it with ease, introducing a new superhero universe with intriguing central characters. “I think you just have to come in mid-way and give folks exactly what they need to enjoy the short,” he says. “Ten pages isn’t a lot, but after over 500 comics, I’ve gotten pretty good at hitting the ground running. I’ve gotten some lovely feedback.”
As for Marv Wolfman‘s tale, he harkens back to a genre he knows better than most — look no further than The Tomb of Dracula, a series that introduced Blade. In his Super Creepshow short story, he tackles a story that’s been weighing on his mind for quite some time.
“I actually addressed that question a couple of decades ago in the comic Team Titans where one of the Team was a vampire,” he said. “I wanted to further explore that idea. It’s always interesting to approach ideas from different directions. In Team the answer was yes, a vampire can become a hero. In Super Creepshow the answer was no.”
Perhaps if Super Creepshow continues long enough, he’d be interested in continuing the story. “It might be fun to write a third variant where a vampire has no control over what he becomes and is at war with himself.”
Wolfman wrote the script for his story before artist Michele Rubini was assigned to the project. When Michele drew up pages, Wolfman was taken aback by how good they looked. “Michele’s art blew me away,” he said. “It is gorgeous. His drawing skills are among the very best I’ve ever seen. And his storytelling is pitch perfect. I would absolutely love to work with him again. I wrote this story as a full script before I knew who the artist was going to be but I’d love to come up with a story designed especially for him.”
Super Creepshow #2 is available now from Skybound Entertainment. Buy your copy here.
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