Beware The Creeper
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''Beware the Creeper'' is the name of two
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
series published by
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
. The first series debuted in 1968 and starred the Creeper. This
series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used in ...
was cancelled after six issues. The second was a five-issue
limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...
published in 2003 by DC under their
Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...
imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...
.


1968 series

''Beware the Creeper'' began in the March/April dated, ''
Showcase Showcase or vitrine may refer to: *Cabinet (furniture) *Display case Music * ''Showcase'' (Bill Anderson album), 1964 * ''Showcase'' (Patsy Cline album), 1961 * ''Showcase'' (Buddy Holly album), 1964 * ''Showcase'' (Philly Joe Jones album), 1959 ...
'' #73 in 1968, in a story plotted and drawn by
Steve Ditko Stephen John Ditko Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular act ...
, with Don Segall assisting with the dialog. DC's policy at the time was to give a character a single appearance in ''Showcase'' as an introduction before launching their series. Two months later, the first issue of ''Beware the Creeper'' was released with a cover date of June 1968. ''Beware the Creeper'' was cancelled after six issues, the victim, per columnist and artist
Fred Hembeck Fred Hembeck (born January 30, 1953) is an American cartoonist best known for his parodies of characters from major American comic book publishers. His work has frequently been published by the firms whose characters he spoofs. His characters are ...
, of "bean-counters howere a little quick to yank the rug out from underneath a new series during that particular stage of DC's history...."Hembeck.com: ''Beware the Creeper'' #1, June 1968"
/ref> The storyline started in the six issues of ''Beware the Creeper'' would eventually be concluded seven years later in '' Super-Team Family'' #2, published in 1975.


Creators

*
Denny O'Neil Dennis Joseph O'Neil (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020) was an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retir ...
- writer *
Steve Ditko Stephen John Ditko Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular act ...
- penciller and inker (co-writer issue #1) * Mike Peppe - inker (issues #5 and #6) *
Jack Sparling John Edmond Sparling (June 21, 1916 – February 15, 1997), was a Canadian comics artist. Biography Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sparling moved to the United States as a child. He received his early arts training at the Arts and Crafts Club in New ...
- penciller (pages #12-24 of issue #6)


2003 series

With no obvious connection to the original series (though with subtle ties to
DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...
continuity), DC released ''Beware the Creeper'', a five issue limited series, under their Vertigo imprint in 2003. Set in 1925
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, ''Beware the Creeper'' tells the story of Judith and Madeline Benoir, twin sisters, one a
surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...
painter, the other a playwright.


Plot

After Judith is beaten by Mathieu Arbogast, a man from a rich upper-class family, a woman calling herself the Creeper begins to terrorize the Arbogast family. The Creeper uses methods that appear to be based out of the surrealist movement. The situation quickly spirals out of control as the Arbogasts begin to seek revenge in turn, and lives are eventually lost. There is also a major sub-plot involving Ric Allain, the inspector in charge of the Creeper investigation. He is in love with Judith based on letters sent to him while he was fighting in the
Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Unbeknownst to him, Madeline wrote the letters but was too shy to sign them, instead having Judith sign them for her.


Creators

* Jason Hall - writer *
Cliff Chiang Cliff Chiang is an American comic book artist. Formerly an assistant editor at DC Comics, he is now an illustrator, known for his work on ''Human Target'', '' Beware the Creeper'' and ''Crisis Aftermath: The Spectre'', '' Green Arrow/ Black Canar ...
- penciller and inker * Dave Stewart - colourist *
John Workman John Workman (born June 20, 1950) is an American editor, writer, artist, designer, colorist and letterer in the comic book industry. He is known for his frequent partnerships with writer/artist Walter Simonson and also for lettering the entire r ...
- letterer


Notes


References


Toonopedia listing for The Creeper mentioning 1968 series


* *


External links


The FourthRail review of first issue of 2003 series



Comic Readers review of first issue of 2003 series


{{Steve Ditko 1968 comics debuts 2003 comics debuts Creeper (DC Comics) Comics by Steve Ditko Crime comics DC Comics titles Vertigo Comics limited series