Three university students try to save their science department by conducting a crazy experiment. Mistakes are made. Science gets weird. T-Ray, Peabo, and Spigs are the only freshman students in their school’s science program, and because of the dwindling numbers, the department is going to be shut down. To save it, they decide to experiment with regenerative medicine. Cram sessions are had and all-nighters are pulled, and soon enough the students sneak into the lab after hours to conduct their experiments.
This is where things go south, and where I begin to doubt how qualified these students are. They are freshman, to be fair, but even so- they make some really basic mistakes that had me shaking my head. T-Ray picks some test tubes that are vaguely labeled because “desperate times” and all. Which, for the record, is not really a good excuse for science, but whatever. Peabo finds plasma that has a cryptic symbol on the tube. No thoughts spared for the cryptic symbol- it’s probably nothing, right? But then over-tired Peabo spills on one of the computers, and it does more than just fry the monitor. He doesn’t seem concerned; on the contrary, he admits to himself that he has no idea what’s happened, but tells T-Ray and Spigs that they are “good to go.”
Later, T-Ray and Spigs take a power nap, leaving Peabo to watch over the experiment. But multiple nights spent working instead of sleeping have finally caught up to him, and Peabo drifts off. Ominous static and a glimpse of the Gooze creatures, and it’s to be continued.
Creeple Peeple looks promising. I enjoyed this first issue quite a bit. It’s all pretty average and standard thus far, but it’s fun, and I expect it’ll pick up a bit, even if it never goes anywhere unpredictable. The friendship between T-Ray, Peabo, and Spigs is well established, and they have an easy rapport that keeps the story light and entertaining. These kids are just typical college students, and Creeple Peeple makes an effort to show that without overplaying the drama. We glimpse a moment of jealousy, a budding romantic relationship, and a stand-off between bullies and bullied. In this introductory issue, the readers get a fairly clear idea of these three individuals and the nuances of their relationships.
The science is, of course, the core of this story. It’s what connects these three students, it’s their motivation, and it’s what’ll keep the readers interested. We’ve got our Gooze creatures, our science experiment gone wrong; now we’ve just got to see what they’ll do and how they’ll disrupt our character’s lives. Creeple Peeple is a fun read.
Score: 3/5
Writers: Matt Anderson, Patrick Pidgeon Artist: Tim Lattie Publisher: IDW Publishing Price: $3.99 Release Date: 1/21/15 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital