The Creeples are wreaking havoc across campus, and they aren’t even the worst thing going on at the school. An old cult has been revived and students have been brainwashed. T-Ray, Peabo, and Spigs, along with their professor, fight to keep the science department- and themselves- alive. The dean of the college is beyond creepy; he’s behind the anti-science cult that has brainwashed students. Professor Bodkins makes the mistake of confronting him in regards to the Creeples that have taken over campus, unaware of his more sinister pastimes. Naturally Dean Smathers has to kidnap her, and force her to sit out and watch the showdown.
Turns out the dragon’s blood that was used to create the Creeples can also be used to brainwash people. Just how many of the students in this cult are brainwashed and how many went willingly, we don’t know. But the fact that creepy Dean Smathers can brainwash anyone is cause for concern; it means the entire student body is at risk of becoming an anti-science minion.
The issue was kind of a weird follow-up to #2, where the creatures were set loose on campus and causing a ruckus. In #3, they’re under the control of the cult, and don’t really get much action. There is a dragon, though, so maybe that makes up for it? But the focus in this issue is definitely the cult, which has been hinted at and alluded to but not really dealt with until now.
T-Ray seems to be the only ass-kicker in the group, though Peabo is able to weaponize his stash of illegal fireworks. What better to fight a dragon with? I wasn’t kidding about the dragon. The issue ends with Dean Smathers out of commission, and the Creeples looking wacked out with glowing eyes. Is that a conclusion? Probably not, seeing as not much got resolved. Okay, Smathers is gone, and the cult is mostly dealt with, so the anti-science folks are no longer a problem. Does this mean the science department is safe again? Is the dragon still hanging around, or did it disappear with Smathers?
This comic feels hastily put together. It’s got a couple of storylines that almost fit together, but seem to be missing something. The characters are cliche and static; it’s hard to develop characters in only a few issues when said issues are so action-packed, but these characters are plain stale. Also, the women in this comic seem to be written by people who don’t know a lot of women.
As for the plot, we seem to go nowhere fast. We had something going with the Creeples, and that got stopped short in favor of the cult storyline. This issue was the conclusion, apparently, but nothing felt concluded. It’s like we stopped short, never quite made it to the finish line. This comic was perhaps over-ambitious, and in the end found itself with too much to wrap up.
Score: 2/5
Creeple Peeple #3 Writers: Matt Anderson, Patrick Pidgeon Artist: Tim Lattie Publisher: IDW Publishing Price: $3.99 Release Date: 4/22/15 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital