Rating: 
Summary: Mere words cannot describe...
Review: ...how amazing this graphic novel is. Funny. Gripping. Powerful. Usually I would attempt to write a long review but all I can really say is...THIS BOOK IS PERFECT! I would easily place this in the top five trades of all time. Do you think I am exaggerating? Read it for yourself. I will expect an apology in the form of an e-mail. This book simply rocked my world. "Chirrup!"
Rating:
Summary: Mere words cannot describe...
Review: ...how amazing this graphic novel is. Funny. Gripping. Powerful. Usually I would attempt to write a long review but all I can really say is...THIS BOOK IS PERFECT! I would easily place this in the top five trades of all time. Do you think I am exaggerating? Read it for yourself. I will expect an apology in the form of an e-mail. This book simply rocked my world. "Chirrup!"
Rating:
Summary: Gill Hogan
Review: A compelling work that I found fascinating, entertaining, and encouraging. I never thought a graphic novel could be so complex. The story line is great with excellent characterizations and illustrations. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Rating:
Summary: fine work
Review: all the elements of a great work are here:wonderful artwork wonderful story an artist and writer who is passionate about the work as a whole. one of the best illustrated AND written books i've come across in a while.
Rating:
Summary: Truly amazing work!
Review: I wanted to title this review "Why everyone with two brain cells to rub together should read this book!", but I guess that is a little lengthy. It is, however, what I think about CREATURE TECH.
CREATURE TECH is a story that is as fun to read as it is difficult to classify. It has elements of science fiction and horror and action and religion and romance (only a little, guys; don't be afraid!) and comedy.... and on and on. And yet, all of these _very_ different elements come together to tell a very engaging and powerful story.
Doug TenNapel writing and art work together to fashion a graphic novel that is unlike anything that I have ever read (which is, in itself, enough to recommend it). CREATURE TECH is a seriously thought-provoking, funny, and memorable work of literature.
Here's hoping that we see MUCH more from Mr. TenNapel in the future....
Rating:
Summary: Truly amazing work!
Review: I wanted to title this review "Why everyone with two brain cells to rub together should read this book!", but I guess that is a little lengthy. It is, however, what I think about CREATURE TECH.
CREATURE TECH is a story that is as fun to read as it is difficult to classify. It has elements of science fiction and horror and action and religion and romance (only a little, guys; don't be afraid!) and comedy.... and on and on. And yet, all of these _very_ different elements come together to tell a very engaging and powerful story.
Doug TenNapel writing and art work together to fashion a graphic novel that is unlike anything that I have ever read (which is, in itself, enough to recommend it). CREATURE TECH is a seriously thought-provoking, funny, and memorable work of literature.
Here's hoping that we see MUCH more from Mr. TenNapel in the future....
Rating: 
Summary: Fun but flawed graphic novel
Review: I'm really kind of floored by the uniformly positive reviews this work as gotten. While I enjoyed it, and have read it more than once, there are certain glaring problems with the story as a story that no one has addressed. I'll get to this in a moment.
I'm a big fan of Doug TenNapel, even though I didn't know it when I started this book. The Neverhood is one of my favorite games ever, Earthworm Jim was probably one of the best Genesis titles, and so on. I think his work as an artist and designer is unparalleled.
And Creature Tech lives up to this, for the most part. From the cover right down to the final drawing, this is a nice looking book. It is, for some reason, awfully reminescent of Bill Watterson to me, but that's neither here nor there. It's a great story to look at, with real movement and wacky characters and surreal landscapes. I loved it for that.
The writing, however, well...
The main story is fine, it's a pretty neat, weirdo narrative fraught with odd creatures, demon cats and space eels. There were a few moments when stuff seemed to missing (Like how and why Dr. and Pastor Ong went back to the church at one point) but for the most part it wasn't glaring. There were some awkward moments in the narrative, in my opinion, and the none-too-subtle spiritual subtext didn't really do much for me, but all in all it's okay.
The characters were painted with broad strokes, but that's okay too. This is a fun adventure story, and not meant to be taken that seriously (religious jabs notwithstanding), so if Mr. TenNapel wants to drop in a couple of rednecks with shotguns, officious bureaucrats, a crazy caretaker of the local oddities museum, that's fine with me. With the possible exception of Dr. Ong's love interest (which feels a bit rushed and makes not quite enough sense to me), everybody acts like they're supposed to. Oh, except that the villain really seems anachronistic. When he says, "Aw, Suck!" I stopped believing he was a 19th century British dandy. But that could just be me.
The real problem for me occurs on just about every couple of pages. For a guy with such amazing visual skill, he sure does spend an awful lot of time telling us every freakin' thing that happens in the book. I swear, by the middle of this thing, I was yelling at the pages: "Quit announcing in the middle of the action what the heck you're about to do! Or at least find a way to do it that seems natural! This isn't radio, I can see what you're doing right there on the page!"
Cases in point: "He's going for that vent!" "It crushed my heart!" "Startled! I can't control it!" "There's a giant mantis sitting on my toilet." "The ghost has disinterred a corpse!" and so on... I would continue but then we get into the realm of spoilers, and I don't care to do that. To be fair, at least one of those is a joke, I think, though like many of the jokes in this story, it kind of falls flat. Considering how clever some of the plotting and art is, I expected a bit more that Jesus-shaped danishes and lame puns ("meat his maker" comes to mind).
I don't mean to be pedantic. This is probably more a matter of taste than anything else, but I've come to expect a lot from this medium. Not everybody is Alan Moore or Garth Ennis (two very excellent writers in comics today), I grant you, but some people are, and TenNapel, while an excellent artist, definitely is not.
So in closing, pick this book up. It's got great monsters, some generally interesting weirdness, and even offers a perspective on religion (Wow! That's never been done before!). It has its problems, but I've read it three times now. So TenNapel must've done something right.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: I've really like Doug TenNapel and heard about his website from the Project Geeker fan site. Well, I've gotta say that this book is great. The stories really good, even if it does have some religious themes in it. It's not overtly preachy and HECK! It even has a large mantis and chest hugging symbiote! What more could one ask. A definite good pick if you like TenNapel's other works like th Earthworm Jim and the Neverhood!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: I've really like Doug TenNapel and heard about his website from the Project Geeker fan site. Well, I've gotta say that this book is great. The stories really good, even if it does have some religious themes in it. It's not overtly preachy and HECK! It even has a large mantis and chest hugging symbiote! What more could one ask. A definite good pick if you like TenNapel's other works like th Earthworm Jim and the Neverhood!
Rating: 
Summary: TenNapel's Creature Tech is Worth Your Time
Review: If you're too busy to read, this book delivers laughs in an inventive storyline that's fun to follow and provokes a little thought about what life is all about--in a format you can enjoy in relatively little time. The illustrations have to be seen to be believed. Pick it up! It's worth the effort.
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