R.L. Stine Is Writing ‘Man-Thing’ For Marvel. We Can Have Nice Things!
2016, a year of torrid shits and pain, has at least given me one welcome development. I mean, like, many. But the most recent one is the announcement that R.L. Stine is going to be writing Man-Thing. Now, am I going to read it? Fuck naw. But I just like it existing.
Just yesterday, acclaimed horror writer R.L. Stine teased that his mystery series for Marvel Comics would be revealed “in a few days.” In a twist fitting of a “Goosebumps” final page, the reveal actually came just a day later via the New York Times. Stine is writing a new “Man-Thing” limited series for Marvel Comics.
The horror writer, known for the young adult novel series “Goosebumps,” will make his comic-writing debut with the new “Man-Thing” series. The comic, which will be heavily inspired by the “Tales From the Crypt” comics of the 1950s, will feature covers by Tyler Crook and interior art by German Peralta. True to the 1950s horror anthology style, each issue will also include a short horror story written by Stine and drawn by a guest artist, the first of which is Daniel Warren Johnson.
The new assignment fulfills a lifelong dream for Stine. “My first ambition was to be a comic book artist,” he told the New York Times. “I started doing these little comic books in the fourth grade: ‘Super Stooge,’ the dumbest hero on earth… I was terrible. I had no choice but to be a writer.”Man-Thing debuted in 1971 and is one of Marvel’s leading supernatural monster protagonists. While the character doesn’t speak, he’s played a large part in numerous team books and even his own series. The character’s tagline fits right in with Stine’s horror background: “Whatever knows fear burns at the Man-Thing’s touch!”
Marvel apparently offered Stine a number of characters, but Man-Thing spoke to him. His frequent use of swamp monsters in “Goosebumps” was a deciding factor for him. Stine’s take on the character will feature one major change, though: he will be able to talk. “He can talk and he’s very sarcastic,” said Stine, who noted that the first issue will see Man-Thing travel to Burbank to find out why he’s not currently in a feature film. “I’m going to do a lot of action and a lot of great violence and make it creepy, but I’m going to make it funny at the same time,” said Stine. “It’s what I try to do in my books.”