It’s definitely fair to say that the Gillman, the titular Creature From The Black Lagoon himself, is my favourite of the Universal Monsters, hands down.

I first became obsessed with the Gillman back in 1993, when a Creature From The Black Lagoon pinball machine was installed in the glorious alley of up to date, exciting new tables at Fun Land, in London’s Trocadero centre.

I spent an awful lot of time and money playing that machine, which kickstarted my fascination with the creature.

That same year, it was clear that the Gillman was swimming his way back into pop culture waters.

Comic book creator Arthur Adams created a gorgeous, 50 page adaptation of the original 1954 movie, and there were whispers that John Carpenter would be remaking the film too.

Soon after, I attended a 50s nostalgia night at the wonderful Prince Charles Cinema just off Leicester Square in London; like Fun Land, this was one of my regular haunts as a teenager.

That night, I got to see Creature From The Black Lagoon on the big screen in old school 3D, just as it would have originally been seen 40 years beforehand.

And it remains one of my favourite monster movies ever.

So seeing it get a proper, official comic book sequel (let’s not talk about its two movie sequels, even though one of them very briefly features a young Clint Eastwood, eh?) was very exciting.

Could it live up to the hype, or the excitement generated by that beautiful cover?

Spoiler: yes, it most definitely could.

Journalist Kate Marsden is haunted by a traumatic experience that she just can’t let go, leading to her tracking a killer, Darwin Collier, to Peru, in order to finally expose him and get the closure she desperately needs.

Yet she encounters something potentially much more monstrous than even Collier himself…

Writers Dan Watters and Ram V have crafted a super first issue here, with a brilliantly compelling lead and a very clever way to introduce us, or rather re-introduce us, to the Gillman.

The main plot is very well handled, with lots of nice foreshadowing of the creature itself; dotted throughout the issue’s art, by Matthew Roberts, are little hints of his appearance.

Leading up to our first sighting of the creature is a brilliantly tense sequence, with clever use of distance and shadows; there really are some stunningly crafted scenes here.

Dave Stewart’s understated colours do a great job of creating a murky, stifling atmosphere too; especially when we head away from the town and into the wilderness.

All in all, it gets this new series off to an absolutely fantastic start, and I can’t wait to read more as further issues emerge.

The Creature From The Black Lagoon Lives, and thank goodness he’s back.

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