Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
The concept behind Sarah Andersen’s Cryptid Club sounds like a lot of fun for a comic book: monsters, aliens, and other cryptids simply going about their everyday lives. It could’ve been a hell of a lot of fun. But as I turned page after page, I found myself bored out of my mind, wondering if maybe I just wasn’t getting some of the jokes. Although I did catch plenty of the pop-culture references scattered throughout the little book, from Lovecraft’s works to Slender Man.
I’ve read ‘Fangs’ by Sarah Andersen in the past and didn’t think it was particularly memorable, but since her artwork is very cute, it’s easy to get a comic-book fan like to me to get her work. And sure, even the artwork in Cryptid Club consists of simple and cutesy characters, all of them going through life like regular young people would. Be it the dreaded siren from Greek mythology, Bigfoot, or, well, just aliens, they’re all depicted as creatures going through their own struggles or dealing with everyday stuff. For instance, the siren has a hard time dating.
Anyway, Cryptid Club is the kind of book that one can finish reading in 20 minutes, but when I couldn’t find myself chuckling at its pages, I stopped at 30% on the first day and then read the rest of it the next day. It was a Sunday, I was in a good mood, and even then, this book failed to impress me. If I had to be really honest, I would give this book one star out of five, but I just cannot bring myself to do that. I think this book does have an audience, maybe 15-to-20-year-old Americans who are very clued in to internet culture and horror lore?
Want a better comic about cryptids and their everyday problems? Try Mark Schey’s Parapsychologist, which puts them in therapy instead.
Rating for ‘Cryptid Club’: 2 stars on 5.
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