What is this book about?

A description from the writer:
“A violent rapist prowls the city streets, while the corrupt authorities, controlled by a wealthy right-wing family, turn a blind eye. From the burgeoning art scene emerges an enigmatic hero — the bizarre, brash, and colorful creature of the night, THE CREEPER. And she’s got one word for the self-serving upper-class… BEWARE. In the aftermath of World War I, the bohemian art scene explodes onto Paris — much to the chagrin of the rich and powerful Arbogast family. Ravishing Surrealist painter Judith Benoir wants desperately to make a splash that will have everyone talking, at whatever cost — even if it means ignoring the warnings of her jilted lover, Inspector Allain, and her prudish sister, Madeline. Amidst the cultural clash between aristocracy, religion, and the avant-garde, The Creeper’s simple cat burglaries quickly escalate into spectacular art crimes, establishing her as a cultural icon.”

This story takes place in 1925 Paris, which as you read the story you begin to understand why. It was a pretty wild and crazy time for people who lived in Paris during that time. World War I had recently ended and people were tired of death and misery and wanted to live it up. So as a result some liberal sensibilities began popping up which really ignited the avant-garde artist movement. This paved way for Surrealist painters to be taken seriously as more and more people were buying this type of artwork and also as a result of the avent-garde art movement women were becoming more independent.

It was a time of enlightenment and Paris was a mecca for writers, artists, and free-thinkers. It was a time of cultural change and technological advancement. An entirely new way of thinking about life and art was coming into focus, so utilizing the idea of what the character The Creeper is makes perfect sense for this book. For in many ways, The Creeper, is the embodiment of that attitude and spirit that was alive in that era.

For those of you who don’t know, The Creeper, was originally a superhero that first appeared in Beware the creeper Volume 1 in 1968. His name was Jack Ryder who was a Gotham City television talk show host fired due to his outspoken nature. Finding employment in network security, he attempted to rescue a scientist named Dr. Yatz whom mobsters had kidnapped in order to obtain his newest discoveries. The chief mobster hosted a masquerade party at his mansion. To gain entry, Ryder improvised a costume from yellow tights and facial make-up designed to look like skin, a green wig and trunks, and red gloves, boots, and furry cloak. Ryder located Yatz inside, but the mobsters detected him and opened fire, wounding him. Yatz injected Ryder with a serum and implanted a device in his wound. The scientist performed this surgery to save Ryder’s life because the implant has the power to almost instantly heal any wound and grant it’s host enhanced strength and agility. Because the scientist was unaware of the drugs in Ryder’s system the implant inadvertently recorded the drugs in his system as well. Thus the whenever the device in his system is activated it recreates his strength and agility but it also recreates the drugs in his system, explaining The Creeper’s odd personality.

The Creeper in this story has no connection whatsoever to the original Creeper, but I thought I should explain why the odd personality of the original Creeper was a perfect vessel to this story.

Why should you read this book?

For the social commentary that the writer hints around to in this story. A character like The Creeper is ideal for examining that commentary. Specifically because there’s that classic tradition of the fool who speaks the truth. The Creeper’s antics really put that era’s issues into focus in this story. She exposes the hypocrisy of those around her.

Not only do I think that this story was a way to speak about the issues surrounding that era, but I think it also has a moralistic theme revolving around the idea of loving people for the wrong reasons. Either those reasons you know about or even those you don’t is something that plays a vital role. So does the notion of taking things too far and having to face consequences you never foresaw.

It also deals with the idea of what circumstances can create an art movement or fad, and just how much validity those types of things have.

The early 2K’s (early 21st century), writers seemed to be in love with the idea of re imagining and re purposing popular characters or themes and telling a new story utilizing the very ideas that made the original characters popular.

Such as in the Marvel comics world Mike Allred took a book called X-Force which was primarily used as a vessel to tell story’s about characters that were popular in the X-Men world. But mid-series, Allred joins the team and says “no, there’s an entirely new way we can tell this story but still using the same ideas of what X-Force stood for and what it was all about.” Which is what he did and it was highly controversial, however, a huge success in sales. There were numerous books that did this and Vertigo did something similar with their Creeper character. The reason writers did this is because you need depth to the story in order for people to relate and to care. A lot of people may have liked the original Creeper, but, the Creeper in this story is someone that more people can actually relate to easier. A lot of the strength of the story comes from the fact that the creators are doing their best to create believable human emotions and motivations. That’s what makes a story interesting, and it’s what readers can relate to. Most people have absolutely nothing in common with a guy who puts on a costume and fights crime, but they do understand anger or a desire for justice. These characters aren’t there to move the plot along, but to tell a story about why people act and say the things they do, and what sort of circumstances can drive a person to incredible deeds.