Let me be perfectly clear — I know absolutely nothing about the Creature Commandos, their origin, their DC Comics appearances, nada. James Gunn’s announcement this week of a Creature Commandos animated television show might be met with excitement, but that’s probably because of Gunn’s track record adapting oddball superhero squads with tremendous results. The Guardians of the Galaxy, Gunn’s revamped Suicide Squad, his Peacemaker crew, and now this roster of commandos comprised of creatures.
Who are they? What’s their purpose? Why are they creatures? I have no freakin’ clue, but based on the comic book covers I glanced at with a quick Google Image search? I’m pushing my chips all-in.
Check out some of the insane covers here:
Creature Commandos Covers
First of all, my inner horror fan is squealing at the images of freakish armored figures that look like Universal’s classic monsters lineup gone to war. Frankenstein’s beast becomes a fatigues-torn weapon dashing into the line of fire. A werewolf blasts an assault rifle while wearing combat boots. There’s a Medusa militant, a vampire assassin, and depending on varied runs through multiple eras, it looks like there’s also an android or Martian in the mix, plus possibly Swamp Thing (again, my read is based only on covers). One has to assume Gunn’s adoration of the horror genre will be on display in his Creature Commandos show, which is a bit of retribution after the disappointment of Guillermo del Toro’s canceled Justice League Dark. Let genre weirdos inject all the horror they can into DC’s cinematic universe.
Know what’s even better? Frankensarge (my name for him henceforth) and his creepshow cadets are seen kicking the ever-loving snot out of Nazis, and we love to see Nazis get pulverized around these parts. One cover plants Frankensarge atop a mountain of petrified and battered Nazi soldiers, as he hoists a stone Swastika above his head, ready to slam the object down atop its worshippers as it smashes into a bajillion pieces. Another shows the Creature Commandos restrained by Hitler as he cackles atop a podium, with the text, “The Creature Commandos battle Hitler, and guess who comes out second-best?” So, like, yes — I would like to watch mummies and mutants defeat Hitler, bonus points if it's deservingly gruesome.
There’s oodles of obnoxious patriotism on display, which — again thinking about Peacemaker — seems primed for Gunn’s socially reflective commentary. One cover that enlarges an American flag backdrop with hyper-macho Creature Commando designs posing in the blue box with all fifty stars is a riot, half the stripes covered by a hulking tank driven by the haunting jarheads. Countless covers make mockery of battlefield films, like Frankensarge riding a bomb through the air Dr. Strangelove style, or bulletstorms that waste more ammunition than Predator’s jungle mow-down. It’s all so hoo-rah heavy, with heavy 80s influences from Schwarzenegger biceps to older-school enlistment fliers gone bananas.
These are the types of covers that draw me to comic books. Maximalist fantasies that explode off glossy prints. Frankensarge in a full out lumber-sprint, Medusoldier holstering a firearm, Wardog Werewolf in a feral sprint, Draculieutenant thirsting for some blaaahd, all behind G.I. Robot and his phaser finger cannons. No billionaire orphan detectives with glorified tool belts — only absurd creations torn from drive-in movie thrillers, now outfitted with America’s guns-and-grenades patriotism. These covers are a mashup of excessive military propaganda morphed into horror icon cosplay like Halloween meets Veteran’s Day, because subtlety is for the weak.
My inner horror fan is squealing at the images of freakish armored figures that look like Universal’s classic monsters lineup gone to war.
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Like, these covers raise so many questions that I immediately want answered. Why is Frankensarge wrestling lions in one of the earlier Weird War designs? What are the Nazis thinking when they see movie monsters charging towards them with infantry rifles and dog tags? Who designs the later-release wardrobes of Creature Commandos, and is it the Bayonetta developers? As if the superhero group needed further visual attractions than slapping a green helmet on the Wolf Man and teaching him how to aim down crosshairs.
Nah, here the Wolf Man spends hours a day in the gym. He’s gripping a sword, his smile shining brighter than the moon’s reflection off sharpened steel. He’s got a boomstick, pistol, knee pads, and is ready for a fight. “Always ready, always able!” is another military phrase borrowed for the modern iteration of Creature Commandos covers, each one cheekily adopting lingo that sells the action-forward gluttony as pages flip (he says based on the silliest of assumption methods). We love a good spoof around these parts, and Creature Commandos cover illustrators seem to be in agreement. These covers are like if The Expendables were summoned from graveyards, which rules on so many levels.
Without knowing anything about Creature Commandos, and only based on the comic books covers in their arsenal, I’m ready to award Gunn’s series the Medal of Ahhh-nor. You’ve given Frankenstein’s monster an army, Nazis an opposition to fear worse during full moons, and horror lovers a reason to pay close attention to the DCU in the near future (Swamp Thing, too). This may be the silliest feature I’ve ever written for IGN, just like how these Creature Commandos covers may be the silliest artwork I’ve seen in a hot minute. I’m aggressively sold on whatever Creature Commandos has in store, especially if it involves Adolf Hitler getting pounded to pulp by grunt-gnarly iterations of my favorite horror titans. I may not know dick about Creature Commandos, but these covers are sick and I can’t wait to see what’s got Gunn so amped about this upcoming animated project.