Creature Tech

Creature Tech is a graphic novel, written and penciled by Doug TenNapel and published by Top Shelf Productions. Elements of the story tie in with TenNapel's previous comic book work Gear.

Fox and Regency currently hold rights to a feature film adaptation which has had at least some script work done by Andy Cosby.

Plot
The book tells of the adventures of Dr. Michael Ong, a paranormal scientist and former seminarian, who is given a head researcher's position at an Area 51-esque laboratory in Turlock, California called Research Technical Institute. In exchange for granting the government the lease to build the facility, the City of Turlock demanded that it be staffed primarily by locals. Ong's task is to open, catalog, and classify each of the hundreds of crates in the facility's warehouse. Many of the artifacts found inside are proven to be highly dangerous and thoroughly insane...Russian teleporter technology, aliens, mutants, even a were-pig.

During what is apparently just another day at the office, the ghost of the evil Dr. Jameson looses a slug-beast from its stasis capsule. Jameson was killed a century prior, after making a deal with a demon named Hellcat in exchange for the power to bring a "giant space eel" to Earth. Jameson succeeds a little too thoroughly, and he is crushed when the eel crash-lands into gold-rush-era Turlock.

The ghost of Dr. Jameson, generations later, seeks an artifact in one of the crates at Creature Tech, the authentic Shroud of Turin. Jameson released a slug-beast in order to distract the facility staff and abscond with the shroud. During the ensuing battle, Ong is stabbed through the heart by a parasite attached to the slug-beast. The parasite detaches itself from the beast and attaches to Ong, replacing his heart, but creating a permanent symbiosis.

Using the Shroud, Jameson resurrects his old body and begins a search for the remains of the space eel that killed him. In the meantime, he unleashes an army of demonically-possessed cats upon Turlock. It's a race against time as Ong, the parasite, and all the human/monster residents of Turlock defend their town against the demon onslaught and attempt to stop Jameson from resurrecting the space eel.

Response
Creature Tech has received generally positive reviews. Publishers Weekly said "TenNapel's creativity and attention to detail fill this book with pleasant surprises and entertaining twists." Ain't It Cool News comic book editor Moriarty spoke well of the story saying it is better than that of films like Shrek, The Iron Giant and Toy Story 2. And a review in Booklist said that TenNapel's cartooning talent "makes a winner out of this crazed romp."