The Gill-man just does it for us. Or Lisa, more specifically. You can have your Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, Wolf Man, and Invisible Man; we'll take the wet and wild one off your hands any day of the week. Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives! And no more ravishingly than in our hearts.

Where other Universal Monsters stem from rich, lurid literature and folklore, the Creature is a far more contemporary cat...er, fish. His origins are chained to the 1954 film, its few sequels, and the morality of that brief timeline. While we've seen artists offer some spins on the design here and there, for the most part, it's been a long time since anyone's properly played in the Creature's intoxicating fish tank.

As part of Skybound Entertainment and Universal's recent partnership, writers Ram V and Dan Watters (The One Hand, The Six Fingers), along with artist Matthew Roberts, colorist Dave Stewart, and letterer DC Hopkins, continue the Gill-man's saga, some indeterminate time after the movie climaxed. Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives! begins with a journalist tracking a serial killer to the Amazon.

We're so darn pleased to have Ram V and Dan Watters on the show this week, talking about Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives!, what the Gill-man represents culturally and thematically, and why we have a Kate this time around and not a Kay. Also, which Universal Monster is the most sexy? We get into it whether anyone else wants to or not.

The first two issues of Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives! are currently available from Skybound. The third issue will land in comic shops on June 26th.

To continue this conversation with Ram V, follow his Twitter, Instagram, and Website. To keep chatting with Dan Watters, follow his Twitter and Instagram.

As always, Omnibus, the Digital Comic Store and Reader, sponsors our Referrals segment. This week, we selected two comic book titles on the site that satisfy this episode's themes. We won't spoil what they are here, but if you click the links below, you'll be immediately escorted to those books.

Other Relevant Links:

James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds on Dracula
Pots and Panels: A Comic Cook Book Anthology

Final Round of Plugs (PHEW):

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Podcast logo by Aaron Prescott @acoolhandfluke, podcast banner art by @Karen_XmenFan.

Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives! with Ram V and Dan Watters

Comic Book Couples Counseling Podcast