#deep trouble

The Haunted Mask: There is no competing with Jacobus' original work, it was perfect to a T. So, instead I looked at Brandon Robert's version, where Carly Beth is chasing two trick-or-treaters. the only issue I had with Robert's version was that the Haunted Mask itself didn't appear to be the main focal point. So, I had the trick-or-treaters face away from us, have the mask and Carly Beth be in the center, with the moon highlighting the mask in the background.

Also, the trick-or-treaters' costumes are inspired by what me and my childhood friend would wear.

Be Careful What You Wish For...: I think I always knew that it was gonna look like this. Having poor Samantha trapped inside a crystal ball, as it cracks and weird smoke pools out. Also, I wanted Clarissa to be appear to have unknown motives.

Sidenote: In order to make Samantha appear trapped, I took a photo of the finished profile drawing, then applied a red Instagram filter over it.

Piano Lessons Can Be Murder: For a decent book, I'm a bit disappointed that any cover of this, always spoils the biggest twist in the book. So, I tried to do my own personal take, with a wooden piano playing itself, and ghost peering from within. I think I did alright. There's some Easter eggs if you look closely.

The Werewolf of Fever Swamp: Honestly, not much to this one. I drew a werewolf in a swamp, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Though, I did improve improve in drawing canine details and such. BTW, this wasn't intentional, but the shirts that Grady and Will wear blend in with their own backgrounds. Again, unintentional.

You Can't Scare Me!: Mixed feelings about this one. This one had the most detailed line-art out of all of them. The green sticks out a bit too much, while the brown almost blends in with the orange, even without the scanner screw-ups. Not to mention the non-existent yellows that now look orange.

But now the things I do like. I gave the Swamp people their own skeleton, with wooden sticks and twigs being their bones, ribs and their teeth. You can barely see it, but they're there. Also, the last names for the kids are once again original by me, except Courtney she has a last name in the episode.

Eddie and Hat's last names are based on Mel Blanc and Eric Bauza, voice actors of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.

One Day At HorrorLand: Please believe me when I say the yellows are much prominent on paper. Anyways, I had a lot of fun working this, for I have a personal fondness for amusement parks. The Horror is the piece is actually based the Devil from Devil's Flight, a roller coaster in the movie Final Destination 3.

Other fun things to note: Luke's attire is based on Daisuke from the hit game, Mouthwashing.

Clay's last name is orignal and is based on a inside joke, not Tenna from Deltarune.

Why I'm Afraid Of Bees: I don't want to sound like a broken record, so I won't say anything about the yellows, even though I wan to. I will say something about the greens, they are NOT supposed to be that bright. They're supposed to blend in with the shadows. But...whatever.

Other covers always just Gary's head plastered onto the body of a bee, which is fine, but it gets a little old. So, I did the inverse of it: Have a bee's head on Gary's body, 1950's The Fly. I'm actually not the only one who's tried this: peep VionRejeckOnom.

Monster Blood 2: Ah, Goosebumps' first sequel novella. Which means returning characters. I'd like to imagine that Evan got a haircut while Andy grew her hair out more, with some color touch-ups.

And Cuddles, the Monster Blood-infused hamster kaiju. Now, he's no longer trapped with the tiny wire-frame cage, and has now burst out standing tall on his two hind legs. Hamster-zilla style. Also, try to figure out what the atom is on the blackboard.

Deep Trouble: Very happy with this scan, a bit brighter, but not too different with the colors. Other than that, I actually had some trouble with coming up with what to draw. I had ideas ranging from a Jaws parody, to shark-shaped rocks, and of course a sea monster.

Finally, I landed on the idea that showcases both the hammerhead shark and a sea-creature's hand. Don't wanna spoil anything, but let's say that they have good singing voices.

The Scarecrow Walks At Midnight: I really like scarecrows, so I tried to do my best with this one. So, I gave the guy a cross to be tied to, and a rope wrapped around his neck. While I wanna say I'm proud, I worry that it looks too similar to Jonathan Crane from Batman. But I am proud of the crows and the corn. Also, the moon acting as a glowing halo once again is nice.

First, the Plot:

William Deep III (aka Billy) is a famous deep-sea explorer! Well, no, actually he's an overly imaginative 12-year-old, BUT his uncle is a marine biologist (Dr. D) and he gets to spend the summer out on his research boat, which is cool. He and his little sister Sheena spend their days hanging out with the scientist and his assistant Alexander, snorkeling around the nearby reef, and complaining about Alexander's cooking. But when Dr. D is approached by a zoo about capturing a rare specimen -- a real, live mermaid -- Billy overhears and is super excited to get involved.

The first third of the book is mostly spent with Billy doing stupid things like sneaking off the boat to swim by himself without telling anyone, making up stories about sea monsters, and brushing up against fire coral while exploring. On one misadventure, he encounters a hammerhead shark, but is rescued by none other than the mermaid herself!

He's suddenly not so keen to have her captured and put on display, but too late. His uncle scoops her up and keeps her in a tank on the boat to study her (and ultimately claim the $1 million price the zoo promised him). They're in the process of figuring out what she eats and how to communicate with her when Alexander the assistant double-crosses them! He's gotten a better offer from some other shady guys and is more than happy to knock Dr. D out cold and steal the mermaid. The thieves even leave them all for dead by locking THEM in a tank and throwing it overboard for them to drown!

Luckily they are rescued by the mermaid's friends, who help her escape as well after Billy's group tracks down the thieves and distract them. Later, they go check if she's happy back in her cove...but there's something else down there too...a certain giant tentacled monster....!

Overthinking It:

This one is just pure fun. It's a bit different from some other Goosebumps books in that it's more adventure than horror, but there's some precedent for that. Indeed, this book reminds me quite a bit of The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, right down to the scientist uncle and the "humans are the real monsters" framing.

Listening to it, I was surprised by how willing these Stine villains are to straight-up murder children. This isn't the first time we've seen adult villains putting kids in mortal danger, but it's somehow more shocking when the attack is so brazenly mundane. It's one thing to maneuver kids into being turned into ghouls. It's something different to chuck them into a locked box and throw them into the ocean.

If You Liked This, THESE Will Really Give You Goosebumps:

I think this book pairs off well with several other Goosebumps books -- Welcome to Camp Nightmare, The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, and The Werewolf of Fever Swamp. If you like this one, you'll like those, I think -- they all really key into the adventure angle.

If rescuing sapient sea creatures is your jam, of course you'll enjoy The Shape of Water.

For another oceanic adventure story about dirty double-crossers and sea monsters, try Deep Rising.