#attack of the mutant

[briabooknerd]

[tlbodine]

Overthinking: Attack of the Mutant

Attack of the Mutant is Goosebumps #25. I was thinking I hadn't read this one, but it was quite familiar once I got into it so I must have gotten it from the library at some point. I do remember always disliking the cover, although I know a lot of people really like it.

Anyway. This is another experiment with form. It's attempting to do something fairly ambitious. But does it succeed?

First, the Plot: Skipper Matthews is a comic nerd through and through. His parents disapprove of the hobby and his best friend doesn't really "get" it, but comics make him happy so he collects them, taking care to keep them in pristine condition, not even reading some of them. Except for The Masked Mutant, of course, which is his favorite weekly serial.

One night instead of doing his homework, he reads a new issue and sees that the evil villain's headquarters has finally been revealed. Soon after, he misses a stop on his bus and ends up in a strange part of town -- and sees the distinctive building from the comic!

He also befriends a girl named Libby on the bus.

Later, curiosity gets the better of him, and he goes to investigate the building. At first it seems to have disappeared completely, but then he realizes it's cloaked in invisibility. He and Libby walk right in and explore a seemingly abandoned office building. But just when he's starting to think it's a dead end, Skipper finds a bunch of art in the building -- and some of these sketches are of him!

The next issue of the comic features him as a character, rescuing the League of Heroes character The Galloping Gazelle. Intrigued, he goes back to the hidden building and, sure enough, The Galloping Gazelle is indeed in there, all tied up.

Skipper rescues him and they try to beat a hasty retreat, but Gazelle is pretty much useless. He abandons Skipper to the villain, just in time for Libby to show up. Libby dispatches of the masked mutant with a toy gun, because (as she points out) we're operating on comic book logic now.

But it's a short-lived victory because -- SURPRISE!! -- Libby is actually the Masked Mutant in disguise. It's revealed that the mutant is bored with his current roster of enemies and wanted someone new, and that by entering his secret lair, Skipper has turned into a comic book character.

Unfortunately, Skipper doesn't have any super powers. He does however have an encyclopedic knowledge of comics, so he's able to trick the Mutant into shapeshifting into a form he can't shift back out of, and he wins the day! But when he goes home, Skipper accidentally cuts himself and bleeds colorful ink. His career in comics is just getting started...

Overthinking It: I want to like this one, but it feels more than a little half-baked. What exactly does it mean for Skipper to be a comic book character, especially since we see him regularly interacting with his day-to-day life after the supposed transformation? How is Libby a fake when Skipper goes to her house and meets her mom and sees her comic collection? Skipper defeating the mutant with a bit of esoteric comic lore that he knows that the reader doesn't feels cheap and anticlimactic. And the whole story takes a long time to build momentum and go...anywhere, really.

All of that said, I think I actually circle back around to liking the book more than I initially thought, because I can't quite get it out of my head. The implications are so fascinating, like we're just barely scratching the surface of an entire bizarro comic-world ecosystem. I am charmed by the uselessness of these heroes, of the idea of a villain being so bored he reaches past the fourth wall, and of a life that can slip effortlessly into cartoon logic.

It's also...weird reading this in 2025, which comic books and superheroes are so completely mainstream as to have saturated the market. This story would have been much more niche in 1994. Obviously, the '90s were a big comic book era, and kids were watching X-Men cartoons (and Spiderman and Batman) so it's not like it was counterculture or anything. But it would have been geeky, esoteric knowledge then, in a way that simply is not true anymore. Readjusting that perspective is kind of tricky.

What DOES feel distinctly modern about the book is the liminal space element of it. Relatively little of the story is spent on comic hijinks. Significantly more of it is built on the unsettling feeling of finding a building that cannot possibly exist, and of exploring its weird architecture, taking an elevator that says it's going up but takes you underground, roaming the halls of an abandoned building filled with the hints of life...THAT part feels like it's ripped straight from contemporary analog horror, in a way that feels downright prescient now.

I will say this, too. Either Stine wrote this one himself, or his ghostwriters got significantly better at studying and copying his style. This book is weird -- it's an adventure story and a send-up to 90s comic book culture -- but it feels like a Stine book through and through. I don't think anybody calls themselves a riot, but we do have a character feeling like a jerk for being gullible, and the recycled "There's a trick to cutting onions, but I don't know what it is" gag, kids with bafflingly old-fashioned hobbies (like collecting rubber stamps), a very specific flavor of humor that is just...Stine-ish. Hard to quantify. But whatever its flaws, Attack of the Mutant feels like Stine's own work through and through.

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

Take your pick of any superhero franchise, although the ones that come to mind first for me are Mystery Men (featuring a rag-tag team of second-rate heroes) and Kickass (where a teen vigilante gets in way over his head).

I also would recommend scoping out some liminal space horrors, like some of the YouTube lore for The Backrooms. In a similar but more polished vein, the film Pulse -- which isn't very similar to this book, but isn't not similar, y'know?

[texasthrillbilly]

Mentally, I'm here.

[kevynthedevylman]

Goosebumps Classic Series Book 25 Attack Of The Mutant Full Audio book

Did you ever want to hear Raz battle an evil version of The Tick? Well, have I got something for you!

[comicchannel]

Funko Pop Books Goosebumps Attack of The Mutant - 31

Link para compra BR: https://amzn.to/4mpAWRn

Buy here: https://amzn.to/4jshTn2

[charliemmurph]

Attack of the Mutant

[2000skid4ever]

Possible character interactions in my early goosebumps fg

[jonathanpongratz]

Book Review: Attack of the Mutant (Goosebumps #25)

  Hey Book Lovers, Guess what? I’m free! The grad school semester is over, and I have my reading freedom back. Man, it’s a great feeling. Lately I’ve been having a hankering for some superhero situations, so I picked up Attack of the Mutant (Goosebumps #25) by R.L. Stine. This is one of my many thrift store finds that I’ve been desperate to read, so my Goosebumps-loving self dove right into this…

[bulbabutt]

i don't know the etiquette for posting other peoples tiktoks but the delivery of this punchline hit me like a FUCKING TRUCK please

NikhilClayton <- you should follow this guy on tiktok he's fucking hilarious

[thatgordongirl]

You Don’t Scare Me / Attack of the Mutant Reviews

You Can’t Scare Me is often counted among the weaker Goosebumps books - I think the points are very valid. The cover art, though stunning, is wildly misleading when the mud monsters appear literally in the last ten pages and is briefly mentioned throughout. The idea of scaring Courtney seems to eliminate all the scariness of the book overall, because you know that it’s all fake. It’s like the cop out sibling scare at the start of other, far scarier, books.

However, I found the character dynamics cartoonish and pretty funny. Eddie’s bitter “bok bok” when he gets called a chicken genuinely cracked me up and I didn’t expect to laugh at this book. He’s so jealous and spiteful that it’s funny and he keeps failing at scaring Courtney from his own fears. Though she also deserves a bit of scaring for the condescending way she is. 

That being said, most if not everyone went in expecting a scary book, and it doesn’t deliver. It’s disappointing viewing it from that perspective because of the lack of thrill factor. But I think the character dynamics are funny and some of their attempts to scare Courtney really tickle me, so I think it delivers as a book, just not a Goosebumps book. Not massively high on the favourites list but I still thought it was decent considering what I’d heard about it. 

~~~

Attack of the Mutant has a pretty bad rap; The two part episode was over stretched, bad acting even for the Goosebumps series, with the only upside being Adam West’s appearance. The video game adapted based on the book apparently isn’t very good either, but I haven’t played it so take that with a grain of salt. Needless to say, I went in trying to find an underrated classic. 

We’ll start positive - Two scenes managed to get a chuckle out of me. Skipper’s sister Mitzi (Interesting name choices in this book, I quite like it, though Skipper’s real name is Bradley) puts her hands in the freezer just to put them on his back and scare him. Second scene was The Galloping Gazelle making a big deal about this laser thing killing Skipper only for it to be turned off when he accidentally falls in front of it. 

Those were the only positives I could find. This book is like crappy wish fulfillment, with Skipper getting into the comic book world - which I imagine a lot of people have dreamed of - and doing absolutely nothing of value. Skipper and his friend, Wilson, have nothing in common and their conversations feel like a friendship where their parents know each other and they don’t have anyone else to grow apart from each other. They’re awkward and boring to read. 

The comic book/superhero aspect isn’t even interesting because most of the book is Skipper waltzing around the Masked Mutant’s headquarters with fake out jumpscares and…Libby. Who’s incredibly uninteresting to the point that the twist ending that she’s the Masked Mutant meant almost nothing to me. The ‘friend is secretly the monster’ was already done in Werewolf of Fever Swamp, and I feel like it’s more engaging than this one. The only character I found remotely entertaining was The Galloping Gazelle, and he just left?? So that whole section could just be cut out entirely??

Overall, Attack of the Mutant is underwhelming and pretty disappointing considering the uniqueness of the superhero genre in a Goosebumps book. None of the characters are particularly likeable, it didn’t have humour to make up for the lack of scare factor. 

[colorstrike624]

No but seriously the things turtles can do are unhinged.

[indieyuugure]

Episode 5 of Aliens and Mysteries! Well that’s not suspicious. (Btw, that last word “kuso” is a Japanese curse word that varies in intensity but is equivalent in strength from “damn” to the f-word)

Previous: (3) Episode 4

Next: (3) Episode 6

See All…

[sweeneydino]

Slime Attack! Raph Ver.

Your favorite turtles are waiting for their slimes 🐢

Gonna slime info dump a little below

Gave big ol' Rise Raph a tabby slime because they are very friendly and love to boop – they are literal slime cats – and idk about you, but I think rise raph deserves the cuddles. And they come with the added bonus of their plorts being a high commodity for athletes, with only a little drawback. If you know, you know.

Since 2012 Raphael has Chompy, whose a fire turtle basically, the fire slime seemed a good fit. They are rather affectionate but also require a hot place to stay, i.e an ash trough and they BURN. Just burn some trash and boom, food for the firecracker. Their plorts would be a nice snack for chompy, plus a cuddle buddy.

The affectionate part is only because these little shits keep jumping on and following me on the range, and while I do love them, they do tend to get themselves killed.

2003 Raph got the Saber slime, as someone– yknow who you are– suggested! They are similar to the tabby slime as they are cat-like, but unlike them, these guys are food possessive. And thought to be extinct, but that's not important. They will roar, scaring any other slimes, just to get food. Or to just announce their arrival. These guys parkour, too, so now Mikey's got a roadblock.

2003 Donnie might be kind of sad he didn't get one but there's always another chance.

And finally, 1987 Raph with the mischievous ringtail slime!

...do I have to explain?

These fellas bring my carrot farm every ounce of shame as they stare with those shifty eyes back at me, and all I can do is continue feeding them over... and over... and over again...

Oh, and they turn to stone too, but nothing little money can't fix.

[sugarpasteltmnt]

Happy ‘The Neon Void’ 2nd Anniversary!!!

I’m a few days late (it was the 26th) but that’s because I’m currently traveling somewhere I’ve always wanted to go; Japan!! I’m having an amazing time and wished I could have prepared something a bit more special, but I’ll be honest— I’m so much happier and freer now thanks to TNV and all of the wonderful people in this fandom, and I feel like this trip is helping celebrate that.

Two years ago I wasn’t exactly feeling very cowabunga about a lot of things, but while writing TNV I was able to get through some tough times and even help make some important decisions that have significantly improved my life. And I could not be more thankful for everyone’s sweet words and excitement over my silly little fanfic— seriously, you all are so amazing and I am so so so lucky to be a part of such a fun fandom. Thank you all so so much.

So thank you all again for everything, happy 2nd anniversary, and remember to enjoy the cheesy pizza pies life gives you 🩵

[I’m still traveling with a tight schedule but I see all your wonderful asks and art and I’ll be able to catch up with you all soon!! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ ]

[zinzabee]

Happy two year anniversary of the release of the Rise of the TMNT movie. To celebrate, here's my interpretation of what Raph experienced before and during his time Krangified.

Some personal notes below the cut.

During the time the movie first premiered on Netflix, I was going through one of the worst periods of my life, and began to experience extreme dissociative episodes that would leave me in an extremely vulnerable physical state. I already related heavily to Raph after watching the TV show, but seeing what happened to him in the movie hit me on a much more closer and personal level. It took me two years to fully complete this comic, because working on it made me think back to these intense and painful memories, and that was a struggle for a while. Only recently, within the last couple months, has my situation bettered enough for me to work on it without being too uncomfortable. 

This is me putting my raw, firsthand experiences onto paper, because I want to make peace with my past in order to move forward. Raph's victory in overcoming the Krang's control is, in my eyes, the same as my victory in surviving those intense dissociative episodes. This is a reflection of my personal struggle, meant to help me attain a very specific closure. I hope that perhaps someone else who is suffering, or who has suffered similarly, will see this and know there is hope. Our experiences may not be exactly the same, but I want you to know that you are not alone. 

Lastly, I would like to thank every individual person who worked on bringing this show to life, from first conception to the movie's premier. Rise has been a source of light in my life that I never could have imagined. From the friends I've made, to the art I've created, to the fits of laughter and the tears I shed as I sat through every episode over and over again. It wouldn't be possible without any of you, so thank you for being a part of it. No matter how big or small a role, I am eternally grateful to you. 💚

[insekiwii]

*ahem* Sorry it took so long @ihateitallsomerandomguy y'know how it is. The qualms of mortality, harvesting all that flesh and blood and sacrificing- Oop that's my cult of the lamb speech-YEAH

ANYWAY, YOU REQUEST. ME FINISH . me back hurty

bone apple tea ~~ enjoy ur meal boo /j