Shrinking Man, The #1 (of 4)

Published by: IDW Publishing
Released on: July 29, 2015
Adaptation: Ted Adams
Artist: Mark Torres
Cover Artist: Mark Torres
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From the brainpan of the guy who created such tales as “I Am Legend” and “Hell House”, not to mention some of the greatest Twilight Zone episodes, arose another classic story, “The Shrinking Man”. Adapted to the comic book format by IDW's CEO and publisher Ted Adams and illustrated by IDW regular Mark Torres, this four issue mini-series tells the tale of an unfortunate man named Scott Carey: exposed to a chemical of some sort that causes his entire body to shrink 1/7 of an inch a day.

Doctors are baffled and cannot seem to stop his reduction in size, and it weighs heavily on Scott who is pissed off by his luck. He sinks into a deep depression and it affects his self-worth. He gets so down on himself that he pushes his wife and child away, not wanting them to have to bother with his affliction and imminent demise. Rather than take their support and help, he opts to be alone. Even his wife's attempts at love-making are shot down, as he doesn't think he can perform with his teeny weenie.

The story jumps from the past, starting with his exposure, to the present with his living in a matchbox, eluding a black widow spider, and desperately trying to get some crackers on a shelf in order to keep from starving to death. Each segment starts with his height at the time, just as it does in the novel, and is an essential tool in telling this story. It's a great detail the writer made certain was in his adaptation. Scott started out at 6 feet tall, and in the present moments is a mere 5/7 of an inch…which means he has five days left until he disappears from existence. But if he doesn't get those crackers he may not even make it that long.

The artwork by Mark Torres is light on detail and utilizes shadows to an affect that feels brooding, which helps paint an appropriate atmosphere for the piece. His work doesn't (and shouldn't) shine over the story and he keeps things well grounded and within the realm of realism; at least as realistic as sci-fi/horror can get. In the moments of 5/7” Scott, the angles Torres employs do well with putting the reader on the same level as the doomed man, making that disgusting black widow even nastier. His style may turn off some readers in the way his faces are drawn, but aside from that his work and his 1950s backgrounds and props are pretty appealing.

For fans of the novel, Adam's adaptation is faithful and this first issue is laid out really well, making the fractured timeline aspect very smooth and easy to follow. After the guts of the comics, he wrote a short essay talking about his comic company's work with adapting other Matheson materials and it is plainly obvious that his admiration of Richard Matheson is of a high level. He explains how he worked through the novel to turn it into a series of panels and it's pretty darn simple. And watch for the occasional nod, such as the name of the first hospital Scott visits. This book is obviously very important to Ted Adams, and the passion he holds for the material makes the comic all the more enjoyable. Good stuff.