R.L. Stine's Man-Thing?

A friend recently gave me the omnibus collection of the five-issue series of Man-Thing that was written by R.L. Stine (thanks, Bobby!).  I didn't know that such a thing existed until, well, recently.  My history with Stine is unbelievably complex.  To me.  Maybe it's utterly, unabashedly normal, but I don't know.  I can't wrap my head around the guy.  To be clear, I love Goosebumps.  Most of the books are bubblegum-scented garbage, but for obvious reasons, they will always hold a special place in my cankered heart.  I spot something branded with the Goosebumps logo, I buy it.  It's a Pavlovian response, you see.

That doesn't change the fact that...how do I put this?  R.L. Stine is a terrible writer.  Reading his run of Man-Thing just solidified my opinion of his style.  And make no mistake, he has one style.  He has no idea how to write anything that isn't It Came From the Pizza Box or whatever.  I could have sworn that Man-Thing was a typically solemn title, but in the hands of Stine, it's replete with juvenile gags and painful one-liners.  Christ, the one-liners have one-liners.  Every villain has something ridiculous to say.  Man-Thing himself has dreams of becoming an A-List actor in Hollywood.  Yeah.

Of course, the artwork is incredible, but that goes without saying.  I'm glad that I read it, but Stine needs to stick to teenaged ghosts and mutant chickens.  I would actually spend money on It Came From the Pizza Box, though.  Don't tell him I said that.