Buy Monster Massacre.
Monster Massacre is a graphic novel anthology from an impressive collection of artists and storytellers. The line-up includes Jack Kirby, Alex Horley, Joe Simon, Mark A Nelson, Andy Kuhn, Ron Marz, Sami Basri, Ian Edington, D’Israeli, Tony Raney, Vito Delsante, Dave Wilkins and Javier Aranda.
There are 10 stories in the showcase and each one very different. The art style is different. The focus and interests in the story are different. The undertones and messages are different. It’s the range of style, the tour de force of some big name comic book talent, that makes Monster Massacre such a treat.
My favourite story in the monstrous anthology is “Pair of Rogues” from Ron Marz and Tom Raney. It features one sexy fairy maiden but there’s a twist in the plot and she’s more than just fan service. The encounter reminds me of a Pathfinder encounter waiting to happen.
Monster doesn’t just mean Cthulhu-like spawn (though watch out for those) and that’s a conclusion many of the writers carefully explore. Monster doesn’t always mean scary either; expect some silly in the Monster Massacre. After all we do get a Sharky story or so.
It’s not just the stories that run a wide range of styles; the art does too. We’ve got everything from high impact, high gloss productions to black and white and to the four-colour style that wouldn’t seem out of place in the 60s.
I enjoyed Monster Massacre. I enjoyed some of the stories more than others and some I found myself flipping through. This is a book that strikes me as a good gift and a good tabletop piece for gamers. If you’re needing to distract a friend while you play a few more minutes of computer game in a hunt for a save point then I think handing them Monster Massacre to flick through would be perfect.
Monster Massacre works very well as an anthology too. It’s a great way to introduce yourself to a talented range of artists and writers.
My copy of Monster Massacre was provied for review. Monster Massacre Vol 1, Titan comis, £17.99.
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