Good God do I love the Indies! As there is just so much talent out there that its very hard to keep track of. Especially as the internet has definitely allowed for these talented peoples to be more easily known of. And in some cases, come together to bring forth Anthologies. Anthologies like this one for that matter. Which brings together 50 fine folks who bring to you some pretty decent stories! Along with the art in most cases! And at 224 pages, you know there’s bound to be at least more then one short story you’ll really like! And perhaps want more of in its own little thing. ‘Go Fish’ which is the first story in this Anthology and perhaps one of the very few I even really like, honestly has a good message to it. At least in my view anyway. As just because you’re a monster, it doesn’t mean you should be targeted for it! Or that a human is better then said monster just because. Russell Nohelty does a very fine job on the writing duties and I have to wonder if he’s covered topics like this in the past? Something I may have to go out and find out for myself! Erik Lervold’s art and Michael K.’s colors go really well together for this story. Even if it is a little strange that Tom (as we learn his name to be) the monster and the supposedly kidnapped Princess are playing Go Fish.
Which is strange but nice at the same time as its different from what one would probably expect. Especially as the Princess considers him to be a friend and has some rather negative views on her country! Its a pity however that the ‘heroic’ knight can’t quite seem to get out of his mindset about certaing things. As Tom’s attempts to enlighten him would have been interesting to see actually help broaden his horizons. Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing more of Tom and the Princess in their own comic and dealing with various problems to come their way cause of small minded views. All the while playing Go Fish and feeling a need for a shower some time later. Which is a perfectly acceptable reason for why you would want to only willingly come back to your country for! Unless of course ol’ Tom finds a way to install a shower for the Princess. Now while a lot of these stories have some pretty great art and are in black and white for the most part, one or two could clearly benefit from better art skills and perhaps some color. Case in point, Katrina Kuntsmann’s ‘The Party’.
I don’t know if this is her preferred style of art and the last thing I want to do is seem like I’m ragging on it but I do feel it could be improved on. If you’re gonna be part of something like an Anthology, why not go all out instead of only putting in a little effort? Otherwise, it seems like you don’t really care. Granted, this is just my view on all this. I’m not even sure what one of the main characters in this second story of the Anthology is and I didn’t even realize the character was a female monster until near the end of it. Which, is probably more my fault for not paying better attention. That and the shortened use of her name honestly threw me off too. ‘A Screen To Kill For’ by Greg Smith and Michael Tanner with art by Meescha Dare is another B and W story that I think could have benefitted more from some colors added to it. But that’s the only complaint I have about it as otherwise, its a pretty decent story. One featuring a character with some fairly screwed up intentions in my view! ‘Vengeance’ by D. Greenhill and L. Kohse is a lesson in what not to do when standing over someone’s grave and saying all kinds of stuff and shooting at the tombstone.
As said tombstone’s engraving is likely to come true! Especially if someone went out in a fairly unpleasant way and their spirit can’t rest! The lack of coloring here is something I think that actually works out well for this story. ‘The Boogeyman’ by Christian Douglas and Ivan Sarnago is a cop tale but still fits in nicely with the theme of the anthology. Along with providing an unexpected twist around the end I was surprised by. So nice going there Christian! Although, now that I’m taking a second read through of this story, there was probably clues already about the real killer from the beginning. But I could be wrong on that. But damn, the killer Drebin’s looking for is one sick individual, I know that much! I’m curious if Christian and Ivan plan to re-visit this in a solo comic that explores things more where our vicious killer is concerned and if whether or not they can be stopped. And while I could go on about this story and others, I think its best for you the reader to check out all this Anthology has to offer. Like the Poop Monster fight in the only Superhero story called ‘Terror, Thy Name Is Poo’ that’s in this Anthology. Which makes me wonder if Smackwell Comics Group, Luis Bermudez, and Alex Bermudez might have been inspired by a certain figure from Kevin Smith’s ‘Dogma.’
Which is also one of the very few stories seen in this title that has full on colors. So that was nice for this. And I am going to have to look into whether or not Smackwell has more comics featuring the cast of heroes we see in this story. I urge all of you, especially if you love monsters and the like, to check this out when the time comes. And perhaps donate a little to the Kickstarter that has a few days left to it! Heck, some of the stories seen in this title would make for a great addition to a ‘Tales From The Crypt’ revival for that matter in my view.
Monsters And Other Very Scary S**t: A Monster Anthology
Written and drawn by: Various awesome people, places, things, and ideas
Wannabe Press
Reviewer: Rob Wrecks
Summary: Do you love monsters? We love monsters so much we made them a 224 pg love letter. Monsters from sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and more!
