Tidalwave Productions 2016
Written by Andrew Shayde
Penciled by Levy Zimer
Inked by Silvio Spotti
Coloured by Flavio B. Silva
In Monsters Among Us urban legends are very real. Billionaire Solomon Kane believes God has charged his family to rid of the world of mythical creatures. A mysterious crew comprised of gentle beasts including Bigfoot, a Chupacabra, and the Mothman must unite and fight to survive.
For a first time writer Andrew’s done a pretty good job here. I like the concept behind the story. There are a few times wording is kind of redundant but that’ll change the more he writes as he expresses himself more. I like that we jump right into things instead of having this huge introduction on how the team got together to begin with. It leaves room for that happen down the road as situations arise and memories can be shown. Not to mention that each character can be spotlighted down the road so we can learn more about them and where they come from so for now that they are already together let’s the reader’s imagination say what they’ve already gone through.
I have to say it’s always one man’s vision sent to him by God that gives his cause righteousness. It’s actually kind of both interesting and convenient but hey it also mirrors much of society today. People using their religious convictions to justify horrific actions against those they don’t understand or want to. His story here goes a long way in telling us much of the group's story. It’s well told and the page with the nine panels I think is effective in doing a lot to show us things that may be harder to describe.
So these folks are considered Monsters because they are different not because of what they do, well we haven’t seen if they are indeed monsters in that regard. This is an interesting mix of characters, there’s an elemental fire witch, a Sasquatch, a lizard man which okay i’m not familiar with but i’m down for, a cute little Chupacabra and the Mothman whose name is Hershel. Yeah he’s interesting and there’s a bit of a revelation this issue with him as he’s talking to Frank, the lizard man and I think his origin is one I wasn’t expecting.
Zaya the witch also has an interesting spotlight. Again I like that this isn’t predictable. Andrew does a nice job introducing us to these folks with this issue. He sets up a great premise for the series and leaves us with enough gaps that we want to know more. For a first outing I have to say i’m pretty impressed.
I like the interiors they are good. Levy does a nice job with the flow of the story through pages and panels. The so-called monsters are interesting to look at and immediately identifiable, though the Mothman Hershel looks a little more human than i’d expected. Choo the Chupacabra is adorable. Hershel’s back story was well portrayed and the attention to detail is impressive. The witches not so scary really, more Harry Potter than monster. Again I think with more work it’ll get tighter and body stances will seem more natural but again for someone whose work i’ve not seen before it’s good stuff.
This is a solid offering with a great deal of potential. Like seeing Grimm or the like from the monster’s point of view making it a unique take. This is what happens when those persecuted and hunted decide they’ve had enough and go on the offensive.