A Pride Month anthology featuring the work of: Claudia Aguirre, Jadzia Axelrod, Vita Ayala, Aditya Bidikar, Tate Brombal, Isaac Goodhart, Sina Grace, Miguel Muerto, Lee Knox Ostertag, Jacoby Salcedo, Lilah Sturges, Vash Taylor, Tench, Josh Trujillo, Zoe Tunnell, James Tynion, Kenny Wroten, and cover artists V. Gagnon, Bradley Clayton, and Rian Sygh
Dark Horse
$9.99
Today is just about a perfect spring day. Blue skies streaked here and there with clouds. A light breeze and a temp in the low 70s. Beautiful music is playing in the background. Everything would seem to be the antithesis to appreciate the eighty plus paged Monsters In Love anthology coming from Dark Horse and in comic shops on June 3rd. Produced and edited under the auspices of the Tiny Onion Studio founded by James Tynion, who knows horror and monsters a bit too disturbingly well, one would expect the stuff of nightmares between the covers. And yes, among the ten stories there are fantastical beings who, if they existed in the real world, would send humans screaming. These tales are less about those unspeakable horrors lurking at the edges of reality than they are about humor and heart and acceptance and love.
Since Monsters In Love began as a series of short stories in the last volume of Christopher Chaos it’s only fitting that the anthology is framed with an intro and outro story featuring Christopher and friends Viv and Dracula Boy talking about the importance of comics as a storytelling medium. From Tate Brombal, Isaac Goodhart, and Miguel Muerto.
James Tynion and Noah Dao tell the tale of a love affair between a vampire and his male lover who’ve been hiding their secret selves. Dao brings heat to the art and especially so with Tynion’s twist to what otherwise would be an ill fated affair. Proof that there is someone for everyone!
Lee Knox Ostertag explores desire, physical form, and relationships in The Bargain, a story in which a man is granted three wishes by a djinn. What happens when the man makes unconventional wishes? A very lovely and thought provoking meditation on freedom.
K Wroten’s delves into a deeply hidden part of the human psyche in Attachment. A woman resorts to magic to revive a failed relationship. Her once absent lover returns to her side. Or does she? Magic has its way of revealing uncomfortable but necessary truths and so it does here. Wroten’s message of acceptance is unflinching and much appreciated.
Following Wroten’s story is Every Witch Way by Jadzia Axelrod and Bailey Rosenlund. High schoolers Keiko and Devin have been close friends for years. Their friends swear there’s something more between them. A mutual curiosity for the dark arts finds them invoking a magic spell in the name of Tiresias. Their lives will be changed forever but first Keiko has to figure out why she’s suddenly jealous of Devin.
Fran and Fang have an accidental meet cute over fruit in the produce aisle in Love In Starshine by Vita Ayala and Claudia Aguirre. Their next few dates just go terribly wrong. Extra effort and Fran getting out of her comfort zone is really the only way to save their relationship. Spoiling your new found love is always the smart choice!
Josh Trujillo and Ed Luce teamed up for Growing Apart. Sure, opposites attract, right? But what happens when people change and little things become irritations? You might go to couples therapy and realize you have irreconcilable differences but not for lack of trying even after you realize your boyfriend isn’t really human. Ed Luce drawing Wuvable Oaf, Lil Papa, and several other characters from his beloved Wuvable Oaf comics makes my nerd heart happy.
Vampires can be such selfish and heartless asses. Just look at Lestat. Lilah Sturges and Vash Taylor tease bad vampire boy Evan’s fate after he does wrong after making college student into a vampire during a one night stand. The Kappa Chi sorority sisters want to have a word! Taylor’s angular, sharp lines and contrasting green, orange, and purple color choices nicely accentuate the tension.
Jacoby Salcedo’s Dreamy Situationship relates the power of our inner lives and how hidden desires manifest during sleep. Charlie and Mimi deeply love each other. Charlie is seeing the man of his dreams. Mimi has a secret too. Honesty is always better than letting fear and lies turn us into monsters.
Next up is How To Date Your Dragon by Zoe Tunnell and Tench. Milly may be small and green but she’s also unmistakably loud and proud. That is until Milly meets Luz, the dragon lady. Lots of people are nervous on their first date with someone new. The same is true for Milly but Luz has the good sense to call out Milly ‘s nonsense. Tench’s comical art style is a wonderful match to Tunnell’s script.
Love, sacrifice, transformation are the themes in Sina Grace’s Of A Feather. The fable relates the unlikely friendship that arises after an alchemist rescues a fanciful phoenix after being attacked by fearful villagers. A sacrifice is made out of love and selflessness to be honored years later as both form and love are transformed.
All in all these eleven stories are really fine work from seventeen creators. A shout out to Dylan Todd, Deana Avila, and Courtney Menardtiny for their logo and book design contributions! The pink slime is a perfect choice! You’ll see when you read your copy!
Look for Monsters In Love in print at comic shops and digital on June 10th. April 27th (Monday) is final order cut off deadline so let your comic shop know you want a copy to avoid disappointment! Here are order codes for the main cover and the two variant covers shown above in the header.
7.202603.76156801593500111 (V. Gagnon cover) / 7.202603.76156801593500121 (Bradley Clayton cover) / 7.202603.76156801593500131 (Rian Sygh cover)