I fell in love with comics when I was a young kid. Before my parents bought me comic books staring the friendly neighborhood Spider-man or Gotham City’s Dark Knight I read strips out of the newspaper and collected editions from the city library. Those collected editions helped me learn how to read. They expanded my vocabulary. I learned the meaning of many words based simply on the context of the image in the panel. It was only because of great storytellers like Chares M. Shulz (“Peanuts”), Mort Walker (“Beetle Bailey”), and Jim Davis (“Garfield”) that the panels were readable without needing to know all of the words. The stories themselves were the beginning of a life-long passion for illustration and sequential art.
I’d get gifts from my grandfather who was a fellow fan of, as he’d say, “the funnies.” I was exposed to even more masters of the medium when he bought me stories of “The Little King” and “Little Nemo” as birthday or Christmas gifts. Recalling those books and those masters is a fond part of my youth so I’m always on the lookout for something that’s nostalgic.
“Monsters! & Other Stories” is that book.
Courtesy of Dark Horse Comics, I recently got my hands on a book I know my grandpa would enjoy. The book reminds me of all of those great masterful works from my past. It is a graphic novel that is so perfect in its execution that I’m now a life-long fan of the exceptionally talented master Gustavo Duarte.
“Monsters! & Other Stories” is a comic book that anyone of any age can enjoy. Despite being devoid of written dialogue (and the fact that the storyteller, Duarte, is a Brazilian from Sao Paolo), there is nothing lost in translation. Each story in the book is easily read – or viewed – and understood completely. What’s more is that Gustavo is an excellent comedian, so the stories are also funny – a hard thing to accomplish with only illustrations. Each panel is carefully crafted and is a piece of art in itself.
Like any master the collection of the panels as a page is also an amazing piece of work. After reading through the book you’ll find yourself admiring the panels and pages again and again.
Images courtesy of Dark Horse Comics
Defining Gustavo Duarte as a cartoonist in few words would be over simplistic but inevitably an apt description. His cartooning is summed up with the use of strong lines and simple colors. That combination makes the images pop, like Sendak’s or Suess’s, but his stories have a darker streak to them that is uniquely Duarte. His style is in the realm of cartooning with a mixture of pop-art but it is a style distinctly his own. Of the three stories in “Monsters! & Other Stories”, the one I like the most is “Monsters!”. It is a story where his style is given the most room to stretch. It has a plethora of characters in it, unlike the other two tales that are focused on a drunk with chickens (“Co!”) and a pair of birds who have a date with The Grim Reaper (“Birds”).
Images courtesy of Dark Horse Comics
The book’s genre is horror/humor and Gustavo nails the comedy as expected. The horror though, isn’t what most people would think of when they hear that term. The parts that are frightening or horrific are more in line with a twisted “Twilight Zone” kind of story that contains cartoon slapstick violence. Some of the images (like a decapitated bird) could be horrifying to small children but will read as darkly humorous to most every other reader.
The book itself is available now in print and digitally through Dark Horse’s website or through their comic book app. I suggest going to your local comic’s shop or bookstore to get your hands on a physical one. The book itself is nicely bound and has a great feel in your hands. Flipping through illustrations like this is much more enjoyable in the trade paperback format. If you’d like to see more preview art, please visit “Monsters!” page on Dark Horse’s website
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Images courtesy of Dark Horse Comics