MONSTROUS: BOOK OF THE DEAD #1, from Source Point Press on June 22nd, 2022, unravels a yarn about a father/daughter duo of mummies on the hunt for the Book of the Dead to free their matriarch from the Underworld.
The Details
- Written By: Gregory Wright
- Art By: A. Shay Hahn
- Colors By: A. Shay Hahn
- Letters By: Justin Birch
- Cover Art By: A. Shay Hahn
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Release Date: June 22, 2022
Was It Good?
Well, okay then. MONSTROUS: BOOK OF THE DEAD #1 is an odd bird of a story from the creators of the Monstrous series, and it’s certainly something. If you’re a fan of monster mash-style tales aimed at kids, this comic may be just the thing you’ve been looking for.
Set in Europe at an unspecified location and year, a father/daughter team of mummies, Ramses and Tia, arrive as fugitives. Ramses misses his deceased wife, Samira, terribly and endeavors to find the Book of the Dead to bring her back to the world of the living. If you’re into monsters, there’s a lot to like in this issue, as Ramses and Tia encounter mercenary werewolves, Frankenstein-created robot sentinels, and ancient Egyptian gods. It’s a veritable cornucopia of the monster variety.
The downside of this issue is the complete lack of setup on just about everything. You’re not told why or how Tia and Ramses became fugitives, why they’ve come to Europe, why they speak in modern American vernacular, why a mercenary werewolf is hunting them, or just about anything else on a lengthy laundry list of plot points. This comic is enjoyable only if you turn off your brain and just go with whatever is happening in any given panel. There’s barely any structure or pacing here, and instead, you get a collection of events happening in loosely sequential order.
The art in this comic is okay to fine. The character designs have a cartoonish, underground comic style to them, but Hahn’s coloring elevates the designs considerably. In short, the coloring saves the art in this issue.
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What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We begin with a father/daughter duo of mummies breathlessly leaving a Nautilus-style sub on the docks of a European seaport. They’re fugitives from something or someone, and they hope they can be free in this new land. Ramses, the father, laments the death of his wife Samira. Tia, his daughter, suggests they look for the Book of the Dead as a solution to bring Samira back to the land of the living.
The duo is suddenly attacked by a werewolf eager to collect a bounty for the mummies, but Tia bets up the werewolf and threatens to kill him. Desperate to save his life, the werewolf offers to show them where to find the Book of the Dead in Frankenstein’s castle.
Later, Tia and Ramses sneak into Frankenstein’s heavily-guarded castle and locate the Book per the werewolf’s description. When they open the book, it sucks Tia and Ramses into the spiritual plane where they are confronted by the ancient gods of Egypt. We conclude the issue with a challenge, an ultimatum, and a test of faith.
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Final Thoughts
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MONSTROUS: BOOK OF THE DEAD #1 is a serviceable albeit rough story about a family of mummies trying to save the mother of the family from the Underworld. The writing lacks anything remotely resembling setup or scene transitions, but the monsters are fun, and the plot works (sort of). The art is okay, made passable by fairly solid coloring.
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