Comic Review: EERIE SERIES Pat the Werewolf

At a convention from last year we had the pleasure of meeting punny mathematician Jason Deeble and was introduced to his webcomics series Monster Haiku. After chatting he was kind enough to give us a copy of his book or the EERIE SERIES. I know its been some time since I recieved it but this Halloween I finally got a chance to read the volume he gave me featuring comic strips of his character Pat the Werewolf.



His series is a very family friendly strip that easy to follow and straight to the point, often using play on words to emphasize the punchline. You can tell this just from the titles of his collections in the series "Pat the Werewolf", "Carpe Demon", "Rob the Zombie." He also pokes fun at typical monster tropes including werewolves having dog like qualities, zombies being stinky etc.

The series is amusing and you don't need to read the previous 1000 strips to know where you are as they are all self-contained. The cast itself is so familiar from the volumes of horror characters universal made familiar back in the 20-60s and have been a vital part of the film industry ever since, that these creatures are already familiar in our minds without any long introduction. The art and the humor actually feel like a spiritual heir to Bill Amend's "Foxtrot", a comic series that was daily from 1988-2006, its humorous that even the creators share a similar education and interest in mathematics and physics.

These lovable monsters Deeble presents us with might be a little to simple if you are looking for heady highbrow finishers but for kids and families its a no miss. A collection would make a great gift for anyone who was a die hard monster, or Foxtrot fan. In addition his store has many fun collectibles and merchandise including a rob the zombie hat!

SirGryphon is an artist for GKCOMICS where he toils and helps produce another comic series called MEANWHILE...

Webcomic Review: Henchgirl

Henchgirl is a webcomic, created by Kristen Gudsnuk. The main character Mary Posa is the black sheep of her family, lovelorn, and unable to get a legitimate job even at the dankest restaurant. These circumstances bring our... er... "hero, " into the sordid arms of a crime syndicate in a metropolis called Crepe City. Mary then becomes the ever adorable Henchgirl! Meanwhile she tries to bring resolution to her esoteric ails all while surviving and trying to be not too evil.

Those MEAN STREETS!

Henchgirl is refreshingly not a "strong" female protagonist, at least not in the current traditional sense. In a world where female characters seem to have been homogenized into badass martial arts killing machines, absent of personality, Mary Posa is different. She is rich in character whose struggles are empathetic to both sexes. Her true strength is in her determination to move forward in spite of depressingly frustrated ideals. One of my favorite scenes of her trying to overcome, is when she discovered a super powered friend shattered. Taking each of their pieces she painstakingly puts them together with simple things like tape and super glue in hopes that it might restore them.

This scene is reminiscent of a few others throughout the book in a theme that seems to recur in people trying to put others, themselves or things back together; a hope to restore. A powerful inclination that echoes the original theme of persevering.

Well I think its adorable

And while many parts of the book are dark for such a bright character there are many hilarious memorable moments. Such as Mary's roomate whose only ability is to create an army of carrots out of her skin. Not giant carrots, just regular sized carrots... out... of... her... skin...

While her influences are evident of certain anime influences her art style is reminiscent of Bryan Lee O'Malley's, while remaining distinctly her own. A feat she accomplishes through the diverse textures of color she uses throughout the book. However one of the things I feel was recently lost was the progression the creator made over the course of its creation, by beginning to remake the earlier pages of her story to be comparative of her current work.

While "Lucasing" has become more common in the arts, and while her newer pages look excellent, I almost wish that both versions of her vision was available. I myself am a victim of being dissatisfied with earlier work and trying to bring some sort of resolution to it by modifying or remaking it, but by doing so perhaps I am erasing something in the history of creation.

Creative politics aside the twisted tale of the Henchgirl is a great summary of our generation as we are all a bit lost looking for something meaningful, while we are rejected from large chains because our fancy degrees tend to make us unwanted in those positions. Its speckled with pertinent, and the bizarre; then perfectly balanced with a helping of conflict and puns that make this story claw its way into my brain, and heart.

Sir Thomas J. Gryphon is a bunny who has lost all his eggs working for Gryphon Knights Comics on wacky books like "Meanwhile..."