The Ten Days of Halloween Horror Continues! You can see the rest here and here.Written by Matt Dembicki
Illustrated by Steve Loya
Self-Published
Monstracity is Dembicki and Loya's love letter to the b-movies of the 1950s that featured terrible horrors, often crafted as quickly and cheaply as possible. Add in some Japanese nods here and there, and you've got the basic premise of this comic, which does an amazing job of using all original monsters in the work.
Dembecki hits all the right notes in his script, beginning with a tone that is just as pretentious as a narrator in a Coleman Francis film. It's somber and slow moving and given to over-description, because that's what they used to do in horror films. The plot is almost non-existent, and the creatures end up acting in ways that may not make logical sense for them but builds the story's action. We even get the typical monster-movie ending that doesn't make a lot of sense if you take five minutes to consider it.
In another situation, this might be a problem, but it's clear that Dembicki is going for the homage, and anyone with a passing familiarity with B-horror films will pick up on what he's doing and appreciate his skills in recreating a movie style that's just about as extinct as the idea of putting actors in plastic costumes.
Dembecki's script is drawn to movie-monster perfection by Loya. His Monsters look improbable, but match their brief origin stories very well. You can see the influences of old movies in his designs, but none of them are pale copies. They stomp, ooze, and destroy each page they occupy, and even get into an epic battle that leaves me with only one wish--that it was a bit longer.
As a horror movie junkie (I'll even watch most bad old horror movies), I had a great time with this comic. It's a little old now, so I'm not sure if you can find a copy anywhere. If you do see it, make sure this one gets purchased for the horror fan in your life. They'll thank you for it.
