Story by Dillon Gilbertson. Art by Francesco Iaquinta. Colors by Marco Pagnotta. Letters by Sadia Temofonte.

Published by Action Lab Danger Zone.

Holy crap this is good!

Maddie is third generation (at least) chosen in her small town. Chosen for what? Many people in this town over generations are chosen by some sort of monster. There are many kinds. Ultimately they want to consume the human body. They find the body’s sugars to be tasty. So these monsters “claim” a human. Over generations the town has found certain medications that work to keep their personal beast at bay. But it is only a matter of time, or sometimes out of no where. The beasts eventually claim their mark and no one really knows how to stop them.

Maddie’s father tried. Her mom is stressed. Her grandmother is stressed. The whole town has given up and just accepts that this is how life is and there’s no changing that. Pray for that poor soul that a monster just attached to and thank God it’s not you. Maddie has wins, losses, and learns so much along the way.

It is a great horror comic. I read each issue but I wanted to wait to review until the entire series was out. Not to spoil anything, because trust me this is much more exciting to read the less you know. I wanted to keep reading to see if I was right about something.

This is about diseases, right? Specifically cancer but many diseases can fit into place as a monster. Without any good explanation a monster attaches itself to a person. Maybe it causes death soon, maybe it takes years. There are certain medications that can be taken to keep it at bay. Sometimes its genetic. Sometimes at random. Doesn’t matter though because in the end the beast will eventually collect.

I can’t help but see this be about cancer. Not quite like I Kill Giants, but not too far off either. There’s an argument to be made to put both on the same end cap display at the bookstore. Who knows why these monsters, these diseases, bond with any of us. Genetics? Location? Lifestyle? The randomness of life? It doesn’t really matter how or why. All that matters now is trying to stay alive the next day, then the next, then the next. Maybe live long enough for someone like Maddie to have a revelation. Between those two points though lay many deaths and a community left numb by helplessness.

The series was incredible. A dark series with just a bit of light sneaking through at the end. A perfect read for when life has you down. No matter how dark things are, and this book is dark, there is a hope. Not a cure, not an easy solution, but at opportunity to fight.

Awesome comic. Highly recommended.

(A review copy was provided by Action Lab.)