LITTLE MONSTERS #2
Recap
After more than 100 years of nights filled with children's games and living off the blood of rats, the unexpected appearance of a strange man in the vampire children's home amongst the city's ruins heralds a change in their lives, but the taste of human blood isn't the only shock to the system awaiting our children of the night...
Review
Lemire splits the narrative track for this issue, We meet the one that made Romie, who we learn is the oldest of the children having survived as a vampire longer than the rest. The opening pages are dedicated to Romie’s history and how they became a vampire but stop short of us seeing the change. The vampire elder’s characterization is fascinating, there’s a plaintive, apologetic note of regret to its actions that I wasn’t expecting and that’s the kind of surprise in the writing I really enjoy in a story. I thought Billy was the central protagonist last issue but Lemire disabuses that notion as we meet the narrator of the issue in another shocking ending that connects several dots including the unexpected appearance of a human man in the children’s lives and gives some insight into where we are going with the story.
While Billy no longer feels like the main character, his actions in this issue make things very clear…these children are very much predators and they have forgotten or never tasted human blood. That taste is a high that will change things forever as the revelation that they are not alone and that there are more humans less than two hours away is revealed to Billy. The theme for the issue is change and Lemire crafts a clever and skillful narrative of words about change through the issue applying the same principle to several situations before the introduction of the narrator’s character is revealed. It’s a very strong and cleverly written second issue that builds the history of the characters as well as propels the story forward with some revelations thrown in for good measure.
While issue one introduced us to the characters as vampires, the introduction was soft. Not so in issue two, Dustin Nguyen makes sure we see the monstrous side of the children as we watch Billy feed. Again the use of arterial red against the black, white, and toned backgrounds is startling and drives the horror element home far harder than it did in issue one. Nguyen shows off an absolutely marvelous use of contrast as he renders the vampire elder an exact contrast to the children and every other character, choosing to make the facial lines white and the skin tone pitch black in direct contrast to everyone else which enhances the difference of the creature. It’s another masterclass issue that holds one’s attention from start to finish.
Final Thoughts
Issue two of Little Monsters does everything it needs to. It expands the mythos the team is building with a look into the past but also pushes the story forward with the introduction of several new characters and enough clever story twists and revelations to make it a perfect second installment in the series. Much like Billy's first proper taste of human blood, it's an intoxicating combination of excellent writing and striking art that leaves you wanting more.
LITTLE MONSTERS #2: Change, It Comes at Night
- Writing - 9.5/109.5/10
- Storyline - 9.5/109.5/10
- Art - 10/1010/10
- Color - 9/109/10
- Cover Art - 10/1010/10