I Walk With Monsters
Writer: Paul Cornell
Artist: Sally Cantirino
Publisher: Vault Comics
Potentially flying under the radar for some, ‘I Walk With Monsters’ is one of the year’s comic book gems.
It explores the always-there nature of childhood trauma, the questionable trust of a found family, and desperation to fit into imperfect circumstances.
It shows how unhealthy it can be to fixate on one goal, especially without any thought to what comes next. It delights with characters who, despite their past, are committed to a path of personal growth, while facing down the hard truth that improvement isn’t linear, and that they will still face some hardship in their future, possibly always.
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‘I Walk With Monsters’ is a superbly plotted story, which maintains a singular focus on the journey of its core characters and their relationship, never feeling the need to bring in superfluous material or muddying the waters by aiming for multiple pay-offs. It knows when to pause completely, when to lull in the moment, when to raise the tempo, and when to bring everything to a head, resulting in a climax that has no obvious conclusion.
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It’s a beautifully drawn book as well. With limited dialogue and exposition, the artwork does so much to tell the story and carry the overall emotional weight of the book. Effective collaboration between writer Paul Cornell and artist Sally Cantirino was pivotal to ensure such high quality results. Speaking to Womenwriteaboutcomics.com about their process, Cornell summarised the success of their methods:
“I wrote very detailed emotional descriptions of what was happening in each panel, and Sally, to an incredible degree, understood exactly what I was after and used extraordinary character acting skills to render the emotions in character expression, so I didn’t have to say much in dialogue.”
With the full series of six issues now released in trade paperback, pick this up as soon as you get a chance - just be prepared not to put it down until you’ve finished reading.
Want more of 2021’s greatest comics? Visit Amazon to purchase the full length ‘Best Comic Books of 2021’ book or eBook. It contains 45 detailed essays reviewing the year's best comic book titles.
After more comic book news and reviews? The Sea Shell mobile app is available worldwide as a free download on the App Store and the Play Store. Download it today.