Little Monsters #3
The children deal with what they’ve found in Little Monsters #3, by writer Jeff Lemire, artist Dustin Nguyen, and letterer Steve Wands. This issue is yet another wonderful little piece of vampire horror.
The issue begins with a flashback to 2029 and tells how Billy was made into a vampire. In the present, he tells the children about his discovery, and they get into an argument over whether to go with him or find Romie. Most of them go with him while Yui and Lucas begin their search. Romie and the girl he found speak a little bit until she realizes he’s a vampire and goes looking for her father, who is the one that Billy drank from. From there, it’s all about the two groups, as Lucas and Yui keep up their search and the others drink from the man. Romie tries to reassure the little girl as it’s happening.
Vampire horror has some absolute tropes, and this issue gets into them. The beginning segment, dealing with when Billy was turned, feels like it’s right out of Anne Rice, taking place in a not-so-distant future, where a Second Pandemic is ravaging the world. It gives readers a bit of an answer to how the world got to the way it is and is a haunting and emotional little segment, as all the best stories of vampires turning should be. Lemire captures it all brilliantly.
The rest of the story fits into this mold as well. Lemire is able to capture the thirst of the vampires, the world-weariness of immortality and fear about a suddenly uncertain future, and the young girl’s terrifying realizations of just what is going on with her and her father. It’s a stark little picture that allows readers to get past the fact that characters in this book only look like children. These are beings with more experience than anyone else and a pang of ravenous hunger. There’s a cute little moment between Yui and Lucas, one which is made inhuman when he offers her a snack of a little white rat.
Nguyen’s black and white art is terrific. Seeing his raw pencils and inks is amazing after his last few projects where he worked with watercolors. This book is highly dependent on the art, and Nguyen does a lot of heavy lifting. The black and white pencils give things the perfect atmosphere, and his character acting is excellent. The rich grays of the background contrast well with the blacks and whites of the foreground. This book’s art is constantly breathtaking, and Nguyen’s style lends itself better to horror than one would imagine.
Little Monsters #3 is peak vampire horror. It’s also a complete collaboration; Lemire and Nguyen are a great team, and this book sees them working together completely. It’s one of those comics where it would be interesting to see the script and then look at the finished product again. Little Monsters is vampire horror at its finest from a team that is nothing short of brilliant.