The monster unleashed!
Creative Staff:
Story: Adam Glass, Olivia Cuartero-Briggs
Art: Hayden Sherman
Letters: Sal Cipriano
What They Say:
Mary and her cohorts cover up a murder, but for the crime, Adam must die. Victo-ria attempts to end Adam’s life but fails, driving him, heartbroken, off into the woods. But when female members of Victoria’s house staff start going missing, Mary discovers that Adam has done the unthinkable to heal his shattered heart.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The simple truth is that while you can create life, though usually not in this way, you have little control over what they life will do once it reaches a certain point. Adam Glass and Olivia Cuartero-Briggs put together some very fun installments in the first half as we saw Mary getting involved with Victoria’s mad plan that has now resulted in a death, one that has made a lot of others complicit. It’s been a visually striking series with Hayden Sherman working his style really well but with a much darker color palette and approach that leans into the horror side just right. It’s grim and intense, almost claustrophobic in many sequences, thanks to how the colorwork is done. I continue to be a huge fan of Sherman’s designs overall and this series has not dissuaded me from it.
The result of the death is weighing on Percy and that’s taking its toll on his relationship with Mary to be sure, but a good bit of the initial focus is on Victoria and Imogen as they repair Adam enough to bring him back only for Victoria to try and kill him. It’s a dark sequence that sends him running out into the winter night and that puts a huge amount of uncertaty out there for them as they keep it secret from the rest. It’s a quiet period that we get as the winter begins to end and the potential for leaving is out there combined with the lies told to explain away the death that happened. It’s a problematic period with how everyone intereacts with each other as there’s just a lot of tension but I like the way that Percy struggles as he’s been dreaming of Adam, almost to the point of seeing things through his eyes.
So when it’s revealed that Adam is actually alive and that it was kept secret, the whole thing starts to unravel – particularly as the staff for the household has been disappearing quietly with the cook the latest. The idea of Adam coming back and stealing them into the night is frightening and that gets the group to put together some weapons and go hunting. It’s limited to the core trio of women and Percy as they load up with rifles but they do a little wonky fun first that I liked in trying to use Adam’s visions to learn where he is. The idea of hunting Adam instead of waiting for him is pretty good as it puts them on the offense and I really love the visuals we get toward the end of how they all “suit up” for it. It’s not a surprise that they’d go hunting the monster once they know he’s alive but I like how it’s played against the relationship dynamic between Mary and Percy.
In Summary:
Mary Shelley Monster Hunter finally puts our lead into an actual monster hunting position and there’s a lot to like. Mary’s been a great character since the start and I like the challenges she faces and how she does it, keeping to a more forward way that fits her well as she charts the course of her life the best that she can in this time and place. The dynamic she has with her husband is an engaging part of the book but the time with Victoria and Imogen even more so as they work and keep secrets from each other and the others when it comes to Adam. Hayden Sherman continues to be one of the best new artists that I’ve seen over the last few years and I’m excited to see him on such creative projects like this breathing his own particular style of life into it. It’s a great looking book dealing in the darkness of gothic horror in all the right ways. I can’t wait to see what’s next.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: AfterShock Comics
Release Date: July 17th, 2019
MSRP: $3.99
