Kyle Starks

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Edelweiss. Content warning for graphic violence.)

The antihero of this story goes unnamed, save for her captors' nickname for her ("dogshit") - an intentional and jarring choice. Targeted at random, five boys kidnap her one night after work. They imprison her in a dilapidated barn and subject her to brutal, unspeakable horrors (physical and mental torture, although - somewhat improbably - seemingly not rape). After forty days, they show more set her on fire and then toss her lifeless body in the lake. Against all odds, she rises from the dead.

Her path leads her to Father Guerrero, who's also suffered his share of trauma and recognizes the anguish and anger in her eyes. He takes the girl under his tutelage and teaches her how to get revenge - if she so chooses. Unable to speak due to her physical injuries, her revenge tour gives her back her voice, and also leads her to a divine purpose.

I'll be honest: I was pretty unimpressed by DEVIL ON MY SHOULDER ... until the big reveal in the last act. Up until then, the torture narrative seemed ... misplaced at best. Women are typically victimized by people they know; random, "stranger in the alley" attacks are much rarer, even if that is where we focus the bulk of our violence prevention strategies. The boys' motivation was painfully unclear, other than that they were five sociopaths who just happened to find each other. And how did they go from a group of podunk derelicts to members of the 1%? I won't drop any spoilers, but the twist did answer these questions, causing me to bump my rating up by a star.

Unfortunately, I feel like the narrative still suffers from lack of a backstory and character development; we only get a few panels of the girl at work before she's kidnapped and tortured. Likewise, post-escape, all we know of her is that she wants revenge. And in a slim 96 pages, it seems to come way too easily - especially since some of her targets have hired killers in their employ. (I'm still not sure how she mowed down a whole building of drug runners and traffickers. And why didn't she free the sex workers, who were clearly being held against their will?) The denouement with the artist was pretty juicy though - I almost feel like that plot thread deserves its own spin-off.

Overall, it's a bit of a roller coaster of a read - but stick with it, the ending does make it better, if not entirely worth it. show less

Don faces off against Sam at a karate tournament. On sight, Don is smitten...and then Sam knocks him out with a single kick. Thus begins a cartoonishly violent love story in which they both fight off high school bullies at Sam's prom and battle Don's ex-girlfriend Astor of the Violenzia crime syndicate at a riotous prom after-party. It's ridiculous of course but the fight scenes if not the title alone will entice casual and reluctant readers.

What do infamous serial killers do in their downtime? They live in the suburban gated community of Wilmhurst, keeping a low profile and abiding by the HOA regulations as enforced by Zel, an old lady with some devilish connection. One of the rules is no bringing prey to the neighborhood, and the thin plot is what happens when one of the killers breaks that rule and a victim escapes.

Near as I can figure, the main reason to read this series is to play a game of sussing out the thinly-veiled show more identities of all the slasher franchises being pastiched: Saw, Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Cujo, etc.

Or perhaps to just take in the gore when things get chaotic.

I'm feeling pretty meh here, but there is a cliffhanger so I'm picking up the next volume to see it through.

FOR REFERENCE:

Contains material originally published in single magazine form as Where Monsters Lie #1-4.

Contents: Chapters 1-4 / Kyle Starks, writer; Piotr Kowalski, illustrator -- [Variant Cover Gallery] / James Stokoe, Fábio Moon, Tyler Crook, and David Rubín, illustrators -- Sketchbook / Kyle Starks and Piotr Kowalski, illustrators show less

Love the concept of a dog who saves the day again and again during the zombie apocalypse.

"That dog hates zombies!"

Unfortunately, the execution of the art and story is just a bit too amateurish and sloppy, falling short of the b-movie level of schlock for which I think they were aiming. And it's not funny enough to cover up the fact that the events of the story make little sense.

I was unaware until after I had finished the book that it is based on a board game. I usually try to avoid game show more adaptations and spin-offs, and that rule would have served me well here. show less