Advance Review: Man-Eaters #1

For a while now I have been lamenting the fact that Marvel cancelled the Mockingbird book.Â It was a fun engaging read, that didn’t take itself too seriously and had an art style that drew you in, that made you feel like part of the humour or part of the joke at least. Now, thanks to Image, the crew from Mockingbird are back, with their own ongoing series, Man-Eaters.

The premise is quite simple; menstruating women turn into giant killer cats and, well pretty much kill anything or anyone.Â To counter this, there is the Strategic Cat Apprehension Team, a specialist group of cops and of course you have the government, trying to stop girls starting their “journey into womanhood”.Â We get the low down of all this world thanks to a chipper twelve-year-old called Maude.Â We also get an introduction to her not Tom Selleck or Don Johnson cop father.Â From this point, your should pretty much expect things to go as they do.Â But with these creators, it’s not the rest stops that matters it’s the journey towards the destination.

I will say, right off the bat, that I am a huge Chelsea Cain fan.Â I find her writing to be witty, engaging, serious and most of all brilliantly observed, with beats from real life adding to the relevancy; the chart of “things Dad says” is both hilariously funny and scarily bang on right. The dialogue works well; Maude is at this stage, an extension of the story rather than the lead character.Â I am okay with that, especially considering that the final pages of the book changes that.Â The idea that women turn into monsters once a month is hardly a new one.Â With Cain, the theme is used well; in part a societal issue as well as a woman’s issue.Â Governments medicating its populace is also not new and reflects parts of real life. Think fluoride in the water.Â The book could also be seen as demonstration of how women can be perceived as mistreated throughout their lives.Â This seems heavy stuff, but it’s deftly handled throughout.

Cain’s Mockingbird partner-in-crime, Kate Niemczyk provides the pencils and the inks for the issue.Â As with their previous books, there are artist segues and distractions that add to the overall fun, the aforementioned chart, the cop guests and the “what Dad loves” section show a fun world, seen through the innocence of a twelve-year-old.Â Niemczyk’s pencils flow well, giving a nice easy look to all the characters.Â The implied murdering of people is just that, though it happens without question. As with Cain, Niemczyk’s art seems just as observational, I love the pencil shop name for an example.Â The colors are provided by Rachelle Rosenberg who gives the world a brighter than it seemingly is scheme.

There will no doubt be naysayers regarding this book, the creators and their feminist agenda.Â For me, this is a fantastic book that has the potential to work as well as the Handmaidens Tale, with its believable characters and almost real world affectations. Overall a resounding return of one of the best creative team in the comics industry.

Man-Eaters #1 is available in your LCBS on September 26th

WritingÂ – 5 Stars
Art – 5 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Written by; Chelsea Cain
Art by;Â Kate Niemczyk
Colors by; Rachelle Rosenberg
Published by; Image Comics

On Sale September 26, 2018
Diamond ID: JUL180103

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network