Review: ManEaters #5

Image puts out so much stellar work. I’ll repeat it. Image Comics puts out some amazing, amazing work that you might miss if you’re not an active reader outside the Big Two. Chelsea Cain’s ManEaters is no exception to this, either. It’s an interesting little bit of reading revolving around Maude’s narration. AND THE ART. Oh goodness the art is so beautiful. The pencils by Kate Niemcyzk and Rachelle Rosenberg’s colors palette just compliment writing so well. There’s a slightly vintage filter applied to a warm wash of color that brings a certain je ne sais quoi to the writing in this issue, a lot of which is delving into somewhat cold medical inspection and day-to-day. Even Joe Caramagna’s letters lend a little bit of cuteness to some of the strange happenings.

Maude finds herself in a very awkward conversation with her father who is trying to understand what exactly might be going on with his daughter, and we’re told a little tale that starts itself from the beginning of Maude’s transition into womanhood. Apparently, menstruation is a big thing for the lore of this title itself. I guess the onset of such can trigger unsavory changes, and the fact that women are now becoming predators probably has a lot to deal with that. It’s not touched on too heavily, as far as this particular issue, aside from the fact that one of Maude’s classmates alludes to his mother becoming a giant panther and stalking around in the air vents.

While I’m not sure what exactly The Pencil Shoppe has to do with much of what’s going on with Maude, I do know that ultimately it’s not aÂ good thing that she and her friends ended up with pencils (marked with wrong color appropriations) from the place itself and her father isn’t shy about being wary about it. Maude’s story itself, for avoidance of spoilers, even kind of glosses over things considering that she’s not really explained what happened to the other girls who ended up with the same sort of pencils and the unicorn present at her bedside as she speaks to her father.

It’s a quirky little read from the purveyors of different content that truly sets itself apart from the rest of the content I typically read from them. I really love it, if not only for the story telling and natural ebb and flow of its dialog, but for the cute little real life tidbits in the pages and the splash of Maude’s medical form. I hope you’ll give this 4 out of 5 star read a try as well.

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(W) Chelsea Cain (A) Kate Niemczyk (CA) Lia Miternique