Comic books have always been a very diverse form of entertainment. While it’s primarily thought of for its superhero genre, the comic industry has always been making Westerns, comedies, political comics, and, most significantly, horrors. Especially in the 1950’s and with the resurgence in the 80’s and 90’s, horror comics have been a very prominent staple of the industry. Stories with buzzwords such as “Strange,” “Terror,” “Horrid,” etc. were a big hit with readers, particularly ones that involved notable creatures such as the Wolf-Man, Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula, mummies, and ghosts. In 2019, writer Steve Orlando brought together some of DC’s ghoulish characters for a new team, known as the Gotham City Monsters!
The story took place as a 6-issue miniseries that introduced the characters briefly and individually and then brought them together by the end of the first issue. The characters included Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E., Killer Croc, Lady Clay, Vampire (Andrew Bennet), Orca, and Red Phantom. The team was later joined by Batwoman (Kate Kane). Outside of Croc and Batwoman, this set of characters is rather obscure, which is often a great thing in small comic storylines. One reason is that it allows readers to be introduced to characters that they haven’t heard of. Another is that it is very possible for readers to get tired of certain characters if they are overused, so diversifying can help to expand the roster to avoid that. For example, from around 2017 to 2022, Harley Quinn was in many DC projects, both live action movies as well as animated projects. While she is a great character, it gets to a point of getting bored with it, if there’s little character development to be done.
The story itself follows the team as they work to stop Frankenstein’s former mentor, Melmoth, from causing multiversal death for what he sees as good. An ethical dilemma befalls them as they fight, because Melmoth’s plan involves killing billions to save trillions. Given their already morally-gray personalities, the protagonists wrestle with whether stopping Melmoth would be the right idea. Ultimately, they decide to do what they think is right and stop his evil acts in the hopes that they can save the multiverse in a different way. The idea of having moral dilemmas in superhero media is such a great story point, because it takes the conflict beyond punching the bad guy and saving the day. Invincible was particularly intriguing because of that plot device. Killer Croc’s history in the Suicide Squad gives him experience with what he refers to as “plenty a’ no-win scenarios.” Frankenstein’s leadership skills and the bonds built between the heroes also play a significant role in the success of the team (as well as the fact that 3 of the members literally can’t die because they’re undead).
The art in this series was done by Amancay Nahuelpan, who did a particularly excellent job. Many of the scenes were dimly lit due to the all-around dark theme, and Nahuelpan illustrated this wonderfully. The action was intense and captivating, and the character designs were gritty and fitting for the story. Nahuelpan also works often on Casey Jones comics from IDW, which share a similar gloom. So much of what makes a great comic book is the art. If the story is amazing but you can’t hardly look at the characters, it’s not going to be all that good. Likewise, if the art excels but the story is weak, the same applies. Both Amancay Nahuelpan and Steve Orlando did excellent work within these 6 issues, and kept me captivated the whole time.
DC has a large portfolio of miniseries that, despite being short, always tell a fantastic story. Within the pages of 6 issues, Orlando and Nahuelpan were able to get me attached to these new characters and keep me wanting more out of the team. When it comes to one-offs (or even stories that start as such that expand from there), DC excels in the world building and structure of details that have been accumulated from different comics over the last near century. So if you’re looking for a little read that still packs a punch, look no further than Gotham City Monsters!
