#BookReview ‘Count Crowley:Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter’ by David Dastmalchian and Lukas Ketner

About the book…

Lock your doors and gather close . . . if you dare! Once a rising TV journalist, Jerri Bartman has returned to her small Midwest hometown station. Demoted to hosting the nightly Creature Feature, Jerri’s professional humiliation is eclipsed by the discovery that her new job comes with a secret, supernatural duty.

Her missing predecessor, Count Crowley, was one of the last “Appointed” hunters of monsters. Yes. Monsters. They’re real and they’re hell bent on controlling the news and information consumed by humans. Everything we’ve ever been taught about monsters is a lie and Jerri’s only possible advisor is a senile male chauvinist. It’s 1983 and the outlook for humanity is getting . . . gnarly and their only hope is an alcoholic, acerbic horror host from Missouri.

‘Count Crowley’ is out now in graphic novel format, collecting issues 1-4 of this brand new series which I genuinely hope will run and run.

At once very modern in scope but with a retro feel which is amplified by the colour palette, this book is perfect for those monster lovers who enjoy EC Comics and Misty.

You are immediately thrown into Jerri’s world-she works as a roving reporter for the tv channel run by her brother, both of them grownup children of respected journalists. Jerri has a serious drink problem which has left her brother in a difficult position in how to help her whilst keeping her face off the air.

The perfect solution comes in the form of the late night horror movie slot which shows retor re-runs, fronted by Count Crowley (who can be rejigged a la Dr Who) and best of all, is hidden behind makeup and a costume.

With nothing left to lose, Jerri goes balls to the wall in her first appearance, doing the exact opposite of what she is supposed to do, and becomes an accidental hit. When she starts looking into what happened to her predecessor, however, she gets dragged into a world much, much darker than the one she inhabits inside her tortured mind…

What I loved about this comic was just about everything-the tonal shifts between issues which were introduced and rounded off, Cryptkeeper-like, with monsters and ghouls, and the central character who is given room to breathe before being plunged into a monster fest.

The design of the creatures we know so well-werewolves, ghouls etc-is given a modern twist, so that they appear at once new and yet classic.

Jerri’s addiction issues are dealt with in broad strokes that leave the reader under no illusion that this is a woman hell bent on self-destruction, and there are reasons for this which I won’t spoil here. Her monsters are both external and internal, her struggle an allegory for the time she is living in, dealing with societal and familial expectation that has left her with trauma.

It is a launch pad for a series which I hope will be a long lasting one, it’s the type of book you fall into and read cover to cover, devouring it in one shot then returning to page one to note the tiny details, like they are the gravy you mop up after a meal (well if you are this Welsh girl you do, this is something we have done since I was little and only on the first ‘outside’ meal , did I realise that this is not what is done in polite society. They are 100% missing the best bits if you ask me!)

The world building is great, you are given just enough information, like Jerri is, to want to know more, whilst establishing the tale in its own right. It ends where it begins, in that it is ready and waiting for more revelations. I am very much looking forward to delving deeper into the world of Count Crowley.

About the authors…

David Dastmalchian is an American actor who has acted in TV, films, as well as theater. Born in Pennsylvania in the United States, and raised in Kansas, he began his film career playing a minor role in Christopher’s Nolan hit film ‘The Dark Knight’. The film was a huge success, critically as well as commercially.

His most significant works include his lead role in the psychological thriller film ‘The Employer’. The film, which was directed by Frank Merle, was a success and received positive reviews from critics. It also won several awards. Dastmalchian played a supporting role in the superhero film ‘Ant-Man’ which also earned him critical acclaim. The film was a huge commercial success. Also a proficient theater actor, he is known for his roles in plays, such as ‘The Glass Menagerie’ by Tennessee Williams and ‘Buried Child’ by Sam Shepard. Over the course of his career so far, he has also played guest roles in several popular TV shows, such as ‘Ray Donovan’, ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’ and ‘Gotham’.

 @DarkHorseComics

Lukas Ketner  is a Portland-based illustrator and comic book artist.

He is the co-creator of the comic book series ‘Witch Doctor’, and sometimes eats erasers while drawing.

Twitter @LukasKetner / Links-http://lukasketner.com/

Lauren Affe is here, certainly there, but also everywhere. She is very fortunate to work with many talented people.

Including Darkhorse Comics and Boom! By.

Lauren Affe is a comic book colorist. A colorist is usually the last person to work on the artwork after it has been drawn (in pencil or digitally) and then inked.

Most cartoonists don’t color their own work. With comics, thanks to the endless choices available in digital and high-quality print, colorists have become increasingly important and autonomous.

Twitter @laurenaffe  / Links-https://www.laurenaffe.com/