Broken Frontier

The approaching climax of Laura Harkcom and Chris Leone’s We Kill Monsters is no longer a narrative aspiration lingering on some distant horizon of fiction, but rather a revelation that is hurdling towards an inevitable resolution. But I’m worried the end won’t be kind, as the ominous events of the recent fourth issue foretell a strong possibility that one of the story’s beloved characters will meet an ill fate. Call me soft, but I usually want everything to work out in the end, but I’m willing to wager that Harkcom and Leone won’t be kind.

The fourth installment begins in carnage: the Kern County sheriff’s department is under siege by the monsters that have come to define the book’s title. What’s worse, the deformed arm of Jake Basher is still mutating, much to the worry of his brother Drew and the heroic femme fatale Vanessa. But the trio has little time for angst upon returning home, only to find it a ghost town. The inhabitants are either dead or have fled, driven away by the encroaching creatures. A bizarre-looking rabbit monster soon pops up, steals an object of value from the Bashers, and sets into motion a fun and exciting sequence. And, as with the end of every issue in the miniseries, the creators leave us with a chasm of a cliffhanger.

The latest issue of We Kill Monsters is Leone and Harkcom’s best work yet. The book initially started strong, but the latest installment showcases the confidence of the creators. The duo quickly discovered the ins and outs of the comic book medium, and they’ve now hit a steady stride. The action is as strong as ever, but it is balanced with sly humor and light-hearted tones of family and friendship. The story is short and simple, and it’s that very brevity that makes We Kill Monsters refreshing.

The brisk evolution of Harkcom and Leone is matched only by the talent of Brian Churilla, a gifted artist who is also developing as the title nears its end. Churilla always possessed a skilled hand that established a solid atmosphere in the book, but I quickly noticed encouraging shifts in some of Churilla’s images in the latest issue. The first panel, for example, captures an interesting angle of depth perception as the panicked policemen appear almost three-dimensional, something I never picked up on in his work previously. The trick is utilized again during a supermarket scene where Drew holds high above his head an important boon, and also at the end of the issue where a flashlight piercing the rain reveals an unsettling truth.

This is no time to quit We Kill Monsters, and it’s the best time to pick up some back issues and join in on the fun. The six-issue series will conclude in December, but there’s no telling how the story will end. All I can do is hope for a peaceful resolution and place my trust in the hands of Harkcom, Leone, and Churilla. They’ve yet to steer me wrong, as they understand the most important function of a storyteller: they’ll deliver what the reader needs, not what the reader wants.