“I’d like to join your hellish crusade of monsters in the quest to destroy mankind and all that it stands for!” That’s a sentence that quickly becomes a most effective running joke in I ♡ Kill by April Newton (aka ApriltheFrog), a madcap fantasy tale that also acts as something of a wittily scathing criticism of pointless bureaucracy.
The premise is a simple one. In a world of orcs, dragons and witches Trolltina, a young human girl, wants to join the monsters to wipe out humanity. But that proves not to be as easy a prospect as one might imagine. Because, when she arrives at the Monster Resources Department to sign up, she finds herself trapped in a maze of paperwork as she is shunted from department to department. Until finally events push her too far…
I ♡ Kill is a tremendously fun romp full of background visual gags and asides that reward a second, or even third, reading. With its blend of fantasy humour and video game iconography it builds up into an ever more frenzied journey through the complex corridors of the Monster Resources Department as our young heroine’s frustration gets more and more pronounced as events progress.
Newton’s page layouts are inventive and constantly shifting in perspective and structure. Particularly memorable examples include a never-ending queue for a service point populated by supernatural creatures, multiple Trolltinas pursuing her targets across a one-panel page, and tighter=panelled poages embodying the petty bureaucracy she faces at various stages.
Whether you read something allegorical into I ♡ Kill or take it on a surface level this is a splendid escapist romp made all the more eerie for its risograph-inspired black, green and fluorescent pink colour scheme. Check out the full range of comics from April Newton at her shop link below.
April Newton (W/A) • Self-published, £10.00
Review by Andy Oliver
