Monster Hunters
Issue 1
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This comic consists mainly of text with some black and white drawings added to illustrate what's being talked about in the text. It's written as a real manual, helping people train to become monster hunters.
The first issue deals with the undead.
The first part of the book gives some basic tips on monster hunting, then the book starts going into specific types of monsters. The way the text is written in each section is a mix of actual legends, made-up parts and a few bits of actual real information.
The first they cover are vampires, and they tie some of the vampires in to Vlad Tepes, the man who is known as Vlad the Impaler (which they don't point out.) He was definitely a real person and was an incredibly vicious man who would impale people who offended him for some reason or another and eat at least some of his meals surrounded by the dead an dying. In reality, he had nothing to do with vampires at all, but in popular culture he's almost always tied in to vampires.
The section goes on to talk about how to kill vampires and which vampire myths are true and which are not.
Then it goes into a sub-group of vampires, the psychic vampires which feed of someone else's energy. From my own studies and readings I think this type of being is actually real, although they generally do not know that they are actually 'feeding' off the energy of others.
The book also talks very briefly about the Incubus and the Succubus before it moves on to the next topic, the Mummy. Again the text mixes fact and fiction quite well.
It moves then to non-corporeal beings such as ghost (again, some fact and some fiction), poltergeists, wraiths and banshees. One thing the book does is talk briefly about the ouija board which, for anyone who has studied supernatural phenomenon, is most definitely NOT something to be played with, as it is an open invitation to any negative earth-bound spirits.
The final section in the book is on Zombies, saying some of them came about via magic and others, the modern-day ones, came about by a virus that leaked from a lab that was probably trying to make some kind of animated weapon.
The comic is rather well done.
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Issue 2
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This is a continuation of the series that consists of some black and white drawings and is mainly text. This issue starts out with instructions on how to be prepared to hunt monsters, and what kinds of equipment and weapons you should have with you.
It then talks about Bigfoot and Yeti, both of which have been said in the 'real' world to possibly exist, although no one has ever brought back absolute proof. Both are tall creatures and very elusive. Casts have been made of what is supposed to be Bigfoot's big foot, but things can be faked, of course. Various film clips have been taken of Bigfoot, but never near enough to discount the possibility of the Bigfoot being nothing more than someone dressed up in a costume.
The next creature the book discusses is the Mongolian death Worm, which really seems to be something like the sand worms in Dune. After that it's the turn of various flying creatures including the Thunderbird,, the Kongamato and the Ahool.
Then its back to a creature that has more basis in reality, and that's the Loch Ness Monster. Again, there is no absolute proof any such creature exists. There are various videos that have been taken seeming to show some kind of creature, but, again, never near enough to discount the object being something natural like a log.
Then the manual talks about the Bunyip, sea serpents, and finally the Kraken.
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Issue 3
This issue deals with Giant Monsters. He starts with the megalodon, an animal from the age of the dinosaurs that would make a shark look like a chihuahua. He then covers the subject of giant piranhas and the giant octopus.
From there he moves on to flying monsters and examines the story of the Roc in particular. He notes the best way to kill a Roc is to use a surface-to-air missile.
After that he moves on to the giant spider and a giant snake and then moves on to the giant alligators in the sewers of New York City. Finally, he moves on to dinosaurs.
One of the reasons this series is so good is that the writer mixes fact with some speculation (and questionable sightings) with stuff that is completely made up and it all works out really well.
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Monster Hunters #4
The pretend-guide to monster hunting continues, opening with some general tips about how to go about hunting monsters properly. The first specific animal it discusses is the chupacabra, an animal which many people actually believes exists, but for which no solid evidence exists. This is one of the 'monsters' which hunters kill.
The Jersey Devil is next and, again, there are stories about that in reality. It supposedly is invulnerable.
Gargoyles are next, and there's a good discussion of the use of gargoyles on buildings and why they are there. The author says that gargoyles are good beings and are not to be hunted.
One of the most legendary of the monsters is the Golem, and it's origin, construction and destruction are all covered. The Werewolf is next, along with variations on the were-group of animals. The Native American skinwalker legend is discussed, and the last creature covered in this issue is the Wendigo.
As usual, another very interesting issue.
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Monster Hunters #5
This appears to be the last issue of this comic. It's primary topic is fantasy creatures, and this includes demons, dragons, giants, unicorns, fairy folk and mermaids.
One of the most interesting aspects of the issue is how the author notes that not all of certain kinds of 'monsters' are ones that are inherently evil,and that some of them should be left alone or captured and transported to places where they are among their own kind and away from humans.
His information on fairy folk generally challenges common beliefs of fairies being nice.
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