by Joann Sfar, Lewis Trondheim, J. E. Vermot-DesRoches (Illustrator)
NBM, $14.99, 48 pages
You have to love a comic that comes with an A and B side. Donjon Monstres 4: Night of the Ladykiller is a double album featuring the anthropomorphic beings of Donjon. The first feature is about Horus who finds himself surprisingly popular with the ladies, and needing to solve the mystery as quickly as possible. The second album features Gro-Gro, one of the dumbest beings to ever be sent out for beer from a group of xenophobic rabbits.
It’s a fun double album, full of dark humor and some great artwork. They are surprisingly complex, with multiple goals and some unforgettable characters. It is rare that you are cheering for someone as self-centered as Horus or as simple yet aware as Gro-Gro, and here is hard not to. Even the supporting characters work overtime to make the book funny; there are no throwaway characters, and it pays to pay attention to even what would normally be walk-on roles. This is one of the few satires of the sword and sorcery genre that does not merely make fun of it, but actually adds something fun to the mix, making for a highly-recommended book.
Jamais Jochim