Monster Haiku Book 2: Carpe Demon
www.monsterhaiku.com
Written By: Jason Deebie
Art by: Jason Deebie
Let me present to you a collection of comic strips that is funny, smart and very creative. Artist and writer, Jason Deebie (writer /artist for Sir Ryan’s Quest) should be credited here also as a poet. Haiku is a Japanese form of short poetry, where the tempo follows a rhythm of 5,7,5. Not only is there a form to the poetry, but there is also a juxtaposition between the images and words making Monster Haiku Book 2: Carpe Demon an entertaining and enriching read.
I met Jason at CT Comic Con, and he was very excited to talk to me about what his comic strips are, how they work and just how much hard work he has put into these books. There wasn’t many Con-Regrets (Con-Regrets definition: there was a book or item you wish you bought but didn’t and now lament over the not buying it) at CT Comic Con, however, one regret I have is that I didn’t pick up more than just this one collection. There are about 100 comic strips in this volume, and I flew through the pages and strips because of how much I enjoyed reading them. Jason described the strips to me as topics or jokes that related to things going on in his life at the moment or something he over heard as he was creating the next strip. The many
variables to this comic strip all pull their own weight and make the comic and its concept work fantastically. The jokes aren’t forced, and if you don’t understand the haiku portion of the strip, it is still really enjoyable as the art and humor are up anyone’s alley.
The characters are Halloween themed monsters (vampires, zombies and my favorite Gill the fishman), but illustrated to look cute and adorable, not gruesome or fiendish. The drawings are simple, the writing is simple, but I know what Jason is doing with his creative brilliance is not simple. The amount of fun, smart and entertaining comic strips he has out is in the thousands. I highly recommend picking up this volume as well as his other collected volumes and checking out his site which posts these children sized monsters every weekday, http://www.monsterhaiku.com/.
These comics are so good, not only could I see them being in the Sunday newspaper with the other funnies, they would be one of the few strips that keeps the Sunday funnies still relevant and worthwhile. The puns, hilarious situations, and the cute monsters is a worthy trifecta making this a must read, but remember this is all set to haiku, which turns an entertaining strip into a smart, creative, and unique piece of art.
