Christos N. Gage, Tomas Giorello and Diego Rodriguez introduce us to the Monster Killing Squad, the last defense against the cryptozoological attacks that threaten us in a volume published by Moztros
Killer clowns, forest witches, giant spiders, bigfoot…monsters that populate the dreams of Stephen King and that star in our nightmares. What if they existed in the real world? Then someone would have to be prepared to stop them. That’s where the Monster Killing Squadthe latest proposal of Moztros In collaboration with Bad Idea which we can enjoy if we like supernatural action…
Cryptozoological attacks
Until now, life on our planet has been relatively peaceful. Yes, there are terrible wars, bloody pandemics, moral degradation and many other evils that can be worse than any history of H.P. Lovecraft, but at least we know that everything has an earthly explanation. Ok, from time to time there are supposedly paranormal events, things that have no explanation and give rise to myths and legends that have fueled fictions for centuries, but they are very isolated cases. But what happens when they stop being that way?
That is the question that Christos N. Gage, Tomas Giorello and Diego Rodriguez They try to respond with a violent and mischievous story. When a new threat arises, someone needs to take charge of neutralizing it, and that’s where the Monster Killing Squad comes in, the equivalent of the Avengers in a world where nightmarish creatures lurk around every corner…
Bad antiheroes
Gage puts on his hat John Carpenter to build a party that’s as good at killing monsters as it is cool. With a totally inappropriate aesthetic, an attitude badass tremendous and zero scruples, our protagonists are going to offer us large doses of superlative action where we will see them distribute firewood without censorship.
In their first mission (the first one we see here, actually) they will have to face some clowns. Pennywise white label products that will be a piece of cake for them. And there we will get to know them in a rather crude way, it must be said. “Monsters have nightmares about us” It seems like a phrase taken from the manual of the good tacky action film director of the nineties.
The commander Joan Stockard It is your particular Nick Fury, Charity She is the hot exorcist of the group, Javier is the equivalent of The Rock wearing the armor of War Machine, Jude It is the young priestess and the cute of training and Edgar It is the character you handle in any shooter next-generation first-person futuristic game, spiced up with some secrets from their past. This is the core of these mercenaries.
In addition to having to face a pack of sasquatch already a kind of vampiric demons in that plot that goes at full speed, the authors have taken the trouble to give enough space to develop the characters, establish relationships between them and learn something about their past, making them much more three-dimensional than they would be if we we limit ourselves to uncontrolled action.
Entertainment without complexes
This self-contained volume (a practice that Moztros exercises with assiduity) is ideal for the reader who does not seek complications, who flees from long stories whose quality can decline over time and who only needs fun and enjoyment without too many pretensions. Gage does not try to write a new Watchmen, but his ambition is limited to doing something for the enjoyment of lovers of this type of stories. Objective achieved.
As for the graphic section, anyone who has read his Conan King You will know what you are going to find if you put yourself in the hands of Giorello, a cartoonist who has earned the respect of the comics world with his own very recognizable realistic style that we will see here in a very different aspect to what can be found in the adventures of Cimmerian.
The volume published by Moztros in hardcover consists of 112 full-color pages with a page size of 17×26 cm and includes the translation of the American edition of the four issues of the limited series. Monster Kill Squad, plus all the covers of the included issues and a section with extra material at the end. The recommended retail price is €20.90 and it went on sale in June 2024.
The Monster Killing Squad
A forest witch could kidnap hikers, a killer clown could eat your children, or an evil ghost could disturb a young couple just for pleasure. However, these events were rare, easily covered up, and were quickly transformed into stories or fables that were more laughable than scary.
But who’s laughing now? Over the past three months, cryptozoological attacks have multiplied, and the arcane has become a daily occurrence. Monsters of all shapes and sizes attack at will and without mercy, while upstanding citizens have had enough of all the nonsense. It’s time for THE MONSTER KILLING SQUAD to spring into action! This super team is a special government unit that brings together the most dangerous bastards on the planet. The deadliest and most ruthless people finally have the chance to shoot every creature that walks, crawls, flies or hides in the shadows in the brain.
And if they don’t have brains, even better: they have weapons for that too. Christos N. Gage (The Avengers), Tomás Giorello (Conan the King) and Diego Rodriguez (Hellblazer) tell us a story of witches and ghosts, demons and the undead, goblins and phantoms. There have always been monsters in the world. But now there are also ruthless men who hunt them down, and that’s what THE MONSTER KILLING SQUAD will do, and it will do it very well.
Authors: Christos N. Gage, Tomas Giorello and Diego Rodriguez
