Monsters Issue One by Ken Dahl

I picked up this mini-comic by Ken Dahl at the Global Hobo booth. I have seen a mini or two from Dahl before, probably at APE, but I picked this up on the strength of the cover alone, with barely a glance inside, and it paid off.

This is an extremely well done comic, with wonderful art and layouts. Dahl manages to pull off a style that plays to the comedic and the dramatic moments in the story. He can comfortably exaggerate the cartooniness when needed and reign it in for a moment or two of highly effective emoting. The layouts are strong as well, with some pages with many packed panels of information and some with an airy feel to focus on character emotion and reaction. He uses tones to good effect in the issue and they never muddy the artwork, in spite of limited print quality. In addition, the cover is well designed focusing on a great illustration and confident color use.

The story is engaging as well. He kicks it off with some very funny pages, introducing characters and setting a light tone, but building some effective (if slightly heavy handed), foreshadowing. By the end of the issue you are acquainted with the characters, and you are engrossed in their story. I look forward to more issues, and more work from this very talented author.