Theyearis1964.BobbyBaileydoesn’trealizeheisabouttofulfillhistragicdestinywhenhewalksintoaUSArmyrecruitmentofficetojoinup.Close-mouthed,damaged,innocent,tryingtoforgetapastandlookingforafuture,itturnsoutthatBaileyistheperfectcandidateforasecretU.S.governmentexperimentalprogram,anunholycontinuationofageneticsprogramthatwasdiscoveredinNaziGermanynearly20yearsearlierinthewaningdaysofWorldWarII.Bailey’sonlyallyandprotector,SergeantMcFarland,intervenes,whichsetsoffachainofcascadingeventsthatspinoutofeveryone’scontrol.Asthetitularmonstersofthetitlemultiply,becomingrealandmetaphorical,literalandironic,thestoryreachesitsemotionalandmoralreckoning.MonstersisthelegendaryprojectBarryWindsor-Smithhasbeenworkingonforover35years.A380-pagetourdeforceofvisualstorytelling,Monsters’narrativecanvasisbothvastanddeep:partfamilialdrama,partpoliticalthriller,partmetaphysicaljourney,itisanintimateportraitofindividualsstrugglingtoreclaimtheirlivesandanepicpoliticalodysseyacrosstwogenerationsofAmericanhistory.Trauma,fate,conscience,andredemptionarejustafewofthethemesthatintersectinthemostambitiousgraphicnovelofWindsor-Smith’scareer.MonstersisrenderedinWindsor-Smith’simpeccablepen-and-inktechnique,thevisualstorytellingwithitssensitivitytogestureandcompositionisthemostsophisticatedoftheartist’scareer.Therearepassagesofheartbreakingtenderness,ofexcruciatingpain,anddevastatingviolence.Itissurelyoneofthemostintensegraphicnovelseverdrawn.
