Advance Review: Dealing With The Aftermath Of Tough Decisions In `Little Monsters’ #5

We all think we want the freedom to choose our own destinies, but few of us want to pay the price for the choices we make. In the last issue of Little Monsters, the group vampire children made a number of decisions, the impact of which they begin to see as this new chapter opens.

By tasting human blood for the first time ever – previously the kids had been feeding off of rats and other rodents – the young vampires have put themselves on a new, more dangerous path. Think of it as a vampiric puberty where they now crave human blood and will do virtually anything to taste it. They are much more dangerous than childlike.

Add to the fact that the children must also come to grips with the notion that they have been undead and left on their own for much longer than they realized. In fact, they are centuries off on their calculations. That’s a lot of rats ingested and helps to explain why most of them are so eager to change their eating habits.

Writer Jeff Lemire has created a unique take on a tired vampire genre – a sort of coming-of-age tale for the young undead. As usual, he has done a good job of creating unique characters, though there are so many of them that it can be hard remembering which is which.

Artist Dustin Nguyen does his best to differentiate the young hunters, but working with a nearly all black-and-white palate – save for the occasional spot color red to show blood – doesn’t make matters easier for him or the reader.

In addition to the change in diets, the group also experienced its first loss in likely centuries. Young Ronnie lost his head fighting with a band of human survivors in the last issue, and now his brother Raymond is forced to come to terms with that tragedy. How he chooses to do that will result in still more repercussions for the future.

Little Monsters #5 will be available for purchase on July 6, 2022.