My Rating
“Nocturnal Animal”
Kirk Langstrom had arrived at the Cafe in the late afternoon to meet his wife Francine. It had been a rough three months without her but he needed to end his addiction to the Man-Bat formula. The monster had destroyed their marriage but it was the kids that suffered the most. For their sake, Kirk had to end the creature’s existence once and for all.
The last time he had seen his wife she was racing out the front door with their daughter and son in tow. Kirk could see the fear in Rebecca and Aaron’s young eyes. What did he do this time? Why couldn’t he remember the night before? All of this pain was brought on by that god damned formula. Kirk wished he had never begun the research on it.
Now, as Kirk entered the Cafe, he was under no delusion that Francine would even take him back. He still loved her with all his heart but did she feel the same? In the next few minutes he would find out just who cared for him more, his wife or the monster he created inside a test tube.
“Pieces Of Me”
From the headquarters of S.H.A.D.E. they flew to the desert plains of San Jose, California. The alert had been sent out to any available agents to stop the assembly line of killer robots corrupted by Satan himself. Frankenstein’s Monster and his estranged bride were the only ones available for the task. So away they went as a team formed hundreds of years ago.
As the two travel to the hot zone, the Monster could not put his letter out of his mind. He was never good at expressing himself in an intimate manner. But over the many years apart from his lady, the creature had learned to read and write. What flowery poetry he had crafted for his one true love. But would it be enough to kindle her cold dead heart? He would have to wait until the mission was over to find out.
“Buried On Sunday”
Jon Kent had flown off to follow his father that cold Sunday morning. Why had his mom tried so desperately to talk dad out of his task that day? Jon would find out as he flew closer to the cemetery grounds. His father picked a strange place to be today when there were so many other exciting places to be. Then Superboy saw the oversized figure lumbering towards. The zombie known as Solomon Grundy!
“The Dead Can Dance”
Everyone had cleared out of Titans Tower that night except for Raven. She was never into the holiday scene especially when it came to Valentine’s day. Love. Raven scoffed at the concept. It was something the normals believed in, not her.
It mattered little as she was the only one around when the phone call came. A home with stressed parents had been targeted by some supernatural force. They called it a ghost, but in Raven’s world that word could represent many things. She wouldn’t know the full scale of the intrusion until she interviewed the victims’ 4-year-old daughter, Jane. The girl called it the thing with stabbing hands.
“Be My Valentine”
Possession, it’s similar to riding in a cab. You’re aware of being in the vehicle, but no memories are share between passenger and driver. In Deadman’s case, he will pickup random events from his hosts. In the case of Aidan Murphy, the young fourth-grader who ran out in front of the passenger train, his memories were that of three bullies and altered Valentine’s day cards.
Why had the boys written such nasty things to little Aidan? Can Deadman help set things right at Spring street Elementary school? What dark secret does Dougie hide from his friends and teacher?
“Heart-Shaped Box”
Alec had almost forgotten the feeling. After the tragic end to his human appearance, and the loss of his wife, the Swamp Thing roamed the Bayou alone. Then the young botanist named Terri Farms arrived in Houma to perform research.
Soon after the woman stumbled across Alec and his monster form. She was different than most. Terri accepted his grotesque appearance as she had seen the goodness in the Swamp Thing. Over the winter months the two would meet by chance in various parts of the Louisiana swamps. That was Terri’s understanding, but Alec knew this was not true. He had become infatuated with her and the work she was doing. The two bonded on an emotional level just like humans do. Well, a human and a once human.
On Valentine’s day Alec presented Terri with a card in the shape of a giant red heart. It was the first Valentine’s he had given a woman in decades. He was nervous, or whatever the plant equivalent was, but Terri was very kind. The gesture, the ghost orchids, they were a hit. Some would say “Love will always find a way”. Could anything ruin this perfect day? Several sets of eyes watch from field glasses in the nearby treeline.
“Visibility”
SWAT and SCU had surrounded the downtown Lexcorp office building earlier that morning. A 911 call had come from somewhere within the various research laboratories taking up the lower floors of the skyscraper. A large talking gorilla had stormed in armed with a heavy machine gun. Strapped to the beast’s back was a high-tech cylinder device occupied by a human brain.
Over the next few hours the erratic primate held the massive police presence at bay while attempting to interrogate his hostages over new Cybernetic Optic Nerve technology. It would take the calm never of one Captain Maggie Sawyer to understand the pain of two lovers and their true intentions within the walls of the Lexicorp.
“The Turning Of Deborah Dancer”
Čelákovice – inside the Czech Republic, the caretaker opened the damaged crypt for Andrew and Deborah’s inspection. The smell of recent decay wafted out towards moonlight as they descended down into the darkness below. Another skeleton had gone missing, replaced with a dead American tourist. Was the man trying to be brave or completely stupid? Anything for a Selfie, Deborah commented.
Andrew Bennett scanned the scene with eyes centuries in the making. Miklos Nadasaday, son of the Blood Queen, had risen sometime in the past twenty-four hours. Why was Andrew’s destiny tied to that tyrannical woman? Mary had been his first real love, but he made a mistake turning her. Passion, affection, and devotion should never mix with the curse. Andrew had convinced himself that Devils in any form are incapable of these emotions. Then Deborah Dancer came into his life.
Will Andrew and Deborah be able to stop the minions of the Blood Queen from stealing their precious blood? Which Vampire Order will overcome the power struggle rooted in the Czech Republic? Can Andrew Bennett find true love with the half-vampire woman turned by his first?
“To Hell And Gone”
Love. Is there anything more powerful within heaven or hell? Can it hide in the deepest pits or the loftiest clouds? For Etrigan, the Demon bound by human flesh, no distance was far enough, nor the size of hell’s armies. Nothing would keep him from his beloved Rosa.
During the recent cosmic level conflict, Etrigan had been pulled into the fray, hence the long disappearance of Rosa’s lover Jason Blood. The woman was a pure spirit but misguided in her attempts to retrieve Jason and his Demon. Rosa turned to black magic in an attempt to conjure her lost love. Her actions damned her to the ever burning fires of hell itself.
Will Etrigan be able to find Rosa within the many plains of hell? Has the damned lover of Jason Blood become the coveted Memoriae of hell’s army? Can Etrigan defeat everything the demon Lords throw at him?
“Dear Velcoro”
The war was hard on everyone involved. For some, the dreaded “Dear John” letter hurt worse than a Kraut’s bayonet in the belly. The night before a big raid on the Stahl Sturmtruppen project bunker, Vincent Velcoro got the news.
His gal had been writing for months about his personality changes. He was once a fun loving American boy at the beginning of his life. Then he was turned. No shit, my love, being a vampire in the middle of a global conflict can certainly put a damper on things. The worst part of it was that Vincent couldn’t tell her the truth thanks to the bright red “top secret” stamped on everything.
Can Vincent Velcoro accept the bad news with the help of his fellow Creature Commando, Warren Griffith? Do werewolf males love everything hairy? Will Lt. Shrieve survive his tour with the most hideous looking GIs in the European theater?
Reviewer Notes
Let it be said that DC Comics writers can still pen top tier comics when they want too. Young Monsters In Love – 80 Page Giant (2018) is just one example of this sentiment. DC Comics was the king of romance comics back in the silver age of comic books, and it’s always a treat when they release books like this one.
What a whopper of an issue! Young Monsters In Love includes not one, but ten monster themed romance stories centered around both A-List characters such as Swamp Thing and Teen Titan’s Raven, as well as more B-listers stars such as the talking gorilla Monsieur Mallah and Andrew Bennett of “I, Vampire” fame. There are many more waiting inside the pages so definitely check it out.
Just a warning to parents, some of the themes here are probably not suited for younger readers, so use your best judgment. I do admit I became a little verklempt over the Raven storyline. That poor, poor girl. Someone needs to give her a hug if nothing else. That’s if she would even allow it.
Overall, the writing was excellent in my honest opinion. I loved various artists who contributed to this project. Man-bat looked absolutely badass in this one. I was also glad to see Jack Kirby’s Demon character had received a killer makeover as well. This whole book makes me want to start collecting DC horror books again. I’m giving the Valentine’s day one-shot a massive five out of five star rating. Definitely get this book if you can find it. The $9.99 price tag was definitely a bargain back in 2018 for awesomeness such as this.
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