DON'T LOOK UNDER THE BED!

My favourite crusader against the horrors of childhood is back in a book full of brand new short strips called 'The Mandy Book of Monsters'! If you've not encountered Mandy the Monster Hunter in any of Hellbound Media's anthologies before, this is a great place to jump in. This collection is written by creator Matt Warner and co-editor Mark Adams and mixes colour strips with moody black and white adventures with a wide variety of Hellbound artistic talent. My favourite artists in this book being the monotone ones… (Anna Suzanne, Neil McClements and Alantisvampir.) Where 'Mandy' succeeds is in it's clever premise… She fights the monsters that only children believe in… The creature in the cupboard… the thing under the bed. Called in by the kids by-way of their simple stick drawings (as they are too young to be able to write.) Reading 'Mandy' is a little like reliving some half-remembered childhood trauma… Back when monsters were really scary. I was a little worried that the idea of 'Mandy' would be too simple to sustain many stories, but I now see that the strip isn't as limited as it first appeared. There are huge unexplored areas in Mandy's background and her wider-world that are aching to be more full exploited. The origin of her black armour (made from the hides of defeated monsters), the histories of her allies (both human and monstrous) are all waiting to be fleshed out in future outings just as Mandy herself is. Do yourself a favour and buy a copy.

It's available directly from Hellbound Media themselves: www.hellboundmedia.co.uk John A. Short