Man-Eaters: The Cursed #2 // Review
Successful senior craft camper Maude W. has had a really good night’s sleep. She’s going to need it. All of the rest of the campers have completely vanished from the island except a boy named Burt, who was too damaged to go to football camp this year. Maude and Burt go exploring in Man-Eaters: The Cursed #2. Writer Chelsea Cain continues her journeys with Maude in another issue brought to the page by artist Kate Niemczyk and artist/graphic designer Lia Mitternique. Colorist Rachelle Rosenberg adds a moody, nuanced depth to the page. Once again, Cain and company are on to something truly unique and refreshing.
Given the sheer number of injuries that young Burt had sustained playing football, it’s safe to say that he’s pretty unlucky. It’s probably no surprise when everyone else inexplicably vanishes from summer camp he’s attending. His luck’s about to turn around, though. The single most capable camper HASN’T disappeared. Maude is one of the most highly-decorated kids ever to attend “craft” camp--a camp that’s not exactly as safe as the name sounds. More than just macrame and friendship bracelets, this camp teaches disciplines like spell casting and necromancy. It’s dangerous out there. Stay close to Maude. And be careful of the frogs.
Cain’s distinct narrative style charms its way through another captivating issue. Cain engages the narrative in freshly interesting ways on every level. Even the recap from the previous issue has its own personality as the events of the first chapter are told in the form of tarot-like images. Characterization makes its way to the page in interesting ways as the culture of Craft Camp is contrasted against that of Burt’s Football Camp in a pair of brochures painstakingly brought to the page by Mitternique. Through it all, Cain is weaving a weird mystery that’s a lot of fun to follow. Where did everybody go? Why did some of them end up in Fairy Glen? And what the hell is the deal with the frogs?
Cain’s script allows the art and design team plenty of opportunities to embellish on the moodiness of the story. The strangely ambiguous danger of the frogs lurks around the edges of the panel. They can be found on the two-page spread of the map of the camp. There’s a sinister, little “ribbit” as Maude and Bert explore the island. Rosenberg’s color draws a rich definition into the atmosphere of a sylvan island off the coast of Seattle. Still, the most captivating use of color has to be the gracefully subtle mix of green and brown in Maude’s casually heroic gaze.
Cain and company have been sculpting a stunningly distinct, little narrative in Man-Eaters that feels quite unlike anything else on the comics rack. The unique blend of narrative, sequential art, and graphic design find an engrossing pacing in the second issue of the second series. The mysteries of the world of Man-Eaters get a boost of life in the second issue of The Cursed. If Cain, Mitternique, and company can continue work of this quality, Maude could wind up being one of the more cunningly mysterious heroines to ever appear in comics.
