Comic Review: MAN-EATERS #1 from Image Comics

MAN-EATERS #1
Writer: Chelsea Cain
Artist: Kate Niemczyk
Cover: Lia Miternique
Published: September 26, 2018

Image Comics
Diamond ID: JUL180103
Age Rating: T+

Digital : $3.99
Print: $3.99
Eisner-nominated and New York Times bestselling thriller writer CHELSEA CAIN returns to comics with a new ONGOING SERIES! A mutation in Toxoplasmosis causes menstruating women to turn into ferocious killer wildcats—easily provoked and extremely dangerous. As panic spreads and paranoia takes root, the fate of the world rides on the shoulders of one twelve-year-old girl. Part Cat People, part The Handmaid’s Tale, MAN-EATERS will have everyone talking. From the creative team behind the Eisner-nominated series Mockingbird: writer CHELSEA CAIN, artist KATE NIEMCZYK, colorist RACHELLE ROSENBERG, letterer JOE CARAMAGNA, and joined by LIA MITERNIQUE, KATIE LANE, and STELLA GREENVOSS. This September… the cat wants in.

Here is something different. What I first thought was going to be a humor/horror comic is actually a dark (still humorous) satire about society's view of women. In a press release from Image Comics, Cain said:

“Pop culture has a long tradition of manifesting our cultural anxieties as monsters. What scares us most right now? …Women.”

So she has run with that idea. The comic is told from a 12-year-old girl's POV. She lives in a society where women who are infected with a virus can turn man-eating wildcats during their periods. To control this menace the government taken measure to keep girls from keep girls from having their periods and locking up girls who might be a risk. There is a panel with a line of young girls wearing handcuffs. They are all wearing t-shirts with empowerment slogans like "Girls Can Do Anything" and "Fight Like a Girl" that really hits home.

In the first issue, we meet our young protag sitting on her bed pretending a tampon is a superhero. She introduces us to her dad who is a police investigator and gives us a look at what life is like since women started turning into dangerous killing machines. The blurb says the fate of the world rests on her shoulders but there are no hints at what that might mean yet.

Great artwork and varied and interesting panel placement and shapes along with a lot of details to check out in the backgrounds. Tons of work and time had to go into it.

I am looking forward to seeing where this story is going. Also check out the clever and awesome covers. An issue #1 variant will be sparkly and an issue #2 variant will have an iridescent cover. Brilliant!

4 "menstruating" Sheep

SharonS