Graphic Content: He Who Fights with Monsters written by Francesco Artibani and illustrated by Werther Dell'Edera

 

Many philosophers and those seeking to understand evil are probably familiar with the following quote from Nietzche: “He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster.” (Other versions have it beginning with “Whoever,” but it’s the same general idea) People who use this quote use it to explain how slippery the slope is to being evil, even if one begins the fight with good intentions. It is a well-worn quote, but writer Francesco Artibani and illustrator Werther Dell’Edera offer a unique interpretation of this particular quote in their fantastical WWII drama
He Who Fights with Monsters.

The story opens with the Nazi occupation in Prague. Soldiers are pulling people from their homes, the community is chafing under the yoke of oppression, and the resistance in Prague is looking for anything that will turn the tide. They soon discover something beneath an old synagogue: boxes of mud and instructions on how to create a mythical golem, a protector of the Jewish people. Soon, a golem joins the fight to remove the Nazis from Prague, but this protector’s entry into the fray will affect both friend and foe alike, and all will learn the true cost of war.

Artibani creates a story that doesn’t take the simple road of “Golem turning the tide of battle.” This well-trodden ground of good soundly trouncing evil is even foreshadowed by Dell’Edera, whose action scenes showcase a kind of slam-bang action mentality that would be home in any superhero or war comic. Instead, Artibani looks at those affected by the occupation. The Nazis are still evil, and are depicted as such, but those with the Nazi boots figuratively on their necks also have their personalities and motivations dissected. Even the golem, who might be the most human of any of them, reflects on what war does to people. With the addition of a puppet master, who both frames and plays a significant role in the story, and He Who Fights With Monsters becomes a fractured fairy tale that takes a less-than-black-and-white approach to the effects of war.

 

Have You Read This? Below by Laurel Hightower

 

Anyone who has lived in or around West Virginia and who also loves cryptids has heard of the Mothman. Featured in The Mothman Prophecies and the star of a specific festival in the town of Point Pleasant, the Mothman is an interesting bit of folklore that blends aspects of Bigfoot, aliens, and general weirdness. He also features heavily in the novella Below by Laurel Hightower. Hightower, a Kentucky native, mines the Mothman legend for some scares, but the emotion behind it comes from a deeper place.

The book focuses on a young woman named Addy, who is traveling through the mountains of West Virginia during a snowstorm. Recently divorced, she’s all too aware of her nettling ex-husband’s voice in her head, one that tells her she’s not equipped to drive in this kind of weather. At a truck stop, she meets a trucker named Madds who offers to escort her in his truck. Unfortunately, his help isn’t enough to prevent them from getting into an accident, and so begins a night of weirdness and terror that has Addy getting lost in a cave as something pursues her, something with wings and glowing red eyes.

This book being a novella, Hightower doesn’t waste any time getting right to the action. She sets up the scene, introduces the readers to the characters, and then immediately throws them into danger. Fans of movies like The Descent will appreciate the claustrophobic horror Hightower employs, but there’s also a deeper vein of terror she mines through the characterization of Abby. Her married life has been totally dominated by her condescending ex-husband, and she is plagued with self-doubt about her ability to survive. That is what she’s most at war with as she struggles to once again see the sky, and this also sets up an ending that will leave readers, especially ones who’ve encountered toxic relationships or have been made to feel “less than,” a lot to think about.