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Naming Monsters by Hannah Eaton
The year is 1993, as we join Fran on a wild ride around London while she navigates the grief of losing her mother. Tales of strange creatures that might have been introduced at each stage of her journey. Her adventure, often with best friend Alex in tow, is a pyschogeography of the city and its suburbs, punctuated by encounters with Fran's semi-estranged dad, her out-of-touch East End nana, a selfish boyfriend, and the odd black dog or two.
As Fran says herself: monsters are all around us.
As Fran says herself: monsters are all around us.
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First published June 27, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
March 1, 2018
fulfilling book riot's 2018 read harder challenge task #18: a comic that isn’t published by marvel, dc, or image
extra points given to me, by me, for choosing a book that i have owned for more than a year.
extra points given to me, by me, for choosing a book that i have owned for more than a year.
September 19, 2021
I really only had one problem with this book: Hannah Eaton's lettering is atrociously hard to read. That's it, the worst criticism I can throw at this book. No one will accuse me of burying the lede ...
So, in this book we meet Fran, a keen student of folkloric beasts. The jacket flap describes her as a cryptozoologist, but that's not particularly accurate. Fran does use the word herself, but admits that it isn't the right one. "I think a cryptozoologist might be one of those people who stand around in khaki waistcoats getting aroused about yetis." Her interests lie in a more supernatural vein--black dogs, kappas, boggarts, and the like. Her life is at a crossroads. Her mother died recently. She's awaiting the results of her 'A' levels. She's just starting to figure out the complicated dance of dating and boys. Over the course of the book, we begin to see that her interest in monsters is her way of sorting through her various emotional issues. The book is really more of a character study than anything else.
The artwork is lovely, shifting from ink to pencils and back again with ease. Eaton's style reminds me a bit of American underground artist Frank Stack, with more use of shading. There are maybe some hints of Stan Mack and Sharon Rudahl as well. All in all, this is a lovely book from a talented newcomer. If she can just get her lettering to be a bit more clear ...
So, in this book we meet Fran, a keen student of folkloric beasts. The jacket flap describes her as a cryptozoologist, but that's not particularly accurate. Fran does use the word herself, but admits that it isn't the right one. "I think a cryptozoologist might be one of those people who stand around in khaki waistcoats getting aroused about yetis." Her interests lie in a more supernatural vein--black dogs, kappas, boggarts, and the like. Her life is at a crossroads. Her mother died recently. She's awaiting the results of her 'A' levels. She's just starting to figure out the complicated dance of dating and boys. Over the course of the book, we begin to see that her interest in monsters is her way of sorting through her various emotional issues. The book is really more of a character study than anything else.
The artwork is lovely, shifting from ink to pencils and back again with ease. Eaton's style reminds me a bit of American underground artist Frank Stack, with more use of shading. There are maybe some hints of Stan Mack and Sharon Rudahl as well. All in all, this is a lovely book from a talented newcomer. If she can just get her lettering to be a bit more clear ...
February 1, 2016
My expectations were sort of low for this first graphic novel by Hannah Eaton, in part because it is a first novel, even though it was shortlisted for a First Graphic Novel competition. I also knew from looking at her bio that she is, in addition to being an artist, writer and performer, a tutor in a primary school in Brighton (England). What does that have to do with anything? I'ma teacher, so am predisposed to like people who work in classrooms, I suppose.
Initially I found the entirely black and white pencil and ink drawings a little dark and hard to make out, but I warmed to the story and style pretty quickly and liked it very much! I found it quite moving and complex. And I found the sketchy artwork also at times very detailed and impressive.
The story is basically one of coping with grief. Fran has lost her mother, and at seventeen, living with her Nana, is growing up a bit fast, with an older boyfriend, doing drugs and spending time in pubs. It's 1993, London, and Fran's best friend Alex is with her on her journey to grow up and heal from her loss. If you like nineties stories, there's lots of cultural references, music.
In each successive chapter we are introduced to a particular monster Fran needs to name in order to move on, a monster we see represented in the anecdote in sometimes subtle ways. Each introduction to a monster is followed by a story which in some (not ham-handed) way illustrates her sort of stages of grief (her journey, not a psychologist's representation of stages of grief).
This is, after all, a psychological story of healing, though it is also a book about monsters, real and imagined. Fran is psychically aware, in touch with the paranormal at every turn.
Interesting that I have just coincidentally read three books lately pertaining to monsters of various kinds, including Deep Dark Fears by Fran Krause, who draws comics and cartoons of his own and others's fears, and NonNonBa by Shigeru Muzuki, who writes of Japanese yokai (ghosts, monsters). Eaton, not unlike Muzuki, is really a scholar of English ghosts and spirits.
Examples: Boggarts: Remember, Harry Potter fans?
Black dogs? See
http://www.hiddenea.com/shuckland/dub...
for reported cases of black dog sightings in England.
Various chapters feature not just English monsters. When Eaton was a girl she said she studied books about monsters and ghosts, so included here are changelings (babies separated at birth for little monsters: my sister!!!!), the Japanese Kappa, the incubus (yes, sex with monsters as you sleep, so some of this story is sexually explicit, with some crude language, it's not a little kid comic), The Nuckelavee https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuckelavee (a horselike demon from the Scottish isles), and others.
It is a little spooky, man, but since I have a son who would appear to be psychic, it is just mostly fascinating to me (who has never seen a ghost or been prescient or any of that. And I've known grief and how crazy-maki it can make you in various ways. Was I visited by father at his funeral, or was it just my wanting so badly to be visited by him at that moment? I think the former, but am willing to admit the latter.
So: As a scholar of monsters AND psychologically-oriented artist and thinker, Eaton posits that monsters may be real, and may be derived from psychological needs and fears. Demons you see may also be representations of inner demons. Either way, she feels they must be named (the title, remember!?) to be conquered, so you can in some sense "move on." I mean, admitted that as Faulkner said, and I'm paraphrasing, "the past is never past." Her fine serious essay about monsters real and imagined follows her entertaining and thoughtful story.
Yes, check it out, definitely, but I would suggest you do what I did accidentally, and deliberately read Deep Dark Fears and NonNonBa so you have a range of looks at the supernatural world from three comics artists. Either as folklore and mythology, or psychology, or a bit of all of them.
Initially I found the entirely black and white pencil and ink drawings a little dark and hard to make out, but I warmed to the story and style pretty quickly and liked it very much! I found it quite moving and complex. And I found the sketchy artwork also at times very detailed and impressive.
The story is basically one of coping with grief. Fran has lost her mother, and at seventeen, living with her Nana, is growing up a bit fast, with an older boyfriend, doing drugs and spending time in pubs. It's 1993, London, and Fran's best friend Alex is with her on her journey to grow up and heal from her loss. If you like nineties stories, there's lots of cultural references, music.
In each successive chapter we are introduced to a particular monster Fran needs to name in order to move on, a monster we see represented in the anecdote in sometimes subtle ways. Each introduction to a monster is followed by a story which in some (not ham-handed) way illustrates her sort of stages of grief (her journey, not a psychologist's representation of stages of grief).
This is, after all, a psychological story of healing, though it is also a book about monsters, real and imagined. Fran is psychically aware, in touch with the paranormal at every turn.
Interesting that I have just coincidentally read three books lately pertaining to monsters of various kinds, including Deep Dark Fears by Fran Krause, who draws comics and cartoons of his own and others's fears, and NonNonBa by Shigeru Muzuki, who writes of Japanese yokai (ghosts, monsters). Eaton, not unlike Muzuki, is really a scholar of English ghosts and spirits.
Examples: Boggarts: Remember, Harry Potter fans?
Black dogs? See
http://www.hiddenea.com/shuckland/dub...
for reported cases of black dog sightings in England.
Various chapters feature not just English monsters. When Eaton was a girl she said she studied books about monsters and ghosts, so included here are changelings (babies separated at birth for little monsters: my sister!!!!), the Japanese Kappa, the incubus (yes, sex with monsters as you sleep, so some of this story is sexually explicit, with some crude language, it's not a little kid comic), The Nuckelavee https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuckelavee (a horselike demon from the Scottish isles), and others.
It is a little spooky, man, but since I have a son who would appear to be psychic, it is just mostly fascinating to me (who has never seen a ghost or been prescient or any of that. And I've known grief and how crazy-maki it can make you in various ways. Was I visited by father at his funeral, or was it just my wanting so badly to be visited by him at that moment? I think the former, but am willing to admit the latter.
So: As a scholar of monsters AND psychologically-oriented artist and thinker, Eaton posits that monsters may be real, and may be derived from psychological needs and fears. Demons you see may also be representations of inner demons. Either way, she feels they must be named (the title, remember!?) to be conquered, so you can in some sense "move on." I mean, admitted that as Faulkner said, and I'm paraphrasing, "the past is never past." Her fine serious essay about monsters real and imagined follows her entertaining and thoughtful story.
Yes, check it out, definitely, but I would suggest you do what I did accidentally, and deliberately read Deep Dark Fears and NonNonBa so you have a range of looks at the supernatural world from three comics artists. Either as folklore and mythology, or psychology, or a bit of all of them.
March 1, 2019
The lettering was honestly a bit of a pain to read at times but once I kind of got used to it, I was quite absorbed in this debut graphic novel. The monsters introduced at the start of chapters were interesting and it is the demons that plague her in real life that are both sad and fascinating.
October 28, 2019
Starting with a caveat: I rarely read graphic novels, so I don’t feel particularly qualified to comment on them. Nor do I feel like I’m a particularly sympathetic reader of this particular story-telling form. But having said that, I did find Naming Monsters to be both moving and complex, and I thought that the graphic format both enhanced and emphasised the subject matter. Like A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness, it deals with the subject of grief/loss. Like Blankets, by Craig Thompson, it covers the territory of late adolescence: emotional turmoil, identity issues, relationships and body image. Set in London in 1993, it doesn’t quite have the feeling of a historical novel, but many of the cultural references may be lost on the contemporary reader - particularly one who is not familiar with British culture.
My knowledge of illustration is more focused on children’s books, and I didn’t find this illustrative style appealing. It was dark and complicated, with lots of shadows and cross-hatching. The human figures had a distorted, often monstrous look to them, which I acknowledge suited the emotional tone and story dynamic, but was rather off-putting. Overall, I did feel that the illustrations suited the subject matter - which combined mythical monsters with emotional/psychological fears.
I think this graphic novel could be used as a teaching aid or tool, and might be particularly beneficial to teens who are struggling with mental health issues and difficult backgrounds. It is certainly “graphic”, though, not just in the sense of using illustrations to tell the story, but also in terms of content. There are some sexual images in this book, crudity (both visual and in terms of language) and some bad language. Nothing that would be shocking to any 17 year old, but this is definitely not a ‘comic book’ for younger teens.
Thank you to Myriad Editions for providing me with a gifted copy of this book. 3.5 🌟
My knowledge of illustration is more focused on children’s books, and I didn’t find this illustrative style appealing. It was dark and complicated, with lots of shadows and cross-hatching. The human figures had a distorted, often monstrous look to them, which I acknowledge suited the emotional tone and story dynamic, but was rather off-putting. Overall, I did feel that the illustrations suited the subject matter - which combined mythical monsters with emotional/psychological fears.
I think this graphic novel could be used as a teaching aid or tool, and might be particularly beneficial to teens who are struggling with mental health issues and difficult backgrounds. It is certainly “graphic”, though, not just in the sense of using illustrations to tell the story, but also in terms of content. There are some sexual images in this book, crudity (both visual and in terms of language) and some bad language. Nothing that would be shocking to any 17 year old, but this is definitely not a ‘comic book’ for younger teens.
Thank you to Myriad Editions for providing me with a gifted copy of this book. 3.5 🌟
December 30, 2015
What makes this graphic novel shine the most would definitely be the illustrations. So much effort and detail is put into each one with a unique touch. Although, the handwriting was a little hard for me to decipher at times which was frustrating. The concept of the protagonist metaphorically dealing with her inner monsters was hauntingly intriguing, but the story didn't quite grab me or touch me in the way I would have liked to appreciate it.
August 26, 2022
i have never read a graphic novel quite like this. it's called a psychogeography & it's kind of slice of lifeish & it's so English at times it felt like Eaton was trying to make it so. the story deals with a seventeen year old girl, Fran, who lost her mother and now lives with her grandmother. we see a couple of her days from the end of summer, as well as some stories about monsters she's collected. the stories tell what she cannot elaborate on in words, her grief and her sense of alienation from peers. Fran was a very believable 17-year-old-girl, i thought, and i really liked her friendship with Alex, it's always nice to see uncomplicated friendships between girls. especially the scene where Alex confronts Fran with her grief at the end I thought was very powerful - how she does not know what to say and stumbles through it, but is still there and brings comfort; that felt like such a real portrayal of friendship. apart from this also this atmosphere of those sort of boring and oppressive summer days in a town you know well but is not all that big or interesting was caught really well.
i also liked the rough drawing style and the choice to draw dreams and monsters in pen, leaving them 'clearer' and sharper than 'real' life.
things i enjoyed less were the on-the-nose mentions of class and the awkward introductions of identity (Alex being Jewish, for example). there would have been room for more show instead of tell. when it came to the drawings, i think there is a missed opportunity when it comes to page design, as it's all pretty straightforward and can get a little bit tedious (especially as this book is just not that goodlooking overall). also i kept going back and forth on the monster thing - i expected it to be more incorporated in the story than it was and wished at times it would be more real horror/fantasy instead of just realism with some metaphorical talks of monsters thrown in, but on the other hand the realism wás well done, so maybe it has more to do with my preferences than with the book.
i also liked the rough drawing style and the choice to draw dreams and monsters in pen, leaving them 'clearer' and sharper than 'real' life.
things i enjoyed less were the on-the-nose mentions of class and the awkward introductions of identity (Alex being Jewish, for example). there would have been room for more show instead of tell. when it came to the drawings, i think there is a missed opportunity when it comes to page design, as it's all pretty straightforward and can get a little bit tedious (especially as this book is just not that goodlooking overall). also i kept going back and forth on the monster thing - i expected it to be more incorporated in the story than it was and wished at times it would be more real horror/fantasy instead of just realism with some metaphorical talks of monsters thrown in, but on the other hand the realism wás well done, so maybe it has more to do with my preferences than with the book.
January 26, 2025
Interesting first graphic novel, drawn in pencil making some of the pictures hazy and you have to study them carefully to make out what is going on- like being in a smoky pub- appropriate as some take place in a 1993 pub!! If you name your fears it may help you get through the anxiety and perhaps that’s what monsters are- our fears personified? The main story is of Hannah, a 16 year old scared about her retake results who is living with her Grandmother after the early death of her mother. This story is inter cut with information about a particular monster as Fran learns to deal with it- she is a monsterologist!! New word??
November 30, 2018
Clever use of monsters to describe Fran's grieving process - I had to read it twice before I began to appreciate the complexity the weaving.
I especially liked how the fourth wall was broken when Fran got her GCSE results - helped to emphasize her mood at the moment.
I especially liked how the fourth wall was broken when Fran got her GCSE results - helped to emphasize her mood at the moment.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 12, 2020
Really lame
August 15, 2021
Very good reminds me of my younger days...
March 19, 2022
Loved this strange, nineties-nostalgic, cryptic-filled contemporary folk tale.
October 15, 2022
3.5 / Echoing others in that the lettering is challenging and at times painful, but the story line is thought-provoking.
November 1, 2022
Some monsters live in liminal states and so do people from time to time. This is a wonderful exploration of both.
August 18, 2024
This was so brilliant!
June 6, 2013
This is a rather sad tale drawn upon from the author’s own experience of losing her mother during her teenage years. Fran, the main protagonist, is seventeen years old and struggling to come to terms with the death of her mother. The death has propelled her journey into adulthood faster than she would’ve liked. The people that surround her either don’t know how to help her through her grief or selfishly can’t be bothered. As she works through each stage of her grief, you feel strong compassion for her and pity that no one was there for her.
Originally published on www.serendipityreviews.co.uk
As she takes her lonely journey from girl to woman, you watch as she learns to separate childish fantasies from the grim reality. Each section of the book begins with a description of a certain type of monster, that you find instantly replicated within the people she meets in that section, showing the hidden evils that lurk within us all. You also watch helplessly as Fran travels through each stage of grief to work out how she can live without her mother.
The pictures are beautifully drawn and very detailed. The book is completely in black and white, which I felt added to the dark tone of the book. The content is quite sexually graphic at times, giving the book a harsh look at love, life and sex.
This is the first graphic novel I’ve read in years and it reminded me how much I enjoy them. A stunning and yet poignant look at life after the death of a loved one through the eyes of the young at heart.
May 7, 2016
A combination of relationship strife and coming-of-age woes and urban folklore. Pencil sketches form Fran’s world, monsters lurk everywhere, at least six even crowd around Fran in her bed. Fran imagines her mother, but sometimes wonders what she would think, or if what Fran imagines her mother doing would have been what she would have done if she were still alive. I loved the combination of suburban detachment and disillusionment with folklore and old superstitions. As I read I considered the title a lot, naming monsters, which monsters are we naming, the black dogs and boggarts that sometimes crowd the pages, or the neglectful dad, jerk boyfriend and social perceptions that Fran faces. It’s an interesting story and I really appreciated how it illustrated Fran’s inner world as she healed.
For those who enjoyed graphic novels such as, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, Calling Dr. Laura, or Potential among others.
For those who enjoyed graphic novels such as, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, Calling Dr. Laura, or Potential among others.
June 19, 2016
I didn't get a lot out of most of this but there were two exchanges that were just so true that I found myself with tears rolling down my face.
Those were the following:
"I know I don't really understand but I love you"
And
"Will you be all right?"
"Probably not. But I'll see you tomorrow"
Both of these felt so very honest. The second of these is an exchange I've had on a few occasions. The first is one I need to hear sometimes.
Those were the following:
"I know I don't really understand but I love you"
And
"Will you be all right?"
"Probably not. But I'll see you tomorrow"
Both of these felt so very honest. The second of these is an exchange I've had on a few occasions. The first is one I need to hear sometimes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 15, 2016
Incredible idea, interesting theme, and beautiful artwork, but the text is handwritten and very difficult to read in multiple places. Struggling to read it really impacted my enjoyment of it, and there were some parts I had to skip altogether because of it.
September 9, 2013
The art was amazing!!!
September 1, 2015
Dialogue between the girl and her people (friends and grandma) is the best part.
October 19, 2013
Really good - I reviewed this for For Books' Sake so you can read my full review here: http://forbookssake.net/2013/10/07/na...
July 13, 2016
A really different but really wonderful work. Deeply emotional and effective.
March 17, 2024
This book was 1 dollar and met those expectations.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews