Monsters Are My Business

by Cullen Bunn, Patrick Piazzalunga (Artist), Marco Brakko (Colorist)

From the co-creator of The Sixth Gun and Harrow County comes a new action horror comedy! Meet Tanner "Griz" Grisholm. Along with a shrewd necromancer who wants him dead and a chainsaw-wielding koala bear named Cuddles, as he wages a bloody war against nightmares from beyond time and space. It's thankless work, but someone has to do it. And when a group of government contractors go missing in the nightmare landscape of the Flooded Zone, Griz stumbles into a mystery he may not be able to carve his way out of. His old biker pals, the Howling Gargoyles, are up to no good, and the memories might be too much for Griz to handle.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Horror, Lovecraftian

96 pages, Paperback

Published November 12, 2024

About the author

Cullen grew up in rural North Carolina, but now lives in the St. Louis area with his wife Cindy and his son Jackson. His noir/horror comic (and first collaboration with Brian Hurtt), The Damned, was published in 2007 by Oni Press. The follow-up, The Damned: Prodigal Sons, was released in 2008. In addition to The Sixth Gun, his current projects include Crooked Hills, a middle reader horror prose series from Evileye Books; The Tooth, an original graphic novel from Oni Press; and various work for Marvel and DC. Somewhere along the way, Cullen founded Undaunted Press and edited the critically acclaimed small press horror magazine, Whispers from the Shattered Forum.

All writers must pay their dues, and Cullen has worked various odd jobs, including Alien Autopsy Specialist, Rodeo Clown, Professional Wrestler Manager, and Sasquatch Wrangler.

And, yes, he has fought for his life against mountain lions and he did perform on stage as the World's Youngest Hypnotist. Buy him a drink sometime, and he'll tell you all about it.

Visit his website at www.cullenbunn.com.

Reviews

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Monsters Are My Business" is an all out splatter fest of a book. In a post apocalyptic world filled with supernatural terrors, a semi repentant biker takes on his demonic ex and her biker gang minions while accompanied by the necromancer who sold his soul and a chainsaw wielding Kola Bear. Expect a "High Noon vibe infused with elements of "The Evil Dead" and "The Call of Cthulu". Gory, Gross and Glorious !

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cullen Bunn does a semi-comic cosmic horror story, and while it certainly isn't bad, it never becomes interesting or exciting. It also feels kind of oldfashioned - the art has an early 2000s twang to it, and we have a sentient koala as a character.

It's a bit of a shrug of a book.

(Thanks to Dark Horse Books for providing me with a review copy through Edelweiss)

[Ondřej Halíř · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bunnova rychlovka. Koncept je fajn, bohužel je to celé jen o akci a na postavy není vůbec čas. Takže i přes pobedenou kresbu se jedná o zapomenutelnou akční žánrovku.

Dost mi to připomínalo lepší Mystery Society.

[mad mags · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Edelweiss. Content warning for general violence and gore.)

Three years ago a group of "mad one percenters" - led by Mama Torment, chief priestess of the Howling Gargoyles - called down acid rain "from the forbidden places between stars," turning the eastern seaboard into hell on earth, populated by mutant monstrosities and a small group of especially stubborn human survivors. Chief among them: Griz, a hulking mercenary who does odd jobs in exchange for soup and chili - and, occasionally, sweet government cash. Along with necromancer Hillary and Buttercup, a koala who's every bit as murdery as he is cute, Griz and his team try to help the residents of the bogland when and how they can.

When a government agent named Jenkins offers Griz a job tracking down his team, the money's too good to pass up. But Griz soon discovers what the Men in Black are really after: a servitor entity. Conjured from the flesh of an old god called Azare-Ra-Toth, the creature was meant to serve its parent blindly. Unlike the rest of its siblings - the great herd - this "sentient big toe" inexplicably developed free thought, transforming it into a sort of conduit to its creator. Now everyone from the Pentagon to a biker gang wants to use it to channel dark forces. Can Griz and the team keep Bruce (his eventual chosen name) safe from those who seek to exploit him?

The artwork is the real star in MONSTERS ARE MY BUSINESS. If you love freakish monsters, this comic has got 'em in spades. Bruce is awesome and Piazzalunga imbues him with the right balance of angst, vulnerability, and stabby-ness. Cuddles is freaking adorable; even more so when sporting a flamethrower (he needs to be available as a stuffed animal asap). My only complaint is Mama Torment's monstrous form. A sort of aracne - a spider with a human torso - Mama's breasts are ... two gaping, fanged mouths? Like a vagina dentata, but with boobs. Idk, it just felt a little juvenile and over the top.

The writing is ... okay. The story is engaging enough, if not always memorable. Some of the mythology felt intentionally vague or slippery, so to speak. (I had to fact check a few times while writing this review, because some of the details just didn't make that big of an impression on me.) There are a few interesting threads that need to be followed up on - such as Hill promising Griz's soul to her own gods - and thus hint at a sequel. I'd read it, if only for Bruce and Buttercup.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Very fun and pretty funny cosmic, action, horror comedy with some great art that emphasizes the humor and emotion. In a lot of ways, this plays like The Goon meets the Cthulhu mythos. That's fun and perhaps a but familiar, but what makes it really shine are the great characters.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Your standard dystopian future comic. Demons have invaded the Earth. A tough guy, a koala with a chain saw and a necromancer fight some demons. Bunn seems to be going down the Mark Millar road of making comics these days. It's more elevator pitches than fleshed out and well thought out comics.

[Calvin Daniels · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

Crazy ride.

Wanted to be funnier then it actually was -- I think.

A quick read time filler.

[Mee Too · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book for teen boys who still pull girls hair because they like them..😆

Actual quote from book “…where people without dreams cling to hopelessness like a security sex doll.”

I don’t know what a “security sex doll” is….

And thats not even the worst sentence in the book.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not bad per-say, but it feels empty. It does a lot of things that a lot of comics have done better before it, down to a psychotic koala sidekick.