“My Aunt is a Monster”

It’s time to check out another original graphic novel! So let’s take a look at a tale of adventure, family, and overcoming both adversity and prejudice. Does “My Aunt is a Monster” deliver? Well, let’s dive in and see…

Written, illustrated, colored, and lettered by Reimena Yee

Curses! Adventures! And drama! Oh my! Safia might not be able to see the world, but that doesn’t mean she can’t experience it to the fullest as she finds herself on her very first adventure! This is a contemporary fantasy middle-grade graphic novel about discovering what you are truly capable of.

Safia thought that being blind meant she would only get to go on adventures through her audiobooks. This all changes when she goes to live with a distant and mysterious aunt, Lady Whimsy, who takes Safia on the journey of a lifetime!

While the reclusive Lady Whimsy stops an old rival from uncovering the truth behind her disappearance, Safia experiences parts of the world she had only dreamed about. But when an unlikely group of chaotic agents comes after Whimsy, Safia is forced to confront the adventure head-on. For the first time in her life, Safia is the hero of her own story, and she must do what she can to save the day.

And maybe find some friends along the way.

First thing’s first: this is a graphic novel aimed at children. As such, it needs to be considered and reviewed from that perspective. Will children enjoy it? What about their parents? Does it convey a good story without speaking down to its audience? Either way, it has to be looked at from a different perspective than comics aimed at an older audience, although it should still be held to a proper standard.

And I’m happy to say that it does meet those standards more often than not.

So let’s begin with the story. “My Aunt is a Monster” follows Safia Haziz, a blind girl who grew up listening to and loving stories of adventure. When she loses her family in a fire (which is tastefully and tragically done, but also not a spoiler, because it’s necessary for the plot), she moves in with a mysterious aunt—who happens to be a former world-renowned adventurer and also cursed to take a monstrous appearance.

This introduces us to a world of mysteries and the extraordinary, as Safia is brought into her new home. In this case, it’s not directly remarked upon, but her blindness allows her to embrace the strange without prejudice. Speaking of her blindness, while other comics might try to lean into more melodrama, “My Aunt is a Monster” wisely treats it as just a part of her character, the same as anything else. Her blindness may change the way she does things, like record her voice instead of write, but in no way does it prevent her from contributing.

And that right there is great representation. In fact, the entire comic is quite diverse in its characters in many ways, including race, disabilities, and identities, and it’s all just treated as a character trait to the same extent as everything else. So not only are these groups all represented, they’re accepted without question.

Naturally, all the characters are well-developed and distinct in their own rights. They have clear and likable personalities, but they’re also flawed in believable ways. Everyone has well-established motivations and outlooks, including supporting (or opposing) characters introduced down the line.

As the story continues on, the plot expands to include curses, evil organizations, and new characters who add their own struggles and goals into the mix. As far as storytelling goes, it does a great job at introducing new elements at the right time, building characters, and getting us invested. Plus, every now and then we get splashes of incredibly inventive mysteries and discoveries, which shows off Reimena Yee’s creativity. It’s good fun.

Okay, now that I’ve praised the comic, it’s time to move on to its weaker point: the art.

And again, we have to look at this graphic novel from the perspective of its intended audience. This is a comic aimed at a young audience, so a simpler style is actually more effective. But even then, there are some times where the art does fall short.

Overall, the illustrations tend to be flat and simplistic, lacking detail, proportion, and consistencies. Often times it tends to look akin to a doodle, where characters are formed more by overlapping shapes than actual designs. (And not always the same shapes, either.) Sometimes characters limbs and faces will be made of sharp lines, while other times they use more circular shapes, but it all has the same effect of coming across as flat and just a tad abstract.

While this gives the comic a distinct style, it often looks rushed and even sloppy. I know comics are a two-dimensional medium, but the illustrations here don’t have any sense of depth; characters, foreground, and background all just feel placed together onto a single level.

Yet while the artwork doesn’t appeal to me, the style does still work for the target audience. The simplistic designs and bright colors make it easier for younger readers to absorb, and the imagery can stand out without getting bogged down by extraneous shading and details.

Plus, there are certain times, like during a world traveling montage or near the end, where the artwork does level up and add an impressive amount of detail while maintaining the flat, linear style.

Together, this makes it difficult to really judge the artwork. It’s inconsistent, and there are certainly some moments where it falls short, yet that doesn’t make it bad for what the comic is and what it’s trying to do. If it seems like I’m both complaining about and praising the artwork at the same time, that’s not a contradiction – the artwork can have inconsistencies and flaws while still being the right style for its readers.

Plus, Reimena is responsible for the writing, illustrations, color work, and even the lettering – I think we can cut her a little slack if occasionally the hands look rushed.

Speaking of, the color work really pops, which is great for letting readers take in everything on the page. That suits the art style nicely, making everything visually distinct from page to page. The bright, solid color work suits the comic and makes it easier for a young audience to absorb, which is another plus. And even when the illustrations themselves fall short, the page and panel compositions are quite nice. Reimena makes wonderful use of space and the way comics can visually control the pacing, with panels laid out to keep us drawn into the scene and set the atmosphere.

So despite my critiques of the artwork, overall, “My Aunt is a Monster” is a great graphic novel for young comic readers. It’s bright and easy to follow, while the characters are endearing and the story is engaging enough that even older readers can get invested in it.

If you want a comic for a young audience that takes them on a trip around the world, brings them into the lives of very likable characters, and overall has a strong, self-contained story, “My Aunt is a Monster” is a fine choice.