Freakazoid producer Mitch Schauer's debut graphic novel RIP M.D. is a warm and spooky tale for monster kids of all ages. Ripley Plimpt is a monster-obsessed 11-year-old who sneaks out of bed every night to see if he can find any monsters to befriend in the nearby cemetery. Then, one night, he gets his wish: a friendly zombie follows him home from the graveyard. Delighted, Rip names him Dead Guy and sweet-talks his mom into letting him adopt the shambling horror. Rip's dad is less keen on the idea, but after some wife/son tag-teaming, he comes around.
Dead Guy is only the first of many monsters who come around to Rip's bedroom window in the dead of night. Once word gets around the demimonde that Rip can help monsters with their problems — whether it's reattaching Dead Guy's dropped-off body-parts or offering self-esteem therapy to a shy werewolf — a steady stream of friendly, messed-up otherworldly pals come by to play.
Rip is in heaven — he's finally got his life's wish (though he could use more sleep!). But, of course, his happiness and his very life are soon endangered by a pair of mysterious kids who once lived in Rip's house. These little monsters (you should forgive the expression) are bent on driving Rip and his family out of "their" place, no matter what it takes. Lucky for Rip, his monster pals (including the ghost of the cat the bad kids cruelly murdered) rise to his defense, making for a fantastic, madcap monster chase through school, freeway, museum and the afterlife.
Drawn and inked in pitch-perfect EC Comics monster style, Rip M.D. pushes every one of my monster-loving buttons. The writing is witty, the plot sprightly, and the monsters are the heroes I always knew them to be. What's not to like?
Publisher's Flickr set of interiors
- Even Monsters Need Haircuts: kids' book full of great monsters …
- Chris Ryniak's monsters with personality – Boing Boing
- German cell phone commercial with cute monsters – Boing Boing
- SF writers make up monsters for a kids' writing program – Boing Boing
- Cotton Monster – Boing Boing
- Letter Monsters illustrations by Joey Ellis – Boing Boing
