MAN-EATERS

released OUT NOW! Publisher Image Comics

Writer Chelsea Cain Artists Kate Niemczyk

Mockingbird’s Chelsea Cain and Kate Niemczyk reunite for a sparky sci-fi satire that takes a swing at institutional misogyny via a feminist subversion of the werewolf myth.

In the near future, a mutated version of toxoplasmosis has caused a percentage of women to transform into big cats when they menstruate. The government has reacted by implementing a fiercely repressive scheme to keep women in check via the chemical suppression of oestrogen. It doesn’t work on everybody, however, including young Maude, who begins to reject the drugs. Meanwhile, her cop parents investigate the latest spate of cat attacks…

Cain’s scripting is sharp, smart and frequently very funny. Niemczyk is a good fit for the material. She keeps the character designs clean and slightly cartoony, but also crams every panel with sight gags and background details. This and the frequent breaking of the fourth wall mean that Man-Eaters occasionally feels like a darker Sex Criminals. But while the book is firmly rooted in the horror tradition, and quick to deploy liberal splashes of gore, there’s a sense of hope and joy to it too. As righteously angry as ManEaters is, it also feels like Cain and Niemczyk’s timely tribute to a younger, more politically active generation who have had quite enough of being treated like animals. Will Salmon