Why humanize monsters through comics?

Earlier this month, at Webcomicon, I had someone come up to me and thank me for humanizing monsters. This was a huge compliment and a lovely way to look at my work, and it got me thinking; why do I write so much about monsters?

My first serious step into monster world was with Elsie the vampire. While Elsie and I are not much alike (she is far cooler than me), at the time, I was using her as a vessel to write about some of my own issues. I was going through a rough patch in life and found myself linking many of my “dysfunctional” traits—being nocturnal, undernourished, moody—to that of a vampire. Through Elsie, I could shift my perspective, and suddenly my problems became the interesting and mysterious characteristics of a powerful creature. Through her, I could write freely.

This mode of writing continued with “Cryptid Club”. Monsters and cryptids often have indelible traits, or features that are fundamental to their character that they cannot change. Mothman, for example, cannot change his obsession with light. I wanted to make a world that worked around their personalities, one in which though we might laugh at some of the situations they find themselves in, the cryptids are accepted for exactly who they are.

And while a lot of these traits are, of course, kind of spooky, there’s many that are just the same as ours. 

Perhaps I’m using monsters to talk about our own taboos or struggles. Often, the world refuses to change for the parts of ourselves that don’t fit so easily. But I think humans are loveable and fascinating exactly because of our many unique peculiarities. And while this sounds cliche as hell, I do think that when I am writing monsters, I really am just writing about humans and my love for our strangeness.

-Sarah