The Red 5 comic’s series We Kill Monsters is available as a collected trade paperback just in time for Comic Con. The question is, is the Laura Harkcom and Christopher Leone written series worth picking up?

We Kill Monsters focuses on the Basher Brothers; the oafish yet genius Jake and the older somewhat paranoid, responsible nice guy Andrew. The brothers run a struggling mechanic workshop in the sleepy town of Kern County. After the death of their parents their major concerns were how to keep their dads old pickup running and how to make Vanessa give Andrew another chance. That all changes when the brothers are attacked by a monster and Kern County is overrun with monsters, in true B Grade movie style.

The attack results in Jake growing a monster arm after being bitten. To stop Jake from dying the brothers must continue to kill the monsters so Jake can drink the monster juices, nasty. In their search for more monster juices they uncover the plot behind the monsters attack on Kern County and who Vanessa's new boyfriend is.

The story isn't the most complex thing around and the comic does out its bad guy quite early on, which is probably the comic’s biggest flaw. As a result the big finish where the bad guy is revealed and so to his evil plan wasn't anywhere near as surprising as it should have been but the journey to that finish is made ridiculously enjoyable by the dialogue for the Basher Brothers. There's that typical Red 5 wise crack style at work here and it’s brilliant. The banter between the two brothers is hilarious and they make things really entertaining. No situation is too serious to avoid a wise crack or a joke like when Jake first shows his arm to Vanessa and she freaks out he remarks “Too soon?” to which Andrew replies “I was gonna kind of build up to that.” The bond Jake and Andrew share also makes We Kill Monsters a good read. You not only believe they are brothers but also that they’ve been looking out for each other since their parents died and developed an even deeper bond. They fight and act like brothers do and because of this bond you can understand the extreme lengths they are willing to go to. It doesn’t make the idea of the two of them killing monsters together seem quite as crazy as it is as there’s a real reason for it.

The art, from Brian Churilla, suits the overall feel of the comic really well. The artwork reminds me of the TV show Gargoyles and that sort of animation just with a hell of a lot more blood and guts. That cartoon style really suits the monster focus and relatively unserious attitude of the brothers. The art looks really fresh and bright and it gives the story real energy. The first time you see the monsters, which are well drawn and varied in design, they almost jump off the page at you. It’s unfortunate that the collected trade only comes with sketchbook images of We Kill Monsters as extras. There aren’t any interviews or bonus material but that being said the sketches are really cool because they are of the monsters, which I mentioned before are really well designed, and the pickup the brothers modify to be monster-proof. The pickup looks awesome with its armor plating, mad scientist ballista and monster head on the bonnet and its certainly the type of vehicle you’d imagine the Bashers cruising round monster killing in. It’s also my new favorite dream car instantly up there with other cult cars.  

We Kill Monsters is a thoroughly entertaining read. While the story isn’t the deepest and most complex thing going around and it kind of spoils itself early on the Basher brothers still make it a great adventure.  They are such likable and entertaining characters that will have you laughing most of the way through. Couple that with some artwork that’s perfect for the tone of the story and We Kill Monsters is worth a read.