Find your people, no matter how fur it is.
One of the most challenging challenges is that trauma involves supporting a friend. It is a simple yet terrifying reality that comes with territory. It’s not about the amount of people you surround yourself, but about the quality of their humanity. It doesn’t matter if it’s one, two or six. If they can’t really understand and empathize, the path to healing can lead to emotionally dangerous and controversial encounters. As if trauma is not yet difficult enough, you must also be a great judge of character to not add your soul to the pain already lacking.
Meredith McClaren’s Meat Eaters is a horror graphic novel that relates to this process. Using fantasy creatures, painful memories, and isolated McClallane, the isolation that I wrote and described this book creates a story that frames friendship as a kind of hunt for the right kind of monster to share your pain. And if those friends turn out to be werewolves, well, make sure they’re not there to eat you.
The meat eater follows 19-year-old Ashley Moore, who wakes up in a bloody forest. Ashley wants her to leave her small town, due to the constant memories of nothing for her. Essentially, leaving was an existential issue and became a DO or DIE scenario. But her current predicament makes it difficult. After all, she passed away and returned overnight. It’s a memory that will paralyze you every time it appears.
Ashley tries to avoid it, but the fact that she is not completely human makes it even more difficult. Only bloody flesh fills her hunger. You’re struggling to escape the newly formed claws, so tear and tear from what you’re living.
Her problems don’t end there. Upon awakening, she discovers that death has opened her to a world filled with vampires, witches, pack leaders and monsters that are so terrifying that she can tremble into nightmares. In this, she finds some werewolves who feel comfortable with her. They test bonds and lead to meaningful examples of self-discovery and reflexes. And the scary creatures seem to remind everyone that this after-death existence has a very hostile power that doesn’t bother you, your own personal demon.
McClallen is great at wearing emotions on the sleeves of characters. This is extremely important for stories like this. Ashley is visible under the scrupulous pressure of her new reality, and the memories that circulate through the night she passed away are always felt, even if not directly addressed. McClallen shows her as if she was a raw nerve ending.
However, the huge parts of Ashley’s character are not framed as issues that entertain self-destruction and uncontrollable rage. Instead, they point to her frustration with her trauma and resistance to confronting what brings out her monster. Unlike many other stories about trauma, meat eaters don’t try to turn their main character into the worst person they’ve ever had. Then, sprint through the quick redeeming arc and close things with a more hopeful note. Ashley maintains relevance throughout, allowing the story to flow more freely to other aspects of the world. McClallen does not force her to manipulate her to feel certain emotions or cause conflict to move things forward. The goal is to honestly see trauma and how it affects the ability to function at a social level.
McClaren squeezes a fair amount out of this concept thanks to her facial expression work and the overall design of other creatures that live on the supernatural aspects of things. The visual cues that permeate the cartoon make certain exchanges more playful, increasing and growing personality when needed. The blushing cheeks, big eyes, and exaggerated facial movements all help to tell you a lot about each character. It allows you to read the parts faster, but it also tells the reader when to slow down for a more personal moment.
Monsters receive the same treatment and invite careful research. They include numerous features that reward those who delve into each panel for all the bloody details. It is a showcase of monster creation. Some are clever interpretations of classics, while others are essentially more experimental. But the truth is, they are all terrifying. Their very existence is based on the world of meat-eating people and what lurks in the forest. They seem to belong to the stories of old people. This is the type that was used as a warning to prevent children from being far from home.
Meat eaters are a great example of how powerful a powerful horror can be as a means of heavy and painful topics. The character approaches the monster as both trauma-induced manifestations of anxiety and mental anguish can be caused when faced. McClallen is not afraid to open his wounds to tell a bloody story. That said, she makes her readers know that there’s no need to face something truly horrible on her own. In fact, sometimes monsters have strength.
Meat Eaters will land in the store on July 8th, 2025. Published by ONIPress.
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