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taybatwo2 · 9 months ago

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Monster High IDW Comics Review: Part 5 of ?: Monster High Pride 2024 Issue (“I Put a Spell on You”)

Okay, now we can actually look at the comic. Bring it in boys!!!

Beautiful! Thank you boys.

Part 1:

https://www.tumblr.com/taybatwo2/754406016295321600/monster-high-idw-comics-review-part-13-the-fcbd?source=share

Part 2:

https://www.tumblr.com/taybatwo2/754406053729452032/monster-high-idw-comics-review-part-2-of?source=share

Part 3:

https://www.tumblr.com/taybatwo2/754555603918127104/monster-high-idw-comics-review-part-3-of?source=share

Part 4:

https://www.tumblr.com/taybatwo2/754946130507333632/monster-high-idw-comics-review-part-4-of?source=share

Part 6:

https://www.tumblr.com/taybatwo2/772726504008384512/monster-high-idw-comics-review-part-6-of?source=share

First off, the info:

“I Put a Spell on You” is written by Megan Brown (she/her, has her own website and is on “x” @ megan_mb. She has done a lot of other writing on IDW comics). The art is done by Bowen McCurdy (she/her, her BEAUTIFUL artwork can be seen on her Instagram @ bonesbunns).

The fantastic coloring was by Bex Glendining (she/they, they have their own website, and you can see their artwork on Instagram @ Igions). The front cover’s art was done by Céli Godfried (they/she, they have their own website, are on tumblr @ pianta)

None of these people worked on the previous IDW Monster High comics.

Both this and Summer Fangout and the IDW Free Comic Book Day comics had Kielamel Sibal as the letterer (she/her, another artist on Instagram @ labis_lemaleik), Riley Farmer as the editor (she/her, I think, I can’t access her LinkedIn profile), and production and design done by Johanna Nattalie (she/her and has worked on a lot of IDW Sonic titles). All three had worked previously on the FCBD issue.

It is 10 pages long Vs the twice as long “Summer Fangout.” Which is a shame.

Synopsis (spoilers below).

“I Put a Spell on You” has Spelldon try to become friends with Draculaura on his road to bettering himself. He is so upset by her not wanting to fang out with him that he asks Spelldon to remove all of his love emotions through a potion. They track down the three ingredients, Valentine catches feels for Spelldon (who already had them for Valentine) and last minute decides he doesn’t need the potion. Spelldon drinks it and tells him it was just a “murktail” (“mocktail”), and they begin dating (YESSS).

My personal thoughts/feelings/breakdown and more photos under the cut:

Like the previous comic, I will be whiting out the speech bubbles to try and circumvent the copyright on these pages I’m uploading.

On with the comic!

page 1:

It starts off with Valentine talking with Whisp (whom he’d become friends with in his SDCC doll diary) about how he wants to turn his life around. The first step is asking Draculaura if she’d be friends with him and he’s SO NERVOUS (Look how is hand is shaking! Fangtastic detail). So nervous that he walks head first into a locker (can relate - that hurts). Whisp sees this as a perfect opportunity to duck out (I love her so much).

Pros:

(Most of these are just going to be me gushing over the artwork. I absolutely adore it and REALLY wish the other IDW comics had her as their artist and kept the same colorist).

I like how his voice’s accent shows through the writing and “turning over a new grave” is a great pun. The reactions are pretty good too (the RIP sound effect, mwah).

And the angle on his face while in the floor is beautiful! He even has a little nose scrunch.

Call backs:

They mention him getting knocked into the pit of “eternal body odor” again (I believe he also dealt with those ramifications in his diary).

I already mentioned it, but I like how he is friends with Whisp in this (like in his SDCC release/diary).

Other:

They did lightly alter Valentine’s outfit (I assume so it was easier to draw -it had a lot of detail on it in his 3D model and SDCC doll), his sleeves are a bit shorter, he is missing cravat, they gave him black nails and more maroon colored hair instead with some reddish streaks instead of pure black with red streaks. :)

page 2:

After being knocked on the floor, Valentine rights himself and quickly asks Draculaura (first in his normal accent and then in his southern swagger) if she’d like to be friends/see a show together “to rekindle our- er-our friendship.” She says she can’t (it sounds like she’s not necessarily against it), she has a full schedule. I saw someone mention that they took at as her trying to blow him off by mentioning all these things, but I read it as she was actually that busy *shrugs.* And Valentine takes this really hard, because he’s replaying that conversation back in his head in class.

Pros:

Again, I love all the facial expressions! Also, look at those hands! Look at the use of shadow and they even painted both of their nails. FANTASTIC!

Also, good use of paneling to show that was a flashback.

Call Backs:

The inside of the school looks like the webisodes’ school interior (so maybe these are not following the IDW comics? They used the CGI model of the school).

But, Draculaura being overwhelmed with duties/work does sound like it’s keeping in line with this G1 “Once Bitten” canon.

Nitpick…kinda:

Valentine is REALLY taking it hard that Draculaura is not wanting to hang out with him right that second. Is he just overthinking it? Does he think she’s blowing him off? He probably feels like he keeps failing and can’t make up for his past misdeeds.

Not that the comic has any room for this, but what if the first scene stayed the same, she tentatively says, “yeah, I think we could try being friends.” Then it’s a montage of him trying to fang out/help her and he has just the worst luck (he interrupts her in the middle of fear practice and it topples their human pyramid, he knocks over a vase of flowers he brought her all over her creative writing assignment, maybe he’s forgot how she reacts to blood and gets her some chocolate covered blooded jelly truffles)??? After a week of mess ups, and Draculaura not answering his texts anymore (because she feels overwhelmed-but he doesn’t know), then he can feel like he majorly blew it (but maybe that is too much of a retread on what happened in “Only Have Eye for You”).

Maybe he is overthinking it because his emotional vampire side is hangry (his SDCC diary mentions that he gets energy off of people’s love -more so if it is freely given - so maybe he’s running on low. I know I get a bit dramatic and paranoid when I’m low on fuel).

Valentine is drawn a bit too short/Draculaura is too tall(Draculaura’s head shouldn’t reach above his shoulders and her lipstick and fangs are missing).

page 3:

He is snapped out of it by Spelldon. After Spelldon takes one of the roses, Valentine laments to Spelldon about his lack of emotional intelligence and how his love for others have only brought him “pain and suffering.” AND he tells Spelldon he no longer “like likes” girls. Which is really sweet, but again, I would love it if in the PRIDE ISSUE we could get a full on: “I am GAY Spelldon.” Instead of a “You know what I mean!!”

Pros: Valentines’ face in the sixth panel is well drawn.

Valentine being over dramatic is a nice touch. Kid is spiraling. Maybe he’s hangry…? The background continues to be great. I like the background posters of the fanged mouth.

We get the long awaited appearance of SPELLDON. I really like his design (how he has black features, his pointed ears, his outfit, his sparkly shirt). I would love to break down his appearance in another review, and compare it to how fanon (and Garrett Sander) had designed him (and how it’s evolved over the years).

Call Back:

Spelldon apparently likes black roses. :) Which is great because those seem to be Valentine’s specialty (besides in the movie, those were pink).

They name drop “lap dragons,” which are one of the pets that Valentine took care of in his SDCC diary for Mrs. Goblin (which ties back to him wanting to take an interest in Biteology to be a vet).

page 4:

Spelldon (begrudgingly) is talked into making a potion to make Valentine stop feeling all the feels.

Pros:

Spelldon is so much taller than Valentine (“he sure is big,” isn’t he Valentine?).

The passing of time is well done in the paneling (and the zoom-in to the book is also great).

More great facial expressions and HANDS!!

There is some great foreshadowing with the book. See how Spelldon’s right hand is covering most of the page (like he doesn’t want Valentine to see what it says), and Valentine is not paying attention to the title of the tome? Well, the tome says: “Party Potions,” which doesn’t sound like a title heavy enough to contain an emotion erasing potion.

It also implies that this comic takes the span of about a week.

Nitpicks: Valentine calls Spelldon a magician? Hahaha, sounds like he does stage magic. Just call him a witch Valentine. :)

page 5:

Valentine and Spelldon go to the store to get a “Hydra Heart Scale.” Apparently they are both Elissabat stans and go to see her movie off screen-err page (I would have LOVED to have seen this).

Pros:

I love the look of the background of the store. It’s nicely faded out, the casual inclusion of rib cages (symbolizing where the heart lays and the other new character that had appeared in “Why do Ghouls fall in Love:” Cupid), bat wings, and even some hockey masks like a certain mama’s boy, camp serial killer might be known for wearing.

This conversation on how much they should get is done SO MUCH better here than in Clawdeen’s/Toralei’s previous short story (in my opinion).

Spelldon looks really cute in the third and forth panel, and Valentine looks really good in the fifth and last panel. I like the hatching they add to Spelldon’s hair shade. I like that they have a little lore drop in here as well about what Spelldon is good at (top of the class in Potion-Crafting) and what Valentine is (really) good at (Biteology).

Call Backs:

The goblin lady he helped during the summer is from SDCC diary and the “unfortunate birthday party incident (is from “Why Do Ghouls Fall in Love?”). Honey, you almost made Draculaura an empty, unfeeling husk FOREVER, I think that would be a bit more than unfortunate.

Nitpicks: Apparently Elissabat the Vampire Queen and movie star is taking up sponsorships for Fake Blood Murktails (I’m not really feeing that pun….?).

And while Elissabat is a fun cameo, it feels a bit off here, but I know they already wanted to hint at Murktails being a thing.

But, why murktails? Are mock-tails popular with today’s youth?? Why not smoothies…boo-thies? I know flavored/carbonated waters and energy drinks are popular…

Maybe have Elissabat in a new costume in a promotional outfit for the “Cracking Dusk” movie mentioned here

(I would have loved to see a new design on her, like they did for her Vampire Heart movie poster in “Frights, Camera, Action,” and the Draculaura Maul Monsteristas dress).

Also, I wish that the last speech bubble in the second panel was moved over and down a bit more, so you could see Valentine’s hand counting down “two” (I saw their line art on the artist’s page -serious check out their Instagram and I think it’s a shame to cover up such lovely hand artwork, also, you can see how the background line art doesn’t touch the character’s line art, helping them not get lost in the panel).

page 6:

The next thing they have to get is “Himalayan Ice Malt from the Lair or a Yeti.” Valentine and Spelldon….well I actually don’t know what happens. I originally flipped back and forth several times to see if I skipped a page because it just didn’t seem to flow as well, and what happens to cause a distraction for the yeti to leave his office -and his malt- is a bit unclear (to me).

Spelldon mentions that having skates would ruin the plan, Valentine trips stepping forward, but then looks like he’s falling back and the next (BEAUTIFUL PANEL) he’s kneeled down,

gripping his shoulder in pain, leaning over Spelldon, while Spelldon is laying under him (I LOVE his pose), and an explosion is going off. Did Spelldon sneak over to the fishing hole and summon the sea monsters/put an explosive potion in the hole?? Unknown. Then the panel jumps back up and see a bunch of monster fish trying to come out of the fishing hole.

Am I missing something??? Anyways, the Dreddy the Yeti is distracted and both boys run into his unprotected office and steal the malt.

Pros:

Dreddy running out to fix the problem has some funny dialogue and I love Spelldon’s and Valentine’s conspiratorial look they give one another.

Again, lovely shading (on the neck, cheeks, and hands especially), even the way the clothes lay on them is great (look at those clothing folds).

I like the Yeti’s design (the horns, furry arms and legs, the tail is cute, but I’m not sure if it fits….maybe he has some Norwegian Troll blood in his veins). His cardboard cut out is really fun.

Nitpicks: The colorist forgot to color in Spelldon’s jacket’s studs.

page 7:

“And a grave chalice to drink it from,” is the last ingredient. Before they do, Spelldon slips into his Southern twanged accent and Spelldon questions him on why he does that, he doesn’t do it around him. Valentine shrugs and says he doesn’t know but maybe it’s because he feels more comfortable around Spelldon. Spelldon and Valentine go to a mausoleum to get the chalice and instead of Scarah coming in clutch to scare Valentine into Spelldon’s arms, Spelldon somehow trips and bonks his head.

Pros:

I love the Chibi art for them! It’s so cute!!

Scarah shows up!! I wonder if she could hear Spelldon’s feelings for Valentine and wanted to help?

I love the opening panel. It’s very lovely, and I love the coffin lights and the soft glow they emit (it’s handled here much better than the coffin lights I the previous short).

The part where Spelldon questions Valentine’s accent is a nice addition and fun to see. I like the idea that Valentine puts on the southern gentlemanly air because he thinks it makes him cooler, is funny and the fact that he feels so at ease with Spelldon, he doesn’t bother with it, is also sweet.

I had headcanoned that when going to school in Transylvania, Valentine was getting crap for being a new world American vampire -so uncool and uncivilized for the Transylvanian pure breed Vampires. He was (literally) starving for love/friendship, so he adopted the “perfect” romantic, southern gentleman person. Roughly akin to southern gentleman trope maker: Rhett Butler from “Gone with The Wind,” (it doesn’t really fit with that time period of Valentine living Transylvania being Edwardian/Victorian -the movie came out in 1939- but was one of the highest grossing movies ever and really catapulted the southern gentlemen into public conscious and Monster High timelines are a mess anyways). And it worked great in giving him all the emotions he could feast on.

Nitpicks:

This one I like better than the previous page, but I still feel like it’s a bit out of order. I feel like the panels where Spelldon is asking Valentine about his “bad southern accent” should have been right under the first panel. Then it has Valentine asking Spelldon “what’s the plan?”.

page 8:

It cuts to them finally mixing all the ingredients together in the library, Valentine second guesses and then decides against drinking the potion and Spelldon chucks it back.

Pros:

Once again, I love the opening panel (Valentine’s face is great on the opening, fourth and seventh panel).

You get some close ups of that rose he took from Valentine’s bouquet as a bracelet and it hasn’t died yet. :D

And Spelldon still has his poor head wrapped.

Call Back:

I like that Valentine says he has been bettering himself after the “incident” (in which he nearly made Draculaura an emotionless husk).

Nitpick:

Valentine mentions he already considers Draculaura a friend here???? So he IS just upset that she won’t hang out with him/is really busy? >:P

page 9:

Next page! Spelldon reveals that it’s just a Murktail and that he cares for and “likes hanging out with” Valentine. Valentine admits he likes fanging out with Spelldon too and then THIS CUTE PANEL where they flirt. Aaaaand no kiss….again!!! >:/

Pros:

Again, I love this artwork (Spelldon looks down-right gorgeous in that last panel) and the two boys admitting that they like each other.

Their facial expressions and how Valentine grabs Spelldon’s shirt is just SO GOOD.

Nitpicks:

Also in that last panel, it looks like the three “…” were accidentally copied into Spelldon’s bandaged head. Haha.

I just wish they were more blatant and we got a dang kiss!

page 10:

The last page again fast forwards again to sometime later and Valentine and Spelldon are holding hands down the hallways of Monster High. Draculaura runs up and apologizes to Spelldon on how much she thinks he has the wrong impression, she does want to be friends, she just has a lot going on (what’s going on with you in this TIMELINE ghoulie…??!?).

I do like that Valentine catches himself slipping back into his southern drawl (I like that it’s pretty obvious when he falls back into it- but does anyone else have a hard time trying to remember what his voice sounds like without it or is that just me).

It ends on a great note (calling back to how Valentine does have friends now - with Whisp calling him to ask about his new boo-friend and Spelldon asking how he’s feeling now).

Pros:

THE ART! All the art. It’s all so good!! The hands in the first panel, the shading on all of them! The little heart drawn on the bottom of Valentines’s shoe. <3 Valentine’s realization he’s slipping into past habits in the third panel. So good!

Nitpicks:

Valentine DOES think they’re already friends, so maybe Draculaura should have ran up and said she thought about it and he does seem to be turning over a new leaf and she does want to fang out with him and maybe try being friends. If he would like, she’s free on -insert day here- maybe even for a double date. Valentine blushes and says he would like that. (CAN YOU IMAGINE A DOUBLE DATE WITH THESE GUYS?!?)

Spelldon’s jacket studs are missing in the fifth panel.

Draculaura is still draw a bit too tall here.

Overall:

I’ve already said it a million times, but I think the artwork is SO MUCH better in this comic than the others. The emotions seem to flow better, the characters are not as stiff, the line work varies, the color story is complimentary, the space doesn’t feel empty, the paneling flows together better. Just on a whole other level than what the previous comics are doing.

The colorist did an AMAZING job on the whole short story, she just elevated the already great line work. It’s FANGTASTIC! I’ll be curious to see where the characters go from here and if they will get dolls (please oh please oh please oh please) or at least another doll that is SDCC exclusives only…

I LOVED seeing Spelldon. Spelldon played more of a supporting role here to Valentine, but I think it worked well as an introduction. His personality seemed a bit quiet and mature, very observant and kind, and he has some wit and sarcasm to him. It’s a nice contrast to the more emotionally turbulent Valentine. I still wish it was longer, and Valentine getting upset over the fact that Draculaura is friends with him but is too busy to fang out with him (but she implied she didn’t know they were already friends: “of course I want to be friends with you!”) is a bit “eh.” And I would have liked to see at LEAST one kiss.

I could see this short story fitting right into the main G1 canon (even with Draculaura still being suspiciously busy and not her bubbly self, which seems to be part of the new-“Once Bitten”/IDW comic-G1-verse canon).

This took a lot longer than I thought to make, but I managed to do it!

I’m still thinking about maybe doing a Spelldon fanon to canon evolution post, but it might take awhile to compile stuff. I find how the whole fandom basically willed this character into existence and all the different interpretations fascinating. Perhaps I will read the new issue of the IDW comic when it drops in August and make a post (to give the comic an actual fair chance). But I can’t see myself doing it to every issue due to me not collecting floppies (I’d rather wait for them to be all collected first, my cat has already stepped on and badly wrinkled my Pride Comic).

Maybe I’ll begrudgingly picking up the new “Once Bitten” book (I’d really rather get that on a super sale then give them full price for THAT) and report on that. TT^TT

What were your thoughts and feelings? Did I miss something? Have horrible takes? Did I mention the beautiful artwork too much?? Let me know. :)

#Aleta’s review #spelldon #kieran valentine #spelltine #idw pride comic #idw monster high #idw monster high comic #IDW monster high pride comic #monster high #monster high g1

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