In my own little world, I pretend that everyone knows who Roman Dirge is. (Hey, it's my own little world, I'm allowed to be deluded!) Though this may not be the case, he's probably the "underground" comic artist that's closest to the mainstream with his books (Jhonen Vasquez, creator of Johnny the Homicidal Maniac and Nickelodean show Invader Zim is close behind him).

For those who haven't found the childishly gleeful, and maybe sometimes a bit evil, joy that is Dirge... Imagine:

Tim Burton ("goth" movie director, creator of odd little animations, and very twisted children's picture book) meets Shel Silverstein (the master of odd children's rhymes, best known for books like A Light in the Attic and Where the Sidewalk Ends) meets a Skinny Puppy fan with a few too many tattoos. This is Roman Dirge, who is best known himself for the comic series Lenore, a 9-issue foray into the world of the cutest little dead girl to have ever had 9 issues of a comic devoted to her.

Aside from Lenore, Dirge has written a few books filled with his childlike yet morbid prose, with one very specifically aimed at the subject of heartbreak.

That is The Monsters in my Tummy, the subject of my review. I'm going to give away a great deal of the plot, but with a picture book like this, it's not the plot that's important, it's the turn of phrase and the creeeeeeepy images on the next page.

This is a story told from the inside; after girl dumps boy, we see all the little monsters in his system come out to play. After He Who is Pain kills the heart (stabs him in the back, of course), he is joined by Betrayal, Sir Anger, Love in Vein, Li'l Contempt, Alone, and a various assortment of other negative emotions.

To those not familiar with Dirge's style, all these creatures are rather cute...but cute in a way that will give you nightmares if you stare at the picture for too long. Of course, one of them (Betrayal, with his heart ripped out and a knife in his back) has already had a toy produced and marketed in its image, but what're you going to do?

The monsters congregate in the poor dumped boy's tummy, and throw a huge party, having a great time. But enough time passes that the body begins to recover, and sends out positive emotions like Esteem and Ambition (who are even uglier than the bad critters) to win back any sort of positivity.

In the end, none of them are left alive.

Even in its simplicity, I believe that this book is the truest depiction of what happens when you have your heart ripped out, stomped on, and otherwise mutilated. The raging black emotions eventually fading away to a complete numbness; a death of emotions, good and bad. And whose to say how long it will last?

Dirge's eye for detail is amazing. Anyone out there who's an artist knows how long it takes to fully complete a picture, with shading and detail and all, but Dirge will go that extra mile and add in details like little bits of brain (though this book is a picture book, it's not actually for children) hanging off of Esteem's club after he bashes in a monster's head.

It is unfortunate that Dirge isn't as strong with words as with pictures. The rhyme scheme in this does flow much better than in his earlier work with Lenore, or even in his collection of morbid and demented children's stories, Something at the Window is Scratching... But there are times when the words don't quite scan properly.

It still works very well, and is one of my favourites in my odd collection of comic-type-things. If you're a fan of Dirge, what are you doing without this? If you have yet to discover him, this is a good a place as any to start.

Recommended: Yes