Bingo Row 3 – N
Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda are probably best known as the writer and artist for Monstress – an ongoing gorgeous and overwhelming fantasy comic series. Their collaboration on the Night Eaters is different enough to not be another Monstress, but similar enough that it’s clearly the same creative team: The art is dreamy and fantasy-conducive, even when it’s set in modern day North America and not a high fantasy world; the characters are mean and unlikeable, which makes them oddly likable. Animals are consistently adorable.
Milly and Billy are Chinese Demon-American twins, just trying to make it with their post-COVID lives with their onigiri restaurant. Their mother is evil. Their dad keeps the family together. This was set up in the first volume, which was relatively standalone. In contrast, the final two volumes are very much one story.
With the help of a closest ghost getting revenge for her “murder,” the twins go after an evil demonic cult who takes advantage of vulnerable people. Predictably, the twins trigger the apocalypse and simultaneously adopt some smoosh faced dogs. The dogs make it, by the way. (Liu and Takeda tend to protect the cute animals in their works.)
Post-apocalypse, Billy makes onigiri and considers becoming a superhero. Milly hangs out with a wookie and generally flails as she tries to figure out how to save the world and her ghost friend. The parents deal with supernatural politics. The entire family works against the evil Ming (of the cult) and his daughter. Sacrifices are made.
It didn’t quite feel over at the conclusion of the trilogy, but I think I get it. It’s a metaphor for the pandemic/post-pandemic world. Life goes on, which means stuff keeps on happening. Good and bad.