German graphic creator Claus Daniel Herrmann's Pink Monsters is a thoughtful comic about a sweet teen caught between his father's depression and his own burgeoning self-discovery. Thomas Mauer, letterer for the text, resonantly translates this English-language debut.
When Frank arrives home and his mother hasn't yet returned from her library job, the house remains quiet, although Frank isn't alone. Isolated and uncommunicative, Frank's father, George, seems trapped in darkness. Frank grabs a snack, then retreats to his room, where his music and art keep him company. "[George] hasn't been this down in the dumps for a long time," Frank's mother observes. She has called in "a healer" since "the docs are out of ideas." Thea arrives the next day, bringing unconventional methods--energies, feng shui, personal crystals--that involve the whole family. For a while, George appears to be improving.
Meanwhile, at school, Frank's become frenemies with volleyball teammate Michael, who's initially a bully, then an ally, then maybe something more. Following Michael's requests, Frank's drawings depict the monstrous, although they're eventually discarded at Thea's insistence that they're harmful. Ironically, Thea's heinous homophobia proves the most destructive, and the family will need to find other paths to recovery.
Hermann is an empathic storyteller, memorably realistic and eschewing easy answers. His depiction of Frank's relationships with his concerned mother and detached father are particularly well considered, and the carefully modulated bond growing between Frank and Michael endearing. Herrmann's panels and pages begin in black-and-white, then are interrupted intermittently by swaths of pink that grow in intensity, cleverly and beautifully overwhelming a once-monotone existence. --Terry Hong