Herpes is no laughing matter … unless you don’t have it, in which case, it can be hilarious. Take MONSTERS, for example, Ken Dahl’s graphic — in more ways than one — first-person and presumably true account of life with the STD, starting with a cold sore he spotted on his inner lip in 2002.
A year later, his live-in girlfriend notices something’s up with her, too: “My pussy is trying to kill me,” she says. Then, a visit to the doctor later, they learn the inevitable: They have herpes. Worse: He probably gave it to her. How can she forgive him? Well, she doesn’t; she moves out.
Thus, Dahl finds himself single and infected — not a pleasant combination. When drunk girls come on to him at parties, he starts to freak out. He already imagines himself as a virus in everyday situations, and that only multiplies — no pun intended — when confronted with the possibility of sexual intercourse.
Dahl is as gifted an artist as he is a writer, and even with his cartooning style, he’s able to sneak in some education about the disease without it seeming like a lesson at all. You have to appreciate how forthright he is — let’s face it, not everybody would be up for drawing himself masturbating in the shower — and in letting down his guard, he laughs at himself so you can, too. —Rod Lott
Buy it at Amazon or Secret Acres.
