The Doomsters Monolithic Pocket Alphabet (Graphic Novel)

By Theo Prasidis & Maarten Donders

Publisher: Image Comics (2017)

Hardcover, 64 pages

Here’s an odd little book I picked up at random from a $3.00 bin at my old comic shop. I had no expectations for this tome, apart from it being half art, half prose, and cheap. That lack of care was blessing for this review, as I no longer get a cheap thrill attacking other people’s work for the sake of it.

This “pocket alphabet” (or primer, as they called it back when I was young) are the ABCs of Doom Metal, which Wikipedia describes as “an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres. Both the music and the lyrics intend to evoke a sense of despair, dread, and impending doom.” It is not a form of metal I’ve listened to, but I was a huge fan of their primary influence namely Black Sabbath (especially their first two albums). There are also various stylistic subgenres within this subgenre that don’t bear going into.

This book itself is well illustrated, each punctuating the letter on the opposite page as well as can be, but none of them caused me to stop and stare or marvel at how finely crafted it was. I glimpsed, saw it was done well, and moved on. Overall, it took me about fifteen minutes to get through the book.

As to the content, it seemed like a guide on how to be a wanna-be rebel and Doom Metal musician. Or more like, the ways one needs to conform to fit into the lifestyle of Doom Metal. Thus it’s just another way to be a conformist. I’m not sure how much of this is to taken literally. It does have a certain tongue-in-cheek vibe to it, but it is what it is- a curiosity about a subgenre of music. There are also certain references to specific people whom I assume are part of the Doom Metal scene, that I couldn’t be bothered to look up.

For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst.