I've been reviewing a lot of graphic novels by George O'Connor, but it appears that there are two active writers using that name. This is not the George O'Connor with a Wikipedia page who wrote 'The Olympians' series that apparently wrapped after a dozen volumes. It's the George O'Connor in the indie comics world who wrote 'Silent Knight' and edited 'Toddler-pocalypse'. This time he's teaming up with Griffin Ess for a one shot graphic novel called 'Baby', named for the creature on its cover, a "baby monster-from-the-deep". As the tagline goes, "Destruction has never looked so cute".

While this is easily the least substantial of the George O'Connor graphic novels I've reviewed thus far, it's also the most endearing and it flows wonderfully with a delightful sense of humour. "Tell me if you've heard this one before: A cryptozoologist, a soon-to-be retired police officer and a lil monster from the deep walk into Atlantic City..." That's a joyous way to start, even if anyone who abbreviates "little" like that is a heathen. The cryptozoologist is Dr. Trent Headley who's a great character to hate from his very first appearance. The cop is Officer Frank Welker, who starts out poorly on his final day on the job but grows considerably during these pages. And the monster...

Well, the monster doesn't have a name because he or she is just a baby, as the title suggests, and he or she doesn't start out in the city. It's dark down there in the depths of the ocean and Baby is young and hungry and wants mom, thus immediately placing us firmly on its side, before we know anything about anybody. A passing scientific vessel hears it and tracks it, which is how Trent joins the story. He's a cryptozoologist working at the Atlantic City Aquarium who's looking for fame but not finding it, perhaps explaining why his crew is comprised of youths. His long-suffering assistant Chris is therefore a reluctant sidekick. I liked him as much as I rooted against his jackass of a boss.

Meanwhile, Frank is celebrating his last day with the boys, who buy him a fishing rod. It seems he's a good cop but not a noticed one. He never made a big bust to sprawl across the headlines. That's presumably why he's still Officer Welker at whatever age he's retiring, but he thinks that it means that he wasn't great. The cynic inside me believes that nowadays he'd be one of the good ones just for being honest, even if he appears to be a spineless coward when the fit hits the shan, which it's surely about to do because this is a collected edition of a comic that only ran for four issues.

Of course, it's exactly what you expect at this point: Baby makes it to Atlantic City, climbing onto the Vanness Boardwalk. It's a strong first appearance in front of human beings, neatly tempered by the revelation that "Rawwwwwr?" translates from giant sea monster to "Mom?" Trent chases into action. Frank hides in the evidence locker. Baby slips over because it clearly isn't used to solid surfaces. The army opens fire. And we're off and running.

The art is relatively primitive here, especially when it's enlarged for some panels, thus resulting in lines that seem extra thick, but Baby is irredeemably cute and Griffin Ess endows it with plenty of character. Quite frankly, it's a rare kaiju picture that even bothers to envisage its monster as a character of its own beyond just a city-stomping machine and this book goes there even before we meet a human being. The reason this works is because of how simple but effective that character is and how O'Connor's script matches that on the human side.

He could have played this entirely on its cuteness factor and he certainly doesn't avoid that, given how the fourth crucial character comes into play. That's two-year-old Zoe, who makes it through a pitiful police line to play with the monster. She feeds it a lollipop and, at that moment, her mum, before anyone else in the entire city, figures out the situation in detail. If you can imagine Minilla (Baby Godzilla from 'Destroy All Monsters') finding his way to Atlantic City and being fed a lolly by a two-year-old girl, then you have a pretty good idea of where this comic book is going. Just think light-hearted comedy and you have it down.

I love the back and forth between Trent and the cops. I can't use Dr. Headley, because he doesn't deserve that level of respect. He isn't quite a pantomime villain but I thought of him as one, so I'd be able to boo and hiss every time he appeared in a panel. Fortunately this is print not film, so his words weren't drowned out. He uses everybody around him, including two-year-old Zoe, who thus transforms into a way to get the monster into a gigantic tank at the nearby aquarium. It doesn't take a genius to figure out how well his hastily assembled press conference isn't going to and it's not hard to imagine what's going to happen next.

I don't want to dive any deeper than that into the story but, while I've given a strong impression of who Trent is, I should emphasise that Frank comes into his own. Once he decides to come out of the evidence locker and join the real story, his first action is to punch Trent when he tries to stop Zoe's mum leaving. That sparks quite the eruption of violence but, trust me, you'll be cheering it every step of the way. The only thing I'm willing to mention is that there's a brief cameo by a very established comic book character that works very nicely indeed.

Don't buy this for its substance, though it turns into quite an endearing ride. Buy it for its unique take on the kaiju genre. And its sense of humour. And its ability to make a fifty-something reader grin at how cute it all is. And, of course, to support indie creators but that's a given. Both 'Silent Knight' and 'Toddler-pocalypse' are comic books for an adult audience, full of violence and horror. This is none of those things, because even the violence here is kid-friendly. It's a complete change of pace for O'Connor in my experience and it's a huge amount of fun. ~~ Hal C F Astell

For more titles by George O’Connor click here