Yup, just a normal monster gang. Sure.
Monsters are real.
They exist.
Vampires, werewolves, witches, mummys and other night creatures... All of them are real.
But... Chsssst! It's a secret.
They're cities that officially don't exist. They don't appear in any human map. They're inaccessible places, protected by impregnable mountains, labyrinthine forests, terrible rivers and ancient magic. But they're beings that can get there... and live there. Beings that have something in common: they want to live peacefully, far away from humans, that plague that spreads across the entire planet.
That beings are... Monsters! And they populate these cities throughout the world: Miedópolis, La Nuit Noir, Aaaah! City, Monsterland, Bloodgrad, Forever Halloween, Maldiciünd...
But we are interested in another city. Maybe is not one of the biggest, since only live there fifty monster families. Maybe is not one of the most famous, since even in some monster maps doesn't appear. But as you get to know it... Sure it'll become your favourite! It's Villa Susto... where they reach the adventures of the Mini Monsters. Who are the Mini Monsters? If you want to know... keep reading.
A Comic Book series created by the Spanish author David Ramirez, published monthly in the Spanish magazine ¡Dibus! since its start in the year 2000 until 2015, where the magazine ended being published, being one of the long-runners of the magazine. There are four monographic albums: “El Veneno de Porcelana” (2003), “El Perfeccionator” (2006), “¡Historias para no Dormir!” (2007), and “El Gran Partido de Calabacesto” (2012); and in 2018, a recompilation of the whole comic was released, including the remaining stories and some in “Todo Mini Monsters”. The plot takes in a small town called Villa Susto, where monsters who want to be far from humans live. Victor Von Piro (A high-class vampire and main protagonist) moves to Villa Susto, much to his changrin. There he meets his new friends, The Frank’s gang: Frank Einstein Jr. (A genius Frankenstein and leader of the gang), Lupo (A narcoleptic werewolf), Momses (A mummy with an obsession of sports), Gus (A cute, but fearful ghost) and Piruja (A very amorous witch). Together, they will live a lot of misadventures involving them and the rest of the people in Villa Susto.
No relation and not to be confused with the segment of the same name from The Comic Strip.
Quotes are translated, as they’re in Spanish.
This comic contains examples of:
- Art Shift: In one strip, Victor drinks all of Piruja's transmutation potions, changing his art style each time he drinks a potion, which he doesn't notice as he can't see his reflection due to being a vampire. Then, when Piruja tries to redo them in time for the class, the rest of the gang drinks them all, thinking they were juices prepared by the professor.
- Beware the Nice Ones: The Frank’s gang are good most of the time, but mess with them and they will kick your ass hard. Especially Frank.
- Big Bad: Changes depending on the album:
- First, we have Rattus Sapiens, an evil genius humanoid rat who wants to destroy Villa Susto.
- In the second one, we have Miss Hit, Henrietta's alter-ego. After her defeat, she becomes much more of a jerkass.
- In the fourth one, we have the infamous Morty Vivente, who goes as far as hiring a giant spider to get rid of his rivals and win the match. He fails.
- Also, there's Flan Hellsing.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Lupo is slow due to his constant sleepiness, but he is very far from being stupid, as it shows that he’s very witty. It could be considered as a Genius Ditz case.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Frank and Henrietta definitely love each other, but they can't tell their feelings because of shyness. Also, Henrietta's alter-ego Miss Hit does not help at all. Unsurprisingly, all people think they're a couple, and Frank constantly denies it.
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Word of God says that they’re a couple. Moreover, the author said that he created Henrietta, so Frank could get a girlfriend. - The cover of the second album confirms this
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- Characterization Marches On: A lot of the character in the comic had shown progress and Hidden Depths. Special mention goes to Frank: In the first album, he was a bit of a jerk, but from the second album onwards, he mellowed into a Type B Tsundere.
- Crapsaccharine World: Villa Susto. Cute and rosy (somewhat) on the outside, but happens a lot of weird things in that town.
- Crossover:
- A special page was done for the 100th edition of the ¡Dibus! magazine with the monsters celebrating the special edition alongside other comic characters featured in the magazine.
- A comic was done to promote LittleBigPlanet. There, the characters are inside the game and met Sackboy, who reveals that their author has recreated their town and put them inside the game.
- A special page was done for the
- Darker and Edgier: Downplayed in "El Perfeccionator". While the story remains comical, things like split personalities and Frank's Character Development makes the story slightly darker compared to the other ones. Not to mention the character of Miss Hit.
- Dressing as the Enemy: Subverted hilariously in the first album, when Victor dresses himself as a beetle in order to trick Rattus Sapiens.Victor: Stop complaining and kneel... AT THE BEETLE GOD!Rattus Sapiens: The Beetle God GOES IN UNDERWEAR?!
- Early-Installment Weirdness: The artwork in the pilot comic Neewollah is more animesque in comparison to the simpler artwork the comic uses.
- Facepalm: Many characters do that, but Frank does this more than anyone in the comic. Being the Only Sane Man has its consequences...Frank: *After Momses accidentally breaks his invention* Thanks for finding it, Momses... *facepalm*
- And in the same story:
Gus: Frank, you're a g-genius!Skin: Emm... You should wait until he finishes talking, dude.Gus: Y-Yeah, hehehe...''*Frank explains his invention*Gus: Have you finished?Frank: ...Yes.Gus: Frank, you're a g-genius!Skin: *facepalm*
- Gadgeteer Genius: Frank is considered this, but he’s more of a Bungling Inventor because his inventions totally lack common sense.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Frank is blonde, and he’s a very nice person. Most of the time.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: Frank's opinion of himself is total crap.
- How much? We have this exchange in the second album:
Frank: A girl? Why is she crying?Henrietta: Is a horrible monster!Frank: *saddened* ...for me.- She refereed to her evil alter-ego Miss Hit, but makes it clear how bad his self-esteem is.
- Hidden Heart of Gold:
- Victor is implied to have one deep, deep, DEEP down his spoiled jerkassery.
- Guillotine has one too, only showing her loving side with her best friend Piruja, and sometimes Henrietta.
- Intelligible Unintelligible: Momses talks in mummy, and only his closest friends and family can understand him. Lupo and Frank usually traduce what he says to the other people.
- The Klutz: Momses. He has not Buena Suerte’s “luck”, but he’s extremely clumsy due to his physical strength.Victor: *after Momses destroys Frank’s invention* AAAAH! WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS GUY?!Frank: *facepalm* That’s what is called the mummy’s curse…
- Laser-Guided Karma:
- In the first album, Victor helps Rattus in tainting Villasusto's water with the porcelain poison with the intention to move back to Miedópolis and ends up paying the price upon accidentally drinking the water and crapping his pants as every toilet in the school is occupied.
- In the fourth album, Morty’s dirty tricks to win the match take a toll on him and his band. They got beaten by Henrietta’s father; their rivals won the match, Morty lost his tickets to Miedópolis and he ends up with a thermometer in his ass. All of this is well-deserved, at least for Morty.
- Oh, Crap!: Has a lot of moments, recurring or not:
- Victor usually does this, particularly with Frank's inventions and Piruja’s stalking demeanor.
- Also, in the end of the first album, the Frank's gang after accidentally drinking the poison. They end up with a big case of diarrhea.
- Morty's face expresses this perfectly in the fourth album when Frank shoots and scores the winning goal.
- Frank does a nice one, seen here◊.
- Rotating Protagonist: Although Victor is the lead character, the story focuses on other characters as well.
- Screams Like a Little Girl: When Victor and Gus have to face a giant monster, Gus is terrified and Victor tells him to stop screaming like a little girl, since he can stop him (due to his new abilities). However, he fails to do this (obviously) and the monster defends himself with a giant rock. Cue Oh, Crap! situation.Gus: V-Victor, can we scream l-like little girls now?Victor: *running away* YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!!
- Sleepyhead: Lupo IS this trope so far, exceeding the absurdity limit. Also a Running Gag of the comic.
- One hilarious example of this:
Lupo: Frank, help me! When I try to remember, I see everything black!*Lupo’s memories appear, with him sleeping in all of them.*Frank: Could it be you remember the inside of your eyelids?Lupo: It will be that!
- Stepford Smiler: Frank is revealed to be a Type A, putting a happy mask to cope with his task as a leader and hide the fact that he has huge self-esteem issues due to his physical appearance. He gets better, though.
- True Companions: The Frank's gang. Sure, they don't like each other at times, but it's clear that they love each other deeply and stay together regardless. Victor's relationship with them is a case of Fire-Forged Friends (Piruja too, but in a much lower manner).
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Victor and Frank. As they're polar opposites, both spend their time insulting and bickering each other constantly. However, neither of them can be separated and they're best friends, although Victor denies this. Confirmed by Word of God in the quote page.
- Walking Disaster Area: Buena Suerte’s causes great accidents when he’s around. The only thing that could stop his disastrous luck is being inside Lupo’s stomach.
- Wham Line: In the second album, we have this line, which sets a notable Mood Whiplash and things become Serious Business (This doesn't quit the comedic elements totally, though).Miss Hit/Henrietta: You've been slow to realize... *switches to her Henrietta persona* ...Frank.
- It was revealed previously to the viewer (And before, it was a Captain Obvious Reveal), but not the main characters, so it's quite shocking In-Universe.
But remember, don't tell anything...
It's a secret!
