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Melvin Monster #1
Melvin Monster, Volume 1
The classic children’s comic strip in a handsome new archival series, designed by Seth
John Stanley is celebrated as one of the great children’s comics writers for his work on the Little Lulu series. In fact, the Lulu work is a small part of his output; he drew and continued to write many other comics—notably his work on the 1960s teen comics from Dell (Thirteen, Dunc and Loo, and Kookie) and his monster comedy strip, Melvin Monster. Drawn & Quarterly is planning to launch an extensive reprinting of much of Stanley’s work in discrete volumes. The first in this series is the two-volume Melvin Monster collection featuring all ten issues about the oddball monster boy who just wants to be good, go to school, and do as he’s told. Designed to fit nicely with Drawn & Quarterly’s reprinting of Tove Jansson’s Moomin series, these comics are great reading for all ages. Stanley’s reputation as a great storyteller and visual comedian is richly deserved—few golden- or silver-age comics stand the test of time the way these comics do.
John Stanley is celebrated as one of the great children’s comics writers for his work on the Little Lulu series. In fact, the Lulu work is a small part of his output; he drew and continued to write many other comics—notably his work on the 1960s teen comics from Dell (Thirteen, Dunc and Loo, and Kookie) and his monster comedy strip, Melvin Monster. Drawn & Quarterly is planning to launch an extensive reprinting of much of Stanley’s work in discrete volumes. The first in this series is the two-volume Melvin Monster collection featuring all ten issues about the oddball monster boy who just wants to be good, go to school, and do as he’s told. Designed to fit nicely with Drawn & Quarterly’s reprinting of Tove Jansson’s Moomin series, these comics are great reading for all ages. Stanley’s reputation as a great storyteller and visual comedian is richly deserved—few golden- or silver-age comics stand the test of time the way these comics do.
184 pages, Hardcover
First published February 17, 2009
About the author
John Stanley
567 books14 followersJohn Stanley was a comic book creator, best known for his scripting of Little Lulu's comic book exploits from 1945 to approximately 1959. While mostly known for his scripting, Stanley also was an accomplished artist who drew many of his stories, including the earliest issues of Lulu. His specialty was humorous stories, both with licensed characters and those of his own creation. His writing style has been described as employing "colorful, S. J. Perelman-ish language and a decidedly bizarre, macabre wit (reminiscent of writer Roald Dahl)" with storylines that "were cohesive and tightly constructed, with nary a loose thread in the plot". Cartoonist Fred Hembeck has dubbed him "for my money, the most consistently funny cartoonist to work in the comic book medium".
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 14, 2026
1965 - The Addams Family - The Munsters - 'monster fever' was spreading across America. Melvin Monster gives us a glimpse into the life of a reluctant monster boy who does not want to be a 'good' monster (doing what we would consider 'bad') as he tries to live up to his parents expectations (daddy is baddy and mommy is a mummy). Sure many children and adults in the mid 60's found resonance with this skewed view of the changing world around them. The art is fantastically retro and the stories are funny with a tinge of moral perspective.
August 8, 2021
Melvin Monster collects issues 1-3 of Melvin Monster by John Stanley.
I was very impressed by John Stanley's Thirteen Going on Eighteen so I decided to make another journey into the John Stanley Library.
Born out of the 1960s monster craze, Melvin Monster is a little green guy who lives with his Mummy and Baddy in Monsterville in a haunted house. His crocodile Cleopatra is constantly trying to eat him, a monster in his wall wakes him up every morning, and the cellar is off limits.
Mean spirited human abounds, likely a product of the Addams Family and Munsters influence. The art is slick and is open in a way that reminds me of Hannah Barbara animation. The stories range from one page gag strips to multi-part stories running about fifteen pages. In this volume, Melvin goes to school, ventures into the cellar, meets his guardian demon, and winds up in Humanbeanland.
I enjoyed Melvin Monster quite a bit but not nearly as much as Thirteen Going on Eighteen. I'll still read volumes two and three, though.
I was very impressed by John Stanley's Thirteen Going on Eighteen so I decided to make another journey into the John Stanley Library.
Born out of the 1960s monster craze, Melvin Monster is a little green guy who lives with his Mummy and Baddy in Monsterville in a haunted house. His crocodile Cleopatra is constantly trying to eat him, a monster in his wall wakes him up every morning, and the cellar is off limits.
Mean spirited human abounds, likely a product of the Addams Family and Munsters influence. The art is slick and is open in a way that reminds me of Hannah Barbara animation. The stories range from one page gag strips to multi-part stories running about fifteen pages. In this volume, Melvin goes to school, ventures into the cellar, meets his guardian demon, and winds up in Humanbeanland.
I enjoyed Melvin Monster quite a bit but not nearly as much as Thirteen Going on Eighteen. I'll still read volumes two and three, though.
May 10, 2012
Wonderful cartoons in this first reprint volume. Expressive, with beautiful crisp lines. Stories are short, sweet, and funny. Would go great with some Casper and Spooky stories, chased by Charles Adams. Cannot wait til my son is old enough to read this with!
December 17, 2017
the writing is kinda meh but the art is so good i don't care
September 4, 2010
I have to admit that Seth's book design is what attracted me to these books, but I'm a John Stanley fan, and Melvin Monster is timeless. The book is beautifully designed and feels like a premium product, but the original comics are preserved, typos and all!
November 5, 2020
Light, wholesome and hilarious. John Stanley might be the funniest cartoonist of all time.
The constant 8 panel grid throughout makes my heart melt, John Stanley surprisingly might take the cake for me as the one to use the grid to its maximum potential. Both Jason and David Lapham held the crown before, but Stanley uses both their styles of 8 panel grids (the call and response of Lapham and the static backgrounds of Jason) to make hilarious comic stories. I really admire this work.
The constant 8 panel grid throughout makes my heart melt, John Stanley surprisingly might take the cake for me as the one to use the grid to its maximum potential. Both Jason and David Lapham held the crown before, but Stanley uses both their styles of 8 panel grids (the call and response of Lapham and the static backgrounds of Jason) to make hilarious comic stories. I really admire this work.
April 2, 2018
Really charming and fun all-ages comics. A little more kiddie in tone than Little Lulu, but the stories are all very fun and have a great sense of loopy logic. Great art, and great production by D&Q. Very good, esp. if you've got young kids.
July 31, 2024
M'ha agradat lo retro de les il•lustracions i el treballar la moralitat des del monstre antimoral. Unes bones risis amb el còmic
April 22, 2025
Not Stanley's best work, but its still pretty high quality stuff. I think the bit of being a monster gets dry quickly.
Dick Briefer's Frankenstein I think does a better job with the concept.
Dick Briefer's Frankenstein I think does a better job with the concept.
April 2, 2011
From the creator of "Thirteen Going on Eighteen", this first volume of Melvin comics is a fine introduction to the world of Monsterville and all the trouble our friend gets into just wanting to be good (attend Monster school, play nice, kiss Mummy goodnight) instead of bad (throw rocks through windows, skip school, bite Mummy goodnight). Stanley's witty imagination is on display and I have a feeling the series gets better in volume 2.
March 9, 2010
Look , i'm a huge Little Lulu fan. Really! This ain't Little Lulu. I like the format of the book, the nice hardcover treatment does it justice, but this was never one of my favorite strips. The reproduction is pretty good, they look like like they were taken straight off the actual pages, but it didn't thrill me.
October 13, 2009
Grades 5th-12. Also Young Adults.
October 20, 2022
This should be required reading in schools
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews