Each book in the My Boyfriend is a Monster series -- as can be expected from its composition of standalone books with different creative teams -- is a different balance of pros and cons. Overall, it's a pretty good series, and the books have ranged from really great (I Love Him to Pieces, to pretty good (Made for Each Other), to just all right (Under His Spell). This one, My Boyfriend Bites, is pretty near the top of the scale.

It's not quite fantastic -- story-wise it's good but not great -- but the gorgeous art makes up for some of the shortcomings.

Publication Information

• Full Title:My Boyfriend Bites
• Series: My Boyfriend is a Monster (#3)
• Writer: Dan Jolley
• Artist: Alitha E. Martinez
• Publisher: Graphic Universe
• Publication Date: 2011
• ISBN: 978-0-7613-5599-1 (library binding), 978-0-7613-7078-9 (paperback), 978-0-2832-2839-8 (e-book)

My Boyfriend is a Fixer-Upper

Vanessa Shingle had an unfortunately tendency to find boyfriends who aren't living up to their potential, and then try to "fix" them. Other than that, she has no idea what she wants to do with her life, and she's running out of time to make up her mind before high school is over and she'll be forced to make a choice.

Then one day she goes along with her older sister to check out the local community college, where she figures she'll end up soon herself. There, Vanessa runs into Jean-Paul, an impossibly handsome young janitor who seems quite content to drift through life.

After that, weird things happen that indicate neither Jean-Paul nor Vanessa may be exactly as they seem.

My Boyfriend is Familiar

There is an awful lot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this book, though in general that's not a bad thing. Buffy kind of made the archetype of the young woman destined to save the world when all she wants to do is think about boys, so any book with a similar idea can't help but evoke memories of that TV series.

Fortunately, like Buffy, this book doesn't take itself too seriously. The characters are even aware of the preposterousness of their situation -- most notably in a scene involving an elevator shaft -- and the tongue-in-cheek sense of humor keeps the premise from becoming too unbelievable.

My Boyfriend is Pretty

While the story is pretty good in My Boyfriend Bites, the art is simply gorgeous. Alitha E. Marquez has obviously spent a lot of time working on her skills, and it shows in her deft handling of anatomy and expression. I could spend a lot of time just looking at the pictures, but they also complement the story well and add to it rather than simply showing what's already in the words.

Like the rest of the series, the art aims for a manga look (though readers familiar with manga will know it encompasses a huge variety of styles). Here, it looks like a style adopted by someone thoroughly familiar with the basics of draughtsmanship, rather than the work of someone who learned to draw by copying their favorite comics, and that's a definite plus.

This Book Doesn't Bite

While My Boyfriend Bites isn't the very best of the My Boyfriend is a Monster series to date (I'd give that honor to book 1), it's probably the second best. Considered all on its own, it's a good, fun read with lovely art.

Folks tired of vampires will likely not be interested, though its sense of the ridiculous offers something worth reading even for the vampire-weary. Those who devour anything fanged will certainly want to read it, even though Jean-Paul isn't . . . well, that would be giving away the silly reveal at the end, and I don't want to spoil it.



Disclosure: A review copy was obtained by the reviewer via interlibrary loans at her local library. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.