4 out of 5

Inconsistently, I will nod in approval at the particular way W. Maxwell Prince gets kinda cute with this issue of ICM – something I’ve criticized the writer for at other times. But what differs here is the loopy way Prince brings in his series lore plus fourth wall breaking nods, putting the comic in an especially cheeky position that floats between world-building and my favorite type of horror – where the reader is a participant.

‘Necessary Monsters’ is partially structured like a bestiary, with half of its pages full text plus a spot illustration, dedicated to different creepos that have – I believe – appeared in previous ICM tales. Woven through this is the story of Jacob, author of this bestiary, and desperate to have it published while his own monsters plague him.

Jacob’s general paranoia is a familiar “mode” for the narrative tone, and Prince pushes on the fiction / reality button given that he essentially shares a job with this narrator, doing this more explicitly within the bestiary entries themselves, which mix references to the Ice Cream Man comic series itself with in-universe references. The only thing that felt slightly off with this mix was the voice used on the text pages, which is very conversational and sweary; I’m not exactly clear what the goal was there – it feels a bit uneven in application.

But this was a very fun book overall, serving as another kind of summary of the series – it keeps seeming like Prince is determining where / how to end this – while approaching it from a fresh direction that shows that the ICM formula is even more extensible than imagined.