There are times when I have no idea how to describe a new webcomic; at times this is because the comic lacks direction or sufficient updates for me to effectively summarize the comic. But there are times when a comic is so innovative and surreal that I could go on for several pages and not fully describe what the comic is about. Gisèle Lagacé’s surreal humor comic Eerie Cuties (which is co-written by David Zero 1, for whom I’ve no information) definitely falls under the latter category, and I’ll admit I’ve procrastinated on reviewing this comic because I honestly don’t think I can find the words to effectively describe it.

If I were to try and create a description for Eerie Cuties in under a dozen words, I’d call it a teen high school comic where the protagonists are all monsters. In fact, the school itself is a school for adolescent monsters, including vampires (of which our primary protagonist is one), succubi, werewolves, catboys, witches, and more. To be honest, I was initially reminded of an old (and thankfully lasting only a single season) Scooby Doo comic when the characters had created a monster school (despite being terrified of monsters); fortunately, EC is far more intelligently written than some trite and sophomoric television cartoon. Okay, admittedly that’s not difficult, but for the most part EC tends toward fun and quaint storylines that shouldn’t offend anyone not readily offended by the humanization of monsters and critters that go bump in the dark.

The comic’s primary protagonist is a young 14-year-old vampire named Nina Delacroix, who (due to being born on Easter) has an aversion to blood and prefers to feed off of chocolate. Naturally, this doesn’t hold over well with Nina’s big sister Layla, who constantly tries to get her sister to drink actual blood like a proper vampire (and in fact we see on multiple occasions Layla’s disdain for her sister’s tendency to embarrass her by not acting properly). Secondary members of the cast include Nina’s friends Choe Love (a succubus), Brooke Lynn (a Melusine, or snake-girl), and Ace Wolfhart, a werewolf boy whom Nina calls “puppy” and takes an immediate liking to in a non-romantic aspect; I suspect part of this lies with the fact Nina is the comic Innocent (though Chloe is a close second in this regard).

Early comics focused on developing the characters and the chemistry between them. Perhaps the most obvious relationship lies with Nina and Ace (which takes a surreal twist when (thanks to a magical doodad) several male characters are zapped into girls; unfortunately for Ace, he never got turned back). Nina’s friendships with schoolmates Chloe and Brooke helps lead to several stories focusing more on these secondary characters (including one amusing zombie apocalypse parody). As the comic has grown, the stories have started to focus on other cast members such as Layla, which has resulted in some of the stories taking on a more mature focus. Elements of the latest story (involving some of Brooke’s back story) can even get downright disturbing, though Lagacé never fully crosses the line into full-blown horror.

While a couple of Lagacé’s previous works (such as Cool Cats Studios and Ménage à 3) are meant for a more mature audience, EC is actually teen-suitable; I suspect it has a PG-13 rating primarily because the cast of the comic are monsters, and there are some elements of the comic that undoubtedly might upset a younger reader (parents should review their child’s webcomic reading in any event). EC tends more toward the “cutie” than the “eerie” factor, though readers should rarely need insulin shots for self-defense; as such, I have no qualms recommending EC to my readers.