Preview: ‘In Utero’ — “Akira Meets Aliens” In A Coming Of Age Monster Tale

by Richard Bruton

In Utero promises a mix of coming-of-age tale, monsters, and sci-fi futurism, summed up by Top Shelf as “Akira meets Aliens, and Annihilation meets Evangelion” and it’s a damn fine mix of them all indeed…

Chris Gooch is an award-winning cartoonist based in Australia with three books already under his belt and winning fans — 2017’s debut graphic novel, Bottled, followed by a short story collection, Deep Breaths in 2019 and a second graphic novel, Under Earth, published in 2020.

In Utero promises a hell of a lot, a coming-of-age tale wrapped up in the trappings of creepy monsters mixed in with nightmarish body horror stuff. But what makes it a really great read is that it genuinely lives up to the PR and absolutely delivers on all the horrors, all the friendship beats, all the great artwork.

Here’s the Top Shelf PR for this one:

“Akira meets Aliens, and Annihilation meets Evangelion, in this coming-of-age monster tale from award-winning graphic novelist Chris Gooch.

‘Twelve years after a disastrous explosion, young Hailey is dropped off by her mum at a holiday camp in a dilapidated shopping mall. Alienated from the other kids, she connects with an eerie older teen named Jen… but soon dark horrors awaken, and the two new friends are caught up in a cataclysmic battle between two terrifying creatures who have been lying dormant all this time.

‘One of Australia’s most acclaimed young graphic novelists, Chris Gooch expertly crafts a taut and intimate thriller about mothers and daughters, the monstrous and the mundane, and the power of friendship in the midst of catastrophe.”

Like I say, whilst In Utero‘s PR might start with that very high concept line of “Akira meets Aliens, and Annihilation meets Evangelion,” it’s one that actually lives up to that hype.

It’s immediately obvious in Gooch’s artwork, the epitome of Katsuhiro Otomo’s stylings, both in the characters we’re seeing and, most particularly, in the architecture that Gooch gets so absolutely right. And, as you’ll see from the preview and the art in here, it soon begins to plan into all the other references as well, with a sense of the creepy, the other, morphing into the nightmares of Alien’s body horror.

It’s genuinely chilling, perfectly creepy, and wonderfully executed by Gooch. This is one of those books that should be on your pick list for the new year.