In Utero by Chris Gooch is totally screwy. But also amazing. If you like Jeff Lemire, Ram V., Spectators by Brian K. Vaughan, Junji Ito (with slightly less intensity), We Called Them Giants by Kieron Gillen (and others I can’t remember, but were amazed how mental and emotional they were) you might like this. It is a horror/thriller. While “tame” in some ways, is much more intense in others. Violence, death, blood and some other triggers.
The idea is that 12 years ago an explosion rocked the neighborhood. Mom (pregnant with Hailey) watches from her window, with her son. Now, she is dropping off Hailey at a day camp/school housed in a less than ideal, very run down mall. But because things are less than organized, Haliey (not thrilled to be there) wanders off with an older looking teen. Come to find out, this teen is only 12 years-old-herself and has a secret that really reinforces: don’t go off with strangers, no matter how cool they seem. And not to mention, some of the other boys who wandered off have found something really cool and really, really dangerous.
A lot is happening at once. We have flash-betweens between the camp and (eventually) the military and Haliey and her new friend. This is marked with different colors and slightly different styles, but different forms with Hailey’s world more surreal looking and a lot less detailed compared to “reality” and the world we live in. There is the idea of magic, supernatural and the realism of the time. We have monsters (and I don’t mean the day-care kids. Though now that you mention it…) and we have friendship. We have people who have no clue and people with all the answers. In the end, this is a book that will take away something, but that will vary due to what you bring to the table, what you do and do not like and what possesses you.