This beautiful hardcover edition of Jonathan Case's debut graphic novel includes a brand new introduction by acclaimed writer and artist Craig Thompson (Blankets, Habibi) and a sketchbook of process materials never before seen in print.

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Deep in the ocean, a monster makes a choice. Grue, the sea mutant with a poet soul, must stop feasting on lusty humans and arise to the only thing that cures his hunger: The works of William Shakespeare!

Yes - Shakespeare. Someone's stuffed cola bottles full of the Bard's plays and dropped them in the sea. Inspired to find their source (and heckled by a chorus of crabs), Grue follows the bottles into the alien landscape of 1962's Southern California. Among his many discoveries is Giulietta, a woman trapped by fear and desire. Bizarre romance ensues, but when the police pin Grue's killings on Giulietta's nephew, Grue must decide if becoming worthy of love means abandoning the monster he was.

"DEAR CREATURE is the smartest, most heart-wrenching and just plain fun indie I have read" — Ain't it Cool News

"A beautiful anomaly … marvelously entertaining and a weird side-door entry into both Shakespeare and graphic literature… A funny, bizarre, unexpected pleasure that gives a creature from the depths heart and soul.” — Kirkus Reviews