“Are there monsters, Papa?” A young child's question, asked at the outset of the story, that has a complicated answer.

“Breath of Bones, A Tale of the Golem” has just finished its three issue arc. Set in World War II Europe this fine tale takes us first to front lines in 1944, then flashes back to a few years previous, when the narrator, Noah, was too young to fight. He may have been too young to be a soldier, but he was not too young to feel the lingering threat of German invasion. He and his grandfather watched Noah's father march off to war, never to return. And it was on that same wall that Noah witnessed an English plane crash.

The pilot, Simon, is injured and unable to walk. With the plane downed beside their village, and a German enemy in their care the villagers know it is only a matter of time before German soldiers come to town. In response to this looming threat Noah's grandfather gives the boy a small, featureless doll, with the express command to “Get to know it.” In book 2 a scouting party comes into the village, and the worst happens. One German soldier dead, another injured and on his way to his superiors, and the grandfather shot.

The village, who trust the old man implicitly, opt to stay and sculpt a giant mud-man on the floor of Noah's barn. The youth fetch pails of mud from the stream bank, and Noah's grandparents shape the monster. Soon enough the Germans are at the gates. But there is a tremendous surprise for them. The Golem.

Written by Steve Niles, and illustrated by Dave Wachter, this short, but inspiring story uses family, fear, and war to inspire the creation, and permeation of good. The illustrations are markedly simple, but beautiful in the conveyance of the message. There is voice, and it is human. Noah, an introspective boy, knows to believe, even in the face of destruction.

The Golem, who runs by faith, is a weapon anyone could use. But in this instance, “Sometimes,” says grandfather, “It takes a monster to fight a monster.” And so the human monsters are destroyed, and the influence of the Golem's attack spares the village the wrath of the Second World War.

It's worth the read. The pacing is excellent, the story is good, the characters believable, and the universe comfortably close to home. This is no boy's best friend tale, rather it is a testament to the fearlessness of love.