A 4-issue mini-series from 2011, a period of time when various writers were really trying to make a thing of there being a vast, underground "Monster Metropolis."
No, not the Morlocks' place. No, not Mole Man's kingdom. Monsters like Morbius, and Werewolf by Night. I think it was introduced during Rick Remender's "Franken-Castle" arc, and used periodically after that. I think Shiklah assumed control of it after marrying Deadpool, but I won't rule out that being an entirely different Monster Metropolis. In this case, Dennis Hopeless focuses on what passes for the police force: Manphibian, the Living Mummy, and the aforementioned werewolf and living vampire.
Enter, Elsa Bloodstone, on the trail of a monster that had been murdering and eating people, and generally being anti-social. An autopsy reveals something had eaten part of the monster's brain, and Morbius realizes a) this is behind the rise in violent outbreaks in the metropolis, and b) he's seen it before. But he's cagey with the answers, so Elsa and Jack Russell do some investigating of their own. This seems to be the start of the off/on whatever Elsa and Jack have that gets alluded to. Makes sense, as I don't think they'd ever been written in a story together prior to this.
One thing I notice between this mini-series and the Werewolf by Night one-shot from last year, is that while writers use the NextWave version of Elsa, most of them sand the rough edges off somewhat. She's not quite as competent, not quite as viciously sarcastic. Here, she does opine that all the citizens of Monster Metropolis are evil and should die in fire, but also allows the monster cops to arrest her and patiently sits chained to a bench until the autopsy is done? She accompanies Jack to some demon gateway and gets in over her head, requiring him to get injured saving her. But she also fights her way into Dracula's castle, in part by dousing her ponytail in holy water and using it like a whip. Or maybe a wet towel is the better comparison.
(An exception to the thing about writers: Si Spurrier's version in the Black Knight mini-series from a couple years ago. Maybe it's just U.S. writers can't summon the caustic quality necessary.)
Juan Doe's art is all exaggeration. Bloodstone's legs seem to stretch into infinity, and the ankles are narrow enough it seems a miracle they don't snap with every step. Monsters with chests and arms that would put Rob Liefeld's Captain America to shame. But there's a consistency to the odd proportions, and combined with the odd features of the various monsters - teeth in strange places or patterns, odd postures or gaits produced by body types - it seems to work. Most of the characters aren't human, so they don't have to move or be shaped like them. Jack, when he shifts out of his werewolf state, is probably the closest to normally proportioned, even more than Elsa, who is a bit of an otherworldly creature herself.
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