Meat Cake (thing)

Meat Cake collects short stories that are frequently interrelated. Drawing from Grimm's fairy tales, Victorian romanticism, and religion, the stories are typically dark and twisted tales about young women, love, and the weird thing known as the human psyche. I'm personally reminded of Angela Carter's writing style.

The art is reminiscent of Edward Gorey, but messier and more angular. Dame Darcy's appreciation for vaudeville, Victorian and gothic fashion, horror and religion comes through clearly.

The cast of repeating characters includes:

• Effluvia the mermaid
• Friend the Girl, a young woman
• Perfidia and Hindrance, catty siamese twins
• Richard Dirt, a young woman
• Scampi the Selfish Shellfish
• Strega Pez, who speaks only through bloody tablets emerging from a hole in her neck
• Wax Wolf, clearly drawn from the wolves of the Brothers Grimm

Occasional characters have included various religious figures, Igpay the latin pig, body parts, circus members, and various husbands and wives.