The Vermont Monster Guide by Joseph Citro and Stephen R. Bisette

 

I love monster guidebooks, so when I heard about this tome about cryptids of Vermont, I immediately had to track down a copy.

With its extensive forest, glacier-rounded hills, and deep, dark lakes, it’s not surprising that Vermont is allegedly home to a multitude of strange, unknown beasts. Monster investigator Citro and renowned comic artist Bisette delve deep into the folklore and urban legends of the Green Mountain State to bring these creatures to life with writing and illustrations that are as lurid and sensational as pulpy 19^th century newspapers breathlessly relating the horrors menacing backwoods folk.

Some of the featured monsters are familiar- Champ, Bigfoot, the Fur-Bearing Trout.  Others are more obscure, like the trash-eating Pigman, Memphre of cold, glacial Lake Memphremagog, and the Man-Eating Stone of Glastonbury Mountain. There’s also a sizeable pack of creatures known from single encounters, such as Steggy the hump-backed critter, or the “Long-Leggedy Cats” of Burlington.

Bisette has a long history of comic book work, including Saga of the Swamp Thing, and Tyrant, the latter a story about the life of a Tyrannosaurus from the moment of birth. He also co-created the comic character John Constantine. Joseph Citro is a long-time collector of New England oddball stories.  Their guide to things mysterious and monstrous of Vermont is perfect for any fan of cryptids and local legends.  

Though the book is out of print, it's pretty easy to track down good-quality used copies online.

Also, here's an illustration I did of the aforementioned Pigman enjoying a nice breakfast.