A Graphic Novel by Fred Van Lente, Chris Panda, and Becca Carey. Pub Date 05-20-25
Story Rating: 4*
Art Rating: 4*
PUBLISHER’S SYNOPSIS
Tanith and her best friend are trapped overnight in a fantasy-themed amusement park where someone is killing the employees in the gruesome fashion of the original fairy tales! They have to unravel the mystery before they become the next victims and live never ever after…
Once upon a time, in a strange land called Florida, a masked psycho starts murdering cast members of the Storybook Kingdom theme park in ways identical to the gory original Grimms’ Fairy Tales. Princess-turned-detective Tanith is the only person who can unmask the killer before she and her friends are all Dying Unhappily Never After!
THOUGHTS
This was a tight graphic novel. It was basically serial killer at a theme park, fairytale meets slasher story. The art was great and gave some really great moments where the fairytale cross over was super apparent and gave dark, early Grimm Brothers vibes. I enjoyed it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for an advanced ebook copy in exchange for a fair and honest review!
“Morgana Winterberry belongs to a long line of witches, while Oz belongs to the rival vampire clan. After lifting a magical curse on the vampires, Morgana makes an uneasy truce with them, very much against her family’s warnings.
Morgana and Oz plan to work together to investigate who cursed the vampires in the first place, and who summoned the ghouls that are stalking the forest. Much to Morgana’s worry, signs point to someone in her family using her powerful ancestor Neil Winterberry’s grimoire.
As Morgana tries to understand her stronger but more volatile magic, and learn more about her mysterious great-great-grandfather, she starts hearing a chilling and all too familiar voice in her head.
It will take a witch and a vampire, growing closer every day, to get to the bottom of things.”
REVIEW
This is one of the cutest Webtoon series on the site and I love how magical and a little dark it is, and the plot comes with some seriously adorable artwork. Volume three gets us a little further into the backstory of Morgana’s family and deepens her relationship with Oz into friendship, dipping its toe into something possibly more (they are totally still crushing on each other). I love the characters and how adorably suspicious her brother is about what’s going on. We get more of a reveal on what might be going on with Morgana’s magic and Oz’s past.
There is still so much life left in this story, and I am here for it. I love an adorable graphic novel and this series delivers every time.
Thank you to NetGalley and WEBTOON UNSCROLLED for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for a fair and honest review!
“In one afternoon, Ellie discovers that monsters are real, she has latent psychic powers, and a well dressed man with a pumpkin for a head wants her to be his partner. It’s a lot to take in. Now the clumsy but determined Ellie and her Pumpkin-headed boss Ichabod have to team up and fight the things that go bump in the night.
Before she can say “boo,” Ellie finds herself tangled up in a magical world where monsters are real, demons tend bar, and psychic conversations take place in a super unsettling mystical void. And there are even more dangerous forces at work, just out of sight.
This volume collects Season 1 of the bewitching WEBTOON comic Third Shift Society.”
REVIEW:
This was an excellent start to a much beloved supernatural mystery Webtoon series and the page setup for the graphic novel did it justice. There’s this will they/won’t thay that really plays out well and the art is reminiscent of other paranormal animated media, like the old Ghostbusters show/Scooby Doo. I mean that as a delicious compliment because they are shows I loved and they hit that nostalgia for me while also giving me a one-two punch right in my romantic tension/spooky loving adult feels.
Thanks to Netgalley and Webtoon for the advanced copy in exchange for this review.
VOLUME 2
PUBLISHER’S SYNOPSIS
“Life’s funny. One minute you’re jobless, deep in debt, and on the verge of eviction; the next you’re in a fight with a monster and getting a job working for a paranormal detective with the head of a Jack-o-Lantern. It’s an age-old story.
Now the clumsy but determined Ellie (who’s recently discovered she has strong psychic powers) and her pumpkin-headed boss Ichabod have to team up and fight the things that go bump in the night.
Ellie and Ichabod have some supernatural solves under their belts and Ellie has her psychic powers more (or less) under control. All they’re up against now are cryptic witches, sinister demons, and some ancient monsters hellbent on escaping their psychic prison. What could possibly go wrong?”
REVIEW:
This volume of Third Shift Society delves into Season 2 of the web comic in which we find Ellie getting more used to her powers. Ichabod is being really secretive about stuff I suspect Ellie should probably know, especially now that we are beginning to understand the motivations of our demon friends and how they pose a major danger to sensitives like Ellie. The will they won’t they pull is a constant tug of war and I never thought some pumpkin headed guy in a suit would be so very alluring. Can’t wait to see where this story goes!
Thanks to Netgalley and Webtoon for the advanced copy in exchange for this review.
4.5*s. Best enjoyed when you need a quick visual cozy fantasy.
Publisher’s Synopsis:
“Juniper and Hadley have a good thing going in Larkspur, spending their respective days apprenticing at a little bakery and performing at the local inn. But when a stranger makes an unusual order at the bakery, the two friends (and Hadley’s pet snake, Fern) set out on a journey to forage the magical mushrooms needed to make the requested galette pastries.
Along the way, Juniper and Hadley stumble across a mystery too compelling to ignore: Something has been coming out of the woods at night and eating the local farmers’ crops, leaving only a trail of glowy goo behind. Intent on finally going on an adventure that could fuel their bardic craft, Hadley tows Juniper into the woods to investigate.
What started as a simple errand to pick mushrooms soon turns into a thrilling quest to save some furry new friends—and their caretaker, a softspoken little fey named Thistle—who are in danger of losing their home.”
REVIEW:
This story was super cute. Fairies, bakeries, a little bit of love? This seems to be the time for cozy fantasy, and this graphic novel totally fits the bill.
The soft pink and green illustrations and characters learning to be happy with who they are that are also willing to accept love and help those who are unlike them in small but profound ways. The friendships and self-acceptance were depicted in such easy and wonderful ways that I almost didn’t want it to end.
This graphic novel is so beautiful and happy and I plan to revisit it when I need a pick me up. It is definitely a book to pick up when you want someone soft and light and still full of magic and low stakes adventure.
Thank you to Netgalley and publisher, MacMillan Children’s, for the advanced copy in exchange for this fair and honest review.
Based on the novel by Mary Downing Hahn. Pub Date 8/15/23
4*s. Best enjoyed when you need a ghost story with an innocent, triumph-over-evil feeling.
Publisher’s Synopsis:
“Travis and his sister, Corey, can’t resist a good trick. When they learn that their grandmother’s quiet Vermont inn, where they’re spending the summer, has a history of ghost sightings, they decide to do a little “haunting” of their own. Before long, their supernatural pranks have tourists flocking to the inn, and business booms.
But Travis and Corey soon find out that theirs aren’t the only ghosts at Fox Hill Inn. Their thoughtless games have awakened something dangerous, something that should have stayed asleep. Can these siblings lay to rest the restless spirits they’ve disturbed?“
Review:
This really was such an awesome story. The illustrations were colorful and the story was eerie yet still cute in some way. I hadn’t read this book prior to now so this was my first exposure to it. I loved how the spirits were depicted and also how much growth the kids and adults both experienced throughout.
I think this is the perfect kid’s graphic novel for spooky season and I highly recommend it!
Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins Children’s for the advanced copy in exchange for a fair review.
Illustrated by Veronica & Andy Fish, Pub date 9/12/23
4*s. Best enjoyed when you need a technicolor nightmare scape.
Publisher’s Synopsis:
“What would you do for $50,000? For Mack, the prize money would be life changing. She knows her time at the women’s shelter is already up. And she’s good at hiding. At least this time, her life doesn’t depend on it–or so she thinks.
The challenge is simple. All fourteen competitors must spend seven days hiding in an abandoned amusement park from dawn to dusk. There’s only one rule: Don’t get caught.
But as the people around her begin disappearing one by one, Mack realizes this competition is more dangerous than she’d imagined, and that together might be the only way to survive.”
Review:
This graphic novel was adapted from White’s book Hide. Although I had heard pretty good things and had it on my TBR, when I saw this graphic novel of the book I jumped at the chance to read it.
The illustrations in the book are delightful with a classic gritty comic book vibe and some seriously vivd colors that render the story in a neon colored hell scape.
The story itself is very good. It’s obviously not a regular game of hide and seek, but when people end up murdered by something and strange occult-y books and renderings are found throughout the abandoned amusement park that makes up the setting, it’s very clear that something more than just a weird child’s game with a huge prize at the end.
The overall lore was well thought out, the plot and pace was great for a graphic novel, and there was very little left to question at the end. Often with books turned graphic, there’s something lost in translation in the story. Although I didn’t read the original, I felt very satisfied with where this book went and the loose ends were minimal if not nil by the end.
Thanks to Netgalley, White, and Ten Speed Press for the advanced copy in exchange for this honest review!
4*. Best enjoyed when you need to dive into some beautiful art!
Brindille is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel about a girl who suddenly finds herself in a small forest village with strange creatures and no idea how she got there or anything about her past. However, it seems that some very dangerous beings are after her for some reason and they are quickly eating away at the magical wood in their pursuit of her.
With the help of her wolf companion, can Brindille figure out a way to save the world around her and also figure out how she came to be there?
As with most graphic novels, the story is important, but the illustrations are what move it along. The premise of the story is very interesting and the end was entirely surprising, and it makes you want to reread the entire thing to see what you missed.
Thank you to Netgalley and Diamond Book Distributors for the early copy in exchange for this review.
5 Stars. Best enjoyed when you want to see some gorgeous illustrations of zombies.
Ever After is a beautiful post-apocalyptic adventure that takes place in Germany and features two very different girls fighting their own demons who get lost outside of the barricaded city where they live. Eva meant to get lost while Vivi was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The world has been taken over by a plant-based plague that affects human beings and is passed by bites or scratches. Barricaded in Weimar city in a mental hospital, Vivi is haunted by the ghosts of her past and barely sleeps in order to escape them. She is deemed well enough to help on the outskirts of the city with to do some work and is put on Eva’s team. Horrible events unfold, causing Vivi to have to escape from the asylum and hide on a train. However, when that train start to move outside the city, she finds she’s not the only one on it, and she’s bound for a life changing adventure in the dangerous wilds of the world.
The illustrations are truly beautiful and the friendships that form in the vast post apocalyptic world of rural Germany are not sweet, but are nonetheless potent. Amid the pages of vivid, pastel-colored landscape, Vivi and Eva both discover things about themselves and overcome past, festering wounds under the surface. Survival doesn’t always mean taking care of one’s body, sometimes it means taking care of your soul as well. Sometimes it also means doing things you never thought you would for someone else.
Thank you to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group for the advanced copy of this adorably dark graphic novel in exchange for a fair and honest review. ❤
Written by Deliah S. Dawson, Illustrations by Matias Basla
3.5 stars. Best Enjoyed on an empty stomach and FAR from a mirror.
I had the opportunity to get one of my Netgalley wishes answered. Thanks to Boom Studios and Netgalley for providing me an advanced copy of the compendium to be released on 8/20/19 in exchange for a fair review.
Sparrowhawk is a collection of comics-come-graphic novel detailing a young woman’s fall into faerie and the subsequent journey she had to take to escape it and save her own world from the Unseelie Queen who took her place. A picture is worth a thousand words, and this story is all pictures and color, portraying much, betraying little.
Artemisia is the adopted mixed race daughter in a family in dire straights. Although her father and sister love her, her stepmother is a complete pill, wishing to marry her off to her deceased older sister’s betrothed in order to save the family. If Artemisia disagrees, her stepmother has threatened to marry her beloved younger sister, Caroline, to a wealthy elderly Baron. However, before Artemisia can make a choice, the Unseelie Queen, bent on destroying the world (starting with Victorian England), reaches through the mirror and switches places with her.
Artemisia, now stuck in faerie with little knowledge on how to get out, is greeted by Crispin, an abomination created by the evil Unseelie queen. Crispin offers to strike a deal with Artemisia: to help her through faerie and get back home in exchange for her most treasured memory. Anyone who knows anything about faerie or faerie lore also knows how terrible of an idea this is, but Artemisia agrees. Crispin, in turn, tells her exactly what she needs to do to get out:
Grow Stronger. By Killing.
But she better hurry, because the Wild Hunt is on her trail.
During her journey, she struggles to remember the important memory she gave away to Crispin in exchange for guidance. Artemisia must kill other faeries in order to get back to her own world while also trying to maintain some semblance of her humanity. Along the way they meet an Unseelie prince who abhors the evil world his mother has created and detests that Artemisia must kill to save her own, and Dean, a giant pig like monster who, at times, is reminiscent of Falcore from Never-ending Story.
I enjoyed the illustrations. The comic covers which were peppered throughout the compendium were illustrated by Miguel Mercado and absolutely enhanced the overall story. The story itself at times felt a little disjointed, but that’s to be expected when it comes to graphic novels about faerie, especially given that they were originally released in individual sections, and there was a lot of ground to cover so you really need to rely on the illustrations to guide those missing pieces into place. There were some dream sequences that sometimes felt oddly situated and I didn’t really understand the rhythm of them until literally the last one, which was definitely jarring, but then I got that they were referencing the memory she had lost and does not regain until the end. But I won’t spoil it, you’ll need to pick this one up for yourself.
Overall, although I was expecting more and it felt a little shallow during the first read through the more I sat with it the better it got. It was a fun read and I think it’s well worth the time spent. I have a feeling I’m going to be dreaming in lime green, teal, and purple for awhile.
Always Lost in Words 