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helpfulsnowman's review
3.0
In this book you've got real monsters, and as a solution to the problem of how they live in a world where people are not monsters, they all work at a monster-themed amusement park. Sort of like Adventureland, except with zombies instead of disaffected youth. Although there is a mummy who seems to be a disaffected youth, so maybe even MORE like Adventureland than I thought.
I was thinking about about Disneyland. Because that's the obvious analogue when someone talks about a theme park, right? The Magic Kingdom as it's called. The Home Of Mickey And His Pals. The Cryo-Crypt of Walt's Frozen Head.
Here's what sucks about Disneyworld. It's too...Disneyworld. Nobody gets hurt, nobody makes a mess, and the whole thing is so polished that it's fun, but horrifying at the same time. You don't say that guys in costumes came over. You call them cast members. Shit like that.
So what's a fella like me to do?
Enter: Haunted Trails.
Just your average Chuck E. Cheese, except that it's got a Halloween theme.
This place was not too far from my grandma's house, so whenever we went to visit, we'd make the trip.
Okay, it wasn't perfect. There were cheesy parts. And it was in a shit neighborhood, so there was a good deal of kid on kid panhandling going on, something that I didn't know much about other than when a kid asked for money, I would hold my grandma's coin purse, which she loaned me for the afternoon, and say No. Not because of some nascent boostrapper attitude or something. Because I was a kid, and I was at the stage of development where I was inexperienced enough to have no real opinion on straight-up asking someone for cash, yet mature enough to do the math on the fact that if I gave someone a token, I didn't have it anymore. Oh, and also, I was pretty well developed as far as a sense of people being your friend because they want something, sadly.
But I think this is more fun than Disney. I suppose there's a price you pay for a good time that's little less safe, and when I say "safe" I'm not saying that I was about to be shived by a sharpened mini golf putter for a Haunted Trails token. I just mean that when something is super safe you can be reasonably certain that nothing outside your normal realm of comfort will go down.
And I guess that's what signals fun for me. Think about it. Booze, drugs, nights out, cities, dating. All of the time, you trade just a smidge of your safety for something fun. I'm certainly not saying that the less safe something is, the more fun it is. If I lived by that logic I'd just go ahead and litter the floor of my apartment with broken glass and dangle knives from the ceiling. What I AM saying is that most fun things have just a small element that feels a little unsafe. Blood fountain, strange neighborhood, or a kid giving your grandma's coin purse a hard stare while he fashions a bludgeoning tool from the kazoo he won with 8 tickets.
I was thinking about about Disneyland. Because that's the obvious analogue when someone talks about a theme park, right? The Magic Kingdom as it's called. The Home Of Mickey And His Pals. The Cryo-Crypt of Walt's Frozen Head.
Here's what sucks about Disneyworld. It's too...Disneyworld. Nobody gets hurt, nobody makes a mess, and the whole thing is so polished that it's fun, but horrifying at the same time. You don't say that guys in costumes came over. You call them cast members. Shit like that.
So what's a fella like me to do?
Enter: Haunted Trails.
Just your average Chuck E. Cheese, except that it's got a Halloween theme.
This place was not too far from my grandma's house, so whenever we went to visit, we'd make the trip.
Okay, it wasn't perfect. There were cheesy parts. And it was in a shit neighborhood, so there was a good deal of kid on kid panhandling going on, something that I didn't know much about other than when a kid asked for money, I would hold my grandma's coin purse, which she loaned me for the afternoon, and say No. Not because of some nascent boostrapper attitude or something. Because I was a kid, and I was at the stage of development where I was inexperienced enough to have no real opinion on straight-up asking someone for cash, yet mature enough to do the math on the fact that if I gave someone a token, I didn't have it anymore. Oh, and also, I was pretty well developed as far as a sense of people being your friend because they want something, sadly.
But I think this is more fun than Disney. I suppose there's a price you pay for a good time that's little less safe, and when I say "safe" I'm not saying that I was about to be shived by a sharpened mini golf putter for a Haunted Trails token. I just mean that when something is super safe you can be reasonably certain that nothing outside your normal realm of comfort will go down.
And I guess that's what signals fun for me. Think about it. Booze, drugs, nights out, cities, dating. All of the time, you trade just a smidge of your safety for something fun. I'm certainly not saying that the less safe something is, the more fun it is. If I lived by that logic I'd just go ahead and litter the floor of my apartment with broken glass and dangle knives from the ceiling. What I AM saying is that most fun things have just a small element that feels a little unsafe. Blood fountain, strange neighborhood, or a kid giving your grandma's coin purse a hard stare while he fashions a bludgeoning tool from the kazoo he won with 8 tickets.
janay_shandell's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
ellelainey's review against another edition
5.0
** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley
~
Gretchen (Zombillenium #1) be Arthur De Pins
★★★★★
48 Pages
I saw the film, Zombillenium, a while ago and although it was a little weird, I really enjoyed it. So I had to snap this up when I saw it on Netgalley. The graphics were gorgeous; exactly the feel, vibe and design of the film. The plot was good, differing just enough from the film to make it interesting and adding in a little bit of spice between the more age-appropriate MC's. Gretchen has such an intriguing story and I can't wait to read more in the series. It was great to get a little added something from the film, as well as have the story completely new and understandable to anyone who hasn't seen it yet.
A great graphic novel with excellent execution and illustrations. I'll be reading more.
Copy received through Netgalley
~
Gretchen (Zombillenium #1) be Arthur De Pins
★★★★★
48 Pages
I saw the film, Zombillenium, a while ago and although it was a little weird, I really enjoyed it. So I had to snap this up when I saw it on Netgalley. The graphics were gorgeous; exactly the feel, vibe and design of the film. The plot was good, differing just enough from the film to make it interesting and adding in a little bit of spice between the more age-appropriate MC's. Gretchen has such an intriguing story and I can't wait to read more in the series. It was great to get a little added something from the film, as well as have the story completely new and understandable to anyone who hasn't seen it yet.
A great graphic novel with excellent execution and illustrations. I'll be reading more.
dontanam's review against another edition
4.0
The cover art. The cover art. The size. The cover art. If you think I'm joking, ask my mother. When I brought these home from the library, she took one look and said, "You picked those because of the covers, didn't you?" Yep. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but the covers looked amazing, so I had to know. Also, I found it in the adult graphic novel section.
nhoa_book_nook's review against another edition
5.0
⭐️⭐️5⭐️⭐️
Me encanta este cómic. Es divertido, interesante, y me deja con ganas de saber más.... ¿Qué más se puede pedir?
El dibujo me flipa, por cierto.
Me encanta este cómic. Es divertido, interesante, y me deja con ganas de saber más.... ¿Qué más se puede pedir?
El dibujo me flipa, por cierto.
mschlat's review
2.0
Picked this up at a whim at my library. The artwork (cartoony with wonderful coloring and no pencil or ink lines) is great, and I liked the concept of monsters running and staffing a monster-themed amusement park. But I found the plot so-so --- we meet our protagonist at a bad point in his life, but we never really see the details. As a result, I found the emotional impact muted --- it was hard to connect the dots between the history and the actions.
minniequinnie's review against another edition
4.0
I was provided an Arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This story had wonderful art and I will be reading the sequels. I was surprised an arc of this was available since it was published a while ago and then I realized a new volume will be releasing in July and I am so excited!
A very different take on the idea of an amusement park filled with monster's aka Zombillenium. What I assumed by the description was created to help monsters I now realize is a forced job and not a choice. The story follows Gretchen a witch with a hidden agenda as she works as an intern at Zombillenium.
This story had wonderful art and I will be reading the sequels. I was surprised an arc of this was available since it was published a while ago and then I realized a new volume will be releasing in July and I am so excited!
A very different take on the idea of an amusement park filled with monster's aka Zombillenium. What I assumed by the description was created to help monsters I now realize is a forced job and not a choice. The story follows Gretchen a witch with a hidden agenda as she works as an intern at Zombillenium.
penlop's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
sapphicshelves's review against another edition
2.0
I have not explored too many graphic novels but unfortunately this one fell flat for me. It has a very interesting premise with only a variety of monsters who work on the grounds but may never leave. I found the interactions between characters really lacking substance.