catburps's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
oddly's review against another edition
4.0
Lauren Beukes has been on my instant-buy list since I read [b:The Shining Girls|16131077|The Shining Girls|Lauren Beukes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1352227705l/16131077._SY75_.jpg|21956898], so I'm glad I finally got around to reading this graphic novel.
Co-written with Dale Halverson, this story is interested in horror tropes and stock characters and subverting the hell out of your expectations. I am also a sucker for a haunted house tale! The story plays with time in a way that will appeal to anyone who loved The Haunting of Hill House Netflix series or fans of [b:House of Leaves|24800|House of Leaves|Mark Z. Danielewski|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403889034l/24800._SX50_.jpg|856555]. But through the art (Ryan Kelly), this story goes to whole new levels of weird, horrific, and just plain awesome. The last few issues that take place mostly in a strange house felt like being in a funhouse of horror, and there is a lot of nuance from the beginning of the story that really pays off.
At times, the storyline feels a little overly involved and I think the same concept could have been accomplished to great effect with 2 less characters. This becomes especially apparent when the story is winding down and what is going on in the house is so much more interesting and crucial to the story than the gaming bit. (Though I did love those characters... The writers are excellent at creating people you want to root for.)
This is a story I didn't want to end, and one I would love to see this team pick up again; there appears to be more story to tell and I am here for it.
Co-written with Dale Halverson, this story is interested in horror tropes and stock characters and subverting the hell out of your expectations. I am also a sucker for a haunted house tale! The story plays with time in a way that will appeal to anyone who loved The Haunting of Hill House Netflix series or fans of [b:House of Leaves|24800|House of Leaves|Mark Z. Danielewski|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403889034l/24800._SX50_.jpg|856555]. But through the art (Ryan Kelly), this story goes to whole new levels of weird, horrific, and just plain awesome. The last few issues that take place mostly in a strange house felt like being in a funhouse of horror, and there is a lot of nuance from the beginning of the story that really pays off.
At times, the storyline feels a little overly involved and I think the same concept could have been accomplished to great effect with 2 less characters. This becomes especially apparent when the story is winding down and what is going on in the house is so much more interesting and crucial to the story than the gaming bit. (Though I did love those characters... The writers are excellent at creating people you want to root for.)
This is a story I didn't want to end, and one I would love to see this team pick up again; there appears to be more story to tell and I am here for it.
jhstack's review against another edition
3.0
A good foray into a solo indie comic series for Lauren Beukes. A handful of familiar themes (if you know her writing/style already), and a good twist on 80s horror tropes. I would have wanted some clearer backstories for a few characters, but everything comes to a head at the end to just about cap things off and tease a potential sequel.
jkropik06's review against another edition
2.0
2/5 Stars.
This disappointed me SO MUCH. I actually never heard of this graphic novel until I saw it scrolling through book outlet. When I saw Joe Hill blurbed it and read the premise (30 something’s who each survived an 80s horror moviesque situation) I was sold.
The premise of this graphic novel is truly what pulled me in, and the art was absolutely stunning. Unfortunately, those are the only real positives I can give to this. The story started off decent, introducing each of the characters and setting up the story. Unfortunately, it didn’t continue off as strong. The story became lost pretty early on, and it was never able to regain its footing. It felt like 2-3 different stories all being randomly put together and just didn’t end up working out for me. I think that they could have done more and put together a tangible story if they had more time and volumes, but even then I’m not sure if that could have helped or made this worse.
The ending left me with many questions, trying to throw itself together to wrap up the story. Unfortunately, this was a huge let down.
This disappointed me SO MUCH. I actually never heard of this graphic novel until I saw it scrolling through book outlet. When I saw Joe Hill blurbed it and read the premise (30 something’s who each survived an 80s horror moviesque situation) I was sold.
The premise of this graphic novel is truly what pulled me in, and the art was absolutely stunning. Unfortunately, those are the only real positives I can give to this. The story started off decent, introducing each of the characters and setting up the story. Unfortunately, it didn’t continue off as strong. The story became lost pretty early on, and it was never able to regain its footing. It felt like 2-3 different stories all being randomly put together and just didn’t end up working out for me. I think that they could have done more and put together a tangible story if they had more time and volumes, but even then I’m not sure if that could have helped or made this worse.
The ending left me with many questions, trying to throw itself together to wrap up the story. Unfortunately, this was a huge let down.
ragingcardboard's review against another edition
3.0
This was a really interesting comic. The art was FANTASTIC. Super creepy and gory, it was just right, and set such a good tone for the story overall. The first half of this series is really solid. I love learning everyone's origin stories and how they are brought together. But then, it just kind of abruptly shifts gears and then ends. I read somewhere else that the comic series was cancelled so they wrapped it up really quick to provide an ending, so that would make sense, if that's the case. There are parts of the story narrative that don't really make sense, or don't seem to go together. Certain story lines end really quickly when it feels like they should have been more involved or just longer. I did really enjoy this, I just wish it was longer and had more space to develop the story.
I would recommend for a quick, creepy read. And I think this comic would make a fantastic basis for a tv show.
I would recommend for a quick, creepy read. And I think this comic would make a fantastic basis for a tv show.
matteldritch92's review
3.0
What started as a strong first half quickly dived into a very weak, limping finish. I don't know anything about the background of the series, but this nine issue series should have lasted longer into a full year or two of stories. Without that, the series feels like it was a waste of a good idea.
nyarlathotep's review
4.0
I guess this just worked for me. It was almost as if it had been written for me. I spent my childhood reading horror comics like Scream, and creepy girls comic books with killer dolls and haunted dolls house, so the idea of returning to the children who experienced these things in their later lives was intriguing.
ragingcardboard's review
3.0
This was a really interesting comic. The art was FANTASTIC. Super creepy and gory, it was just right, and set such a good tone for the story overall. The first half of this series is really solid. I love learning everyone's origin stories and how they are brought together. But then, it just kind of abruptly shifts gears and then ends. I read somewhere else that the comic series was cancelled so they wrapped it up really quick to provide an ending, so that would make sense, if that's the case. There are parts of the story narrative that don't really make sense, or don't seem to go together. Certain story lines end really quickly when it feels like they should have been more involved or just longer. I did really enjoy this, I just wish it was longer and had more space to develop the story.
I would recommend for a quick, creepy read. And I think this comic would make a fantastic basis for a tv show.
I would recommend for a quick, creepy read. And I think this comic would make a fantastic basis for a tv show.