I've tried to be fairly specific with my selections. I sometimes have difficulty in deciding whether a graphic is fantasy or horror as there are often elements of both in a book. I've tried to pick books (or series) that tend to lean more to the horror aspect than the fantasy side of the scale. I hope you agree.
"I recently finished A Guest in the House, a horror graphic novel, by Canadian author Emily Carroll which I enjoyed very much. Deciding to explore her work more, I found When I Arrived at the Castle a short but powerful gothic horror graphic. It was originally published in 2019 but Silver Sprocket released their version in 2024.
For a short novella, When I Arrived is powerful, erotic, bloody and beautifully drawn and colored. A girl (well, maybe a cat girl) arrives at a castle, ruled by a dangerous Countess with the aim of killing her. And then this gothic horror story begins, a battle between the girl and beautiful Countess. Creepy, sexy, violent, dark colors (blood reds and blacks). She is led to the basement and must try various doors, each with their own story, each a fantasy or truth. It's all a bit overwhelming.
Confusing but it doesn't matter. Just a powerful, gothic novella. Wow. (4.0 stars)"
2. A Guest in the House by Emily Carroll (2023) I read this Carroll ghost story before I enjoyed When I Arrived at the Castle (picture is at the top of the page) and it made me want to read the second. Emily Carroll tells a mean story.
"A Guest in the House is the latest graphic novel / horror story by Canadian graphic novelist Emily Carroll. They have written other stories, probably most notable, When I Arrived at the Castle, which I will now have to find.
A Guest in the House is a wonderful mix of stark black and white portraits intermingled with dramatic colored portions of the story. The story follows Abby, a grocery store clerk in small town Ontario who is newly married to the new town dentist David and his daughter Crystal. David's first wife died when they lived out on the West Coast. Abby is a quiet, somewhat insecure young lady, adjusting to this new life. She is generally happy but there are things going on under the surface in this new family.
As a child, Abby lived in a bit of a fantasy world, imagining herself as a gallant knight (these portions are wonderfully colored). In her current life, she begins to suspect or feel a presence in the house and starts seeing a ghostly presence; first as a drowned misshapen lady and then when she finds it too scary, as a beautiful woman. The presence indicates that she is David's first wife and we begin to start unravelling the mystery of her death.
Krystal also seems to see her mother's ghost. David refuses to let Krystal on the dock, demanding that she stay out of the water of the lake. Mind you, he does let her swim when they go camping (all of which Abby finds very strange). The story begins to get stranger. Who is the lady who says she's living in a house down the road with her family for the summer? Why does David keep the attic locked?
It's a confusing, intense at times, wonderfully drawn story. I have to say, I ended up confused by the ending, but how the tension ramps up to this final interaction is very well presented. A dark, creepy (especially for its apparent normalcy), building to quite scary story. I look forward to exploring Emily Carroll's work more. They have definitely whetted my appetite for her unique style of horror. (4.0 star)"
"I have previously enjoyed the Witch Boy trilogy by Molly Knox Ostertag. It was an enjoyable YA fantasy trilogy. So I figured that The Deep Dark would probably be a similar type story. I was wrong.
The Deep Dark is a more adult fantasy story although I think it could also be read by teens and Young adults, but it is a darker story indeed. Magdalena Herrera lives with her grandmother, her abuela, in a desert community in California. Grannie has cancer so Mags' life revolves around caring for her. There is a mystery to their lives. The story does move between the past and present as the story develops. What is the mystery? Something in the cellar.
Mags has a difficult relationship with one of the girls in school. Ava loves Mags but also has a boyfriend so their get togethers are necessarily clandestine. Mags has difficulty having a personal life because of her family issues. Compounding Mags' situation, an old friend, Nessa turns up for a visit. Mags hasn't seen her since a childhood incident. Nessa has now transitioned from a boy to a her / she.
So besides the personal issues in Mags' life, there is this mystery... what is in the basement? What happened to another youngster back when Mags and Nessa were kids? What killed Emil? Why does Mags go down into the cellar every night and why is her hand always bandaged?
It's a fascinating, twisty story filled with guilt, love, friendship. And when Nessa's ex-boyfriend, Aaron shows up, there are even more twists. Lots of surprises, great relationship development and interesting characters. And great artwork. All in all, an interesting graphic novel that will have you turning page to page to see what is going to happen next. I may have to check out The Girl from the Sea or Darkest Night. (4.0 stars)"
"Aim #1. Make this review shorter than the short story / graphic adaptation that it's about..
OK, there is no Aim #2, well, maybe not to give away the complete story.
Back in 2014, I discovered The Lottery, a short story by Shirley Jackson. The Lottery was published in 1949, after her first novel. It's a simple, terrifying in its simplicity, story. It's been turned into at least two movies and now her grandson, Miles Hyman has adapted it into a graphic novel. (As an aside, Jackson also wrote six novels during her life; I've read 3 and enjoyed each one)
I won't get into the plot too much as it's short, succinct and gets to the point in a quick, effective, terrifying way. Basically, every year, the town (and it seems every town) gets together to conduct the lottery. One person in the town families is selected in this lottery. It's been happening for years and will continue to happen for years (although it appears that some towns may have given it up). What is the Lottery for? That's for you to find out.
Hyman's adaptation turns the town into a sort of American Gothic setting. The drawings are stark and detailed. The characters are drawn and colored wonderfully and he gets the original story and presents it in all its detail. Read it. (Did I meet Aim #1?) Oh well. (3.5 stars)"
"Locke & Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft is my very first exposure to the writing of horror author, Joe Hill. I have to say it was great. The story was intense and suitably scary and the art by Gabriel Rodriguez clear, stark and added so much to the story.
The story jumps from the present with the Locke family having moved to the family mansion (haunted?) in Lovecraft after a tragedy back in California and their efforts to cope with a horrendous murder and also deal with their new lives. Each chapter deals with a different family member; their remembrances of their father's murder and how they are coping in Lovecraft. We also track Simon Lesser, the surviving member of the murderous duo, who escapes from prison (with help from the lady in the well at Lovecraft) and heads cross country to Lovecraft, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. OK, enough story telling.
The family members are loving portrayed by Hill, their issues, their reactions to what happened back home and how they are trying to survive and blend in at Lovecraft. Three children, oldest Tyler, riddled with guilt, middle child, Kinsey, getting rid of her dreadlocks and trying to disappear in the crowds at her new school and youngest, Bodie, discovering the secrets of the Locke home and the mysterious doors and keys. The adults, mother Nina, hiding behind bottles of wine, and brother-in-law Dunk trying to help the family cope with the past and adjust to Lovecraft. The other main characters are the strange 'lady' in the well who communicates with Bodie and plays a vital role in the events that take place at the end of this novel. And Sam, the psychotic killer, very scary.
It's a page turner for sure, not for the squeamish, but well worth reading if you want tense, psychologically scary and pure thrills. As Robert Crais says in the introduction to this graphic novel, why would you move to a place called Lovecraft to get away from tragic horrors. (para phrasing here). So now I have to get Vol 2 - Head Games. Dang! (4.5 stars)"
"Providence 1-4 by Alan Moore contains the first 4 chapters of one Moore's latest graphic novels. It is related to two previous series, Alan Moore's the Courtyard and Alan Moore's Neonomicon, all of which explore the H. P. Lovecraft visions.
In the first four chapters of Providence we find newspaper reporter, Robert Black, leaving his job as a reporter for the Ne York Herald (time frame early 1900's) to gather materiel to write the Great American novel. He finds himself getting deeper into a cult of 'Outsiders' as he leaves New York behind and moves up North further into the hinterland. He sees strange things, his dreams become riddled with strange images. The graphic novel is a mixture of comic style, which follows the story itself and pure novel, in the form of Blake's journal, where he expounds on what he sees during his travels and also presents possible ideas for the great novel.
I've always enjoyed Alan Moore's unique vision and this has been no exception. Excellent artwork and an interesting story so far. I'm looking forward to the next chapters coming out. (4 stars)"
There you go. I was going to highlight some horror graphics that I've yet to read, but as I went through this post, it appears that all of my other horror stories are in book format. So next post, I'll try to look at some horror series I've enjoyed...
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