A well-illustrated and very satisfying horror tale.
In Iurov’s graphic novel, a man goes on a quest to find his best friend in a forest where many people have disappeared.
The story, set in Transylvania, Romania, follows Adam on his quest to find his friend Vlad, who went missing on the edge of a forest called Hoia Baciu. It’s difficult to find a ride to a place that’s known as one of Romania’s most supernatural locations, but when he eventually gets there, he’s met with disbelief by locals—not over the fact that Vlad’s missing, but that Adam will ever find him. According to the villagers, men have been vanishing, almost on a weekly basis; the culprits, they say, are the Iele, supernatural women with a thirst for blood. Nearly everyone seems to know someone who’s been taken and killed or rendered insane. Adam receives a warning from the local supreme witch that Vlad is already dead and that Adam will suffer the same fate if he stays. He isn’t sure he believes the tales, and he insists on going through with his plan—even though he’s starting to have nightmares himself. Angelica, the witch’s daughter, decides to help him and introduces him to Carol, a survivor of the Iele. Before long, Carol asks him if he wants to come look at the Iele that lives in the basement. The author delivers an exciting work. Iurov’s page-turner effectively familiarizes readers with a Romanian legend as well as some Romanian language, sometimes translated (such as sub casă, which means basement), which makes the book even more immersive and engrossing. The full-color illustrations are an intriguing contrast to the haunting nature of the story it tells, featuring bright colors and scenes during the daytime, which precede the darkness of the Hoia Baciu forest and other, more off-putting imagery.
A well-illustrated and very satisfying horror tale.Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2023
ISBN: 9781952303746
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
A clever and timely conversation on reclaiming identity and acknowledging one’s full worth.
Superman confronts racism and learns to accept himself with the help of new friends.
In this graphic-novel adaptation of the 1940s storyline entitled “The Clan of the Fiery Cross” from The Adventures of Superman radio show, readers are reintroduced to the hero who regularly saves the day but is unsure of himself and his origins. The story also focuses on Roberta Lee, a young Chinese girl. She and her family have just moved from Chinatown to Metropolis proper, and mixed feelings abound. Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane’s colleague from the Daily Planet, takes a larger role here, befriending his new neighbors, the Lees. An altercation following racial slurs directed at Roberta’s brother after he joins the local baseball team escalates into an act of terrorism by the Klan of the Fiery Kross. What starts off as a run-of-the-mill superhero story then becomes a nuanced and personal exploration of the immigrant experience and blatant and internalized racism. Other main characters are White, but Black police inspector William Henderson fights his own battles against prejudice. Clean lines, less-saturated coloring, and character designs reminiscent of vintage comics help set the tone of this period piece while the varied panel cuts and action scenes give it a more modern sensibility. Cantonese dialogue is indicated through red speech bubbles; alien speech is in green.
A clever and timely conversation on reclaiming identity and acknowledging one’s full worth. (author’s note, bibliography) (Graphic fiction. 13-adult)Pub Date: May 12, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-77950-421-0
Page Count: 240
Publisher: DC
Review Posted Online: Feb. 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A striking celebration of cinema’s power and a chilling acknowledgment of its limitations.
The latest graphic novel from Burns follows a group of young white suburban friends, centering on the sputtering relationship between a warm, friendly redhead and the awkward artist making her the focus of his new story.
Brian would rather sit in the kitchen and draw tentacled aliens than join the party out in the front room. But when Jimmy, his longtime home-movie collaborator, casts Laurie, a new addition to their friend circle, in their next 8 mm film, Laurie’s warmth and beauty tempt Brian to step out of his mind and fully into the present. Brian’s art (ranging from the uncanny to the explicit) and the fleeting moments of connection between them keep Laurie in Brian’s orbit, and the story alternates between their perspectives, capturing both Laurie’s sense of isolation when Brian gets lost in his appreciation for and creation of movies and Brian’s bittersweet awareness of his drifting, ever-creating mind. As Brian attempts to translate the strange visions in his head (and sketchbook) into a science fiction film shot with friends at a secluded cabin, he sinks deeper into his cinematic escapism while Laurie engages with more immediate pleasures. An aura of horror infuses the pages, with bulbous aliens floating through blue skies and raining down mysterious capsules, dead-eyed stares and skipped medication setting nerves on edge, and time’s unyielding march robbing even pleasant moments of lasting significance. Burns’ clean lines, heavy shadows, and rich colors sumptuously convey the pebbled texture of alien flesh and the rolling waves of Laurie’s hair, while his dialogue and narration crisply capture everything from flirty, friendly banter to awkward and painful self-analysis. His paneling swiftly moves the story along, through both slice-of-life moments and fantastical worlds, occasionally juxtaposing character moments with shots from the films Brian loses himself in, evoking the massive gap between fixation and passion.
A striking celebration of cinema’s power and a chilling acknowledgment of its limitations.Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2024
ISBN: 9780593701706
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Pantheon
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
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