howlinglibraries's Reviews (1.85k)

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the Manga Classics line—I actually kind of expected them to be abridged or rewritten, whereas this is more like Poe's writing with illustrations in a manga format—but as a die-hard, lifelong lover of Poe's writing, this did not disappoint! The collection includes a few stories of his, and luckily for me, all five of these are my favorite Poe works: The Tell-Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, The Masque of the Red Death, The Raven, and The Fall of the House of Usher.

The artwork is different from one story to the next, but it's all absolutely exquisite, with my favorite style belonging to the artist responsible for The Raven, as it's very fluid and whimsical in a sense. I thought the illustrations matched the stories perfectly and it really was such a fun way to reread these old favorite stories. I highly recommend it not only for long-time fans of Poe, but also for those who are looking to read these stories for the first time! There are also some fun little factoids about Poe's career as a writer and his personal life strewn between the stories.

Thank you so much to Udon Entertainment for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

There wasn't anything necessarily wrong with this graphic novel, it just felt very mediocre to me. The stories felt exaggerated in an unnecessary way and I was disappointed by the unrealistic spin some of them were given in an obvious attempt to make them seem "creepy" or overly strange. Maybe it's just been too long since I've engaged in anything from the Ripley's franchise and I went in with the wrong expectations.

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I never turn down a good excuse to pick up a story or two of Poe's, and this collection has the utmost horror classics, naturally: The Masque of the Red Death, The Cask of Amontillado, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Bells, Annabel Lee, and The Raven.

The artwork in this adaptation is gorgeous and feels so fitting to Poe's particular brand of horror, as it's understated yet gruesome. I am definitely interested in picking up a hard copy of this adaptation in the future, and can't wait to read more of Gareth's adaptations!

Thank you to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for the ARC! All opinions expressed here are my own.

I love this book so much! I adore everything Katie O'Neill has ever written and this was no exception. I've been so excited for her to release a new picture book and I have a feeling that the cute art, bright colors, and sweet story will be really popular with kids (plus animal main characters are always A++). This was seriously just so precious and I need a copy for my shelves as soon as it comes out just to join my beloved Katie O'Neill collection!

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a really cute little graphic novel, especially for anyone who already loves the Haunted Mansion attraction! I could see this as the perfect story to hand a child who's about to visit Disney for the first time, or even just any kid who likes spooky stories without anything legitimately scary going on. The art is lovely and colorful, there are some pretty cute and funny side characters, and it's impossible not to like Sydney, even if she comes off as a little bossy and over-bearing at times. I'll definitely be recommending this one to young readers!

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Meh. This was really convoluted and a bit boring, and the art was not my cup of tea. It was actually difficult to tell many of the characters apart because so many of their faces looked nearly identical and the details were so shadowy and minimal. I did like some of the imagery and the way there were hidden details in many of the panels (extra shadows on the sidewalk, etc.), but it didn't make up for how disinteresting I found the book as a whole, sadly.

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this review copy in exchange for an honest review!

This is more of a 3.5, but I couldn't find any good reason to round down to a 3. This isn't what I expected at all, but it's a nice little nonfiction collection of comics and essays. I thought it was going to be exclusively comics and more humor-based, but it's about half comics and half text, and it's a lot more serious than I was anticipating! That said, there are some fun conversations to be had here and a few chapters offer extremely helpful perspectives on things like therapy, mental illness, impostor syndrome, and even simply not knowing what you want to do with your life when you feel like you've reached an age where you should have it all together.

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this review copy in exchange for an honest review!

MY BABIES

Volume 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Volume 2 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goddamn, this series is so good but it's so painful. Given that child death is my single biggest trigger - in fact, I would say it's probably my only major trigger - you really wouldn't think I'd be drawn to a graphic novel series that solely revolves around child-eating monsters, but here we are.

Seriously, though, if you're not turned off by the innate content of the plot, this series is a gem. It's truly creepy and unsettling, but it also has incredible characters that are immensely flawed, yet impossible not to care about. I can't wait for Volume 3 so I can see what sort of pain James Tynion IV is going to inflict upon me next.

Snow did not find him charming. When she looked into his dark, dark eyes she saw not the fizzy delight of charm but the flicker of a tongue through sharp teeth.
— Christina Henry, As Red As Blood, As White as Snow

Last year, this editing duo released the Wonderland anthology, which I raved about. It was a gorgeous collection and I had so much fun with it that, when I had the opportunity to read and review this new anthology, I jumped at the chance. I’m an absolute sucker for dark fairytale retellings and many of the authors in this lineup positively excel at the craft.

Cursed kicks off, after a quick poem from Jane Yolen, with the story As Red as Blood, As White as Snow by Christina Henry, and if you know me, you already know Christina is one of my favorite retelling authors of all time. She has designed a solid portion of her writing career around taking old stories and giving them new life — typically complete with some sort of social commentary that is always so eloquently woven in — and this was no exception. It was easily my favorite story in the anthology and I would honestly urge you to pick this book up even if only for this story’s beautiful prose and ruthless examination of the evils of “Prince Charming” types.

Luckily, the good times didn’t stop there; while nothing else in Cursed was quite able to beat out that first story for me, I was so happy to see how many incredible stories this collection contained! A lot of anthologies are severely hit-and-miss, but Marie O’Regan & Paul Kane clearly know how to choose ’em when it comes to short stories. Among others, I loved Catriona Ward’s incredibly unique twist on one of my favorite tropes (but I can’t tell you what it is!) in At That Age, the gorgeously melancholy, haunting vibes of Jen Williams’ necromancing Listen, and James Brogden’s grotesque, horribly unsettling Skin.

The forest is dark but I know the way. I have been here before. There is a path soon, pebbly and worn, but my fingers and toes are like needles and pins. If I stay here, stray here too long, will I become one of them forever?
— Jane Yolen & Adam Stemple, Little Red

While these were the stand-out favorites of mine, I genuinely enjoyed almost every single story in this collection. I will admit that the stories grew a little less interesting for me in the end, with the last few not catching my eye as well, but they weren’t enough to hinder me from being wholly blown away by the overall caliber of Cursed’s offerings. I have so many new authors on my reading list thanks to these short stories, and I know this is the sort of collection I’ll be recommending for a long time — and revisiting time and time again.

Thank you so much to Titan for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review!

Content warnings for

Spoiler

violence, death, infant/child abuse and death, body horror, self-mutilation, various mental illnesses

(no specific story spoilers)