Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

I was at the library uploading a video yesterday when I came across a graphic novel in the Young Adult section. It reminded me of one of those old Scary Stories books I loved as a kid. Except this was quicker to read and more visually good looking. The drawings in those Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books freaked the s#!t out of me as a kid. The one story about the girl with the green ribbon around her neck has especially stuck with me.

This book had some creepy stories and the drawings can leave you with a little chill. I was entertained enough to read through the entire thing while I waited. It didn’t take long but I highly recommend it if you like that kind of thing. Obviously not that gross since it was in the YA section. But the mostly white, black, and red color scheme was really cool. All of the writing was hand-written instead of typed and the layout was visually appealing. If you want a quick, creepy YA graphic novel read I recommend it! You can find it here!

Will o' the Wisp by Tom Hammock

Description

After her parents' accidental death by mushroom poisoning, young Aurora Grimeon is sent to live with her estranged grandfather on Ossuary Isle, deep in the southern swamps. Joined by her grandfather's pet raccoon Missy, Aurora explores the fog-covered island of graves. Along the way she meets its sinister residents who care for the tombstones and mausoleums, living out their lives by the strange rules of Hoodoo magic. When ghostly things start happening out in the swamp and island residents start disappearing, Aurora thrusts herself into the middle of the mystery, uncovering secrets that might be better left buried.

This isn't the type of graphic novel I would typically read, but I was able to get an advance digital copy so I thought I would give it a try and I'm glad I did. It has a creepy feel to it without going in to any kind of gory territory, so I think this would be OK for younger readers (young teen/preteen). The story kept me interested and the drawings themselves were a bit different. I don't mean different in a bad way or anything, just the style itself isn't something I've seen a lot of. It seemed to be based on a certain color palette and I think that's how the illustrator gave it the spooky/mysterious quality.

I liked the characters a lot (and Missy the raccoon was really cute). The pacing and drawings were very well done. The story wraps up nicely at the end but I'm hoping there will be more to the story.

30 Day Book Challenge: Day 24

Day 24- Favorite comic/graphic novels

 

The Walking Dead

This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who reads my blog, but I love The Walking Dead comics (as referenced to here and here... and many other places). They are dark and gritty and awesome... and full of angst and drama. And zombie murder. And a lot of death.

But I also love Scott Pilgrim because it is funny. The Umbrella Academy is also a weird/entertaining read. And Comixology is great because you can get comics digitally (or possibly for free) if, like me, there are no comic book stores anywhere near you. I just started getting into comic books about a year ago (hard to find here), so I don't feel like I've read much yet, but I'm interested in finding more. Next I'll probably read Watchmen- hoping to start that soon.

Are you familiar at all with comics? What do you think I should check out? I need more!

View the full challenge list

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life (Scott Pilgrim #1) by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Description:

Scott Pilgrim is 23 years old, lives in a cold, unnamed Canadian town, plays bass in a band called Sex Bob-Omb and has a very cute 17-year-old Chinese-Canadian girlfriend, Knives Chau. His "precious little life" is amiably unstructured, and he drifts, happily unemployed, between band practice and time spent with Knives. His relationship with Knives is chaste—walks, chats and hugs—although Knives is getting bigger ideas. "We haven't even held hands," Scott explains. "It's just nice, you know." But then he starts having dreams about Ramona Flowers, a mysterious, equally cute and perfectly legal hipster chick on Rollerblades who delivers books for Amazon.com. Ramona is anything but simple, and O'Malley's tale of adorable slackers in love is transformed into a wildly magically manga–kung fu fantasy adventure. We meet the first of Ramona's seven evil ex-boyfriends, Matthew Patel, who challenges Scott and his band to a supernatural martial arts duel right out of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. O'Malley has crafted a delightfully hybrid comics love story. It's an alt-lit, rock 'n' roll graphic novel with wonderful manga-influenced drawing and a comically mystical plot that manages to capture both the genuine intimacies and serial dishonesties of young love.

Just when you thought you knew all there was to know about Scott Pilgrim comes Scott Pilgrim Color Hardcover Volume 1: Precious Little Life! The first in a series of brand-new hardcover editions, this remastered, 6"x9" hardcover presents Scott's first "evil ex" battle as you've never seen it before - in full-color! Plus, previously unpublished extras and bonus materials make this mighty tome one that's required reading for Scottaholics everywhere!

I decided to buy the color volume because it looked prettier than black & white. Yup... it looks great in color. I actually laughed quite a bit when reading this. It is very well written and the color really enhances the story (I feel like it would have been the teeniest bit blah in black & white). It's hilarious and great and you should definitely check it out. So good. SO GOOD.

Just like with The Walking Dead, Comixology lets you preview it free. Check it out!

The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye by Kirkman and Moore

Description:

An epidemic of apocalyptic proportions has swept the globe, causing the dead to rise and feed on the living. In a matter of months, society has crumbled: There is no government, no grocery stores, no mail delivery, no cable TV. Rick Grimes finds himself one of the few survivors in this terrifying future. A couple months ago he was a small town cop who had never fired a shot and only ever saw one dead body. Separated from his family, he must now sort through all the death and confusion to try and find his wife and son. In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally begin living.

The Walking Dead is a great series written by Robert Kirkman. I decided to read it because I liked the series and wanted to start with something I would probably like. I only read 1 graphic novel before and wanted to get into them and this was a great first choice. The drawings are in black and white, but even without color the feelings and thoughts still come through the facial expressions and actions of the characters. The Walking Dead is actually a comic. Volume 1 has issues 1-6. If you want larger collections there is also a Book 1 (issues 1-12) or Compendium 1 (issues 1-48) so you really have the option of how many issues you want to read at once. I went with a volume because I thought it would be easier to read than a larger book or the giant compendium.

If you like the show and don't know if you'll like the comic, Comixology lets you download the first issue for free. That was all it took for me so I hope that you like it if you check it out!