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james_desantis's review
Well this was darker than I expected.
It's basically about teenagers going into a VR like MMO world and killing baddies and such. But what happens when something in that world comes back to the real world? This got a lot darker than I expected, which I guess I should except from Thompson as he tends to lean into horror. The ending was shocking, and I'm assuming volume 2 will hopefully be a "Save the children" type book. I did think the pacing was off though and none of the characters truly stuck with me, but the second half way strong and I enjoyed the art, especially the gross body horror. So I'll go with a 3 out of 5.
It's basically about teenagers going into a VR like MMO world and killing baddies and such. But what happens when something in that world comes back to the real world? This got a lot darker than I expected, which I guess I should except from Thompson as he tends to lean into horror. The ending was shocking, and I'm assuming volume 2 will hopefully be a "Save the children" type book. I did think the pacing was off though and none of the characters truly stuck with me, but the second half way strong and I enjoyed the art, especially the gross body horror. So I'll go with a 3 out of 5.
chipchasterson's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This story is derivative of several other major properties and doesn't add much to the mix.
krystlocity's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I liked the art quite a bit, felt original. The story is a little clunky-has potential but feels a little amateur. Same for the characters-I love parts of them, but most of them feel a little random and empty/place holders other than our protagonist and her brother, who are pretty good. The plot feels like a good idea that needed a little more development or heart, or mystery. Somewhat cliche. It's a fairly satisfying ending but also not very original.
rudeanimat0r's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
poorcate's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
tattooedlibrarianlush's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
katricia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
destdest's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
bibliovermis's review against another edition
3.0
The switching of artists between the real world and the dream/game world was very clever, and I always enjoy cleverness in a comic. It is probably a failing of mine more than of this comic, but I found the action hard to follow and found it hard to understand what was happening when, and that really affected my interest in and enjoyment of this volume.
daniellestarredpages's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
While the story of "Cemetery Kids Don't Die," Volume 1, follows four teenagers, Birdie is the true protagonist. Our progression through the story is guided by Birdie's internal monologue.
The character work in this story was done brilliantly. All four characters were well developed. They all acted in ways that one would expect from teenagers, I'm glad their actions didn't feel too old or too young. The way the characters acted in the story felt realistic both in terms of their ages and the situation they had found themselves in. However, I do think the story fell into the trap which many YA and Middle-Grade novels often fall into, where the authors need the young protagonists to be the ones to deal with certain situations so the adults are unrealistically absent. In this case, the authors had every parental figure show up as little as possible and when they did, their behaviour was odd. The parents were unconcerned or uninvolved not in the way absentee parents would be but in a way where they just weren't well written.
There was a scene in which a character states that Birdie prefers the game over real life because she has full mobility- which she no longer has in the real world due to an accident. I love how the author handled that situation. While I do not use a wheelchair or any mobility aid myself, I believe the response from Birdie was realistic and and well-done
The story itself was interesting and while I didn't feel frightened reading this book, it was the type of Horror Story where readers can understand why the characters would be terrified and would expect them to be afraid of what they are living through.
Finally, the art style. I loved it! The characters were well-drawn and the art depicted movement in scenes quite well. The art done for the scenes that took place within the game was probably my favourite. While I wasn't horrified I feel comfortable describing the artwork as horrifying and even then I couldn't make myself look away.
The character work in this story was done brilliantly. All four characters were well developed. They all acted in ways that one would expect from teenagers, I'm glad their actions didn't feel too old or too young. The way the characters acted in the story felt realistic both in terms of their ages and the situation they had found themselves in. However, I do think the story fell into the trap which many YA and Middle-Grade novels often fall into, where the authors need the young protagonists to be the ones to deal with certain situations so the adults are unrealistically absent. In this case, the authors had every parental figure show up as little as possible and when they did, their behaviour was odd. The parents were unconcerned or uninvolved not in the way absentee parents would be but in a way where they just weren't well written.
There was a scene in which a character states that Birdie prefers the game over real life because she has full mobility- which she no longer has in the real world due to an accident. I love how the author handled that situation. While I do not use a wheelchair or any mobility aid myself, I believe the response from Birdie was realistic and and well-done
The story itself was interesting and while I didn't feel frightened reading this book, it was the type of Horror Story where readers can understand why the characters would be terrified and would expect them to be afraid of what they are living through.
Finally, the art style. I loved it! The characters were well-drawn and the art depicted movement in scenes quite well. The art done for the scenes that took place within the game was probably my favourite. While I wasn't horrified I feel comfortable describing the artwork as horrifying and even then I couldn't make myself look away.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Alcohol
Minor: Drug abuse