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poisoned_icecream's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The best thing to do when accused of satanism is to just embrace Satan. 😈 This comic is the story of four teens, Jackson, Lupe, Theresa, and Mitch, who are used as a scapegoat when a woman is murdered and had a pentagram carved onto her forehead. The story is compelling and the way the friends look out for each other is so sweet. Also, George Williams's illustrations are really cool, especially the design for the demon. After reading this, I am now more excited to read Emmett Nahil's upcoming novella From the Belly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Transphobia, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry
spooderman's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Police brutality, Violence, Car accident, Cursing, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Bullying, Death, Body horror, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder
Minor: Xenophobia, Dysphoria, Racial slurs, Alcohol, and Self harm
faeriekit's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
OHO. Not for the squeamish, but if you're a fan of supernatural horror, reading up on MKULTRA, or other abuse-of-authority supernatural horror stories, you will LOVE this. If you're vaguely in the sphere of Stranger Things fans, the 1979 setting will likely strike a chord. I couldn't swear if it's period accurate, considering I was born in the nineties, but the setting is familiar and relevant to the story. If you're aware of and a fan of the queer punk movement, or understand anything about the reactive queer pagan/queer spiritual movement, or have met perhaps any queer satanist ever, this will definitely strike a chord. It might even be validatingly furious. What's more relatable than sheer rage?
This was a very, very fun read for me. The first thing I did was recommend it to my friends in the lovingly nicknamed body horror/supernatural/human experimentation fandom. I think it would be right up their alley. No cults, which is fair, but a fair amount of gripping terror! 10/10 would read again! Would recommend to my boss! To my friends! To my coworkers! To my cat, if I had one!
The released version I read doesn't have this cover, but eh. I like the published one better. Less strain on the eyes.
This was a very, very fun read for me. The first thing I did was recommend it to my friends in the lovingly nicknamed body horror/supernatural/human experimentation fandom. I think it would be right up their alley. No cults, which is fair, but a fair amount of gripping terror! 10/10 would read again! Would recommend to my boss! To my friends! To my coworkers! To my cat, if I had one!
The released version I read doesn't have this cover, but eh. I like the published one better. Less strain on the eyes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Blood, Gore, Torture, and Hate crime
Moderate: Transphobia and Homophobia
Minor: Deadnaming
zephyr_trashwolf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Amazing! This book had my stomach twisting in knots. You feel for this group of friends with the town assuming innocent till guilty for a murder they didn’t commit. These friends struggle to survive a frenzied night against a town full of satanic-panic mad people, two crooked officers looking for a convenient scapegoat, and the devil themself (enjoying a wild night out and tired of being treated like a pet). The ending gave me goosebumps! The illustrations are masterful in their ability to portray emotions and scenes perfectly, a perfect mix of soft lines and terrifying visuals.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Murder, Child death, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Body horror, Bullying, Torture, Violence, and Transphobia
readingrainbill's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I feel like I'm doing a disservice to this graphic novel by reviewing it before reading the next volume (it's not out at the time of me writing this since I'm reading an ARC). I say that because I feel like I, the reader, just didn't get enough time with the characters because I didn't care. We're supposed to side with them because they're marginalized LGBTQ+ youth who get treated terribly by almost everyone. And because I'm not a monster, I did sympathize, but that wasn't enough to make me care about anyone.
Without any spoilers there's one scene when two of the characters are working and a third is just hanging out and their supervisor gives them crap about it. True, this supervisor may be far from an ally and maybe even antagonistic towards them, but dude (or the gender free equivalent), you have two friends working at a customer service job and you're just hanging out.
So it's the 70's and this small Christian town is scared because people have been murdered, supposedly by a cult, so they focus on the group of LGBTQ+ punks. On the surface this is a great idea but there's such a big scope to the story that in the 120ish page graphic novel, there wasn't enough to sink my teeth into.
Also there's a trans youth who gets misgendered and deadnamed by his parents and it's never mentioned within their friend group. The friends use he/him, which is great because it's what he wants, but I'd have liked a little more dialogue about his parents and also a better explanation about what caused the event at the very beginning.
There's a great idea here and I get the feeling that I'd really like this once it's complete and I can read it from beginning to end. But as it is, I'd just wait.
Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.
Without any spoilers there's one scene when two of the characters are working and a third is just hanging out and their supervisor gives them crap about it. True, this supervisor may be far from an ally and maybe even antagonistic towards them, but dude (or the gender free equivalent), you have two friends working at a customer service job and you're just hanging out.
So it's the 70's and this small Christian town is scared because people have been murdered, supposedly by a cult, so they focus on the group of LGBTQ+ punks. On the surface this is a great idea but there's such a big scope to the story that in the 120ish page graphic novel, there wasn't enough to sink my teeth into.
Also there's a trans youth who gets misgendered and deadnamed by his parents and it's never mentioned within their friend group. The friends use he/him, which is great because it's what he wants, but I'd have liked a little more dialogue about his parents and also a better explanation about what caused the event at the very beginning.
There's a great idea here and I get the feeling that I'd really like this once it's complete and I can read it from beginning to end. But as it is, I'd just wait.
Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Death, Gore, and Hate crime
Moderate: Homophobia, Bullying, Cursing, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Deadnaming
skylarkblue1's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
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
3.5
Thank you Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!
I guess this might just be a product of it being a comic that'll release in bits, but it was really short and a bit confusing overall. It's a very good setup with great characters, but it ended right as it started to go into the story after the setup so I don't really have much to review in all honesty.
A group of queer teens are just trying to live life through severe homophobia and transphobia while a missing person has turned up dead. Evading having the crime pinned on them, the teens must try and survive in a world that might literally become hell.
I really can't say too much about this, the bigory is quite explicit throughout and while I imagine it is a setup, the background to why at least one of them keeps actively seeking it out isn't explained at all. Pretty much *nothing* is explained even slightly.
I think this feels like a trailer for a show/movie kinda thing, that sort of vibe and amount of content to it. It's most certainly interesting enough to make me want to read more, but on it's own as a product to buy and then have to wait for the next bit feels a fair bit bare bones in my opinion.
I guess this might just be a product of it being a comic that'll release in bits, but it was really short and a bit confusing overall. It's a very good setup with great characters, but it ended right as it started to go into the story after the setup so I don't really have much to review in all honesty.
A group of queer teens are just trying to live life through severe homophobia and transphobia while a missing person has turned up dead. Evading having the crime pinned on them, the teens must try and survive in a world that might literally become hell.
I really can't say too much about this, the bigory is quite explicit throughout and while I imagine it is a setup, the background to why at least one of them keeps actively seeking it out isn't explained at all. Pretty much *nothing* is explained even slightly.
I think this feels like a trailer for a show/movie kinda thing, that sort of vibe and amount of content to it. It's most certainly interesting enough to make me want to read more, but on it's own as a product to buy and then have to wait for the next bit feels a fair bit bare bones in my opinion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Transphobia, Physical abuse, Hate crime, and Blood
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Police brutality
Trans/Homophobic Slursnerdysread's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Thank you NetGalley and OniPress for the e-arc
So in this graphic novel, we follow a group of young adults who are queer and marginalised during the satanic panic in the USA, and especially in a very religious and conservative little town. So when a murder happened the authorities create a moral panic saying satanic did it. And the group of fitness are the perfect ones to blame.
I really really really like it. I love queer horror stories. Like horror is queer for me, and we need way more queer horror stories. The drawings are great, and the group of friends is superbe. Like we can see how much they care for each others, they always have each others back, and are here for each others. The horror was pretty good too. And I really wanted to know, how they would survive this.
The thing that bothered me was the pacing. It felt weird at some point, but not bad either… I just hope we will have a sequel because this ending????
Rep: Trans guy MC, Trans woman MC, Black MC
TW: Homophobia, Queerphobia, Transphobia, Deadname, Misgendering, Gore, Violence
So in this graphic novel, we follow a group of young adults who are queer and marginalised during the satanic panic in the USA, and especially in a very religious and conservative little town. So when a murder happened the authorities create a moral panic saying satanic did it. And the group of fitness are the perfect ones to blame.
I really really really like it. I love queer horror stories. Like horror is queer for me, and we need way more queer horror stories. The drawings are great, and the group of friends is superbe. Like we can see how much they care for each others, they always have each others back, and are here for each others. The horror was pretty good too. And I really wanted to know, how they would survive this.
The thing that bothered me was the pacing. It felt weird at some point, but not bad either… I just hope we will have a sequel because this ending????
Rep: Trans guy MC, Trans woman MC, Black MC
TW: Homophobia, Queerphobia, Transphobia, Deadname, Misgendering, Gore, Violence
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Transphobia, Body horror, Death, Violence, Gun violence, Bullying, Cursing, Hate crime, Religious bigotry, and Deadnaming
Moderate: Lesbophobia
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