Richly imagined and illustrated, a splendidly dark ode to RPGs and classic horror tales.
In Auman’s graphic novel, a group of RPG-loving high school friends face untold horrors when they’re sucked into a cursed game and must fight their way out.
The story takes place in 1992. The author introduces a group of five teenage friends engaged in the role-playing game Creatures and Corridors by way of some satirical classifications: Brian Daly (class: Game Master; race: Half-Nerd); his sister, Joelle (class: Popular Girl; race: Alternative); Wes Wowra (class: Dumbass; race: Jock); Sofia Reyes (class: Smartass; race: Goth); and Jamal Konyar (class: Heckler; race: Full Nerd). When Brian reads from “the rarest Creatures and Corridors manual ever,” horrifying entities suddenly appear in real life, killing the Daly siblings’ father before the group can flee through a mysterious door. They find themselves in a dungeon; Brian realizes that they’ve been transported into the game and calls out to the one in charge, the Game Master, who reveals that the only way out is to “Solve the riddles. Defeat the guardians. Claim the book.” The friends make their way through various perils, encountering horrifying creatures while simultaneously hashing out typical high school issues like a budding romance and popularity woes. Mutti’s illustrations follow a classic comics style that features muted colors (sometimes Joelle’s red hair is the only color in the panel), copious terrifying details, and imaginative monsters (like the creepy Bone Guardian). Auman’s narrative expertly blends teenage drama with nonstop violent battles and RPG touchstones, such as meeting a nonplayer character. The strong language and plentiful gore indicate that this atmospheric graphic novel is intended for mature audiences. Aside from an unfortunate moment of sexist stereotyping (when Sofia reveals that she only joined the campaign because she was hoping Brian would ask her out), the storyline navigates its twists and turns with aplomb. Complete with a bloody showdown and a cliffhanger that’s likely to shock even the most seasoned RPG fiction readers, the result is a delightfully gory ride.
Richly imagined and illustrated, a splendidly dark ode to RPGs and classic horror tales.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Lush visuals bring this thoughtfully constructed tale to life.
Wondrous visitors encounter a desperate pocket of humanity.
Lori, a white orphaned teen who’s finally been adopted after bouncing around various foster homes, awakens to discover that nearly everyone has disappeared. The rapture? Maybe. She runs into her classmate Annette, who has brown skin and curly black hair, and they partner up to scavenge for food. The pair tries to evade several threats, such as the large Wolves and a gang called The Dogs. Supernatural Giants arrive, seemingly from space, speaking an impenetrable language of “musical chiming and weird bass-rhythms.” Lori and Annette then meet Beatrice, an older white woman who shares important observations about the Giants and Wolves. The tone of the story then subtly shifts from post-apocalyptic desperation to one that’s somewhat playful. After a certain point, a visual element that appears early on takes on clear significance and meaning in the context of the story at large, offering a subversively humorous twist for readers to consider and a creative element that deviates from other alien invasion narratives. Hans’ artwork and paneling fill each scene with wonders. An interaction with a giant sees the red, violet, and pink figure standing against a bright, otherworldly white-and-blue backdrop with dark contours. Elsewhere, Lori and Annette pause at night as they behold ominous shadows, their foggy breath forming clouds, and they hear a “KRRNCH” sound. The quick-moving plot wraps everything up neatly.
Lush visuals bring this thoughtfully constructed tale to life. (character designs) (Graphic science fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2024
ISBN: 9781534387072
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Image Comics
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2024
Using modern language, McDonald spins the well-known tale of the two young, unrequited lovers. Set against Nagar’s at-times...
A bland, uninspired graphic adaptation of the Bard’s renowned love story.
Using modern language, McDonald spins the well-known tale of the two young, unrequited lovers. Set against Nagar’s at-times oddly psychedelic-tinged backgrounds of cool blues and purples, the mood is strange, and the overall ambiance of the story markedly absent. Appealing to what could only be a high-interest/low–reading level audience, McDonald falls short of the mark. He explains a scene in an open-air tavern with a footnote—“a place where people gather to drink”—but he declines to offer definitions for more difficult words, such as “dirges.” While the adaptation does follow the foundation of the play, the contemporary language offers nothing; cringeworthy lines include Benvolio saying to Romeo at the party where he first meets Juliet, “Let’s go. It’s best to leave now, while the party’s in full swing.” Nagar’s faces swirl between dishwater and grotesque, adding another layer of lost passion in a story that should boil with romantic intensity. Each page number is enclosed in a little red heart; while the object of this little nuance is obvious, it’s also unpleasantly saccharine. Notes after the story include such edifying tidbits about Taylor Swift and “ ‘Wow’ dialogs from the play” (which culls out the famous quotes).Pub Date: May 10, 2011
ISBN: 978-93-80028-58-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Campfire
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011
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