horror graphic novel

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Lenni Reviews: “Stray Dogs: Omnibite Edition” by Tony Fleecs, Trish Forstner, Brad Simpson & Tone Rodriguez

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review. 

Sophie can’t remember how she ended up in this new house with all these other dogs. They all seem nice enough, but she is certain The Master is hiding a terrible secret.

This story doesn’t take long to go from cute rescue dog meets other cute rescue dogs to the actual horror, and the type that’s grounded in real life. These aren’t magical dogs, it’s just told from their perspective. Trigger warning for murder of people and animals. I hope this doesn’t spoil too much, but I know people may want to avoid those if possible. As this is from the dog’s perspective, the art for them is more detailed and expressive for them than for the humans, who are mostly in shadow or off-panel. It’s a sad story but it’s very well done. I don’t entirely believe what they say about a dog’s memory, though. 4.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “The Liminal Zone” Vol. 2, by Junji Ito

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

This is a collection of 4 stories:

  • Demon King of Dust: Yuichi lives in a mostly abandoned town that is cursed by dust.
  • Village of Ether: 4 college students find a deserted mountain village that houses a perpetual motion machine.
  • The Strange Hikizuri Siblings Chapter 3: Hotaru encounters this strange family.
  • Shells of Manjunuma: A swamp where the turtles are possessed by ghosts.

These are weird but good stories. I’m glad there are only four, as sometimes the really short ones don’t pack as much of a punch as Ito’s longer works. These also feature some impressively disgusting body horror. That final story is sadder than I’m used to from this author, even with the horror elements. I won’t spoil anything, but overall, this is pretty gross so be aware for any sensitive stomachs. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Dark Gathering” Vol. 13, by Kenichi Kondō

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Kei and Eiko release Black Asura to save Yayoi and dispel the amassed spirits, but there is a much more powerful force working against them.

It’s about time some other priests got involved. All these horrifying entities out there, and it’s taken 13 volumes for more people to get involved. Aside for the spirits our group has been facing, the ultimate showdown is to face a GOD, and our main cast shouldn’t have to face that alone. As usual, the creature designs are shiver-inducing and I am excited to see what fresh new horrors we’ll see when the final battle happens. It was interesting to see the original concept for the start of this series as an add-on at the end, but I would have rather had more of the story. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “After God” Vol. 4, by Sumi Eno

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Waka has to deal with her vow to slay the gods and the fact one is living inside her. 

It’s probably just me but this volume turned the crazy up to 11. What was an interesting premise seems to have gone off the rails; the gods are squabbling, people getting kidnapped right and left, trying to have the goofy personalities alongside bloody violence and body horror, there’s what I feel like is a big lore dump… It’s not bad per se it’s just… What? None of this is turning out how I’d expected and I’m confused but also entertained. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Choujin X” Vol. 9, by Sui Ishida

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Palma Shishinegura proves to be helpful to the Yamato Mori by getting information from a dead drug dealer and they push her abilities to the limit in order to get the opium source.

While Tokio takes Ely and Palma with him to the poppy fields, he has some real doubts about the prophecy and I wonder if this will lead to a betrayal of some kind. The prophecy may be bullshit but that doesn’t matter if people are willing to kill and die for it. I also love that Palma is part of the group now. Her abilities have fantastic potential and she’s just a sweetheart, There are some awesome fights in this as well so, this volume is a total package. 4.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead” Vol. 17, by Haro Aso & Kōtarō Takata

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

The group heads to Kagoshima where they visit the headquarters of Space W and their president, Ukaji; who is still working on his dream to send humanity to the stars even in the throws of a zombie apocalypse.

Well, this whole thing is just a wacky way to get our gang into space and have a Space X parody. The zombies are peppered in as a threat but overall, I found this goofy and didn’t take it seriously. I do like the drips of lore we’re getting and while the company parody is there, Ukaji isn’t an Elon Musk stand-in. Ukaji is inspiring and again, a bit goofy. It’s all fun but like candy it’s sweet but not a meal. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Fool Night” Vol. 5, by Kasumi Yasuda

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

As Ivy’s existence highlights very reasonable debates over transfloration, Kamiya and Hourai look into who is behind the anti-transfloration protests: Dr. Koudai.

While we get a funny story involving Kanaero hunting for a special goldfish, the cracks in the system are widening and it’s looking like this mysterious doctor is gonna make things very dangerous for the transfloration company. This may not be such a bad thing since the way people are being taken advantage of is horrific. It’s not sustainable. Why the doctor has been absent for 40 years, why he helped create a murderous plant, how all this will shake out morally for Kamiya and Hourai as their jobs are on the line will all remain to be seen. I can feel things ramping up and it’s all very interesting. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “My Name Is Shingo: The Perfect Edition” Vol. 5, by Kazuo Umezz

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Monroe is still obsessed with finding Satoru and Marin as its intelligence grows along with its body count.

I was a little shocked by the gruesome violence taking place right off the bat. Again, Monroe has no care for human life and Marin is NOT okay. I get some major Akira vibes (the original dub, not the remake) because while the anime kept a focus on the supernatural/psychic parts, the manga went off on many other tangents. None of this ever goes where I think it’s going and I am very uncomfortable with Marin’s consistant suffering. This poor girl… Satoru doesn’t have to deal with molestery shit. Heck, he’s barely in this volume. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Bad Dreams in the Night” by Adam Ellis

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This book is a collection of horror comics by Adam Ellis.

Far be it from me to not jump on a horror anthology whenever I can. And from one of my favorite comic creators online? Sign me up. I freely admit I’m biased because I love Adam’s work so much. I can also admit that if you follow his posts, you’ve seen these comics before, but having them in your hand to read and such a pretty book (I’m a sucker for books with a ribbon) is great. If you wanna curl up with some quick, spooky tales, this is a great collection. 5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Fool Night” Vol. 4, by Kasumi Yasuda

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

As Hourai is recovering from Ivy’s attack, Toshiro is looking into the murderous plant’s origins; which leads him to Pauper Town. This area is so poverty-stricken, they hold an event called The Parade where someone is sacrificed to get bare minimum resources to the area.

I’d already thought the wealth disparity contributing to “voluntary” transflorations was bad but (spoilers for more exploitation) cultivating transflorated children for furniture is just fucking sick. This volume is mostly tracking down Ivy’s origins so they can show the transfloration company doesn’t make killer plants on purpose. It’s all really sad and empty to think they only want to stop Ivy because the company needs to save face. 4 out of 5.

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