Summary [courtesy of Goodreads]: True believer Noa, her cynical little sibling Gus, credulous cameraman Ko, and sceptical Astrid head to one of the most haunted towns in America to prove that ghosts exist, for all the social media likes! The investigations of hauntings uncover something more devilish than just a couple of ghosts, something that will put Noa and Astrid’s relationship to the test… and reveal the centuries-old sinister secrets of the town itself.
Ok, so this is sweet as fuck, with a heavy helping of (legitimately scary) demonic horror thrown in toward the end. It was so much fun, and while I went into it with somewhat low expectations (expecting cheesy jokes and shallow characterization, for whatever reason), it turned out to be pretty damn deep.
It also turned out to have one of the nicest representations of sapphic love that I’ve seen in awhile, particularly in a comic or graphic novel.
Between true-believer and spiritual medium Noa, her (almost immediately possessed) love interest Astrid, her younger but incredibly assured nonbinary sibling Gus, and their intrepid softie of a cameraman Ko, this gang of ghost hunters are a delight from top to bottom.
And that’s not even getting into the demon that possess Astrid, who’s shockingly well-developed and quickly initiates a snarky rapport with the gang as well as Astrid herself that cut through any potential tedium in a possession storyline and got straight to the high-stakes potential that such a powerful being could create. (I particularly loved how the demon and Astrid reached a quick understanding about ‘sharing’ her body, disturbing as that idea can certainly be.)
And the art–damn! It’s beautiful and exactly my kind of thing, and it pivots nicely between lovely full-page landscapes and terrifying Clive-Barker-esque horror at the end.
And while the final resolution was a little pat and simplistic for my taste, I was thrilled to get a [minor spoilers] happy ending and a potential nod toward future issues.
Like with Another Kind, the only real negative thing I can say is that I wish there were more content NOW, though in this case I’m assuming there will be? (Do you hear me, BOOM!? The world needs more of these delightful kids…)
Basically, it’s great. Read it now.
