Hi there!
Sometimes the most horrifying things in life isn’t under our beds or hidden away in our wardrobes: they lie within ourselves. As much as we’d like to be safe from these horrors, the mind can play tricks beyond our control and sometimes there’s just no room for rationality. Since October is a month known for all of its spookiness, here’s a couple of digital comic books that I checked out in the past months!
This feature, published at an undetermined frequency (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, who knows), will present a couple of mini reviews on anything that isn’t in a physical format that I own (ebooks, comic books, TV series or movies).
Click on the covers to be redirected to their Goodreads/IMDB page!
Anything presented in this feature doesn’t necessarily mean that it won’t get a full-review treatment in the future. That will entirely depend on how much I loved it, how interested you are in hearing more on it, and how much I have to still say about it! 🤣
Infidel by Pornsak Pichetshote.
A haunted house story for the 21st century, INFIDEL follows an American Muslim woman and her multi-racial neighbors who move into a building haunted by entities that feed off xenophobia.
Bestselling editor Pornsak Pichetshote (Swamp Thing, Daytripper, The Unwritten) makes his comics writing debut alongside artist extraordinaire Aaron Campbell (The Shadow, James Bond: Felix Leiter), award-winning colorist and editor Jos� Villarubia (Batman: Year 100, Spider-Man: Reign), and letterer / designer Jeff Powell (SCALES & SCOUNDRELS).
Collects INFIDEL #1-5
An interesting attempt to blend politics centered around Islamophobia and racism with a haunted house horror story. The artwork, however, carries most of the weight as the story struggles during its second half to properly deliver a compelling and coherent story.

Dying is Easy by Joe Hill.
Comedy is hard… but dying is easy! From New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill (Locke & Key) comes this new graphic novel mystery.
Meet Syd “Sh*t-Talk” Homes, a disgraced ex-cop turned bitter stand-up comic turned… possible felon? Carl Dixon is on the verge of comedy superstardom and he got there the dirty way: by stealing jokes. He’s got a killer act, an ugly past, and more enemies than punch-lines. So when someone asks Syd Homes how much it would cost to have Dixon killed, Syd isn’t surprised in the slightest. But, once he’s accused, he’s on the run and it’s going to take all of his investigative chops to suss out the real killer before he gets caught.
This crime thriller by writer Joe Hill and artist Martin Simmonds follows in the tradition of fair-play mysteries inviting readers to solve the murder before Syd does!
A disgraced cop turned comedian finds himself accused of murder and now has to resort to his investigative skills to find the real killer before he falls for something he never did. Writer Joe Hill looks to deliver a cynical comedic tone and noir-crime pacing, the latter being killer, to tell his story. While it makes for a fascinating mystery, it quickly struggles to keep the reader hooked. Artist Martin Simmonds offers a unique and highly-tinted artistic vision that is visually exciting but not enough to keep the reader engaged till the final reveal.

Kill of be Killed (Vol. 1) by Ed Brubaker.
The bestselling team of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (The Fade Out, Criminal, Fatale) return with Kill or Be Killed, Volume One, the twisted story of a young man forced to kill bad people, and how he struggles to keep his secret from destroying his life.
Both a thriller and a deconstruction of vigilantism, Kill or Be Killed is unlike anything Brubaker and Phillips have ever done.
Collecting: Kill or Be Killed 1-4
I should’ve seen this one coming. Brubaker and Phillips do it again with another brilliant and dark story as they integrate a supernatural force into their masterful mystery thriller that now serves as a character study of a man pushed by his mind into vigilantism. The artwork is phenomenal and the story is gripping from start to finish.

Bog Bodies by Declan Shalvey.
An Irish gangster, on the run after a job gone wrong, stumbles upon a young woman lost in the Dublin mountains. Injured and unarmed, the unlikely pair must try to evade their pursuers and survive the desolate bog that has served as burial grounds for unspeakable murder throughout history.
Declan Shalvey (Injection, Savage Town) and Gavin Fullerton (Bags) deliver a cold and poignant story of crime, survival, and regret.
A short mystery that plays well with suspense and tension with its original premise, albeit a bit flawed. Its ending makes for a satisfactory read but, with a couple extra pages, it could’ve worked around its flaws better for sure.

Blue in Green by Ram V.
The dark and haunting portrayal of a young musician’s pursuit of creative genius — the monstrous nature of which threatens to consume him as it did his predecessor half a century ago. From creators Ram V (Grafity’s Wall, These Savage Shores) and Anand RK (Grafity’s Wall), BLUE IN GREEN is an exploration of ambitions, expectations and the horrific depths of their spiraling pursuit.
A charming and mind-numbing journey following a jazzist’s pursuit of creative genius that draws immensely on its psychedelic artwork to immerse readers into a harrowing universe. Clever in so many ways with the ways the story uses the artwork to tell its story, it does suffer from its confusing narrative and uneven pace.

Have you read any of these?
Share your thoughts on anything and everything with me! 😁
TILL NEXT TIME,

Great mini-reviews Lashaan. I have to say the artwork in the first one, really freaked me out. Glad you enjoyed them all, even if it was to varying degrees.
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Thanks, Carla! I too was quite impressed by the artwork in that story. It can get quite scary.
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The horror from within is my personal fave, being really into paranormal!
Ouh I quite like the mechanism behind infidel; though I can’t quite forget it means « unfaithful » in french 😬🤣 … And the white monster looks so familiar to the Ocarina of Time monster from the bottom of the well (dead hand)
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Yep, horror from within is amazing. They tend to be my favourite stories in that genre too. Hahaahh I know what you mean. 😛
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Nope.
These are all yours! 😀
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Not surprised there hahah! 😀
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This is perfect for spooky season but I’d never be able to read them!
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I agree! 😀 Not for the faint of heart! 😀
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Horror from within is truly scary and they all sounds perfect for the month. Amazing reviews!
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Thanks for reading, Yesha! 😀
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Interesting mix and all appropriate for the season. The artwork for Infidel looks killer. I just finished listening to the audiobook version of Joe Hill’s collection of novellas, Strange Weather, so I think I need a little break before trying anything else by him. I like the idea of the supernatural element to Kill or be Killed, that can be fun. I like the description of Bog Bodies, so too bad it didn’t go quite as far as it could have. And though not as drawn to Blue in Green, I am still curious about it.
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Ahhh that’s pretty cool! I wanted to read that one back when it was first released but I got carried away but other releases. I can only highly recommend Kill or Be Killed (anything by Brubaker is usually a very good choice anyway). Funny thing about Blue in Green is that it reminded me so much of David Mack’s own artwork but even more chaotic. I would’ve been curious to hear your thoughts on the artwork in that one, to be honest. 😉
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Great run-down. Really helpful to see key images and get a real sense of what each one is like! Fancy Infidel from this evidence…
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Thanks, man. By the way, I desperately and vainly tried to leave comments on your reviews but your blog doesn’t seem to accept my comments (something about accepting a policy error????). Just going to mention that I saw Dune and, as expected, it turned out to be the masterpiece I knew my boy Denis would deliver!
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Sounds like a good way to prepare for Halloween, indeed! 🙂
And it’s so true that the “monsters” hiding inside us can be much more terrifying than mere vampires, zombies and the like….
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Right? No wonder we also tend to be so intrigued by villains and crime thrillers. 😛
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I like Brubaker, so thanks for this rec, Lashaan! Looks good!
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I can only, and always, recommend Brubaker’s stuff anyway hahah Glad it has caught your interest! 😀
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I didn’t know there was a supernatural bit to Kill or Be Killed. I want to read that one.
And I recently bought Blue in Green. That sucks that it suffers from confusing narrative and uneven pace. I got it because the illustrations interested me.
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I highly recommend Kill or Be Killed. And I do hope you’ll be at least intrigued and impressed by what Blue in Green achieves. It’s going to be a bit confusing for the first couple of pages hahah
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These drawings really do look creepy. Perfectly fit the theme.
Do you dress up as your favorite book character for Halloween?
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Nop. 😉 That’s definitely not me. 😀
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Possum is a very bizarre film with a bleak content.
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Never seen it but will look into it.
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