Amity

This was a very gentle read with lovely art. It was light on plot, instead relying on ~vibes~ but I enjoyed it. 3 necromancers gardeners out of 5.

Hmmmmm I don't know, I was really on board until I wasn't? But there was more Lily and I liked that. I feel so, so bad for Dylan's mom and like to think Kira doesn't get haunted by the murderdemon and instead goes on to basically be adopted by her so they can help each other heal. I'll go ahead and give this 3.5 corrupt cops out of 5, though it may be subject to change once I've had more time to think about the series as a whole.

proof that horror aimed at kids is almost always scarier than anything for adults, seriously DO NOT read this if you are afraid of bugs and/or loss of teeth. Having nightmares forever now, thanks Remy Lai. 4 spirits of the coin out of 5

Listen, I'm no fan of maybe all the supernatural stuff is in the mentally ill person's unmedicated head trope usually, but it can be handled well, which I think was the case here. I quite liked this one! 4 red ski masks out of 5.

I don't know, man, it's like, if you're having a mid-life crisis, just dye your hair or get a funky tattoo. Don't traipse through France and get into bloody shenanigans. Still, the art in this one was beautiful, soooo 3 middling stars out of 5.

I think I actually ended up liking this one more than the first volume! Lily Sharpe is my forever girl. I still have my complaints but it's super compelling and often clever. 3.5 potentially unreliable narrators out of 5.

Hmm, normally I like comics that are just Heroes in Situations, but I thought that the tone of this seemed a bit inconsistent with the premise? It ends up being a bit of a wackier adventure with Bats assembling a ragtag team of misfits to break into the Fortress of Solitude, and I was expecting something a bit grittier and chaotic on the streets of Gotham. Even once I adjusted my expectations, it seemed like it should have been more serious? I dunno, the tone just didn't land for me, and I wasn't a huge fan of the art style, either. Overall, I'll give this 2.5 Lex Luthor presidencies out of 5.

This was...fine? I was more interested in the latter half, but it overall felt like a pretty straightforward villain origin story. Brubaker is obviously a talented writer so I didn't hate it, but I mostly nothing'd it. Still, a good introduction for an iconic Marvel villain. 3 Doombots out of 5.

I thought that this was a pretty clever look into the mindset of a vigilante and the maybe-supernatural, maybe-mundane aspects were handled well. I'm interested in continuing it even though some of the dialogue felt a little edgelord-y to me, so I'll give it 3.5 spoopy demons out of 5.

I really wanted to like this, but...look, the art is great (look at that terrifying cover! I love it!) and the concept is pretty solid, but dang this first volume felt like it could have been split up into several more issues. I guess I just would have liked to see more build up to the villain and learned a little more about Declan before it got into the main part of the story. Again, I loved the art, but the story was just paced too fast for me. 3 readings of Anais Nin out of 5.

This was pretty cute and fun! The art was lovely and some of the fears were a little creepy. Also, a lot of the people who contributed fears need to confront their parents about the childhood trauma they inflicted. 3 ant farms in your head out of 5.

Hm, well, I really liked this in the beginning. It has a strong hook and it plays on a lot of very real fears like not being able to trust your own mind and having guests at your house literally ever. I'm a sucker for an epistolary novel so that also worked for me, especially since there was the little message to decode. But it all ended up adding up to...what? I don't mind horror that doesn't explain everything, but there were so many things unexplained, some of which didn't even seem connected to the main plot. Like, what was the deal with the dude in the cabin? WHY DID I HAVE A MORSE CODE TRANSLATOR UP ON MY PHONE TO DECODE THAT MESSAGE?

That being said, maybe I just didn't connect the dots because my brain is soup? Who knows. Either way, I liked more than I didn't, and there were some genuinely creepy moments, so I would read more by this author. 3 Mandela Effects out of 5.

Not his strongest collection, but the last few stories really landed for me (“Rattlesnakes” was a proper creepfest, despite the fact that I've never read Cujo) and I certainly didn't outright hate any of the stories in general, so overall 3 creepy ghosts with adult bodies and baby heads, no thank you out of 5.

I liked the premise and general vibe of this - the time skips and the bits of screenplay that were added added to the pacing and sense of dread - but I felt like the unreliable narrator and meta commentary on horror was done more successfully in A Head Full of Ghosts. Tremblay is still a must-read author for me, but this one didn't land quite as well as I'd hoped. 3 cursed masks out of 5.

A fairly solid homage to ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark' and other such works, with crisp, clean artwork accompanying each story. However, it never fully surprised me. Still, I'd give it to a teen looking for something spooky to read. 3 hangnails out of 5.

I was a little shaky on the details at first, but once I remembered the plot, I found this to be another solid entry to the series. Perhaps one of the saddest, too! 4 horses named Gary out of 5.

An emotional, quick read and overall a pretty solid novel in verse. I did tear up at the end, naturally. 3 baseballs out of 5.

I quote Bo Burnham at least once a day, have been a fan of his since he started out on YouTube, AND I love poetry, so....how have I never read this before? It isn't perfect - some of it is definitely reminiscent of his early YouTube days, and some of it is great but works better on stage - but a lot of it is still funny and lovely. His song lyrics have always shown how clever he is with wordplay, so poetry seems like a natural fit for him, and I really liked the Shel Silverstein-esque feel of the art and some of the poems. Overall, 3.5 fireflies who are actually baby stars out of 5, rounded up. A great start to National Poetry Month, and a good book to get me out of my BG3-induced reading slump!

Also, I really loved this poem, for obvious reasons:

This was so much funnier than the subject matter would lead you to believe. I quite like Drew's voice and the strong sibling bonds brought this particular only child to tears by the end. 4 faulty product reviews out of 5.

The same experience I had with Hallett's previous works (a solid premise with fun solve-it-yourself mixed media elements with a narrative that tends to drag a bit in the middle) is ALSO true of this one, but dang do I have fun once the reveals are, er, revealed! This one made me a bit sadder than the others, for some reason. Maybe it's the homages to Michelle McNamara? I don't know, but I will continue to read Hallett's books as long as they continue to have satisfying conclusions. 3.5 WhatsApp convos out of 5, rounded up.

this book deals with the two scariest subjects possible: middle school and the american healthcare system

4 terrible wallpaper patterns out of 5

A very cute slice-of-life manga about the joys of having a feline friend in your life, filtered through the eyes of an obsessive gamer. Super charming and I want to cuddle that kitten:



3.5 gaming terms defined out of 5, rounded up because of Musubi's lil face. I am easy to sell to!

Listen, is it subtle? No. Is this version of Dick Grayson presented as a complex individual? No, he's basically a platonic ideal of Good and Just and everyone loves him. But does it feature an adorable doggo that Tim Drake (my beloved) refers to as Bitewing? YES!


also lol @ Babs and her A+ shirt

But at any rate, I often find that I enjoy superhero comics the most when it's just a Good Person wanting the world to be a Better Place. Realistic, flawed people facing the evils of the world can make for an incredible story, but sometimes it's refreshing to read about an idealistic person doing nice things. Art-wise, the vibrant colors and energetic panel layouts complement the story and it's really easy on the eyes. Much like the titular character, amirite?? DC really loves its buff, blue-eyed, dark-haired pretty boys.

Overall, this isn't something I would normally pick up but I'm glad that the PopSugar Reading Challenge prompted me to read something with “leap” in the title, because this was delightful and I wouldn't mind continuing the series. 3.5 Bat-family groupchats out of 5, rounded up for Bitewing Haley.

Every once in a while, I need to be reminded of how awe-inspiring and powerful poetry can be, and this book did just that. 3.5 out of 5, rounded up.

Hmm...some creepy moments, but ultimately didn't live up to the premise for me. I will say, parts of it reminded me of The Descent, in that the scariest moments aren't supernatural but rather the claustrophobia of spelunking (though the horrors of climbing Everest are also terrifying). I don't know, I just felt a disconnect and I think I would have liked more of Juliet's story in the end. Overall, 3 fingers for eyes out of 5.