Lenni Reviews: “Mieruko-chan” Vol. 3, by Tomoki Izumi

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

Mieruko has a new teacher, Zen, who is plagued by a particularly horrible and threatening spirit that Mieruko believes is affecting her best friend Hanna in addition to taking a tole on herself. Wanting to protect her friend, Mieruko decides she can’t just ignore this thing any longer.

While this continues to be fucking terrifying in terms of creature design, I am impressed with the character development in this volume. I’m hoping to see more communication between Mieruko and Yuria (who can also see spirits) because not only do they share this secret, it’s getting clearer Mieruko won’t be able to handle much more of this. She’s going to need a better strategy. 5 out of 5.

Lenni Reviews: “Daphne Byrne” by Laura Marks & Kelley Jones

(Image Source)

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

Still mourning the loss of her father, fourteen year old Daphne Byrne doesn’t get along with her rich classmates and sees things others don’t. While her mother continues to see a charlatan medium in a desperate attempt to contact her deceased husband, Daphne’s visions get stronger and even talk back to her.

While the creature design is fantastically horrifying, some of the panels with the human characters are wonky. I get what the shadows are trying to convey in terms of emotion but the end result is blobby and unfinished. Thankfully, this isn’t a lot of the book. The rest of the art is perfect for a Victorian horror. And Daphne’s story is cool but I wanted more. I want to know where her abilities are coming from and the demon world clearly connected to her. I do hope a sequel is in the works for this one. 4 out of 5.

Lenni Reviews: Will O’ the Wisp by Tom Hammock and Megan Hutchison

I have been devouring horror manga and comics like a nut so I was glad to have Will O' The Wisp by Tom Hammock and Megan Hutchison come across my... Ok, not my desk but my tablet. Same thing, right?

Will O' the Wisp tells the story of 12 year old Aurora who's parents have recently died and she is put into the care of her grandfather. The moment she is even invited to the bayou that is his home, the magic begins, as she is told to only arrive at a certain moon phase and hour. Then as bodies start to turn up, the local hoodoo woman Mama Noonie's magic and traditions surround her as Aurora tries to unravel why people are turning up dead, why the isle is cursed, and the secret behind the strange blue lights appearing in front of her.

I was intrigued by this book. The art is very fitting for a true bayou magical mystery; haunting and sharp. There were some very abrupt skips in the story in some places but the low hum - not unlike a bass playing -  of the story pulls you right back in. I found the entire experience to be a lot like a dark coming of age story as the past meets the present and magic runs amok.

If some of the transitions were smoother, the book would be a perfect creepy read. Once you get passed that, there is a wonderfully drawn gothic story of a smart girl and her plucky raccoon sidekick moving in a darkly magical world.