I enjoyed this format which was like a collection of graphic essays or short stories. This short book was like finding a lovely gem in a sea of self-published comics at a local con.

Maybe I'm too old to read comics. I found the stories and they were good but I wasn't blown away.
If you are looking for something short to read maybe you enjoy this.

This is a moving collection of literary graphic stories—but not ghost stories. “Ghosts,” moves from finding meaning in the world (through visits with the ghosts of famous people) to finding it in the ghosts or demons of our past. It’s heart-wrenching and extremely appropriate to today’s news cycle. “Wallpaper,” shares memories of a new house and it’s remodel and loss. “Makers,” is a coming of age and growing apart story. The ghosts aren’t the spectral kind, but those people and times that haunt your memories or the fears that color our choices. I found it thought-provoking and poignant.

Ghost Stories by Whit Taylor

Available January 10th 2018.

"Ghost Stories is a graphic novel collection offering three haunting explorations. Granted the chance to meet three of her dead idols in "Ghost," the author’s cartoon-self embarks on a journey to remote and unanticipated landscapes, in a story of self-discovery and healing. In "Wallpaper," a child tells the story of a household move, remodel, and loss through the lens of flashbulb memory. And in "Makers," two girls with an unorthodox friendship make a rocky transition into adulthood. Throughout each tale, ghosts exist as past selves and remnants of past relationships that are met with inquiry, resolution, and personal rebirth."



This comic opens up to a young girl who is granted the ability to spend a day with three of her idols. The author's cartoon-self first meets Charles Darwin, who describes to her the process of evolution. He explains that the concept of 'survival of the fittest' is unfair, to which the protagonist agrees. Through this comic the author includes detailed explanation of scientific expressions, and throws in wikipedia page explanation of terms and people. I liked the way everything was explained, and how the story still flowed. We then meet Mary, a women I can connect with;

"Being alone had progressed from anguish, to loneliness, to a solitude she had not expected" (pg. 28)

This interlude scene quickly dissolves to the main character meeting her next idol; Joseph Campbell. 

"Myths were exhilarating, mysteical, and often cruel but always had a greater message" (pg. 38)

This comic becomes, not the main characters adventures with these ghosts, but the impact of the idols and their wisdom on the young girls behaviour and sense of self.

'Ghost' follows a character who is forced to live with a past trauma affecting her everyday life. This perception and accurate depicting of attitudes towards mental and physical health are described to a reader in a truly unique fashion.

The next segment, 'Wallpaper', resembles less a comic, and more a collection of diary entries, separated by pieces of wallpaper. The child's view of the world is simple, as he is slowly introduced to the intricate behaviour of adults. This piece was less description than the previous comic, so the reader has to force themselves to truly unravel what the author intended for this piece to be about.

The comic ends with 'Makers', the ghost in this story being a lost friendship. This was probably my favourite of all three; I connected with its portrayal of frustration, loss and letting go more than the rest. Just like the main character, I have also experienced the difficulties to trying to maintain friendships with childhood friends once moving on to further acaedemic studies, as well as moving to another city.

A lot of reviewers complained that this book didn't include ghost stories, but forget that this comic deals with the past. The ghosts of one's self and how they can haunt your future self if proper care is not received. There was only a very slight sense of incomplete-ness from these stories, otherwise they were a unique take on explaining the trivialities of life.





*Thank you to NetGalley and Rosarium Publishing for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review*

The art style was nice (simple outlines filled in with copic markers, overall traditional art instead of digital), however, the stories didn't seem that great. They didn't meet the expectations of the title. I feel like if the stores were better, it would've been a better read, but I did like looking at the illustrations.

I loved the narrative arc of this series and the illustrations but I agree with many other reviewers that most stories felt incomplete.

"Ghosts", 4.5/5

Warm, funny at moments, fully perceptive, wonderfully accurate. Although somewhat confusing at whole (I still can't get over the fact that Mary's story isn't continuing), it all made sense in the end. Confronting yourself from the past was a nice adding, although I think she could have chosen better than Darwin and that mythologist (never heard of him before) - but, those were persons who changed her own perception of the surrounding and the world itself in a way, and I can appreciate that. It was a little blurred, almost unfinished, some things left unexplained, but it touched a deep nerve inside me. Poignant and important it was, indeed.

"Wallpaper", 2.75/5

Lots of symbolism and children anxieties and insecurities in this one, but it fell of flat for me and I didn't really get much from it. The artwork was fine, some better than another, and was a nice companion to the story. The child learns to free himself, forms bits of her own taste, observes wallpaper in different places, is a little afraid to let the past go and has to face the death of a Grandmother, the one she loved. Little of this is on the surface, you have to "dig" in order to find some deeper meanings and probably richness to the storyline. On the surface, however, it does seems a little shallow, and although these life vignettes know to be incredibly good, if they're written properly, these ones just... weren't.

"Makers", 4/5

Had potential to become my favorite of the three, but sadly it wasn't. Still, I'm giving it a high rating because it exquisitely explored the feelings of letting go, sadness, melancholy, struggling between the old and the new, teenage and adolescence periods, friendships that last and the ones that don't. No big twist, no special snowflakes, just pure, plain life. And it worked out really, really well.

Whit Taylor’s Ghost Stories is a graphic novel collection which is interesting and poignant, but it suffers from disjointed and wandering plots.

The first piece “Ghost” follows the author’s cartoon-self as she is given the opportunity to meet three of her dead idols. I found the art to be simple but different and cute. This piece is moving, relatable and makes you think. It’s an interesting concept but it’s also very fragmented and meandering and, therefore, the story is difficult to follow. Some of the art panels also don’t seem to fit at all.

The second piece “Wallpaper” is different from the first as it includes separate pieces of art and writing. We see a home renovation through a child’s eyes, but it is deeply intertwined with the themes of loss, death, growing up and family. The storyline is touching, and the art is vibrant and beautiful. This is my favourite graphic novel in the collection because it’s extremely poignant and manages to convey so much in such a small amount of words. However, some of the reflections could have been reworked to be more applicable and meaningful as they seem to exist without serving any purpose.

In “Makers”, Taylor tells the story of the growth and death of a friendship between two girls, Tessa and Hope. The story is a familiar one to anyone who has had to deal with a selfish friend and who has seen the slow dissolution of a friendship over the years as people and their priorities change. I really like how realistic and relatable the story is. I also like Taylor’s skilful use of the dialogue and art to fully flesh out Tessa and Hope. However, this graphic novel is a little disjointed and I felt like the plot could have been tighter.

Ghost Stories is moving, sweet, and sad. The art style is different and cute. However, the storylines are difficult to follow and could have been edited much more for clarity and effectiveness. Although I wouldn’t read this book again, it’s a decent and really quick one-time read. It is a little different from what’s out there so if you’re looking for something new, I would suggest that you give it a try.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rosarium Publishing for this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the idea of this, but it was honestly very confusing and hard to follow.

Whit Taylor self-publishes some of her stuff, but this was published by up-and-coming company Rosarium who is dedicated to publishing multicultural stories. This comics looks self-published - it doesn’t have all the fanciness of professional publishing you might be used to, but the comic was entirely fascinating.

I’m going to pre-order it on Amazon just for the first story. And the first story is why I’m giving it 5 stars.

<i>What if the history of life parallels our life history.</i>

Mind. Blown.

I had to stop for a minute and think about that. It brings evolution into focus, and almost makes it more understandable.

But the first story in this anthology, <i>Ghosts</i>, was <b>deep</b>. The kind of deep that makes you want to pour yourself some coffee, sit on the porch in the morning before everyone wakes up, and contemplate life. It worked out well that I was reading this in the morning before anyone else was awake.

<i>Wallpaper</i> was great for the art.

<i>Makers</i> wasn’t quite as engaging as the rest, but it was interesting. And a bit sad.

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and and Rosarium Publishing for a copy in return for an honest review.</i>

This was a great, slow moving graphic novel with an interesting non-linear structure. The book offers different styles of narration, beginning with largely informational expository, then moving on to prose broken up with illustrations (much like "A Year Without Mom" by Tolstikova), then into a more traditional comic style that will resonate with readers who liked "Honor Girl." Readers who enjoy a more experimental, slow-burn graphic novel will appreciate this meditation on memory, trauma and friendship.

Meh, honestly this was not at all what I was expecting. I was expecting actual ghost stories... Not... this... The artwork was a bit... dare I say childish? Yeah I ended up skimming the last story because 1) I couldn't read the text on my tablet at all and 2) I had kind of lost interest. A shame.

Whit Taylor's collection of three short graphic stories is haunting, but only in that it's stuck with me. The ghosts that appear in these stories are more metaphorical, those of past selves, past experiences, things which have been lost, a feeling of not living up to one's own potential. In the first story, Ghost, our main character may meet three of her idols. Her first two idols are scientific heroes who have challenged her perception of the world. Her third is not who she was expecting to meet, but also challenges her to dig deeper and change her perception from within. The second story, Wallpaper, is illustrated entirely with wall treatments, but chronicles a family's move, a daughter's self-doubt, and the loss of her grandmother. Makers chronicles a close friendship from beginning to fade-out, while also exploring being left behind, transitioning to adulthood, and finding one's path in life. These stories feel unresolved, but in a way that for me felt real and also reflective of experiences in my own life. There is no pithy message, no clear lesson learned, just life and life and life. A great addition to a larger graphic novel collection.

I didn't get this book. I went in for ghosts and got a lesson on Charles Darwin. The "ghosts" mentioned are more philosophical and I'm not a huge fan of the art.
I usually don't leave reviews so short but there isn't anything else really to say.

It isn't that I don't like semi-autobiographic stories. I do. It isn't that I like art that is rough, I can get around that as well.

My problem with this book, a series of three stories is that there is so much left unexplained, and unfinished.

The first one, for which the book is named, is about a woman who can meet three people from the past, for one day. She meets to people from the past, who have long since died, and the third, which I won't spoil for you...yes I will, she meets herself, which, brings up trauma that happened in her past. And that is it. The end. I suppose that is life, but that could have been expanded on.

The second story is about wall paper in the house. And that is about it. I'm sure it was more deep than that, but I didn't get anything out of it.

The third story is of a good friend, who becomes an absent friend, and that is it. It is long and drawn out, and sad, but that is it. No resolution, but then, again, that is how semi-autobiographical stories are. They do not always resolve, but it would have been nice to have a little more or perhaps a little less.

I won't say reading it was a waste of time, but rather that I didn't get it, and that might be just my problem, and others will love it. I'm sure it is all very cleaver, and over my head, or whatever people who love it will say.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

I'm not sure what I expected from this, but this wasn't it. The title story was OK – a young woman gets a chance to meet three spectral mentors, and finds the unexpected in a majorly decent and welcome twist, which is then countered by the muddle that is revealed as a result. The second story is illustrated prose as opposed to strict graphic novel, and shows a girl very keyed into interior décor while adult s**t happens. The final story is the reality of the peripatetic, artistic life of teenagers, and how friendships never last the expected length of time. It's all reasonably well done, but nothing outstanding – enjoyable without lasting in the memory.

Not exactly my taste, but I'm sure there will be a solid fan base for this title. I enjoyed the artistic style.

This is an interestingly designed graphic novel. Not for me, but I know people that will like it.

Low-key autobiographical comics in a naïve or faux-naïve art style aren't generally my bag, but for whatever reason this one really hit home. Maybe it was the strangeness of the first and presumably least directly factual tale, in which the lead is taken on a grand tour by the ghosts of her heroes. Or maybe it was the way the other stories knew exactly the mundane details on which to focus to bring it all flooding back - the memory of childhood wallpapers, the friend who drifts away.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

What did I just read? The first story was about a woman who gets to meet 3 dead people for no apparent reason it seems. She picks Darwin, Joseph Campbell, Marilyn Monroe. But Monroe is skipped as the woman's past pops her head up. Instead of Monroe we now get a closer view in the life of this woman, how she has PTSD, how she was assaulted (at least that is what I make up from it all). It was a bit confusing, as I was under the impression there would be 3 idols, and suddenly her past self makes an appearance instead. In the end it did fit, given she had a chance to make peace with her past.

The next story is Wallpaper. About a girl, how she moved, how they remodeled the house. Unlike the first story this one has text (telling us about the move, the remodel, how the girl got used to her new life) on one side, and gorgeous illustrations on the next page. I was a bit sad that it ended so abruptly. I feel there was so much more to be told. It would be nice if this story would be expanded.

The last story is called Makers. About two girls and their unorthodox friendship and how they grow up to adulthood. I loved how close they were together, how easily they formed a bond. I wasn't too amused that Hope never told her best friend about that though. Was she afraid she may not get in because of her friend? Was there something else?
I did feel sorry for Hope, her life at home isn't the easiest. Divorced parents, a dad a big believer, multiple siblings who seem to get more than she does.
But later on? With Hope in college? Tessa trying out work and everything? I hated Hope and how she acted towards Tessa. How she let everyone in her circle but apparently wasn't that interested in Tessa any more. Instead of talking to Tessa it just escalates and then poof.. I just was so unhappy with it. :( The ending was pretty sad.

The art was so-so, well it also really depended on the story. For instance with the first story the art worked, but I didn't like it that much. The anatomy on the people was wonky, at times the backgrounds (if they were there) felt rushed.
The second story however featured some gorgeous illustrations with lovely details. I really loved those.
The third story is back to the wonky art of the first story. Plus at times the text was really hard to read and I either had to squint or just take a guess on what was written. :(

All in all, I am not too sure if I liked it that much. It had some good parts, the art in the second story was magnificent, but there were also many things I didn't like or that confused me.