I wasn't completely sold on this comic when I first picked it up but I'm really glad that I took the time to read it. If you're a fan of paranormal mysteries and creepy circus tropes then I think you will really enjoy this. The artwork is lovely and really fits the style of the comic. It's creepy but in an amusing way and I was definitely intrigued by the 'whodunnit' aspect of the plot although to be honest I'm more interested in the sisterly dynamic between the two main characters. I look forward to reading the next issue when it comes out.

I enjoy the graphic novel format for mysteries. When well done they force us to pay attention to panel details, to seek out potential clues, inconsistencies, tells. And talented artists can seed in elements that might be harder to add in a traditional novel. Points to Gedis for the circus setting, especially an historic circus. Lots of opportunities to explore prejudice and corruption. And the protagonist is appealing and relatable.

Anna, a circus fake psychic, and her twin sister Kat, a knife thrower, are traveling with the Samson Brothers Circus, when something terrible happens. Anna's sister Kat is murdered. Now it is up to Anna to figure out who did it. Kat helps her because she appears as a ghost and suddenly Anna can see the dead...

SPECTACLE VOL 1 is such a beautiful piece of artwork with a wonderful storyline to match. This graphic novel leads you on a wonderful adventure through the multi-colored world of Megan Gedris. I think it is a must-read for anyone looking for a quick and exciting read, the cliff-hanger at the end will leave you wanting more! I, for one, can't wait to pick up the next volume in the series.

Hey, look! It's another graphic novel review! And it's another graphic novel that I requested from Netgalley! Except this graphic novel is so much different than to what I normally read in graphic novel format, and it definitely has a different artwork style than to what I'm used to. But hey. I like branching out when it comes to graphic novels, so I wanted to give Spectacle a go!

Pragmatic engineer Anna works as a psychic in the Samson Brothers Circus, but she doesn't believe in anything supernatural—until her twin sister Kat is murdered and comes back as a very demanding ghost. Sharing a room with her sister was hard, but now they're sharing a body while trying to identify the killer. With few leads, a troupe full of secretive folk, and strange paranormal occurrences popping up around the circus, solving the case seems near impossible. But the murderer in their midst may be the least of their problems...

I was definitely weary before I started reading this. I'm not a fan of the whole circus/carnival themed stories. I've read quite a few such as Caraval, Daughter of the Burning City e.t.c... and the only one that I can say that I have absolutely loved was Caraval. DOTBC was enjoyable but not as good as Caraval, and then the other carnival/circus books that I've read have been awful... So yeah. I was definitely weary when going into this, but it sounded interesting so I was intrigued. 

I actually really enjoyed reading this. I fell in love with the sisterly relationship between Anna and Kat. I know that the blurb that I've included says that Kat is murdered and just to let you know, THAT'S NOT A SPOILER! IT'S ALL GOOD, GUYS! It happens within the first couple of pages and the rest of the volume is about Anna trying to figure out who killed her. 

On top of this, Anna can actually see her sister's ghost and the banter between them is just brilliant. And because of the ghosts, there is such a good supernatural element of the book, because it turns out that Kat's ghost is not the only ghost that Anna can see...

When it comes to the artwork, it's not really the type of artwork that I'm used to; I prefer much darker types of illustrations. Spectacle definitely falls into the category of more 'cartoon' illustrations and reminds me of the fun type of artwork of Lumberjanes. 

The only negative that I have about this volume is that the ending was very abrupt. I didn't know whether it was just a formatting error - because that happened to me when reading Shadowman - or whether it just had an abrupt ending. I do think that this series has a lot of potential, and I hope that in the next volume, the abrupt ending has a little bit of an explanation because I was left so confused. It wasn't even that it ended on a cliff-hanger... It just... Ended...

If it wasn't for the ending, I probably would have given this volume 4 stars. But alas, the ending meant that I gave it 3.5.

Disclaimer: this book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review

This graphic novel might have been a little darker than I had originally anticipated (although, I am not sure what exactly I had expected when the blurb itself states that the heroine's twin sister is murdered), but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Anna is part of a circus, whose members are far more mysterious and secretive than originally assumed. And, after Kat's murder, this only becomes clearer and clearer. Because, the latter, might not have seen who her murderer was (stabbed right at the back, tsk tsk tsk), but she is set on finding out and soon. Recruiting Anna, of course. The plot just thickens from then on, with the heroine(s?) stumbling into more and more adventures almost by the page.

It was a nice introduction to a new series, and it definitely got me hooked right at the beginning. I was itching to know who the murderer was and what their motives could be, and I really hope this series develops into multiple volumes, following Anna and her ghost of a sister.

All in all, 3 stars to the very first volume of this graphic novel, which seems to be highly promising.

Nice enough little story. I didn't really like the art style, and the main characters were kind of annoying. Probably won't be continuing with this series.

The ARC ended with about 15 pages left to go, but the storyline is good.

The artwork isn't the best and I wasn't very fond of the font used for Anna's internal thoughts (it was very hard to read on a screen), but it's a murder-mystery set in a circus with a logic-loving fortune teller.

I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

A mostly entertaining YA tale about a murder with supernatural elements that takes place in a circus. I'm kind of annoyed there wasn't more to it since I was curious as to how the murder will be solved, if it ever will be. I'm not a big fan of the illustration style but I did enjoy the story.

*arc provided by netgalley*

This was actually... surprisingly good. It's a comic that follows a circus show, and specifically a pair of sisters. One of the sisters is killed and the other tries to figure out who the murderer is but its clear theres a lot of secrets that are keeping the mystery from unfolding. I do wish that the closeness of the sisters was demonstrated a bit better seeing as theirs was the central relationship of the story. I loved the secondary characters and I thought the writing was really good. The art is very child like (i don't mean that in a bad way), and whimsical, and engaging. I especially love how lots of the lady characters were not very thin! I would definitely read volume 2 just because theres so much going on at the end?!?! and the murder isn't solved yet sooooooo i wanna know whodunnit.

I really enjoyed reading Spectacle and flew through it. The art work is great and I loved the colors that were used. The art is very colorful and that fits the circus theme very well.
This graphic novel has an incredibly diverse cast and a lot of interesting characters. Kat and Anna are our main characters and we do get to know them a little bit. However there is still a lot to discover! Same with the rest of the characters, I would like to know more about them in future volumes. I did really enjoyed the look we got at Carl and Lucy's backstory.
There are a couple of mysterious things going on with the circus and nothing is predictable. It really keeps you guessing which is great. However the story ended on a cliffhanger but also in a bit of a weird moment. I actually thought my digital copy was missing a page or two, but every review seems to mention the cliffhanger so that might just be the graphic novel ;) I will definitely continue reading this series, but I hope we get a bit more character development in the next volume.

Perhaps interesting for some but I was not able to engage with this narrative despite myself. Perhaps improving the structure could help.

In the Samson Brothers Circus, sisters Kat and Anna are performers - Kat throws knives with stunning precision and Anna is a fortune teller - though she doesn't really believe in spirits and all that. But when Kat is murdered and her spirit comes to live within Anna, she has no choice but to believe - and solve the mystery of her sister's murder.
This first volume of Megan Rose Gedris's digital comic (encapsulating issues 1-5) is spellbinding. I love the diverse cast of characters, the mystery and intrigue, and, as the comic ramps up, the supernatural and fantastical elements at play. Justice and forged families are explored throughout this comic, and the art is stunning. I can't wait for the next volume!

*** I received this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you so much to NetGalley and Oni Press for giving me the opportunity to read and review Spectacle Vol. 1! ***

Another graphic novel that I picked up on NetGalley that I had to check it out. When I first read the synopsis of Spectacle Vol. 1 I was hook line and sinker I just know I was going to love and enjoy this book. And I was totally right this graphic novel did not disappoint me at all I thoroughly loved and enjoyed every bit of this amazing graphic novel. Now I won't go into any details about this book because I think you should check out Spectacle Vol. 1 it really was an amazingly fantastic graphic novel for me. I absolutely love the plotline and concept of the book two twin sister Anna and Kat working in a circus called Samson Brothers Circus until one day Anna finds Kat murder in their trailer. I so love any books or graphic novels that are set in a circus this is actually the first graphic novel that I read set in a circus so it was an A+ win for me and I really love murder mysteries as well with a twist of supernatural in this book is totally my jam in books too. The artwork is absolutely beautiful I just love looking at each page. Each and ever characters were well developed and rounded, plus all and every character was diverse as well which I totally love reading about diverse characters too. The writing style flowed well with the story and was structure really great too that I totally understand everything on Spectacle Vol. 1 I was not confused at all while reading this graphic novel. What I would have loved more it's too learn a little bit more background on why Anna and Kat joined the circus and about their past, but we did get a little glimpse about their past when the twins were kids and I am dying to learn more about there past life when they were just kids. But alas I think we learn a little bit more about the twins and the circus in each Volumes that will come out next. All and all I absolutely, utterly and totally love and enjoy Spectacle Vol. 1 that I can't wait to continue on reading the next Volumes in the Spectacle series, after that ending in this graphic novel. Things just start to get stranger and stranger in the Samson Brothers Circus and I can't wait to read and learn more about it!

Seems cool, and based on the other reviews I’d give it four starts, but it didn’t download. Oh well.

I found this a really compelling read with a twisty plot and some fantastically surreal artwork. It tells the story of Anna, a fortune teller with a circus. When her twin sister is murdered, Anna must investigate the crime while dealing with her sister's ghost, which is now inhabiting her body. When I first started to read, I found the artwork a little jarring. It employs a really quite abstract style, with heavy line work and splashes of bright colour. Once I got used to it, however I thought it was an inspired choice. The narrative is quite a simple one, but Gedris inserts tantalising threads here and there that suggest many hidden depths within the story world. Some of the scenes are quite trippy and I found myself really getting drawn into the world. The characters are well fleshed out and there is a sense of menace hiding just below the surface. I am intrigued to see where this series will go next and thought that this was a really great new world to spend a little time in.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was interesting. I was intrigued by the world-building and the story, but I honestly wasn't as invested in the characters as I could have been. Maybe it was that there wasn't enough space in the pages for me to really get to know the characters. But I really appreciated the diverse cast, and would have loved to really gotten to know them more. The writing is also smart and at times funny. Though, I did not appreciate that the ending is a massive cliffhanger and ended abruptly - at first, I thought some pages got cut off in my review copy. I think there's a lot of promise here.

Beautifully illustrated graphic novel, coming of age story about the nature of friendships and how much of an influence they have over you.
I found this harrowing, melancholy but really really lovely.
Would recommend to graphic novel readers.

I can't wait for the next installment of this fascinating mystery series about a sister and her ghost with a circus backdrop.

Spectacle is a murder mystery with a hint of supernatural elements incorporated in it. Anna is a psychic, but tends to love science and logic. Though she works at the circus with her twin sister Kat, one night she finds her sister's murdered body. Anna is able to communicate with ghost Kat. The sisters have a strong connection, and each sister is the polar opposite of each other. Anna is able to see ghosts and communicate with them, but no one else experiences the same. Anna and Kat team up to find the culprit in this graphic novel. I liked how this comic did not immediately give away the killer. Nor was the killer the obvious suspect. The ending is definitely a cliff hanger for me. It ended abruptly! There was an array of diverse characters, both racially and sexually. Though I hoped that the book included more of Anna and Kat's relationship before Kat's death. I want to pick up other volumes because the killer is not known yet! A fun read with a beautiful cover.

Unusual artwork is used effectively in a murder mystery set in a traveling circus. Spectacle Vol 1 is good until the unsatisfactory conclusion.

Twins Anna and Kat are members of a traveling circus. Anna is the fortune teller. Kat is a knife thrower. When Kat is murdered with her own knives, she appears as a ghost only to Anna. Anna investigates the crime.

The artwork within Spectacle Vol 1 promises to be controversial. It is in the style of Picasso's blue period but uses mainly dusky reds, lavenders and chartreuse. The faces are almost cubist in their non-linear perspective so noses sometimes appear on the sides of faces.

I liked the mystery at the heart of the plot. I would have liked to see more backstories of the other circus performers. Many seemed like only a stereotype like the conjoined twins and the bearded lady. It took me about a third of the book to get used to the art style. Once I did, I enjoyed its uniqueness.

Spectacle Vol 1 collects issues #1 through 5. My problem with the collection is the abrupt ending. There is no resolution to the mystery here—only an inexplicable transformation that could mean anything. I actually purchased issue #4 because I thought that the last few pages of my Advanced Review Copy were missing. $1.99 later, I realized that issue #4 ended as suddenly as Vol 1. However, issue #4 included a page imploring the reader to purchase issue #5 in July 2018. While issues frequently employ cliff-hangers, it is rare and frustrating for collected volumes to do so. Because of this slight-of-hand, Spectacle Vol 1 receives 3 stars.

Thanks to the publisher, Oni Press, and NetGalley for an advanced copy.