I really enjoyed reading this graphic novel.I really liked the mystery. The artwork is different but I liked it.

I really hope the Netgalley ARC was missing pages at the end of the book, because it literally just ends in the middle of a scene and left me wanting more, but also just plain annoyed at that being the ending. The art is pretty and the story is intriguing, but other than the weird ending, I wasn't a huge fan of the font. I'm not sure if it was the font itself or that it was a lower quality digital ARC, but the font used was fairly "swirly" and was honestly just difficult to read at time, especially when the text was smaller.

Anna and her twin sister are travelling with the Samson Brothers Circus, when something bad 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. There are also some other mysterious things going on, which leads to a troubling ending of the book.

This graphic novel kind of surprised me! It was really engaging, funny and the art was really cool sometimes. But I thought the ending was a bit abrupt, and a lot of questions are left unsolved.

I would recommend this if you want to read something quick and mysterious!

Really liked this! It's a great start to a series. The story was really good, I loved the mystery, and the art is lovely!

I liked this one! It's a good start to what could be a very good series. I liked the mystery, I liked the characters, and I liked the slightly odd but lovely art. I definitely want to see what happens next, as this volume stops very suddenly.

Although her true talent lies in interpreting the data processed by the difference engine she built, Anna works as a fortune-teller in a circus. Her twin sister Kat also works in the circus, as a knife-thrower. The circus is a visual accomplishment, both in the art--which shows the reality more than the spectacle, which is fun--and the depiction of the community. People bicker, put together church services, gossip, and come together in crises. One such crisis is Kat’s sudden murder.

Anna finds the body, as well as Kat’s ghost. The two work together to catch the murderer without disrupting the circus, hoping that resolving the mystery will allow Kat to move on.

I loved all of the characters and their relationships. Anna is not a social butterfly. She’s awkward, accidentally insults people, and has difficulty accepting kindness at her sister’s funeral. In contrast (because they’re twins I guess), Kat is brash yet forges emotional connections with others. An interesting difference between the two of them is that Kat is the forgiving one. My impression was that Anna was less so because she doesn’t ‘get’ people the same way.

Art downfalls, the stupid belch, cliffhanger sudden stop

For the most part, the art is great. The chapter covers are stunning and really show the time and care taken with them. Sometimes there are things that look strange or don’t quite work. Sometimes the blood looks like finger-paint, I think because the colour saturation in those instances is too high. The text is easy to read, except when it’s white and written directly over the art.

The biggest downside to this book is the sudden jerking stop at the end. There’s no denouement, no To Be Continued caption box in the corner, not even a blank white page. Calling it a cliffhanger would be missing the mark. It looked unfinished.

There is a satisfying story arc, though. After a mysterious event gives the local acting sheriff a dubious reason to lock up the ringmaster, the performers band together to earn as much money as possible to make his $500 bail. When Anna tries to gain access to the ringmaster to get his advice on her own ghost/murder problem, she discovers the acting sheriff is corrupt and dangerous. It’s a slow burn arc, but as I said, ultimately satisfying.

I love ghosts and murder mysteries, and this combined them very well. To be fair, the abrupt ending does offer a culmination of a few very subtle clues throughout the book. There are a lot of unanswered questions, so I’m looking forward to the next volume!

(Review will appear on my blog on 5/22/2018)

My rating is 2.5 stars
I didn't really like this but at the same time I kinda did while reading.
The artwork is good it suits the atmosphere, though I didn't like it at the beginning, but it grows on you.
Thers's mystery, magic, bond between sisters, and it's sometimes very fun.
I will read the second volume but only because of the abrupt change and cliffhanger.

What a fascinating comics. The story is intriguing, the characters are charming and the art is so beautifully original. It keeps you on guessing on the intrigue and the twists and I can't wait for the second volume to find out more.

Spectacle's art style is lovely, refreshing and very in tune with its story: warm, vibrant colours that lend each individual scene the appropriate tone. There is no shortage of varying tones throughout and across each chapter and I loved the abundance of contrasting ones that all worked together as a whole.I also loved how the narration text was done, the white text in a handwriting style was incorporated seamlessly into the drawings, it really added to the atmosphere and emphasized Anna's internal thoughts against the dialogue. There was a particular page that stood out in only black and white where the effect was at its best.

While certain parts of the plot were disconcerting, it felt like the story was intending to do just that. Many scenes were poignant and powerful, most notably ones where Anna is confronting either herself or her sister's ghost. The story focuses on various characters from the circus and their backgrounds and potential motives, but the strongest parts steadily focus on the main two and I look forward to seeing them continue to develop both together and as individuals throughout the series. 

The ending, while sudden and jarring, once again felt consistent with the comic's tone and ways of surprising the reader. I'll be looking out for the continuation in the second volume.

Let's start by saying the illustrations of this novel were gorgeous. I love the style, the setting (a circus!) and the colors. The illustrations were the main reasons why I enjoyed this novel so much.

Because I did really enjoy it. The story starts with Anna who finds her twin sister, Kat, murdered. Kat comes back as a ghost. Although Anna is a fortune teller/psychic in the circuc, she does not believe in supernatural things. To see her sister as a ghost is a real shock for her. Anna tells the circus master Jebediah Tetanus her sister is murdered, but he decides to tell the rest of the circus crew Kat's death was an accident. He askes Anna to figure out who the murderer is. While investigating the murder, Anna finds more mysteries along the way.

I would recommend this novel to everyone who appriciates some nice illustrations, who likes the circus and to who likes a good mystery with a dose of humor.

At first I was a little lukewarm on the art in this comic, but as I started to read this I started to like it better. I think it just looks a little different from what I am used to reading in terms of comics. I think part of my issue was that this originated as a webcomic, and I think webcomic art just has a different feel to it. I don't think it's bad at all, I think maybe it just wasn't what I was expecting at first, but I grew to love it.

I think what really won me over in this comic was the story. I was so interested in what was going on in this story, and there was a lot going on. The main plot is that Anna has discovered that her twin sister has been murdered and she goes around trying to figure out who in the circus they work for has done it. Anna is a pragmatic and believes in science and reason, which is funny because she is the circus' fortune teller. It's clear she feels bad scamming people, but a girl's got to eat! I really liked that she tried to see reason and find out the clues, even though she is convinced someone in particular has killed her sister. There's also a subplot with the law man of the town having put the leader of their circus in jail for no real reason, and the rest of the circus tries to make more money to collect for his bail. That gets more interesting later in the book, but at first it seemed so out of place.

I couldn't stop reading this and going to the next page, because I just wanted to find out what was going to happen. Anna starts seeing her sister's ghost after her death, and I liked this part because she is 100% convinced that she is going crazy. Or is she? We get some snippets of the sisters lives before the circus, they ran away from an orphanage and I think it's alluded that bad stuff happened there. We don't know what, so I am hoping there is another issue to show us more about this. I'm really interested in what they ran away from, and what Kat has done that other people in the circus think she got what she deserved.

My one complaint about this comic is that it ends on a massive cliffhanger! Like, I kept trying to click over to the next page because I didn't think it was over yet. I thought there was a glitch in the digital file I had, but then I saw other reviews mention the cliffhanger. I am hoping there is going to be another installment because the ending was so crazy and we still don't know who killed Kat. I NEED to know!

I think this is another instance of the author & illustrator being the same person, and I like it. I don't think I've read anything by Gedris before, but I am interested in her work going forward.

*I received a free egalley copy of this book in exchange for my honest review
Happy Reads Everyone!

This comic has everything I like in stories: a murderer, a circus, lots of magic and beautiful art! Though I feel like it’s very introductory (I bet the story is going to become much more complex than what it seems at first sight), it has lots of action and nothing seems unnecessary. The main character is not the most likeable one, but the dynamics between her and her sister are really fascinating and everything points to lots of character development in future volumes. I also liked the fact that we get to know other characters and their backgrounds, which makes it more realistic and interesting since there are so many suspects! I’m excited to read the next volume and see how this story develops, because I was definitely not expecting that ending. Such a promising first volume!

I found Spectacle to be one of the more unique indie graphic novels that I've read recently. The artwork is as quirky as the subject material, and I really appreciated the diverse cast of characters- especially the dashing Jebediah! I was sucked into the murder mystery immediately, though I did feel some parts are glossed over a little too fast or left a bit too vague. I do understand the author wants to keep us guessing, though. The cliffhanger was for sure a shocker, I think I'd love to see where this circus goes next.

Dammit Netgalley! How could you do this to me??? I received an ARC of this and was really enjoying the story when it abruptly stops at page 115 on a total cliffhanger! where are the last 15 pages???? WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?

Kat and Anna are twins, but when Kat is murdered Anna's world is turned upside down. Before, she never believed in the supernatural, but with her sister still around she's left to question her beliefs and wonder who murdered her sister.

This gripped me pretty early. I was eager to see this mystery be solved, but then it continued to expand into something even more. Not only are you trying to figure out how murdered Kat, but there are secrets at play that loom over the story and make you wonder exactly what was going on with some of these characters.

The cliffhanger at the end has left me hungry for more!! I want to know more about this group of people and I definitely want more information on that romance. I will be eagerly looking for the next volume.

Such a fun book and really hard to put down - I can't wait to see what happens in the next volume. The graphics are whimsical and well-detailed, the panel layouts keep the action moving forward and the text is seamlessly integrated and well-chosen; we get believable and interesting dialogue, backstories and necessary info all without any information dumps. Both the characters and plot are developed carefully, and really, what more could you want? A strong protagonist of color - a fake psychic turned detective who has built a steampunk computer to predict the future - a dysfunctional circus family, ghosts, murder. What more could anyone want? Readers who like Nimona or Neil Gaiman will probably enjoy. Highly recommended for middle school and high school (and adults).

Did not finish. This is not what I thought it would be.

I really REALLY enjoyed this graphic novel. It was fresh and the artwork was amazing. I could hear Anna and Kat's voices in my head. The mystery aspect of it kept me going and I went through the whole thing in an hour! Can't wait for volume II.

I'm in two minds about this one. On one hand, it was the most bizarre and wonderful adventure in a creepy circus-setting with everything from murder to people being super sketchy and evasive all the way to ghosts and general spookiness. And the art!! I could gush about the art for days. There's something subtle about it that I just adore.

On the other hand, the entire experience was ruined a bit by the abrupt ending. This could be an issue with the galley, but having read other reviews saying the same, I doubt it. I understand ending something on a cliffhanger, but it just feels off. Doesn't mean I'm not gonna put on my Waiting Hat and sit here all impatient for the summer of 2019 to come around so I can find out what this cliffhanger is all about, though. Because I am. Most definitely.

Loved Yu+Me from this author so I'm not surprised I enjoyed Spectacle.
Keeping my eyes peeled for the next one!