I normally don't like comics but this one won me over with the description. This one is focused on the amusement park called Zombillenium. This is a park where real monsters work and normal people think these monsters are just people in realistic makeup or cosmetics. Things turn for a interesting mishap when two creatures try to turn a new recruit - which turns into something all new! 

It was at moments hard to follow but very nice to read. The artwork is nice and I enjoyed the style of De Pins. Would recommend to others and possibly pick up the next one if I come across!

Even monsters sometimes need a day job, which is where the Zombillenium theme park comes in. Real-life monsters of all types work at this unassuming theme park, where gusts believe that all the monsters are just people in makeup or special effects. When two workers accidentally run over a guy, he becomes their newest recruit, but something goes wrong when the two (a vampire and a werewolf) both try to turn him and he becomes something new altogether.
Cute art and a fun twist ending are pluses but as others have said, the story does suffer from the translation trying to force the characters to be American, when this is clearly set in Europe. They should have kept that aspect of the background intact, it would make everything make a bit more sense.

It was slightly confusing to follow, but I guess I got the overall point 😂😂 And that last page! Definitely going to be continuing with this series !!

Detailed review coming soon !

Only at the end do you work out why this series opener is named after the Gretchen character – much of the book concerns a new recruit to the ghoulish theme park of the franchise title.  Our guy tries to hold up a bar in frustration at his lot, but Gretchen is there to prevent it.  It's only when her colleagues at the park – a walking, breathing skeleton, a real Egyptian mummy, a werewolf and a vampire – begin to fight over his remains that he turns into a demon.  It's a bit inconsequential, but it looks great – all sort of computerised airbrush and so on to give a glossy, cartoonish quality – and Gretchen is a potentially wonderful character with looks to die for.  But the early slapstick isn't really kept up, and I think on this evidence the jury is out on what the other three books could hold.  Worth a look, though – three and a half stars.

This was such a cute story about monsters. The art style was amazing. I can't wait to pick up the next volume.

This was different from what I expected, more funny than scary, but I really loved it! While the crew of the Zombillennium theme park were an odd mix of all kinds of creatures going bump in the night, they had to handle a lot of very normal, human tasks. However, them being what they are, this caused a lot of comical situations. That was a highly entertaining read, and I can't wait to visit Zombillennium again.

“Welcome to the Zombillenium Park.
We hire .... for eternity.”

My thanks to Europe Comics for making available a digital edition via NetGalley of ‘Zombillenium: 1 Gretchen’ in exchange for an honest review.

This first in a popular Belgium comic series by Arthur De Pins is about a horror theme park run by actual monsters.  After a failed robbery attempt Aurelian Zahner is accidentally run over and killed by vampire Francis von Bloodt, the director of Zombillenium. 

He is taken to the park where he is brought back to life after being bitten repeatedly by von Bloodt and Andrew, a werewolf. They argue about whether he will become a vampire or a werewolf. Zahner is recruited to work at Zombillenium and befriended by Gretchen, a young witch with a secret agenda who is interning at the park. When Aurelian finally transforms he surprises everyone.

This is a quirky black comedy horror with quite delightful artwork. I found it charming and lots of fun. Hopefully, Europe Comics will be publishing more of this series in English.

I really enjoyed this book! It kind of gave me Halloweentown vibes because the monsters are real characters not just a placeholder for evil, so we get to see them live their everyday lives. I thought it was really cute, and I'll definitely read the next one!

This story had wonderful art and I will be reading the sequels. I was surprised an arc of this was available and then I realized a new volume will be releasing in July and I am so excited! 

A very different take on the idea of an amusement park filled with monster's aka Zombillenium. What I assumed by the description was created to help monsters I now realize is a forced job and not a choice. The story follows Gretchen a witch with a hidden agenda as she works as an intern at Zombillenium.

Artwork - Excellent. The characters are drawn well and they're pretty unique. The colors are great and the illustrations fit the vibe of the story. I definitely appreciated the artwork.
Story - Not my favorite. I felt like the book started off on unstable (aka boring) ground and then  we get an introduction to the Zombillenium corp. itself but I felt like things were still a little bit flimsy. We didn't get to really get much of a tour with features of the rest of the park or see other mechanics of the park. I was curious about the background and the who, why and how but there was just none of that. 
Characters - I connected with exactly zero of the characters. By the time we met main characters (Aurelian and Gretchen), the story is almost halfway through! Things just move fast and wear thin. I think this graphic novel has so much potential with some more elaboration!

Thank you, NetGalley for giving me this ACR!

I found this short graphic novel pretty boring. I liked the graphics and the plot.

‘Zombillenium’ is a very silly, but quite entertaining French comic book about a theme park run by monsters. It’s not unlike the ‘Hotel Transylvania’ movies, but with a slightly more satirical adult theme. The art is functional rather than inspired, the story is slight, but the characters are fun and there are some decent gags along the way. I found myself liking it despite its many flaws.
The two main characters are Gretchen, a witch who works at the park, and Aaron, a young human who gets hired to work there after dying and being brought back as a vampire, or werewolf, or demon. I got lost really. The park is managed by an older vampire, and author Arthur du Pins, has some fun critiquing corporate structures and business practices. Mummies, werewolves and zombies work side by side, with the zombies very much at the bottom of the pecking order. They’re represented by a kind of trade union that aims to protect their rights. It’s not entirely clear if the visitors to the park know that it’s run by monsters or not, in fact a lot of what goes on obeys the kind of cartoon logic that is fine if you’re in the mood for it.
The setup lends itself well to humour. There are some decent jokes as the workers at the park tease newbie Aaron about their monstrousness. “Here’s the freezer where we keep the children’s bodies” jokes the Mummy, before leading him into the locker room. That kind of silliness abounds and it works well, glued together by the story of Aaron coming to terms with his transformation as he changes from human to something else. There’s also some back story about his estranged wife which adds to his humanity (even as he becomes less human) and makes him a likeable lead.
If you’re in the mood for something nonsensical but amusing, you might enjoy this. I won’t be rushing out to buy the later books in the series, but I did enjoy the time I spent in the company of Gretchen and co.

A quirky, graphic novel with a few twists and turns. I cannot wait for the next volume. The artwork is beautifully simplistic in style with pops of colour that really makes it stand out as a stylistic and unique story.

Zombillenium by Arthur de Pins is a free NetGalley e-comic book that I read in mid-May.

This is a world unknowingly populated by all manners of the supernatural with the Zombellenium of the title acknowledged as a popular amusement park where they can work and assume a role as, well, themselves while serving the humans that come and visit. It's laden with droll, work-depreciating humorous dialogue where Gretchen as a powerful transfiguring witch who can manipulate events around her, which comes in handy when she's tasked with hunting down a demon.

Zombillenium is a cute graphic novel. The art style is simple and fun. The story is cute, but not quite for me though.

Imagine Hotel Transylvania, but French. So rather than being presented as a lovable, family-run business with its own oddball ways which definitely shouldn't be regulated in any way, we're introduced to the undead-staffed Zombillenium theme park via the bickering between the boss (vampire, obviously) and the skeleton union rep. And rather than it being wacky but fundamentally welcoming, our point-of-view human (albeit not for very long) character gets thrown into working there by what could be seen either as the workings of an unmerciful fate, or just Kafkaesque labour laws. I'm normally a lot more selective about grabbing European comics in translation from Netgalley than I am the Anglosphere stuff, simply because I don't have the same worked-in forgiveness for the tics of the form, but I really enjoyed the last de Pins I read, about the frustrations of life as a crab, and this did not disappoint. He has a Kyle Baker-esque* style which manages to be at once larger-than-(un)life yet deeply, poignantly and hilariously recognisable, with a particular gift for the reaction face.

*I'm beginning to realise that I compare a lot of very different artists to Baker, always in a fashion which approves of him. And yet I've not seen anything from him in ages. I should really investigate what he's been up to.

What a fun read!!

Super creative and original, as a spooky gal myself I loved this whole thing. It was definitely new and fresh, and I feel like even if you aren't really into monsters and whatnot you'd still be able to get into this easily.

Would definitely be great as a show or movie too. Loved all the characters. Can't wait to see where this is going.

The illustrations were very appealing and well-drawn but the story is barely there, the characters weren't interesting, the concept felt very dated, the humour wasn't funny and overall the whole thing was much too light for my blood.

This is good fun!

 Zombillenium is a Halloween theme park, which happens to be staffed by real monsters. Gretchen, who is a witch, befriends Aurelian who is the newest 'employee' in the park. Aurelian has a hard time fitting in. He was killed after his attempted hold up was foiled by Gretchen. Running out into the road Aurelian was run over and killed, and he ends up being recruited to the park where he thinks he is in a nightmare.

Surprisingly enough Aurelian ends up being the new star attraction but this doesn't go down well with the zombie staff who see him as a threat to their jobs. 

The artwork is good but it is the actual story that had me laughing out loud. I was pleased to discover that this is actually a movie, although it is in French. I do hope they will produce an English version.
In any case until then, there are four volumes of the graphic novel version to enjoy. 

Good artwork, good humour and an all round entertaining story with good laughs.

Copy provided by Europe Comics via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Received via NetGalley for review.

A fun little comic that's exactly what you'd expect from the premise. Good art, well-colored and interesting characters.