An odd-feeling and strangely out-of-step read. Very dread-filled and lovely to read quickly in a day.

What I just read was very disturbing, but I still enjoyed it. I don't know what that says about me. The dark illustrations are perfect for conveying the mood of the book.

There are books that do things by the numbers, and then there are books like this.  The first panels are of a bloke smashing his wife to buggery with a sledgehammer, and ditching her down a well.  He rings his lover it's done, and returns to where he lives and works – which is, of course, an ostrich farm.  Oh, and there's his wife waiting for him.  This fact, the identity of his lover, and more, are all part of the what-the-fuckery going on here.  And it's all glorious.  A much-reduced palette shows cleverness and sustains the oddball mood of the whole piece, the characters' motivations are hit home almost with the same force as the sledgehammer, and it's a black delight – for those who like that kind of thing.  (And if you think language such as the above has no place in a review, at least it's warned you off the content of these pages.  All part of the service.)  I seldom give five stars, leaving them for fictions that show off our culture so well they might as well have gone to the stars on a Voyager Gold Disc, but I was tempted here – only the raised eyebrow of the final sting justified lowering it.  But not by much.

My thanks to Europe Comics for a digital edition via NetGalley of ‘Little Miss Cheery’ with script by Zidrou and art by Benoît Springer in exchange for an honest review. It was translated from the French by Edward Gauvin. 

This is a grim little tale with a supernatural twist. Pep is an ostrich farmer in a loveless marriage, whose mistress is his underage stepdaughter. One night he bashes his wife’s head in with a hammer and dumps her body down a well ... or does he? It’s an odd story, very bloody and bleak.

The art matches the dark tone of the story. The ostriches do offer a touch of dark humour to the horror. The text is followed by a sketchbook accompanied by the lyrics of a song from 1908: ‘She was Smiling’. 

While a bit too gruesome for my taste, I did find it a clever tale.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel because of its art style and entrenching plot. I would highly recommend this to fans of graphic novels and odd, interesting stories.

A very strange, intersting little piece. (Loosely?) Based off the song "Elle était souriante" (she was smiling), Pep kills his second wife so that he can be with her daughter, only to find her alive and smiling the next day.

While I wish the title had been translated a little differently (maybe "Still Smiling"?), and the ostriches played a little larger part, the whole thing is very effective, and I'll definitely remember it in years to come.

"Little Miss Cheery" is an interesting graphic novel. The art work is well done and the story was intriguing enough.

A pre-meditated murder goes horribly wrong again and again for an ostrich farmer and his stepdaughter, who learn the hard way that your sins will always come back to haunt you. Horrifying, disturbing, and chock full of ostrich facts, Little Miss Cheery is an oftentimes hard to digest dark parable in graphic novel form about murder, lust, revenge, and ostrich farming.

Story is the soul of the book.
It fixates the curiosity of the reader on the peculiarity of the happenings but still makes reader to believe that things can happen this way.
It is for grownups and not for kids.
It has violence, graphic content and explicit language.
Artwork is very good. It shows horror in the eyes of characters and even with use of few colours night is painted wonderfully.
Readers discretion is required to read it as few scenes are too gory.
Writing and story is the main quality of the work.
It creates suspense and horror in the mind of the reader.
Biology of Ostrich finds place in story prominently.
Thanks netgalley and publisher for review copy.

A supernatural country noir. 

I don't want to get too deep into the plot for fear of ruining it for potential readers. At the urging of his mistress who is also his step-daughter a hard-luck ostrich farmer decides to end his marriage by killing his wife. Things don't go as planned.

If the Coen Brothers (Blood Simple, Barton Fink, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs) decided to do a graphic novel take on The Twilight Zone or Tales from the Crypt it might be something along the lines of Little Miss Cheery. 

The art has a sort of stark rustic quality with very limited color that really adds to the atmosphere of the story. It's a short tale told in a basic no-frills style. I loved the battered paperback look of the cover. It really set the tone. From the first page it hits the ground running and leaves the reader going, "Whoa! What is going on here?" Not from confusion but from a sense of "I can't believe what just happened!" 

I really liked this a lot. I think Little Miss Cheery would be of particular interest to fans of Joe R. Lansdale's more supernatural or gleeful horror stuff (a bit milder than Joe's work but similar in tone).

It's not all that graphic in content considering the dark subject matter. All but the most sensitive readers should be okay.

***Thanks to NetGalley and Europe Comics for providing me with a free digital copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Super bizarre and dark.  I enjoyed it.  The illustrations had a very distinctive style, and the ending was unexpected.  I don't generally read graphic novels but I liked it.

Walking Dead vs Edgar Allen Poe. Crazy story of a woman who doesn't want to die with a deceiving daughter and a cheating husband.  Not quite a fan I'm afraid.

A rather creepy and gory story about a man who conspires with his step daughter to kill his wife (her mother), but his wife seems to be quite resilient in a rather scary way.

The graphic novel is drawn in dark colours which enhances the weirdness in the story. It is certainly interesting but not one of my favourites from this author.

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

The description matches the book. A disturbing story, albeit with art that’s believable. The story wasn’t for me, but the artist is talented.

I was expecting something more here. It wasn't as graphic or disturbing as I had hoped, and the twist to it never pushed into the absurdity that I feel could have elevated it. The story honestly ends kind of abruptly.

This is an amazing plot, nothing like anything I've seen. You should definitely check it out if you're one of those (like me) who love WTF books.