Post-apocalypse stories seem to be more popular than ever these days, guess the pandemic has got people wanting stories about the world being pretty much destroyed for lighter reading than what we're seeing in the news right now. Luckily for readers Creatures doesn't feature a killer virus or anything as grim as that, just dark otherworldly forces seeking our destruction. Much nicer really!

The story begins after the end of the world we know, where a bunch of children seem to be some of the only survivors in the ruins of New York City. We soon discover that this is because something terrible has happened to all of the adults, forcing the children to have to fend for themselves as their parents turn against them.

We open in a small apartment that's home to Vanilla, a young girl, and her brother Peanut, along with their mother, who's being kept in a hazy and unresponsive state with sleeping pills. Whilst Peanut stays at home looking after their mother Vanilla ventures out into the city armed with a shotgun, looking for supplies. On her way back to the apartment, loaded up with canned goods, she's spotted by a pair of kids, Chief and Emma, who's sometimes called Dirt Face.

The pair track Vanilla back to her apartment and watch from outside as she and her brother argue about what to do with their mother. As the duo plot a way to get in and steal the supplies a storm begins to roll in, which causes Vanilla and Peanut to run for the roof where they seek shelter inside a storage unit. Unfortunately, Peanut sneaks away and returns to the apartment where he finds the other kids stealing their stuff. Before they're able to explain away their presence there though the door is thrown open and a crowd of adults make their way inside, acting like zombies. Not only that, but they're joined by this black, tentacle covered creature, one that seems to be controlling them, and wants the children.

Creatures is a pretty spooky first volume, one that sets up this new world nicely, without really giving much away. We learn pretty quickly that something bad has happened, and that the adults have been taken over by some kind of strange mist; but we don't get told why. It leaves enough mystery that you want to learn more, but gives you just enough information to make sure that you don't get too confused or lost.

Much of the issue seems to be setting pieces in place for further volumes. It introduces the reader to the world and the main characters, and gets these characters into an uneasy alliance establishing relationships that can evolve further in the future. It also gives us a few interesting glimpses at some of the creatures to come, and hints at much bigger and scarier things. There's the mind controlled adults, the strange tentacle man, a creature that seems to be some sort of horrific spider that catches children in a cage, and Peanut dreams of some huge, dark, skeletal figure hidden in the mists. It's creepy, and disturbing stuff, and draws upon some very nightmarish ideas and themes.

The final page of the book perhaps gives the biggest insight into the horrors to come as the thing behind this apocalypse is named; Yog-Sothoth. Yep, this book is diving into the Lovecraftian horror. I was already interested in this book come the end, but as soon as this name got dropped, and you're just able to make out some giant, tentacled horror hidden in the storms that surround the ruins of the city it definitely grabbed my attention. Whether you're well versed in the Lovecraft gods or not, just the very notion that they exist here and are playing a part in these horrors is a hell of a tease to end things on.

Overall I had a lot of fun with this book, the characters weren't hugely developed, but still get pretty clear personalities laid out, and I expect they will get more time to evolve over time in future volumes. There's a big sense of mystery, and wanting to find out answers that will also have me returning for more later on. And the art, provided by Djief, is really pretty. It has an almost cartoon-like quality, yet remains grounded enough that it never feels completely too unreal, and it makes the moments of horror stand out all the more.

I'll certainly be picking up the second volume as soon as it's available.

Story about kids stuck in an apocalypse city where adults can’t be trusted and extraterrestrial beings have taken over. Liked the concept and the art style was great. Struggled with the character connection as felt thrown into the story. Does make me curious as for the next step in the story.

An awesome take on a post-human world! Love the idea of a slightly aquatic hybrid villain figure within the story line. However, I would like to have seen more background as to how Earth got like this!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC and here is my honest review.

This was a cool science fiction, Walking Dead/ Stephen King graphic novel. The artwork was great, and I am digging the characters and the story this far. I thought it was a great introduction to this world leaving me with a ton of unanswered questions that can hopefully be answered in the future. Can’t wait for the next one.

If you like the Last kids on Earth book series, you'll love this Walking Dead Comic meets Stephen Kings The Mist meets Micheal Grant's Gone mashup graphic novel.

The world has fallen under a supernatural fog, where creatures are hunting kids, and the adults have become slaves to monsters; Peanut & Vanilla are forced to join a small group of kids to survive and perhaps find out how to save the world.

The art style is fantastic, and I will die for Peanut! This shows a compelling story about how kids will grow up fast and lose their childhood to survive the horrors of life (a metaphor for childhood trauma), and this storyline has such potential, and I am hungry for more!

While the art style is nice, the story was not there. There was no introduction to the characters or the world, so it was just confusing most of the time, and since we don't know anything about the characters, it was hard to care about what happens to them. There was no flow in the plot, we knew who the bad guys were, but don't know how they became like that and what happens if the bad guys "win". It really felt like the plot is just standing at one place and didn't advance further. The basic idea is great don't get me wrong, but the lack of foundation in the story makes it boring and confusing.

Review to come Feb 26th to blog/goodreads.

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

*sighs*And I thought American GN/Comics were bad in not showing anything and just dumping you right into a story... this one does the same thing. For most of the book I just had no clue what was going on. What happened in this city? Why are the adults this but not all of them? Why are some of them slobbering messes? What is that tentacle thing and why is it so invested in Peanut and Vanilla? What is Peanut? How did he get his powers? Why do most of these kids suck? Where are the other kids? Given that adults get it there should be many more kids around, right? What is the mist? I could probably go on for a while on my questions. This book seriously felt like a 2nd or even 4th book in a series. I definitely hate it when we are just dumped into a world without any bit of backstory. Because really? At this point I don't even want to go into the next book.

In this book we follow two groups. Vanilla and her brother Peanut as they try to make it by each day along with their drugged up mom (for safety because we later clearly see what happens when adults go conscious, aka not a good idea). We see how Vanilla tries to keep her family alive, safe, and happy. Though Peanut, who btw I loved that he was an albino which we very rarely see in books, was just ungrateful and annoying. I guess he misses his mom, but seriously, he did some shitty things that brought everyone in grave danger. :| I loved Vanilla though, loved how kick-ass she was, and how she did everything for her family.
Next up is another group featuring 4 teens/kids. Not sure about their names, I wasn't a fan of any of them. Two of them didn't care that Vanilla was also surviving and just went and robbed her and broke into her home. Two others (brothers) were also obnoxious and I hated what they did to Vanilla in the end. Wow, I get that you are all hungry, but that is just a shitty move. No fucking thank you.

While it was quite exciting at times (creepy Cthulhu monster, zombies, and more) , and while I loved the art (character designs are great, especially Vanilla is awesome), it was just all the confusing, again, it felt like a much later book in a series. Which is a shame. If we had just a bit more backstory I would have loved this way more.

Thanks to NetGallery and the publisher for giving this title for an honest review.

Actual rating 3.5 stars


After an event called ‘the big night’ happened, the world is seemingly covered by a strange green fog in the sky, most adults are zombie like, seemingly controlled by a strange entity, while the remaining kids are taking refuge and fighting to survive.

In this first issue we follow the perspectives of 2 groups of kids who cross paths, presumably they will be joining together for further issues but of course here we have some tension and distrust. Stand out characters for me are Vanilla, a young teen girl taking care of her brother who seems to have a special power, Emma - a tomboyish redhead, and Mole, the brains of the group who believes a crazy old man is the best hope for the world.

There is enough here that has put some hooks in me, I want to know what the big night was, what happened to the world and what the motives of the creature(s?) are. The art is really nice especially the long shots of the fog over the city, and Emma is my favourite of the character designs. One thing that confused me is ‘Peanut’, the young boy, seems to have a special power that doesn’t seem to shock anyone - so I am unsure if having powers is not unusual in this world or if this was just kind of glazed over in the writing.

I wouldn’t say there is anything amazingly original here, but that doesn’t mean something can’t be good - this series will live and die by the story going forward but this is a descent opening issue that I would recommend and see if you take to it.

This is an adorable comic book with a heartwarming story. The illustrations are detailed and colorful, telling the story of the brief text.

Thank you to Betbeder; Djief, NetGalley, and Europe Comics for the ARC of this book.

Is an excellent graphic novel for science fiction lovers. You will feel transported to a reality that could be not so far away where the machines are the ones that dominate!

CREATURES: 4 stars

CREATURES is an odd duck of a graphic novel that is completely delightful. From off the bat, we are in an apocalyptic world with some ‘maybe’ zombies controlled by a creature. We soon meet Vanilla, a young Black girl who takes care of her baby brother, Peanut, and their mother. Unbeknownst to them, they are being stalked for the food in their apartment by two kids. Some stuff happens and it leads to Vanilla and Peanut needing to stay at a warehouse with a kid gang, where they try to stay alive.

It kept me interested and the art is cool, never mind the fact that there is a young Black girl lead with an albino brother.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Our tale opens with a child trying to sleep in a room with drawings of a monster. The child wakes as a girl closed a window before going downstairs to sleep in the girl's lap. There's almost a voodoo-like quality to the setting, holding evil spirits at bay.

The images soar over a ruined city that soon appears to be a post-apocalyptic New York. Cue the ubiquitous imagery of the statue of liberty with ruined skyscrapers in the background.

The world-building begins with two robberies. Armed with a shotgun, a girl pushes a trolley filled with food home. Two kids, one named chief, follow and plan to rob her. A boy named mole is trapped whilst trying to steal a book. Through these tales, we learn about the fog, which turns people who breath is into zombies. Dark Predator lookalikes are the zombie's masters.

The story engages us with beautiful artwork and colouring. It was an enjoyable read. Unfortunately, it ended too soon. The world-building had barely finished when the graphic novel ends, leaving more questions than are answered. The PDF was 82 pages, only around 70 is the actual story. If the GN were double the length, there would be enough time to get involved with the story. I did not feel I finished a novel, more an unfinished beginning. It's undoubtedly a fascinating world I'd love to learn more about. If the GN's continue till the first story arch finished, this could be amazing.

Very cute and colourful illustrations, but not something I'm quite in the mood for right now so I'm setting it aside for the time being. I'll definitely return to this at a later date, however, so it's not a DNF. Just a, 'not for now'.

Thanks to Netgalley for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review. :)

This story is about a bunch of very resourceful children trying to survive a post-apocalyptic world where something had turned the adults into zombies, strangely sparing the children.

The main strength of this graphic novel is the art. It's very well done. And the palette of colors really suited the general atmosphere and 'there is something so wrong here' vibes perfectly :D.

But I wasn't convinced by the story. I found it really confusing at best and not very original at worst. To be honest, the themes of zombies and post-apocalypse have been thoroughly and abundantly explored already and this work, in my humble opinion, is not standing out (even though it has qualities). Maybe it is just me being fed up with zombies ^^'. Looking at the cover, I really thought it will be something else.

I could recommend it to unconditional zombies lovers though ^^.

Volume 1 is off to a good start although it was rather short. Earth has changed and is crumbling. Adults exist as zombies, held under the thrall of a creature. In the apocalyptic New York a group of children are trying to survive. It does look as if it will be a gripping series and the artwork is good.

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

I think it is a good first book for a comic series, the world building was amazing and I really liked the art style. It is placed in an interesting zombie outbreak which have only affected the adults, so we will follow in the next books a 5-6 member gang of children with superpowers who trying to survive together. I really liked it, when the next books will be available I'll definitely read them.

I really wanted to love Creatures - it's something that is typically right in my zone with the creepy post-apocalyptic vibes, I really wanted this to deliver... but it was a pretty big let down.

Creatures is a post-apocalyptic story where it seems adults have turned into some sort of zombie? Yet it's never explained and super unclear on what's happening and why it is happening. Whatever is happening to the adults seems to not touch children which is even more confusing.

The characters are interesting enough, though more background would have been nice. There is a creature that appears at the end that is never explained or anything - but feels like it's supposed to be a big baddie reveal that just left me confused/wanting to know more.

I really liked this. I think it was a good introduction to this post apocalyptic New York City and am intrigued enough to find out more about why/what exactly happened to the adults and what the heck the tentacled monster is, though I’m guessing by the name given at the end it must be a cosmic horror-HP Lovecraft themed graphic novel. The art was well done as well.

**thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC I received**

I loved the art and the premise. Initially, the story sucked me in but the further I went the more confusing it became. All adults turned into zombies, only kids seem unaffected. One of the kids has interesting superpowers that can change things. The story lacks resolution.

I was given a copy of this for an honest review.

Really enjoyable graphic novel. The artwork is fantastic and compliments the story perfectly. The story itself is set in a strange post apocalyptic world, where there are zombies and horrors galore, waiting to take on the children, such as Mole and the others, who are trying to survive through tricks and bravery and barter systems.

If you're looking for a quick, entertaining story, full of jeopardy and adventure, then this is the story for you.