TW: language, death, gore

I wanted to love this but it was a too graphic/gory for me. The fall feeling was great.

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Netgalley. Trigger warning for sexual assault.)

Kat Somerville is a single mom with an axe to grind - literally and metaphorically. A self-destructive musician with a penchant for cheap alcohol (and even trashier guys), Kat's mom Trudy banished her from an idyllic childhood in Comfort Notch, New Hampshire - without so much as an explanation! - when she was just nine years old. Kate has spent the intervening two decades nursing a wicked - and seemingly well-deserved - grudge against Gertrude. So it comes as no small shock when Kat inherits the family home after Trudy's death.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/51496640626/

Having just bailed on a crappy landlord, and down to her last few bucks, Kat has little choice but to relocate her family to Comfort Notch, and a home she barely remembers. But there's something sinister lurking below this utopian New England facade: Missing children that no one dares mention. More than its share of mass tragedies (ugh, what a sentence to unpack). A cemetery full of empty graves. And an unhealthy preoccupation with lawn maintenance.

The more Kat digs, the closer she comes to unearthing the Somervilles' own role in Comfort Notch's misfortunes. But can she save her daughter Sybil from their shared fate?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/51497566565/

THE AUTUMNAL is a pleasing - if somewhat predicable - horror story. It's main strength/weakness is its heavy fall vibes; if the title didn't already scream "AUTUMN!" (and "TRICK OR TREAT!", "PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE!", "COZY SWEATERS!", and "BLACK CATS!"), the artwork sure as heck would. ("Strength/weakness" because fall would be my favorite season, but for the dreary winter depression that inevitably follows it. The real horror of THE AUTUMNAL is that winter is right around the corner.)

Which is to say it's just lovely and yet delivers lots of creepy goodness.

The storyline is a little less impressive - it's the kind of plot that's interesting enough to keep you going, but which you'll likely forget within a week. I was hoping for better from Kraus (THE SHAPE OF WATER, holla!), but, you know, it happens.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/51496861898/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/smiteme/51496861713/

Kat's an interesting enough character, the sort of scrappy underdog who you just love to root for. Ditto: Carol, who really deserved more page time. I don't especially love what the authors did with the legend of Clementine Biddle, but it does make for a rather satisfying, ecofeminist-eque ending.

Perfect for: readers who put their Halloween decorations up religiously on September 1st.

This is exactly the read I needed to get me in this mood for fall! This omnibus edition of Daniel Kraus' comic series "Autumnal" is a gorgeously drawn and seriously creepy treat for horror fans. The entire series is bathed in gold and orange, which drew me into its small town intrigue and spookiness. The story follows Kat Somerville, a down on her luck single mother mother. After the death of her estranged mother, Kat and her daughter return to Comfort Notch, NH, and uncover secrets the lie beneath the façade of the perfect autumn.

A fun and mysterious ride, with beautifully creepy art throughout, make this an early Halloween treat!

3.5/5

God, I really love the cover of this book. We follow Kat Somerville and her daughter, Sybil, as they return to Kat's hometown after inheriting her mother's old house and have to discover the secrets of the town of Comfort Notch. While the plot can read as predictable or cliche, I did not think that retracted from any of my enjoyment. I definitely think the plot and art style would appeal more to fans of 80s horror films, especially the slashers that took place in suburban settings. As a huge fan of those films and Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," I was obsessed with this and read through it completely caught up in the story. I would have liked more depth in the story or follow-up for a more satisfying close. My real gripe with the story was how little I ended up really caring for what happened to Kat or Sybil. The underlying creepiness of the town was a lot more interesting, but I would prefer to have more scenes with the two together. While it opened with a strong relationship between them, that dynamic just got lost by the end to focus more on learning about the lore of the town. Overall, I enjoyed reading the book, but I just think it could have been a lot more interesting and effective if we had more time to explore the mother-daughter relationship.

The cover was the sole reason why I decided to read this book. I was looking at new titles and this cover stopped me in my tracks. I had to go back and look at the cover again. It’s hauntingly beautiful. Well, I found the beauty in the horror. I was already sold on reading this and then I read the synopsis. It was just as mysterious as the cover.

This contains a weird tale and it intrigued me. It kept me interested all the way through. The layout of the tale was interesting. Some parts were very repetitive and the story wasn’t the greatest. What kept me reading was finding out more about the legend of Clementine. She was definitely the glue.

The story didn’t make me connect with Kat or Sybil. There was no emotional connection to them, so nothing was felt when things got fiery at the end. I felt more connection with the leaves. That is so weird to say. But if you read this, then you know.

Autumnal was an okay read. It was one where I was expecting the entire story to draw you in. I was only drawn into the legend. The horror filled art was the better of the art and that really takes away from a story.

Beware of the leaves. They can hear you.

The Autumnal is such a perfectly eerie read for an autumn release. This is a comic best read while sitting outdoors, wrapped in a blanket to ward off the chill in the air, with a mug of something hot near at hand--but not too near, so you don't spill it when a leaf skitters by and, because you're reading The Autumnal, that leaf scares you.

This is a comic for people who like when things get dark, for people who believe that small town life just can't be as rosy as it looks, for people who are ready to see their worst imaginings come to pass. The lovely, spooky art supports and enhances the script exactly as it should, evoking just the right shudders in just the right places. There were just a few places where I felt the writing stretched my willing suspension of disbelief to the point of breaking, but the pervasive creepiness helped me keep reading and enjoy most of the story anyway.

If you like horror comics, autumn leaves, and/or familial tragedy, this is a comic for you!

I received a free e-ARC of this title from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my review.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Independent Publishers Group, Vault Comics in exchange for an honest review.

It's rare for me to dislike a graphic novel but trust me when I say Autumnal truly blew me away. Focused on a single woman and her daughter, the story begins when she inherits a house from her mother and returns to her childhood home. Upon returning though, it quickly becomes apparent that something weird is happening with the leaves, and an old rhyme from her childhood might have more than a kernel of truth to it.

The atmosphere of this graphic novel is astounding. The art, the characters, the general story all come together in a wonderful way. There are strong Stephen King vibes here in terms of story and tone, but it also manages to be much more unique than that and bring an atmosphere all its own. The characterisation is so strong and this really helped drive the horror. I was so completely absorbed by the story, I read it all in one sitting and I know I will be thinking about this for a long while.

If you want a new creepy graphic novel for the spooky season, you can't go wrong here. It's perfect for getting you in the mood for Halloween, but also more generally is just a solid tale of horror. I would love to read more stuff like this and I can't wait to see what the artists/authors do next.

Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

This was an entertaining enough rural horror graphic novel, definitely reminiscent of 'Wytches' from a few years ago in some ways (more in plot/character than in art style). It's not the most surprising or unique take on stories like this, but the ending was dark enough to make it memorable.

I read this graphic novel a few days ago drawn to the cover art. I thought it would be a perfect story to hang out and freak out a bit. I was not wrong.
Autummal is a graphic novel with the typical elements of the genre: it has witches, an autumn setting, strange people, children singing creepy songs and a bloody legend in the background. In this regard it is a bit typical, but it works well, because the story is well structured and never decays.
The wonderful art, each painting is very well cared for, it has a beautiful color palette and the settings are incredible. In fact, it has an aesthetic very much in the style of folk horror, maintaining several of the elements that distinguish this type of plot.
The characters also move within the status quo. A single mother, a little girl who with her innocence can realize creepy things or a community with really shady customs.
I think the thing that stands out the most in the story is the ending. It a trope of the genre, but the way the action is executed, combined with the beautiful illustrations made it really impressive.
In general I am very satisfied with this story, because I think it has its own personality, it is coherent and it has a worthy closure. It's a perfect fall reading, I give it 4/5.

I absolutely loved this! This was so dark and vivid. It mixed so many of my favorite horror stories and language. The use of well known horror tropes but turning them on their head was absolutely brilliant. Also the use of women's especially mothers protectiveness and anger as a major plot devise spoke to me in the best way. This graphic novel is perfect for Halloween and I can not wait to get a physical copy so I can see the beautiful story and art in full page.

3.5 ⭐

Ok. Wow, alright. So... I have no idea what to think about The Autumnal. It was just such a weird story. A bit too nonsensical, but then again - is that really a bad thing?

This novel reminded me of the 90s horror movies. The ones that weren't worrying about clichés or looking cool. They went all in and we loved them for it.

I loved the art. It was a bit creepy, a bit unsettling. The colors were deep and dark, lots of oranges - very autumnal. Just perfect for this time of year.

And I really loved the contrast between the coziest, 'the most autumnal' little town and the horror element. People acting suspicious, weird deaths, children singing creepy rhymes – what’s there not to like? 😅

I can't say I was creeped out while I was reading it. But once I put it down, some scenes kept playing in my head - it was a bit disconcerting.

It also felt a bit as if the author got tired of us bloggers gushing about how much we love autumn. So he took the coziness and the nature and a small town and the warmth... And he smashed us in the head with it. Here, choke on the leaves. 😳 😂

And then that ending... I mean, sure, yeah - it was pretty ridiculous. But I still kind of liked it overall.

I gave this book 4 stars, but even now I can't really make up my mind how it should be rated. Can I honestly say it was the same quality as other books I rated 4 stars? I don't think I can.

At the same time, I really did enjoy it, probably because its weird was my kind of weird. But to whom should I recommend it now?

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Autumnal by Daniel Kraus in exchange for an honest review.

Story:
Kat Somerville’s life isn’t easy. She has been estranged from her mother Trudy for years. She’s in an abusive relationship. She is almost broke. Her precocious seven year old daughter Sybil has trouble controlling her aggression at school. So when she gets news that Trudy has passed away all of a sudden and left her house to her daughter, Kat decides to relocate to her old hometown of Comfort Notch, “Home of America’s Prettiest Autumn.” But the leaves in the town seem to behaving strangely and the townspeople, even stranger. Soon Kat finds that under the pretty picture, there’s a dark murky truth and with each subsequent day, she’s is embedding herself further and further into a quagmire of unforeseen depth. Will she be able to make it out safely along with Sybil?

If you haven’t heard of author Daniel Kraus, you should know that he co-authored “The Shape of Water’ and ‘Trollhunters’ along with Guillermo Del Toro. So I knew I would be getting something dark and twisty in this story. And to a great extent, it is a satisfying experience. I especially loved the underlying mother-child theme that comes out through various relationships in this series. While all the mothers loved their children, their actions were quite disparate. The entire plot rests on these multifarious actions of the mothers in this story.

Each of the eight ‘chapters’ as they are called in this collection delivers to a different extent. So I’ll rate them individually and then average it out. (Gotta love it when Maths comes to the rescue of confused reviewers!)

Chapter One: 4.5 stars
A great build-up and a mind-blowing ending. Love the way the back story gives a glimpse of Kat’s personality without going overboard.

Chapter Two: 3 stars
A bit disappointing after the great first part. Nothing scary or spooky happens. Just more suspenseful intrigue about Trudy’s house that Kat and Sybil have now shifted into. The spooky leaves make their first proper appearance here.

Chapter Three: 4.25 stars
The plot thickens! This has some great moments and gets the story back on its spooky track. Clementine Biddle looks like an interesting character. In spite of my great rating, this is the chapter where I realised that Autumnal is no match to the ‘Sandman’ series but just a regular horror comic.

Chapter Four: 4 stars
Slow and steady. Backstory explained. Now we know who Clementine Biddle is and why she does what she does. But there are still some things unexplained. Especially the leaves. Aaargh, the freaky leaves!?!??!?!

Chapter Five: 3.5 stars
One of the most vibrant covers so far in the series and yet the weakest in terms of plot. Interesting with a few twists thrown in but not much happening, which is a big no-no at this point in the plot. I am DISAPPOINTED!

Chapter Six: 4.5 stars
One of the best endings of all the books so far. The next volume promises a lot. I don’t know how people who read this part by part had the patience to wait after this issue!

Chapter Seven: 4.25 stars
Yet another creepy ending! OMG, that ending! A lot of things become clear after this chapter and yet, there are many things yet to be resolved.

Chapter Eight: 4 stars
The grand finale! I am not sure how much I am satisfied with the resolution. (If I can call it that!) There are some things that I saw coming, and they came exactly as expected. There are some things that were unexpected and shocked me to my core. (Cant reveal more without spoilers! And I hate giving away spoilers.) But yes, there is a resolution, though not much of an explanation. Just to let you know, I always prefer explanations in horror, otherwise I can’t sleep! So that dips the rating a bit, though the conclusion is horrifyingly good.

Basically, I am pretty satisfied with this collection, though there were a couple of dull moments and some unresolved minor arcs. I can see why a couple of the individual comics might be disappointing but if you read them all together in this combined issue, the experience is enjoyable. Using maths to average out my rating, I arrive at a straightforward 4 stars.

Thank you to Independent Publishers Group, Vault Comics and NetGalley for the ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Wanted to like this story, but I didn't. From the beginning there's an air of mystery that over time just turns into utter delusion of ignorance. I typically try to write spoiler free reviews, but sometimes it doesn't work out that way.

SPOILER WARNING
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Circle plot storytelling is one of my biggest pet peeves. There are a few exceptions to that, but this is not one of them. I truly wish more foreshadowing of "You'll meet your fears on the path you take to avoid them" to be present. But that is a personal preference, others might have found that to be too "typical".

So many meaningless and unnecessary deaths to build this image of shock and horror, but most of it doesn't make sense. Why stay through all that was learned? There is literally no reason for it.

The idea that these character's lives were total throw aways, really grinds my gears. But I also understand, that is my point of view and my reading experience. I'm typically "on the fence" about horror themed stories and don't enjoy the same experiences or plots as others that might.

I felt this story lacked drive, motivation, and the characters lacked depth. They simply existed to follow the events, with little reason to why.

The art style, coloring, line work, was phenomenal. It is the main reason I requested reading this.

**Thank you to Vault Comics and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

Adult woman has her mother die on her, but it's no big deal – just one more beat in a bad life. Adult woman packs daughter and herself off to her childhood town to see mother into the grave, but this little village is nowhere near as hospitable as it would appear to be. There are far too many rakes and their users all over the place, the neighbours are happy to drop the C-bomb about the deceased, and lots of suggestions imply the pair better leave town before the autumnal equinox. For when the leaves fall here and things start to get dark, they start to get dark...

Actually, I'm not sure this book deserves such a dramatic summary. It's not like we see much that is exactly original on these pages. Yes, it's readable, but the whole thing is just another evocation of small town hoodoo, where the local mystical nasty-person-in-the-woods turns out to be true. It might want to be about more – about how we struggle with leaving a place to move on, or how we look back at our peril – but with characters this thin that ain't gonna really work. Mother is a spunky woman who you can't exactly love, and the girl is the usual pretty agency-free girl. Full credit where it's due for getting a bit of gore into things (and is that really an erect penis???) but it's a pretty mundane rural horror, when all's said and done.

Following the death of her mother, Kat Sommerville and her daughter Sybil move to Comfort Notch, New Hampshire, a quiet town where they try to start once again, far from the big city. The neighbours, however, do not seem to be eager to welcome them into the community. And something is lurking in the trees…
When reading The Autumnal, it is very difficult not to compare it to Scott Snyder and Jock’s Wytches, published by Image Comics. Creepy town, hints of folk-horror, two droplets of gore and a hint of the unnatural… The stories are not alike, but the feeling stays throughout the entire experience. I do not usually like to compare comic books when reviewing, but in this case, I found it nearly impossible, so I preferred to get it out of the way at the beginning and concentrate in what Vault has brought to us readers:
And it has brought a really interesting and entangling story, full of horror and suspense (Daniel Kraus is really good at maintaining tension), where the simple rattling of a leaf can make you shudder and you are looking for double meanings in the most sympathetic “hello”. It kind of drags towards the middle, the conversations tend to go full circle but never really reach a solution, but again, the suspense is enough to catch you until it all explodes in the end. And then… it seems kind of rushed, like the whole story was made for more than the original eight issues and they suddenly realized they needed to wrap it all as soon as possible. That does not mean the ending is bad, not at all; I really enjoyed it, and I am of the opinion that Chris Shehan’s art and Jason Wordie’s colouring, vibrant and just perfect for the tone, reach their highest artistic point particularly in some scenes of this ending.
To sum up, I think it is an amazing addition to the continuously growing horror catalogue of Vault and will be enjoyed by people who look for something similar to The Plot, the aforementioned Wytches and / or blood-stained folk horror in general.

(Goodreads, check the number of pages. 33 pages?)

I really like how this volume presents the story. The artstyle, art sequence and the dialogues are easy to the eyes. I just love the extra colour combinations in some panels towards the end. It's almost magical.

Regarding the plot and the characters, it comes out as quite intense.

I am still not sure about the plot as the story just started. The first volume focuses on the character introduction I feel.

Looking forward to read the next 7 volumes.

Thank you, author/artist and the publisher, for the advance reading copy.

ARC received in exchange for honest review at www.netgalley.com)

Daniel Kraus' 'The Autumnal' is urban horror in graphic novel form. It's also fantastic, though that's hardly a surprise - after all, Kraus co-authored 'The Shape of Water' with Guillermo del Toro, and is probably best known for his own 'The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch' duology. 'The Autumnal' finds us along for the ride with Kat and her daughter, Sybil. Kat’s a single mom with questionable coping skills, and her daughter doesn’t fare much better, her suspension from school an ever-looming threat. When Kat learns that her estranged mother has passed away, and somebody has left her house to her, mother and child move over to Comfort Notch, New Hampshire, to begin again. While Comfort Notch is wealthy and beautiful, Kat can’t quite shake the feeling that something isn’t quite right. Just what is everybody’s problem with the leaves, and why are memories Kat had forgotten she even had suddenly awake once more to torture her?

Kraus’ artist, Chris Shehan, has a remarkable talent for weaving psychological horror into his work, supported by the exquisite colour work of Jason Wordie. I can only describe their art as watercolour-esque, relying heavily on deep blacks, blues and browns to give his scenes an uncomfortable weight. However, they diverge when depicting Comfort Notch itself, its palette instead a mix of deep oranges, soft pinks and vivid blues that breath life into the town. It’s this ability to create a disparate tone between panels that establishes Comfort Notch as distinctly eerie from the outset; where the darkness of Kat’s world parallels her fears and uncertainties, Comfort Notch shines just a little too bright. Furthermore, Kraus’ writing compliments this beautifully, his dialogue visceral, raw, and unafraid of drawing attention to Kat’s helplessness; in fact, he wields his words like weapons, lenses through which the reader may vicariously experience Kat’s suffering. As a result, the narrative never slows, twisting and turning and alluringly unpredictable - indeed, until the final chapter, I truly wasn’t sure if the mysterious happenings were real, the actions of a cult or entirely imagined. ‘The Autumnal's’ preservation of suspense makes for a thrilling read, and its pace holds tight throughout, moving quickly enough to keep the reader engaged but never so fast that meaning and detail blur.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed my time with ‘The Autumnal’, a few very minor issues stood out to me, however subjective they may be. The team’s art mirrors Kraus’ dialogue, brutal and unforgiving, and for some that could be an issue - we’ve got bloody depictions of murder here, and the implied feeding of a baby to animals. These weren’t sticking points for me, but if you’re not blessed with a strong stomach, be wary. What irked me ever-so-slightly was perhaps something that shouldn’t have; namely, the depictions of sex. That’s not to say it felt out of place, because it didn’t - the act made perfect sense when tied to Kat’s inner turmoil and ostracism from the rest of the Comfort Notch community. That said, their decision to include a detailed illustration of semen dripping down Kat’s leg just felt tonally inconsistent. Though Kraus later calls back to this panel in a manner that makes it somewhat relevant, it read as gratuitous and tacky. It added little in the way of meaning and felt off-kilter with the themes he explores here, which just makes me wonder who exactly it was there for. At any rate, I suspect most readers won’t even notice it, so perhaps I’m just being overly prudish.

To summarise, ‘The Autumnal’ is a fantastic graphic novel, packed with chills and a surprisingly amount of emotion. Only minor issues hold me back from giving this a perfect five stars, and I’m perfectly willing to admit that some of those issues really won’t apply to everybody. I highly recommend ‘The Autumnal’ to both Graphic Novel fans and Horror fans alike. The change in usual medium only allows the reader a greater window into a world both evocative and thought provoking, and it’s really only in the finale that you realise the overriding theme was never horror at all, but the bonds of motherhood and love. Kraus, Shehan and Wordie deserve the 4½ stars I’m unable to give on Goodreads, so do them a favour and add this one to your library, especially if you’re in the market for a fresh psychological horror, with added heart.

Elements of darkness grow in this narrative, and the imagery is evocative. The tension builds nicely through the words and images -- ideal for fans of this genre and medium.

Triggers: ableist language, blood/gore, cult, death, drugs, homelessness, sex

“May the leaves always fall on the right side of the fence.”

I absolutely loved the art style of this graphic novel. The horror aspect definitely came to life through the drawings, but the artist also created an interesting contrast between beauty and revulsion. In this graphic novel, we follow Kat Somerville returning to Comfort Notch - the town she grew up in. Together with her seven-year-old daughter Sybil, she soon realizes that the town might be hiding a terrible secret.

Kat was a hard character to bond with. I am sure she is meant to be a morally grey character, however, I prefer to be able to connect to the main character as much as possible. That being said, I did enjoy the atmosphere of the book and I did like the story. I still have the song stuck in my head, which I thought was a great addition to the plot.

The narrative was great, I just wish the ending was longer (I don’t think I ever said that about a book before, usually, I am very much pro short endings). The conclusion was very sudden and I was a little confused when I turned the last page. I feel like there could have been an extra chapter between her final decision and the claim (trying to be cryptic so that I don’t spoil anything) to really round up the tale.

**Thank you Vault Comics and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

TW: Blood & Gore

Thank you NetGally and Vault Comics for letting me review this book .

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Stupid of me to think that this isn't horror skjfksjfsjf (didn't read the synopsis when I requested this one on NetGally).

Anyway, this wass definitely good in my opinion. It was very compelling and engrossing to me. The story telling was really good. I didn't expect the events to turned out like that.

I liked how the story kept the bizarre feels, from the start up to the very end of it. As for the ending, I just thougt it was a little bit rushed for my liking. I would have liked it to be more longer and much more detailed in graphic.

Overall, this was a good read. Highly recommend this for Halloween reads.