Quirky, sweet, and a little bit spooky, Twistwood Tales offers a series of loosely connected short comics set in a funky little forest. Like any sort of short story collection, I liked some of the comics more than others. But, overall, these stories were funny in sometimes surprising ways and I found myself getting excited to see some of the recurring characters pop back up. A great read for when you want something light while camping in the summer or want something not quite scary for the Halloween season.

This book contains many short tales from a medieval doctor and his medieval ways in a not so medieval time.... A scarecrow who loves birds... A ghost who's scared to scare... and many more. These beautifully illustrated tales are so perfectly intertwined together. This book is a must read for all ages.

Twistwood tales is a collection of short little comics about a bunch of characters who inhabit the woods. There's not much here and it can even be hard to undertand where some comics start and end because they are not all just one page but there's also not really a story to follow. The humor is dark and relies a lot on puns, which unfortunately does not typically work for me. I know a lot of people really enjoyed this and the characters have their charm so if you enjoy the type of humor I described I would recommend you to pick this up and give it a go regardless of my opinion.

A sparkling series of vignettes taking place in a fantastical forest and populated by magnificent little beings and creatures, and also some very large ones. Dark, yet whimsical, and deeply moving. This was a book that left me feeling fantastically warm when I finished it. I hope I can get my hands on a physical copy soon. I've already recommended it to several people. What an utter delight, and the art is simply lovely!

This was such a quick, cute read. I loved the artwork and color grading. All the characters were absolutely adorable. While the humor might be a little dark for a younger audience, I think the author handled delicate themes very skillfully.

There’s a man dressed in black wearing a Plague mask. He looks up, his expression inscrutable as a troll is brought before him with a broken leg. He sighs, and picks up a saw proclaiming that it’s time to amputate. Or is the mask not a mask at all, but simply the head of Dr. Crowley? It’s difficult to tell, and he might do more harm than good, but he claims he’s doing his best. It’s hard to argue with the man filling the full body cast full of leeches… and there don’t seem to be other options for doctors when one is living in Twistwood.

This is just one of many scenes in Twistwood Tales, the new comic collection from the mind of AC MacDonald and published by Andrews McMeel Publishing. MacDonald claims the tales are culled from his own imagination as he wanders around the great forests of his home in Scotland, and it is easy to see its inspiration. The forests of Twistwood are dense, and the tales are rife with both pathos and dark humor. Where the story could end up edging into cruelty, though, MacDonald pulls back - instead favoring the optimistic notion that everyone has their own intrinsic worth and we are best when we all rely on one another.

The stand-out of the collection is undoubtedly Bucket Boy, a young, overly-eager boy with the head of a bucket who can’t hold water due to the eyeholes. Early on in the collection he gains the ingenious addition of goggles, which allow him to carry water, only to lose them in an accident. He tries to make himself useful in other ways and to remain optimistic in spite of the loss of what he feels is his purpose in life. Between this overarching narrative are individual strips. Some contain characters you might expect - Mr. Wolf and Red Riding Hood, the witch in the forest, trolls, and ghosts. Others are more unexpected, such as the Fairy Gourd-Mother, or the ever-present threat of the Snolems - a creature with a snowman head and long spindly branches like the legs of a spider.

All of these characters come together in an array of fun and twisted fairytales. The knights are relieved when they get the eggman up the wall, certain he’ll fall, only to witness Robber Ducks arriving in a balloon to whisk him away to safety. The subverting of expectation is part of the joy of these comic strips. The Wolf, when asked about Little Red, gets a wistful expression on his face. We’re told later only she could break his curse, and indeed promised to… yet he is still a wolf. There’s plenty of space to pause on that melancholy moment between the laughs and smiles.

MacDonald taps into the charm of fairy tales, which resonate with readers in spite of the absurdity of many of their premises, and utilizes it to great effect in Twistwood Tales. Bucket Boy is, at his heart, a very silly character. A little bucket who can’t hold water – what good might he be? Yet we care about him and want him to succeed. There’s something very human about these characters, and that leaves the reader aspiring for more. AC MacDonald is a creator to watch, and I eagerly await his next offering.

I loved the art of this book! I think was was a fun take on fairytales and folk tales - many that I recognized and some that I didn't. Some stories fell a bit flat for me, but I overall thought this was a fun and engaging comic.

This book incorporates all of the punny and adorable stories and rhymes of The Brothers Grimm and other nursery rhymes and stories in a new perspective. Utterly adorable and an easy and accessible read for everyone!

I'm genuinely asking my library to buy a copy of this book on Monday. I loved it. The characters were adorable and illustrated so beautifully. I loved the short comical, and often creepy, stories and the tiny little treasure hunt at the end was so nice to finish on.
I love Bucket boy and stone girl and think I may have a weird crush on the plague doctor. In any case this book can be read by both kids and adults and there isn't anything graphic or offputting.
Excellent graphic novel.

Seemingly light and just fun, this adorable graphic novel also tackles deep topics in a funny manner. Very witty, engaging illustrations and many important lessons make this a must read for all lovers of graphic novels or not, but especially if you love sarcasm.

I've been following Twistwood Tales on Instagram for a few years now, so I was very excited to see they finally got a book deal! My favorite character is Loghead, followed by the doctor. These short comics are very amusing, and I think will appeal to many.

This is so cute!!! I saw a comic strip on Instagram (ft. the Doc) and that made me get a copy of the book! The colour palette is so soft and very autumn-y, the characters are so adorable, and I also love the cute yet dark word plays and twists here! Oughhhh I love the doc, bucket boy, potato sam and dauphinie (i google translated their strip, and it's both so cute and funny), and the log guy!

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC

I really love the illustrations in this. I am always down for some Halloween inspired books and graphic novels. I loved the humor in every story, even if some of them were a bit on the dark side. Most of them though were sweet little stories that show how a little kindness can make someone else's day. My favorite character was the doctor as he had really funny interactions and literally was just trying his best.

I doubt I'll see a bigger surprise all year than the rash of five star reviews for this – I thought it was tripe. Unattractive, and while it succeeds in spinning four-panel funnies into a world of fairytale and oddball characters, with at least initially an emphasis on punning interpretations of common sayings (throwing the baby out with the bathwater, a balanced diet etc), I didn't laugh once, and ditched it way before the end.

This is such a fun comic! The pictures and characters are unique and colorful. I enjoyed the figurative language and word play that the characters used to create humorous moments. The author was creative using literal meanings of usually figurative ones to create unsuspecting moments for the reader, while also providing deeper themes and lessons. I believe any age will appreciate Twistwood Tales whimsical stories and characters and find it hard to put down!

ARC was given by NetGalley & Andrews McMeel Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

This review is being published before the release date (April 04, 2023)

Content/Trigger Warnings: Depiction & themes of mental illness, brief scenes of loss of a loved one, scenes of bullying (always challenged)

"The world may seem a scary place, with darkness all around, but darkness cannot stop the light of kindness, I have found."



Friends, this was such a delightfully fun time! When I tell you I loved each and every character in this graphic novel, I mean it with my whole chest. Not to mention, if you're a lover of Over the Garden Wall, you're going to enjoy this arts tyle so much. When I first saw the cover, it instantly made me think of Over the Garden Wall and I knew I had to read this.

Just like the Over the Garden Wall series, this book has many characters you'll come to enjoy, fall in love with, feel their struggles and hardships, but also tackle topics of mental health in a unique way. Even some of the bullies become likeable as they change and find healthy, creative outlets. It was such an interesting take on some familiar fairytales and just some interesting characters in general. I think some of my favorites have to be Little Red and Mister Wolf, and of course I have to mention the wholesome Bucket Boy. There's too many lovely characters, but I loved them all dearly and their journeys, their stories.

Overall, I truly loved this graphic novel with everything in my whole chest. I don't want to say too much, but know that there's humor, some sad times, and there's many good moments that will warm your heart. I think this is probably one of my favorite graphic novels I've read so far for 2023. Again, the art style makes me think of Over the Garden Wall and if you enjoyed that, I think you'll have a wonderful time reading this graphic novel. To all of those out there who like reading graphic novels that surround mental health, I definitely recommend giving this graphic novel a chance!

The quotes above were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

Twistwood Tales was enchanting! I appreciated the way the characters were portrayed in their roles in each comic panel. I kept wanting more of the paneled stories when I finished. Sometimes you wonder what it would be like to take the place of one of the characters, like Bucket Boy or Doc or Strawberry Soo in her 3-rd person talk.
This book reminds those with morals to never forget them. To read Twistwood Tales is somewhat a brush-up on what many people deal with everyday and how others can approach the situations.
I really enjoyed this book and read it several more times and each time I found another thing to think about!

Read this side by side with my child and we both really enjoyed it, can’t wait to find a copy for ourselves

Twistwood Tales is abso-freaking-lutely adorable. It's cozy. It's cottagecore. It's pure autumnal vibes. These tiny stories present the lives of the large cast of characters who inhabit the twistedly enchanted forest. These slice-of-magical-life snippets are cute and heartwarming on their own, but together, they weave a poignant tale of self-acceptance. In other words, these little comics—most of them just four panels⁠—could stand alone individually, but MacDonald introduces us to the various characters and helps us celebrate their triumphs in such a way that this book is more than the sum of its parts.

PS - I don't know how I missed it originally, but there's a hidden-picture game at the end! 😱😍 It lists what item you can hunt for in each tale. I can't wait to do this with the physical copy!

I will start with the positives: I did love the autumnal vibes, sarcasm, and puns. It may be nearly spring, but I am always in the mood for a fall read! However, I just cannot see myself ever going back to reread this one. It was enjoyable and funny enough, but it did not leave me wanting more. I almost wish that there were longer panels to get more from the characters or that there were not so many different characters. It was nice to have some of them pop back up later on, but it felt a bit jarring to jump around so much. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!