This was an okay comic. The drawing was great. The story was meh. I realize that the main character is a drugged-out lead singer in the 60's. Really couldn't think of something else besides the norm of those years.

DNF

I had to DNF this book because despite being only 100 pages or so I was so not liking it that I dropped it at some point.
The story had no sense, I didn't like the art and neither how the space was used.
Sometimes it was so hard to follow the bubbles I had to read the same page more than once to be able to connect the story.
After forcing myself to go through, I arrived at a point where I wasn't even reading it anymore, just going through the pages but still, I found nothing appealing in it.
Simply a big miss for me.

Absolutely not. This was so bad that I thought about dnf'ing even though it only has 130 pages.

Let's start with the story: rock star has hallucinations and is addicted to drugs, then goes to South America to find some mystical place to help him get clean but uncovers that a centipede god corrupts people who go there and essentially there are many people who are really just full of centipedes. It's neither interesting nor original, the characters are underdeveloped and pretty much indistinguishable from one another (expect visually), and the whole centipede thing was only there cause it was disgusting, but didn't feel like it had any real purpose beyond that. I'd probably rip into the whole "the South American jungle is the mystical place to cure you"-trope more, but at least the comic book is aware of that and even has a character ranting about it, so I'll let it slide.

I could give Breath of Shadows 2 stars if the art was the saving grace, but it's really not. The colors often feel wrong and washed out, and a lot of panels are super busy and oftentimes incredibly hard to read. Whenever someone's head burst into an army of centipedes, everything became a visual mess. I don't know what to say other than reading this was a waste of time. I hate writing such bad reviews for ARCs, but I didn't see any redeeming qualities in this one.

- ARC provided by NetGalley -

I have mixed feelings about this one. The first issue was great and drew me into the story. The incredible artwork awed me. However, as the story unfolded, it became evident that the authors lacked a clear vision for the story's direction. Was it about addiction? Fame? Trauma? Alien centipedes? Perhaps all of these?

Possibly so, BUT the ending leaves many questions unanswered, and the last two issues transitioned it into a splatter(ish) horror tale with minimal character development. The twists were there, sure, but none were clever.

Regrettably, I'm rather disappointed with this one.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher IDW Press for an advance copy of this graphic novel mix of horror, drugs and rock n roll, about a singer at the top of the world, traveling to the bottom of the world to cure his addictions and finding out there are a lot worse things hiding in the jungle.

Addiction is a horror that many people deal with. Addiction can make one a monster, a monster to friends, family, band mates fans, even innocent people. Addiction can make one see the worst in people, and can make people see things that are the worst things imaginable. Something slithering out of the drain, an abomination on a beautiful woman's shoulder, a fear that something is coming closer and closer. One might try anything to get this monkey or monster off one's back. Even if it meant facing something far worse. Breath of Shadows is a graphic novel dealing with horror, addiction, ugly Americans, marginalized people and what lies in the darkness, by the award-winning duo of writer Rich Douek and illustrator Alex Cormack.

The Doors of Perception for Jimmy Meadows are wide opening and lot of things seem to be trying to come through them. The time is the mid '60s and Jimmy's band is riding as high as Jimmy is all the time. These habits are starting to affect the band, with live shows becoming a mess, and work on the latest album not progressing. Also weird things seem to be around Jimmy all the time, and his relationships with everyone are starting to fray. A friend has heard that there might be a cure for Jimmy's addiction, but it is far away in South America, but as everything else has failed Jimmy decides to give it a try. Jimmy travels south with his manager, and his surprised when his band mates arrive, to make sure the Jimmy actually tries to get clean, unlike all the other times he promised. Their guide takes them deep into the jungle and things don't go well, with Jimmy eating everything in the first aid kit to stay sane as weird things go on around them. Jimmy also begins to fear that he might be replacing the demons of addition with monsters that might be far worse.

A mix of Rock and Roll, William Burroughs and his quest to find yagé in South America, a dash of Behind the Music, and good ole horror. The tale is good, a nice spooky tale with a lot of atmosphere and the mix of rock and roll adds a lot of parallels and ideas to the story. Jimmy Meadows is basically Jim Morrison, with the annoying factor turned up to 11, which is the best way to put it. The all look vaguely Doors like, maybe MC5-ish, and start to be developed later in the story, as in the beginning they seem like ciphers. The art is really good, very fitting with the story, and makes for a lot of uncomfortable scenes and images that will stay with readers. The characters are consistent and I like the use of backgrounds and light when showing various gross things. And again there are a lot.

A spooky story with a lot of good ideas, especially the setting and time in which the story takes place. I liked the way it went and how the story slowly ratcheted up as it went. A perfect read for the one looking for something spooky and different.