Disclaimer: I received this arc in exchange for an honest review

3.5 stars out of 5

The art style was magnificent! Some of the tales I enjoyed more than others. The art style reminds me of the comics I used to read when I was a teen in the early 2000's, so it hit me in the nostalgia a bit there. I do feel like the stories didn't fully grip me. I loved the first one, but the second one was just okay.

This was cool! I loved Oscar, and his character voice. The concept is cool and the art is gorgeous. My only critique is that I struggled a bit with following the story and the chapters didn’t feel all that cohesive.

This was an unexpected enjoyment, and much lighter in tone.. I was expecting the book to be very dark and grim, but what I got was a very wholesome character, Oscar Zahn, in some dark circumstances. I really like Oscar who strived as much as possible to do the right thing in those circumstances, and he also has a couple more surprising superpowers, as well.

Oscar himself is something of a mystery, often mistaken for the Grim Reaper, because he's just a partial skull, with no "body" of his own. He can affect human minds to appear to them how he pleases, but sometimes people can see through his disguises. He works in the human world as a King Paranormal Investigator and Exorcist, and reminded me very much of Hellboy, only he's less grumpy, more idealistic, and a lot less punchy!

I would definitely recommend this book to teens, but not someone younger than ten, because I don't think someone younger than a preteen would fully understand the events of the book.. But it's a great book for people who like scary stories, but don't want to get too scared or read anything too violent.

Thank you Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press, Ten Speed Graphic, and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this book. This spooky, action packed volume is about Oscar Zahn — a paranormal investigator who helps lost spirits cross over to the other side. The art is just the right amount of spooky without being too scary. The story, or rather a collection of stories, felt a bit disjointed, and it wasn’t clear how Oscar got to be in the state he is currently in — with one foot in the living world and one in the other. I’m glad for the opportunity to read this book, but am not sure if I’ll continue with the series.

Note: I received access to read this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book has some excellent characters and good humor. It doesn't always get the tone right in the later chapters though. The plot could use more of a through line but each individual chapter makes sense.

Holy cow. This is non stop gas pedal to the floor horror. So good, cannot not at all wait for volume 2.

///// English /////

*Disclaimer: I had received a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 6 / 10 – 3 stars out of 5
Genre: graphic novel, fantasy

Sometimes it’s easier to face other people’s monsters than our own.

Oscar Zahn is a paranormal inspector tasked with solving problems with entities from other dimensions. In these pages we will find stories that need to be tell, not his own, although he draws a little between the lines.

The illustrations are quite nice and eye-catching, especially those of the hydronaut case. They are very appropiately coloured and the technology is always present.

For the text, I feel that I lost some context and that many situations are resolved on the fly. Maybe I didn’t fully understand them or they just stayed on the surface. However, I liked it overall.

It talks about self-acceptance, about facing one's own traumas, about fighting to the end, about loyalty, about humanity... These are complex issues that are treated with a lot of tact and artistry, but without much depth.

“After all, I know better than most that the most difficult monster to face is the one you see in the mirror”.




///// Español /////

*Aviso: Recibí un eARC gratuito a cambio de una revisión honesta.

Puntuación: 6 / 10 – 3 estrellas de 5
Género: novela gráfica, fantasía

A veces es más fácil enfrentarse a los monstruos de otros que a los nuestros.

Oscar Zahn es un inspector paranormal encargado de solventar problemas con entes de otras dimensiones. En estas páginas encontraremos historias que deben contarse, y no la suya propia, aunque se dibuja un poco entre líneas.

Las ilustraciones son bastante bonitas y llamativas, especialmente las del caso de los hidronautas. Son colores muy apropiados y la tecnología está siempre presente.

En cuanto al texto, siento que me falta contexto y que muchas situaciones se resuelven sobre la marcha. Tal vez no las entendí del todo o solo se quedaron en la superficie. Sin embargo, sí me gustó en términos generales.

Se habla acerca de la propia aceptación, de enfrentar nuestros propios traumas, de luchar hasta el final, de la lealtad, de la humanidad… Son temas complejos tratados con mucho tacto y arte, pero sin demasiada profundidad.

“Después de todo, sé mejor que la mayoría que el monstruo más difícil de enfrentar es el que ves en el espejo”.

A weird, but interesting graphic novel that manages to keep a light tone despite touching on some deep themes. Told in little short stories that seem unrelated at first but end up connecting to a bigger mystery just out of our reach in this 1st volume. I can’t wait to unravel it in the sequel.

(Review to be posted online the week of release as per publish instruction)

I’ve never needed to get something in physical copy from NetGalley before BUT now I need to get all of Oscars adventures. In volume 1, we meet Oscar who is a supernatural detective. The first two stories give you a tone of what you are walking yourself into. I loved how the rest of the stories connected into a bigger story and that ending???? I will be here happily waiting for the publication is volume 2. This was wholesome, funny and sweet. The side characters are great specially Agnes and Lady Grey. I loved how at points it explored complex topics regarding physics and got a little philosophical. If you like adventures with a little spooky sci-fi. You would love this. For fans of light box ♥️ this graphic novel will bring joy to you.

Originally a webtoon, I think the Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn was successfully reformatted into a traditional graphic novel. The story is unique and the art definitely packs a punch. Strange tales indeed.

I liked this universe and the illustration style of this. The latter is a little in the vein of Mignola and personally, that's one of the things that pulled me toward this book. Oscar was a fun main character and I enjoyed each little mini story themselves. I'm not sure about the major plot as a whole about how that thing got into Oscar and turned him into a skeleton. I thought I understood what was happening with the flashback, but then the end of the book through me for a loop. So there seem to be pieces to the puzzle we're missing as a whole that I hope will come in Volume Two. Those missing pieces made Volume One fill a little clunky and bumpy. But, I think volume one did a great job of setting up the universe in this story and introducing us to Oscar. So I'm interested to see where the next volume will take us.

4 star read from me. I liked this book so much. I recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can. Super well written, the characters are super interesting too.

I requested the book expecting it to be a horror graphic novel. But, it was more on the emotional side which totally unexpected. The graphics were fabulous. I would have enjoyed it more if it had stick to the title. The cover page is more interesting than the content. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an opportunity to read and review the book.

I NEED MORE!! A wonderful graphic novel that touches deep themes and with a gorgeous art. I will recommend it forevermore and I think it's going to be a book I'll end up gifting a lot. I really, really thank the publishing house for this arc copy and can't wait to buy the physical version 😭😭

I really enjoyed the spooky aspects and the historical ones. The cast of characters was quite lovely (I definitely got attached to most of them) and I can't wait to see more of Oscar!

This one was just okay for me. I really liked the concept, and the artwork was also really well done, but it was very hard to follow and dragged a bit at some points in the story. There's a bit of a historical fiction aspect, with mentions of World War 1 -- with a fantasy element added to it. I would be interested to read more from this series to see if I like it more as it progresses.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Ten Speed Graphic, the author, Tri Vuong, and NetGalley for providing the advanced reader's copy of this title, The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn, Vol. 1, for review. Review also posted to Goodreads and will be posted to Amazon.

I thought this was such a great time! The spooky, creepy and many times odd world of Oscar Zahn drew me in from the beginning and I'm so interested in more. I love the idea of a floating skull being a paranormal investigator with a huge heart. The art was beautifully done, and sets the mood and matches the story so well. I found myself taking extra time on each page to just admire the cool and creepy characters and backgrounds. I think the cover is really well done as well, and piqued my interest right away! I'm interested to learn more about Oscar's story and the whole world he exists within.

Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn is a beautiful, dark, endearing, and sad beginning to a promising series. Engrossing and mysterious, with characters that would be hard not to love and a strange, wonderful world rendered in fantastic art. The end came too soon, and the next volume can't come soon enough!

*ARC provided by NetGalley & Ten Speed Graphic*

The art was so mesmerizing and beautiful. The story was action packed, exciting and meaningful. I loved the spooky vibes throughout

Beautiful, weird and interesting! The art is fantastic, the story lines are unique and engaging with a over arching plot line centered on our protagonist, Oscar Zahn that keeps you wanting more. Somewhere between fantasy, horror, paranormal, with a little steampunk energy, I'll be back for more strange tales.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

This is a cool and quirky supernatural graphic novel. Oscar Zahn is a really great character. The star of the show is the art, though, and it is incredible. The full page panels are especially impressive and true works of art. I will definitely recommend to students interested in art, especially the ones interested in darker stories.