I have been a MrBallen fan on YouTube for the longest time, so seeing his work in book format was an absolute delight. His unique storytelling voice and style shine through in the narration, creating a blend of humor and horror that have come to define his videos. I would recommend this title to both the casual and the more obsessed fans of things in our world that are strange, dark, & mysterious. My only real complaint is that I didn't have access to all the stories in this particular version, and will now have to wait until my library acquires a copy to finish the entire collection of stories.

I'm not going to lie, I was really bummed to see four of the stories missing, but I also 100% get it. The omission of them did not damper my excitement when reading the book. I've been a fan of Mr. Ballen for years. Since right around when he started. I think he's a great storyteller with a lot of talent. When I saw he was making a graphic novel my first thought was 'What a great way to get his stories to another audience!' And boy was I right. The illustrations are perfect with just enough spooky in each one to be right for this book. The stories themselves were of course Strange, Dark, and Mysterious enough to keep my attention until the very end. Heck, I even read the resources and checked some of them out too! Over all, this book is fantastic. It keeps on the edge of your seat and it's totally riveting. I would recommend this book for ages 13+. 5 out of 5 stars.

A wonderfully illustrated take on MrBallen’s perfectly creepy stories. The stories themselves unsettling in the best ways, made creepier by the laundry list of sources supplied at the back for a reader’s perusal, supporting the reality of the horror offered within these pages.

I was only adjacently aware of Mr. Ballen prior to requesting an ARC of this book- I am a huge fan of cryptid stories, paranormal novels, and comics and thought this looked really promising. I am so happy to say that it not only lived up to, but exceeded my expectations. Someone with the following Mr. Ballen has could have easily phoned in a book and still succeeded, but instead it is so clear how much effort, love and care went into every aspect of this graphic novel. The stories are well written, interesting, genuinely unsettling and believable. The art is absolutely GORGEOUS. It reminds me of 90s Marvel comics, and graphic novels like Usaji Yojimbo. Even the scarier depictions are true works of art and so carefully illustrated that I could see them being made into prints.

I recommend this to graphic novel and comic fans, horror fans, and obviously fans of Mr. Ballen in general. In my opinion, it is extremely worth purchasing a physical copy so that you can truly see how well done each individual story is. My personal favorite story was Bells Canyon- check it out and you'll see why! I received an ARC through Netgalley upon my own request and was under zero obligation to review. Can't wait to get my own hardcopy!

This graphic novel, brought to life by one of my favorite storytellers, is absolutely amazing!

Having followed Mr. Ballen’s work for quite some time, I was thrilled to have the privilege of reading this ahead of its release. The collaboration between this captivating storyteller and Andrea Mutti’s stunning artwork made the stories leap off the page.

Although four of the stories are being reserved for the final release, the five I read were fantastic. I especially loved that Mr. Ballen shared one of his personal experiences, as well as, wove elements of his military background into another story.

Overall, this was a quick, beautiful and absolutely delightful read.

I’ll definitely be purchasing the full version to add to my collection and to dive into the remaining stories.

5 Stars!

A vivid, frighteningly illustrated graphic novel collection of nine strange, dark, and mysterious stories, based on true events, from the mind behind the YouTube channel and hit MrBallen Podcast.
In MrBallen Presents: Strange, Dark & Mysterious, Allen reveals the creepy underbelly of the human experience, charting bizarre and downright terrifying instances of the paranormal, the horrors of the natural world, and the danger of our own minds.

A fantastic collection of stories. Tales that are not commonly known or over told like most anthologies of strange occurrences.
Some of these are creepy as all heck.
My favorite was "Thorns". A story of a camp councilor who dreams she is being tortured. A crown of thorns forced deeper and deeper onto her skull, until she awakens with screams of pain and fear.
What really happens is an even greater nightmare.

All the stories are well told and beautifully illustrated. I enjoyed every one and may have to check out his podcast.

Highly recommended. A perfect book to read out loud at an autumn campfire or during a trip through the corn maze.

Thanks to@netgalley for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased option.

I've been a fan of MrBallen's YouTube channels for awhile now. I kept hearing about the upcoming graphic novel and was excited.

I couldn't help but read this and hear his cadence and timing. Especially since I've watched most of these stories in video form on one of his channels. I loved having new original artwork to go with the stories as I read them at bedtime. (Horror stories are a comfort at night.)

I love that even MrBallen got illustrated for this graphic novel. The stories are always perfectly detailed, and just the right amount of creepy.

If you loved Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark as a kid (or even now still), you'll love this as an adult. It feels almost like an older sibling sequel to that series, but with allegedly true tales and a more adult tone.

I can only hope that he works on a Run Fool! graphic novel next. (In addition to more tales that he has told.)

I have been a fan of MrBallen's content for few years and since the announcement of this book I have been beyond excited. Such excitement is rarely a good thing for a piece of media as it's hard to live up to the fantasy you create in your head but in every way possible this book lived up to everything I was excited to see come from MrBallen. His distinct voice was clear throughout all of the stories told (especially where his own experiences are told) and feels the same as if you were to watch one of his video. His talent of story telling paired with the beautiful art of Andrea Mutti makes this book feel like sitting with friends around a fire, sharing spooky stories in the beauty of nature. I cannot wait to be able to hold the physical book in my hands and read the redacted stories as there is never enough of the Strange, Dark and Mysterious.

Rating: 3.5 leaves out of 5
-Art: 3.75/5
-Story: 3.75/5
-Writing: 5/5
Genre: Horror
-Horror: 1.5/5
Type: Graphic Novel
Worth?: Yeah

Want to thank Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to read this book.

First off so proud of how far MrBallen has come! Was super excited for this GN and still am. The stories we were given some I had heard of already and some not. I took off points for the fact that some stories were missing, though I do understand why I just don't care for when books do that, and for some of the stories I had already listened to before.

Other than that if you have watched him for a while you can easily hear his voice when you read this. It is like he is talking to you! I took my time with this one (started in early May, if that helps) because, like his actual videos, I just can't get enough of them!

I am such big fan of Mr Ballen Presents: Strange, Dark & Mysterious, and this graphic novel was just as great . I enjoyed the illustrations and the flow of each story. I can't wait to add this to my coffee table. I would definitely recommend this book. I can't wait to have it and read some of the stories a loud around a campfire.

MrBallen Presents: Strange, Dark & Mysterious: The Graphic Stories Was a solid 5/5 ⭐️ for me! I have been watching Ballen for years now on YouTube and I can’t get enough of his stories. The way he describes each story with such detail is incredible!! The pictures of these one were so dark and unsettling too. I loved it! The only thing I was bummed about was the fact that we didn’t get all of the stories in this arc!

My teens and I are huge fans of MrBallens YouTube channel and podcast! We watch together and listen together on roadtrips. The graphic novel was missing 4 stories that weren’t included in the ARC which was fine with me. The stories were good but if I’m being honest; the most captivating part of MrBallens story telling is HIS telling of the stories. He could tell me a story of what he had for breakfast and I’d listen and/ or watch. So in graphic story form I was really, really missing that. The art was fantastic though! A solid 3 stars from me. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review! MrBallenPresentsStrangeDarkMysterious #NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review!
The strange, dark, and mysterious stories you have come to love from Mr Ballen now have come in a graphic novel!

Please bear with me for this shorter review, I’m at a complete loss of words (in a good way!!!)

From Afghanistan Giants, to Utah UFOs, there are some human AND not so human stories in this graphic novel that is sure to capture the minds and hearts of people all around the globe!
The art style of this graphic novel is fantastic. I loved the art, the wording of the phrasing in the panels, the stories, I loved all of it. It was like having Mr. Ballen himself read bedtime stories to me at my house! I was sucked into his stories, and I can’t wait for this book to release so I can read the other exclusive stories and content that were not in the digital Advanced copy. I have been watching Mr Ballen for a couple of years now, and I must say I’m impressed with all of the things he has managed to do with his platform, and with being a bookseller, it makes me even more happy that his stories and his story telling technique will forever be printed in ink. I gave this graphic novel 5 stars and will for sure be spreading the word about this book when it comes out!!!!

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced ARC of this graphic novel by Mr Ballen & from the Publisher Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press

I have been a huge fan of #MrBallen on YouTube for a few years now, his storytelling of true events and other stories told throughout time are great (The Strange, Dark and Mysterious ) and are engaging and keep you listening.

This Graphic novel was done beautifully the artwork, and the pacing gave enough to bring the stories to life, this is another great achievement and I look forward to buying this when it releases in October.

If you love thrilling storytelling and fun artwork then pick this up

Loved it! Beautiful artwork and awesome stories. I can't wait tog et my hard cover copy on release day!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to review this book!

I've been a fan of Mr Ballen's YouTube channel for a while now. The way he tells these stories is already so immersive, and including these gorgeous illustrations by Andrea Mutti added to the atmosphere of all the tales.

Four stories (La Mussara, The Beast of Gévaudan, Make It Rain, and Cat and Mouse) were not available in this arc version, so I've only read five of the total nine stories included so far. Of those five, my favorites were Thorns and Bells Canyon. Both were very frightening and chilling and read like true horror stories.

This was an enjoyable read, perfect for a little spooky nighttime reading. Excited to read the other stories once this book is out in the world!

This was short and sweet. I liked the artwork, and how the dialogue was to a minimum mostly sticking to facts and that some stories had unsettling endings. This is great for a younger audience who might not be ready to sit in and listen to all the gory detail in Mr.Ballens videos.

I’m a huge fan of all things strange, dark, and mysterious. I stumbled upon MrBallen and when I saw he was releasing a graphic novel I was beyond excited.

He is an amazing storyteller and the artist did a spectacular job with delivering the creep factor.

I can’t wait to purchase a physical copy to read the additional four stories that weren’t included in the digital galley.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and MrBallen for the opportunity to review this eARC!

Some chapters were not published in this version, so I can only review the ones I read. The stories are mostly ok, some are better than others. I had never heard about Mr. Ballen until I saw this graphic novel, so I wasn't really expecting anything. It was a quick and nice read, but not an unforgettable one.

This is a review that I’m super excited to share because I am a huge MrBallen fan! I’ve been watching his videos consistently since 2021. His story that spooked me the most is featured in this book - Bells Canyon!

MrBallen Presents: Strange, Dark, & Mysterious: The Graphic Stories is a graphic novel of some of his most popular stories, and the artwork done by Andrea Mutti is phenomenal! Of course I rated this book 5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 and would recommend to everyone (even my mom)!

This book releases on October 1, 2024 (and I’ve already preordered a copy!)

Thank you so much to @netgalley, @clarksonpotter, @tenspeedgraphic for an advanced copy! 🖤