**MrBallen Presents: Strange, Dark & Mysterious - A Must-Read**

As a big fan of MrBallen and his YouTube channel, which has over 7 million subscribers, I was thrilled to get this ARC. It didn't disappoint! The book brings his best stories to life with great illustrations and keeps his storytelling style intact. It feels like his YouTube content in book form, full of strange, dark, and mysterious tales.

Thank you, NetGalley and MrBallen, for letting me read this ARC.

As the cover MrBallen's stories suggest, these are the types of scary stories shared at night around a campfire. Whether you believe the stories are true or not is not the point. Their main purpose is to send a shiver down your spine. As with any collection, some stories are stronger than others but overall this is a great collection. The most believable story was "Thorns" and the spookiest was "Bells Canyon."

I always enjoy watching MrBallen on YouTube for what I call my "bedtime stories", those stories have been brought to life in this beautifully illustrated graphic novel. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, thank you for the opportunity NetGalley! I can not wait until October to get my own copy and read the 4 other stories not included here. This title is perfect for any fan of MrBallen, or anyone interested in the Strange, Dark, & Mysterious.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. I had a fun time with the stories and liked the style of the illustrations. I did recognize all the stories from episodes of Mr Ballen’s YouTube videos, but having the graphics enhanced the experience. I am curious to see what the 4 redacted stories are about!

1. The Valley of Headless Men ★★★★✩
2. Thorns ★★★★✩
3. What I Saw In My Room Still Haunts Me ★★★★✩
4. Bells Canyon ★★★✩✩
5. The Kandahar Giant ★★★✩✩

I still remember when I found Mr. Ballen's channel about a year ago and became engrossed in his videos. I couldn't stop until I had binged them all, and I've been watching every Sunday since then, eagerly anticipating each new upload. That's why I was so thrilled to receive this arc. The storytelling translated well into this format, and the illustrations were absolutely stunning. The only downside is that the arc is missing four stories out of the nine total. However, I thoroughly enjoyed each of the five included stories and look forward to reading the rest once the book is officially released!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

These stories are some of the most popular MrBallen cult classics, and for good reason. They are captivating, interesting, and brought to life here in a stunning graphic novel format that is easy to finish in one sitting, or broken up into several short reading sessions. (Four stories were not shared in the ARC I received, but I'm sure they're great too.) The writing is slightly different than the video versions that MrBallen has on his channel, but even though they were rewritten by John Allen's sister, Evan Allen, and her team, they still manage to capture the essence of John's narrative style. Because they're slightly different, they're fresh, and even if you watch the story immediately beforehand (like I tried with one story) it doesn't feel repetitive.

The artwork is stunning, both on the cover and in the stories. Well done artwork by Rob Prior and Andrea Mutti, respectively. The graphic novel format really brings these tales to life in a new way, even if, like me, you've already listened to them multiple times on MrBallen's YouTube and Podcast.

Any fans of MrBallen, or of the strange, dark, and mysterious told in story format will enjoy this hauntingly beautiful book. I will be picking up a hardcopy of this once it releases later this year. I can't wait to read the other four stories!

Thank you to MrBallen, Ten Speed Press, Ol' Seagull Lung, (Not you Like Button), Ballen Studios, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I am honoured to have been chosen as one of the ARC readers after listening to MrBallen for years.

Lastly, to all those who shared their stories and experiences within this book, and with MrBallen over the past few years, I hope you find peace.

(Please note that this review will not be shared publicly until the week of publication, as per the publishers request.)
This review was written on May 25, 2024
This review will be shared on NetGalley, Goodreads, & Tiktok.

This is full of fun stories and the art is done really well. I enjoy that they went for a Tales from the Crypt style for the set up here, brought me a lot of nostalgia from being a horror loving kid. Not a huge fan of this man's podcast but I definitely left this book feeling happy with it.

Great graphic novel. Broken down into multiple stories from around the world, all being shared by an ex Navy Seal. The stories had me hooked. Reading slowing and turning each page. One after the other. The art is good, but the stories got my attention. Even to look up the history and more info from the internet.
I just reviewed MrBallen Presents: Strange, Dark & Mysterious by MrBallen. #MrBallenPresentsStrangeDarkMysterious #NetGalley

I finished this book while watching MrBallen's YouTube channel with my dad. It made the reading experience even better and I highly recommend doing that. I fell in love with MrBallen's storytelling and humor from his channel and I knew I needed to read his book. I'm so glad I did read it. I could barely put it down and have it on preorder right now. I could hear MrBallen tell me the stories as I read and the artwork it made for the best reading experience. I really can't wait to get a physical copy of this book.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read and give my honest review.

I am new to this author's work – this offering is my first experience with him and it will not be my last. I was immediately pulled in because the preface is that these stories are based on actual events. Each was hauntingly weird and a bit unsettling. The renderings were well done; they captured the intent and moved the stories along with solid pacing. The Advanced Reading Copy I received omitted four stories, but I read the remaining and each were solid and diverse – with enough diversity and range to satisfy any reader.

I've watched MrBallen's youtube channel since the beginning and was excited to see that this graphic novel was coming out. It had that charm that the videos from MrBallen have and enjoyed learning about these graphic stories. The art style was wonderfully done and I enjoyed everything about this. I hope there is more from MrBallen as this was a great concept and was executed well.

4.5 stars- I thoroughly enjoyed these series of spooky short paranormal horror stories. The illustrations were mesmerisingly creepy and the stories were very eerie.

I loved the world map showcasing the origin of these documented strange paranormal occurrences. Also included is MrBallen's personal ghost story. The experience does feel like sitting around a campfire, sharing spooky stories!

Some of the stories were not released in this advanced copy, which is disappointing but understandable. My experience felt brief but I would have loved to have read through all stories!

I'm a big fan of MrBallen's Youtube Channel. I've loved all things creepy since I was a kid and I love the thoughtful way he presents his tales of the "strange, dark, and mysterious." I was excited to learn about his graphic novel that is releasing later this year (in October, naturally) and I was even more thrilled to get a digital copy of it thanks to NetGalley!

Both long-time and new fans of MrBallen fans will really appreciate the stories chosen for the novel. There are fan favorites ("The Valley of the Headless Men" and "Bells Canyon"), some lesser-known but still fantastic tales (such as "Thorns"), and four brand-new ones (which were omitted from advanced digital copies so that they remain exclusive). There's a wide variety in the stories selected: there are paranormal stories, stories of creepy locations and horrifying camping trips, and even a possible cryptid or two. I think anyone who loves scary stories should find plenty to love in this collection.

The stories are told in the same vein as his storytelling style on Youtube. Each tale is fast-paced and narrated simply. As a bonus, the stories come with stunning illustrations in this new format!

The art by comic book artist Andrea Mutti is vivid and adds greatly to each story and to the book's atmosphere. The colors are muted and the illustrations are clear, haunting, and occasionally a little gruesome!

MrBallen Presents: Strange, Dark & Mysterious is a successful addition to MrBallen's growing storytelling empire. As a long-time fan, I found his stories in this format to be really entertaining and I hope this is not the only graphic novel he releases. I'd love to see this become a series!

I will 100% be reading this again when it officially releases and I think it may become a yearly reread for me around Halloween. I highly recommend it for all fans of the strange, dark, and mysterious!

MrBallen is the master of spooky storytelling, so I knew I had to get this book. What a SUPER COOL idea! The style of art wasn't my personal favourite, and the stories felt very short excepting the first one, but I think Ballen lovers of all types will appreciate this all the same 💀

My husband is a huge fan of MrBallen's podcast and YouTube channel. When MrBallen announced an upcoming graphic novel, I knew we had to have it. The artwork was brilliant and beautiful and it raised MrBallen's stories to a whole to level... parts were especially more creepy than in the initial podcasdt/video, thanks to the artwork. I can't wait to purchase a copy to read the 5 excluded chapters.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a wonderful retelling of several articles covered by MrBallen in graphic novel format. The stories selected were the right mix of exciting, scary, and informative. MrBallen goes above and beyond his contemporaries to include the right amount of facts without the story feeling like a news article. The illustrations are well done, really give the book an indie feel. Overall, I enjoyed the book very much and look forward to reading it again when it releases in October. Highly recommend to anyone that enjoys thrillers or horror.

Awesome graphic novel with such captivating, true stories. I've watched Mr Ballen on YouTube for years and was so happy to be able to read this early! Will definitely be recommending to friends.