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Graphic Novel Review: Lucky Devil Volume 1 by Cullen Bunn, art by Fran Galan, lettering by El Torres

Cover art for Lucky Devil volume 1 by Cullen Bunn

Lucky Devil Volume 1 by Cullen Bunn, art by Fran Galán, lettering by El Torres

Dark Horse Comics, 2022

ISBN-13: 9781506721996

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, Comixology   (  Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

 

Stanley has terrible luck. His three-year relationship is tainted by an affair his girlfriend is having. He’s a gofer for a corporate organization where his higher-ups constantly demean him. Then, he gets possessed by the demon Lord Zedirex the Tormenter. After Zed causes a particularly grisly massacre at a burger joint, Stanley goes for an exorcism, but it all goes horribly wrong. The demon lord is definitely shunted from Stanley’s body, but Stanley retains Zed’s powers. After Stanley takes his wrath out on everyone who wronged him, he uses his newly gained power to form a cult, joining forces with the existing International Church of Lucifer. However, Stanley’s message, that God and Satan are no longer important if humans can obtain power on their own, gets him the wrong kind of attention.



When Stanley gets a bit too comfortable with his new role, the legions of Hell take notice. Zed tries to warn Stanley that he is garnering too much attention. The hapless human needs the former demon lord’s help, but Stanley’s hubris might get in the way.

 

There is so much to like with Bunn’s Lucky Devil. The exorcism gone wrong, resulting in the displacement of demonic power, was an interesting plot point and drove the story along well. Stanley is a sympathetic character, even when he is relishing in the attention he gets from the power he wields. He never becomes insufferable, and he remains human, despite his demonic powers. Zed acted as the voice of reason for Stanley at times, something which I didn’t expect.

 

Lucky Devil is necessary for Cullen Bunn fans. Readers who are looking for a unique take on demonic possession or who like a bit of humor in their horror will enjoy this.

 

This volume collects issues #1-4.

 

Recommended.

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on January 2, 2023 by , Reply

Book Review: Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood

 

cover art for Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood

Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood

Wednesday Books, 2021

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250787101

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

 

 

Within These Wicked Walls takes its inspiration from the classic gothic romance Jane Eyre. Set in England, Jane is an orphan who arrives to work as a governess in Thornfield Hall, home to the wealthy Edward Rochester, and the two fall in love. Author Lauren Blackwood moves the story to contemporary Ethiopia, replacing Jane with Andi, an impoverished Black debtera, who is hired to exorcise the malevolent spirits haunting the opulent Thorne House and its owner, nineteen-year-old Magnus Thorne. The book is focused in on Andi and Magnus and their attempts to eliminate the curse of the Evil Eye that dooms anyone who looks into Magnus’ eyes and causes the deeply disturbing hauntings in the house. Blackwood turns the horror and the supernatural up and intensifies the romance, creating an emotional whirlwind that will blow the reader away. Blackwood does not shy away from addressing race, women’s independence, and colonialism, all of which impact the story in a much different manner than in the original book.

 

Recommended for readers, especially teens, in the mood for a gothic romance, an African-inspired fantasy, a terrifying haunted house, or any combination.

 

Contains: body horror, gore, violence, death, physical and emotional abuse, references to suicide.

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

 

Posted on February 8, 2022 by , Reply

Book Review: The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf

cover art for The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf

The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf

Harper, 2020

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062940957

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook  ( Bookshop.org  | Amazon.com )

 

 

When a dark witch who is the master of a pelesit dies, the pelesit must go in search of a new master.

 

A pelesit is a Malaysian ghost in the shape of a grasshopper that has been bound to a master, created through dark magic and used to give the master power and protection. The master uses it for monetary gain, directing the pelesit to create trouble, so its victims will pay for solutions. It must feed regularly on the blood of its master and is bound to its master and the following generations. Without a binding, it causes chaos that can’t be controlled. This pelesit knows he needs to be controlled to keep darkness from completely taking him over.

 

When the pelesit finds the witch’s closest relatives, he discovers the witch’s daughter has shut herself off completely from the supernatural world. Her young daughter, Suraya, is another story. Unlike her grandmother, she makes the world a brighter place, and he binds her to him with three drops of blood in her sleep. Once the pelesit is bound to her, she changes: trouble seems to follow her, but nothing bad ever happens to her, and people start to avoid her. She names the pelesit Pink, and he becomes her only friend. But he is a dark spirit of chaos and it is a struggle for him to hold it back, especially when he perceives a threat to Suraya, and later when she does make her own friends, out of jealousy.

 

As time passes, struggle between Suraya’s brightness, widening world, and increasing independence and Pink’s darkness, and possessiveness can only lead to more and more terrible things, and also many, many Star Wars references. If insects and maggots bother you, be warned.

 

According to the author, this is a retelling of a Malaysian folktale, but she has very much made it her own. This story about family, friendship, grief, and the supernatural is compelling, unusual, occasionally funny, and sometimes disturbing, Seeing events from Pink’s point of view provides a more nuanced look than if we only witnessed events from the outside, and the author’s careful description of Malaysian ghosts, spirits, and exorcisms, contributes significantly to world-building. Highly recommended for grades 4-8.

 

Contains: child death, mutilation, insects and maggots, blood

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

 

Posted on November 12, 2021 by , Reply
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