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Graphic Novel Review: Nicnevin and the Bloody Queen by Helen Mullane, art by Dom Reardon, layout art and title page by Matthew Dow Smith

NIcnevin

Nicnevin and the Bloody Queen by Helen Mullane, art by Dom Reardon, layout art and title page illustration by Matthew Dow Smith

Humanoids, 2020

ISBN-13: 9781643377131

Available: Paperback, Kindle, comiXology

 

Nicnevin “Nissy” Oswald and her younger brother Gowan are sent to spend the summer with their mother in Northumberland, something about which Nissy is less than pleased. While they are there, Gowan comes across a dead body when he is out playing football with his friends. A modern-day druid is committing ghastly murders, thinking he could free the power of the ancient gods of Great Britain. When he targets Nissy, he makes a terrible mistake. She has a connection with the land and animals around her, one that she hasn’t accepted yet.

page4     Most of the story is great. Nissy discovering her family history, who she really is, and what she can do, offers an interesting coming-of-age tale. The folk horror content is solid.  Reardon’s artwork is perfect for a story full of folk horror, mythology, and ethereal creatures. The illustrations of the Wild Hunt were especially eerie and beautiful.

 

A few parts of the story were lacking. For instance, I’m not sure why Nissy, Gowan, and their mother are spending the summer in Northumberland. It is clear there is a strained relationship between her and her mother, but it doesn’t seem like a divorce situation, given how the parents give each other a parting kiss prior to their leaving. Readers can see the partial content of a letter regarding Nissy being expelled from school. We see Nissy’s frustration and anger toward her mother about having to be away from her friends for the summer. Nissy simply comes across as argumentative for the sake of being argumentative. We don’t get a glimpse of her previous life, and what has led her to become so angry with her mother.

 

Another aspect of the story I can’t come to terms with is Nissy’s crush on a 35-year-old man named Reggie. There is a series of panels where Nissy pleasures herself while thinking about him, and the animals outside engage in sex outside the cottage. While it helps illustrate her connection to nature, I can’t help but wonder if there was another way this could have been played out. A troubling panel depicts Reggie and Nissy nude together. Later, she attempts to engage him in a kiss, which he thankfully refuses. if you are squeamish about teens exhibiting sexuality, you might want to skip this. I don’t mind a healthy dose of sex and sexuality in my horror, but I’m not a fan of this particular type.

 

Contains: brief nudity, murder, sexual content, violence against women

Recommended, with reservations

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on March 11, 2020 by , Reply

Interview: Cecilia Abate, aka Horror Scholar, Talks to Lizzy Walker

Cecelia Abate

We’re a little past Women in Horror Month, but why limit ourselves to one month a year? There are way too many awesome women who are a part of the horror community to do that. Monster Librarian primarily reviews fiction, but I actually like reading nonfiction, too, as it widens my knowledge of horror and I think makes me a better reviewer. Also, despite academic jargon, the ideas can be really compelling. Any researcher who doesn’t have the resources of a university or similar institution knows the challenge of actually getting your own stuff written, researched, and published. Enter Cecilia Abate, aka Horror Scholar, founder of Horror Scholar Journal, a new online journal that provides an avenue for independent researchers to get their work published. Reviewer Lizzy Walker had the opportunity to interview Cecilia recently, so read on to learn more about her!

 

Lizzy: Hi, Cecilia! Tell Monster Librarian readers about yourself.

Cecilia: Hi there! I’m an independent horror academic & researcher with a focus in data-heavy quantitative analysis. I run a research brand under the title Horror Scholar and am currently employed at Google during my daylight hours.

 

Lizzy: Describe your path to horror studies. How did this become an interest for you?

Cecilia: Actually, total accident. As I was getting through my BA, I remember *hating* pop culture studies and literary analysis. I was rereading Frankenstein for a sci-fi studies course and I bought an edition which had about 4 analytical essays included in the back. I remember flipping through them and just scoffing, being like, “Oh my god, who cares? The monster is a monster, leave it alone.”

Somehow, in the next few years, that opinion completely reversed. I did my last essay of my college career on colonialism in The Nightmare Before Christmas. And as I was laughing at myself writing it, I started to go “oh no… this is actually a lot of fun.”

 

Lizzy: What made you start Horror Scholar Journal?

Cecilia: Frustration and a drive to lead a project, honestly. At the time—I don’t fully remember the line of thought, but I remember being frustrated at the gap between being an independent academic (not backed by a university, therefore less credible) and needing my work published. And I sort of thought, “You know what? I’m gonna do it myself. I’m gonna make a change here.”

 

Lizzy: The inaugural Issue of Horror Scholar Journal which focuses on American Horror Story was great. Could you talk about your American Horror Story research you started prior to the journal?

Cecilia: Thank you! So in 2015, I started conceptualizing a thesis about the usage of sexual violence on AHS, but I didn’t have the numbers to back it up, which resulted in me starting a data project to record and process all the incidents of sexual violence on the show. I’ll be doing that until the show ends and I’m currently almost caught up – I’ve got to finish the numbers for the previous season.

 

Lizzy: So, Hannibal is the focus of Issue 2. What made you want to focus on this iconic horror figure?

Cecilia: One of the things that pushed me was the passion of his fans! The Hannibal fandom is SO ALIVE. While I know is most certainly due to the 2013 show, there are still tons and tons of classic Lecter fans out there. When I put the call for theme suggestions out on Twitter, the Hannibal fans answered strongest of all. It’s a rich canon, the books & movies are great, and it made for a bunch of very strong essays.

 

Lizzy: What can we expect for more themes of future issues of Horror Scholar Journal?

Cecilia: Phew. My girlfriend most recently suggested the Alien franchise, which is a pretty strong bid. Ideally, I’d like to take on things that aren’t the most obvious suggestions. Like, I’d never do “Dracula” or “Frankenstein” because the topics have been diced every which way already.

 

Lizzy: Why should librarians recommend Horror Scholar Journal as a resource?

Cecilia: I’ve always seen librarians as a particularly revolutionary and rebellious arm of academia, so I think my goals for Horror Scholar align with those sentiments – accessibility (both intellectually and financially), critical thought, creativity.

 

Lizzy: Do you have any upcoming projects you would like to mention?

Cecilia: I’m prepping a paper on vampire identity and social strata in What We Do In The Shadows and Being Human (UK). While I’m secretly not hyped for this paper, I AM hyped for attending the Popular Culture Association Conference for the first time to present it!

 

Lizzy: How can people get in touch with you for more information?

Cecilia: My email, horrorscholar@gmail.com is fine – OR we’re available on FB and Twitter! www.facebook.com/horrorscholar or www.twitter.com/scholarhorror.

Posted on March 6, 2020 by , Reply

Book Review: Doll Crimes by Karen Runge

Doll Crimes by Karen Runge.

Crystal Lake Publishing. 2019

ISBN-13: 978-1646693146

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

 

Karen Runge is a force that will leave a scar on the genre. Jack Ketchum mentored her, and those influences are felt within the novel, but she’s her own writer and has a style that’s nobody else’s but her own. Doll Crimes is more of a nod to Elizabeth Massie’s Wire Mesh Mothers; it’s the horror novel Gillian Flynn should have penned.

Doll Crimes  examines the human soul: the good, the bad, and the downright evil.  It’s written in a manner that digs so deep that readers will have a tough time forgetting the characters, long after the final page is turned. Yes, it might disturb some, but only in the way a good horror novel should.

Runge opens the novel with a mother and her daughter on the run. From what, or who, we have no idea, but they’re moving in a direction that appears dangerous and devolving. The daughter is the main character; her mother is a mere fifteen years older than her, which makes for a relationship dynamic that is closer to sisters or close friends than a maternal bond.

The two travel from town to town, scamming people for food, shelter, money and more, but are aiming higher. They seek something permanent, even if they’re not quite sure what that entails. They shack up with a pair of interesting characters at different places in the story. One may be helpful to the girl, or simply another shadow with varying degrees of darkness. The other, a drug dealer, just might be a bit more stable than the mother.

More details regarding the plot would spoil the emotional heft of the book but please give this one a shot. The gut punch, the visceral impact Runge inflicts upon the reader, is a tough one, but there’s a strong reason to wade through the razor-tinged gauntlet of the travels of these two broken characters: the writing.

Doll Crimes should turn out to be one of the strongest efforts of 2019, and a portent of things to come from Karen Runge, through her ability to wrench the emotion from the everyday pain characters navigate. She knows this pain. She’ll also likely know success if there’s any justice left in this twisted society.

The loss of one’s innocence is key here, and made much more powerful by the fact that the character believes it to be what families do. Recommended.

 

Contains: child abuse

Reviewed by David Simms

 

Posted on March 5, 2020 by , Reply
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