Nice little fairy tale. ( )

A lot of good ideas went into this story -- good ideas that seemed familiar to me, such as the feel of the explanation for how the mythic wood worked, which seemed to have been ripped straight out of the pages of The Hollowing. A somewhat paler, or perhaps thinner, or just faded, version of Gaiman's talent for lending a magical quality to any tale helps to give this book its charm. Some of the mores and judgments intrinsic to the plot were a bit shallow and hackneyed. The art was good, if occasionally a bit confusing in that I sometimes had to go back and look at something again, after some dialog caused me to reassess what I thought was going on, just to figure out what I had seen and whether what I thought were two characters were actually two different encounters with the same character (and whenever that happened, my suspicions were borne out).

As a graphic novel sort of work, it's a very quick read, and it contains evidence of a richly imagined world, perhaps suitable to an entire line of RPG rule- and setting-books. It ends with the sense of possible sequels and, though it did not quite grab me enough to bother seeking them out, I would read the next book if it ever appears and someone gives it to me. ( )

This book is about a boy who moves to a new house and finds and old tape player. The tape player takes him on strange and occasionally creepy stories. He goes into a gate which gets him lost in a strange world. The adventures the boy goes on is bizarre and very strange. I rate it 3 stars, because it was a fun story with an a e s t h e t i c as hecc art style, but I seldom found myself entertained as the story was boring for the most part, although there was parts that would make me say this book is a hidden gem. The highlights of the story definitely made the book worth reading, you just had to be dedicated enough to find them. ( )

Well now, this was a treat. I've been on a graphic novel reading binge lately and, as much as I love a vibrant panel, the first thing that caught my eye here was the stark black and white inking. This is the story of Nate. Of his move to a new place, of finding a mysterious recorder, and of discovering that there are things out there well beyond what we can imagine. I would have thought that I'd want this story told to me in color. Honestly though? Now that I've read it I can't imagine it any other way.

The art in these panels is stunning. It's crisp, the faces are realistic, and it suits the mood of this story perfectly. While this is a little darker than most YA graphic novels out there, it places one foot firmly in the world of Fantasy. The pages are populated with all manner of both interesting and slightly unnerving characters. The world that Nate finds has quite a different type of soldier. Squirrels, rag dolls, and bugs, they are all pawns in this ongoing battle. It makes this story magical, and slightly eerie.

Highly recommended! I thoroughly enjoyed this. ( )

3.5 stars. Well darn it. This is some dang awesome art. I was completely hooked -story wise- from page 1. But it was SO rushed. It felt like trying to fit a full length movie into a twenty minute episode. It desperately needs a sequel- and like 5 more of them.
I hope he has one in the making! ( )