This is the first 'graphic novel' or compendium of this comic book, which is written by Valentino, and has been illustrated by different artists of her choosing. The art in this volume is all by Naifeh. I'd heard about this 'gothic' comic for a while, and my interest was piqued, so I picked it up from the library.

The story centers around a group of people in a goth scene, and features many stereotypes and kinds of characters that will quickly be recognized by anyone who's hung out in such a scene, with a focus on social drama. It aims for witty, pointed social satire... but a lot of it is just too obvious, (or just not interesting enough) to be really funny. But the thing that really bothered me about it was the plethora of misspellings. In this volume, which is fairly short, there are over a dozen misspelled words that I counted, including inconsistency in the spelling of a character's name, fer chrissakes! It was incredibly distracting - I found myself counting typos rather than concentrating on the story.

The story is rather cute - it features a cute little girl who is in love with a boy who doesn't want to commit to her. Her arch-rival at the clubs is also always trying to steal him from her. But then she hooks up with her arch-rival's boyfriend, and discovers a secret - he and her rival are actually secretly monsters from a fantasy realm... it's a nice concept - but with a little more care put into the presentation, I would have enjoyed it more. ( )

Here is a gothic comic book of fairy tales, following a group of friends through their interconnected lives. Stories are told in a confusing manner, and the world itself lacks a solid foundation. Readers will wonder whether the story takes place in the real world or a fantasy one—and not in a good way. Points of view alternate constantly, so that the reader will find himself flipping forward to continue one story and then flipping back to start another. Despite the confusion, however, the stories are full and intriguing, with solid plots. Characters are well-developed, each with a complete personality, flaws and beauty, and readers will fall in love with them. Stories are thought-provoking and different—a girl who falls in love with a gargoyle, the monster under the bed who protects the child. Black-and-white illustrations are occasionally inconsistent, and the exaggerated style may turn off some. The life and detail they add to the characters, though, including the exaggerations, make the stories truly come to life. This was designed for an alternative audience, and this audience will enjoy it, though others will find it a hit or miss. ( )

A bit mixed on this one. The art varies from crude to subtle, especially with the faces but overall it serves the stories well, especially considered how disjointed the stories can seem to be.

I enjoyed the common thread that runs through all of the stories but found them overall a bit hard to follow at first, I had to go back and reread the first few stories a few times to get my bearings, but once I figured out what was going on most everything else started to fall into place. I also enjoyed the mix of humor and darkness, the dramatic and the romantic that fill every story. The balance isn't perfect with this either, but like the uneven seeming art it fit the story somehow. ( )

A goth comic book! So lush. The dialogue is unbelievably cute, the outfits are fantastic, and the soap opera lives of these self-deluded scary kids are fantastic fun. ( )

e first Gloom Cookie collection by Serena Valentino (Nightmares and Fairy Tales) is illustrated by the wonderful Ted Naifeh (Kin with Holly Black). It introduces a whole cast of gothic and fantastical characters. You have Lex (a petite and pretty goth) who is in love with Max (a tall cyber goth type). He does not love her sadly, but the evil Isabella who doesn't even notice him. Isabella has a history with Damion who in turn has a thing for Lex. Then there are Lex's friends Sebastian and Christy who make a lovely couple. Things are not all they seem here either. Sebastian sees monsters everywhere and Christy, well you will have to read the collection to know more about her.

There are also some great secondary characters like Vermilion who writes terrible gothic poetry and Sebastian's monster. The story of Lex and Damian starts to be explained and we delve into Isabella's past as well as Sebastian's parentage. I loved all the Vampire the Masquerade references, Valentino really knows her goth culture!

The stories blend elements of fairy tale, fantasy and gothic culture in a spell binding mix. Ted was just the right person to illustrate this collection as the artwork is stunning. It is just the right blend of hunour and seriousness, poking fun at itself and the goth culture it portrays in a loveing and endeering way. I look forward to more in this series. ( )