First Friday 5: Spooktacular

Happy October, everyone! Hands-down, this is my favorite time of year, and it's a great excuse to share five recent comics with spooktacular themes that will send chills up and down your spine!

Fake Blood

Written and illustrated by Whitney Gardner

At the start of a new school year AJ is finally ready to be cool: everyone around him is changing and it’s time he caught up! And when he’s partnered with his crush––a girl named Nia who is obsessed with vampires––he knows it has to be fate that this is going to be a good year. But things get a little weird when their teacher starts acting odd and, of course, there’s that whole thing about AJ pretending to be a vampire and Nia being an actual slayer… SO many great references to the Twilight Series and Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

The Hidden Witch
Written and illustrated by Molly Knox Ostertag

In the second book of The Witch Boy series, we see Aster balancing taking magic classes with helping his great-uncle rid himself of the corrupted magic that tried to ruin their family. We get more of a spotlight on Charlie in this book, who is having problems of her own. There's a new girl in school and Charlie quickly realizes that she's a witch, but a severely untrained one at that: it's only a matter of time before her magic will corrupt her like Aster's great-uncle's magic corrupted him.

Idle Days
Written by Thomas Desaulniers-Brousseau and illustrated by Simon Leclerc

Definitely not for the faint of heart, Idle Days is the story of a depressed Canadian military deserter who is hiding out in his grandfather's cabin in the remote countryside. Daily, he refurbishes his grandfather's house bit by bit and contemplates his father's recent passing. As he works he learns that the house has a mysterious and sinister past riddled with death, loss, and lots of fires, and many storylines weave in and out of the book both visually and textually.

Lost Soul, Be At Peace
Written and illustrated by Maggie Thrash

Maggie is depressed and flunking eleventh grade. Her mother can't seem to understand why, and her father––a federal judge––doesn't even seem to notice. And then the one thing in the entire world she cares about, her cat Tommi, disappears into the walls of her house and never comes back. Maggie searches for him and ends up finding someone else, a ghost with whom she feels a strong kinship. As Maggie's search continues, she connects with her family in unexpected ways and teaches herself to overcome her grief and move forward.

The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo: The Monster Mall
Written and illustrated by Drew Weing

Charles has recently moved to Echo City only to meet famous monster investigator Margo Maloo. Their adventures continue in this second installment as the two encounter more and more monsters having a hard time getting by in Echo City. Due to increase of humans in the area monsters are forced to abandon their homes, putting them in danger of being seen. How can Margo and Charles act as advocates for them when it seems as though the monster community is on the brink of war?

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