Kel McDonald

An impressive anthology, no clunkers across 24 stand-alone stories offering a wide variety in tone, illustration style, and overall aesthetic. The stories also approach their narratives in a diverse manner, ranging from fantastic to scientific, from somber to almost twee. I enjoyed reading each one, and the quality convinced me to seek out other Iron Circus anthologies. Of particular interest are the Cautionary Fables & Fairytales series, and two thematic anthologies: one on horror (The show more Sleep of Reason) and another perhaps on faerie weird (Tim'rous Beastie).

Some recurring themes became evident across unrelated chapters, seemingly written without knowledge of one another: memory (on the part of the living, and also that of the dead); ways of moving on after the death of a loved one; teasing out the choices wound up in death, however minor or unrecognised these choices might seem.

Favourite contributions: "Ghost Friend" (heartwarming characters); "Inanna's Descent to the Underworld" (mythological); "What Eats Us" and "Peat, Bone, Oak" (grossly informative).

I almost missed the clever spot colour on the cover, until turning out the light after a reading session in bed and the art transformed before my eyes. show less

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: "Wait until the full moon rises, sit at the bank and play a beautiful tune. Then you will see what happens."
Giant beanstalks, trickster cats, magic pipers, royal werewolves, marauding trolls, and wooden battle spoons? You may think you know where these are going but take another look; your favorite European folktales are refreshed, rebooted, and totally reimagined in this high-spirited and hilarious comics collection!

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER show more VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: A collection of folktales, some familiar and some not (I myownself had never heard of the title tale "Tatterhood and the Nixie of the Mill-Pond"), some on a more humorous retelling and others chilling, so there's truly something for every graphic novel palate in these nine tales.

I wasn't as drawn (!) to this iteration of "Rapunzel" or the editor's contribution, "Bisclavret" (an ancient French werewolf tale), so I shaved off a star. I think the intended ten and up audience will find the mix of familiar and unfamiliar, comedic and serious, retellings very much to their liking. The art is uniformly good to look at ("Pied Piper" provided):






"Jack and the Beanstalk" from the publisher's website:


All the stories offer something extra from their older modes of telling/retelling thanks to the artists' contibutions. A book that delights art-loving, story-loving, and folklore-fancying readers. show less

To paraphrase: god, I hope you’re ready for a book about DEATH!

Despite the heavy subject matter, I often found myself smiling and laughing as an assortment of three dozen comic creators walk us through their visions of death and dying, grief and mourning, life and the afterlife in mostly fictional stories.

Standouts include "Inanna's Descent to the Underworld" by Ahueonao, an adaptation of Mesopotamian mythology, and "Funeral in Foam" by Casey Gilly and Raina Telgemeier, a delightfully show more macabre reminiscence that turns the spreading of cremains into a celebration of life and love. The rest of the stories actually keep to a fairly high standard too, with only one or two clunkers in the bunch.

The diversity of characters and creators seems pretty good, with a lot of female and LGBTQ+ representation. show less

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. Created by Native American authors and artists, this anthology explores legends and folktales from the First Nation. I was deeply touched by all these stories. They are all beautifully written and illustrated, sharing mysterious, funny and emotional past and contemporary fictions.

The anthology opens with As It Was Told To Me, an Odawa creationist legend, and ends with By The Light Of The Moon, a S’Kallam love story between the Moon and the Octopus show more Queen. In total, this anthology contains 8 stories, all very different from one another’s, but all rooted in old beliefs : tricksters, monsters that were once humans and forbidden loves are among the things you will discover in this great collection.

This graphic novel is part of the Cautionary Fables and Fairy Tales series and the quality of this book amazed me so much that I want to discover the other anthologies previously published ! show less