Lilith Dark and the Beastie Tree by Charles Dowd

by Charles C Dowd

An all-ages epic! Lilith Dark has no time for tea parties and princess stuff - she's far too busy fighting off wicked creatures and fantastic beasts... or at least that's how she imagines things. One day, Lilith follows a mysterious kitten into an old tree and discovers an entire world of real beasties that has been living right under her nose! With her big sister held captive, Lilith must face her fears, rescue her sister from the evil beasties, and save the day before bedtime!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Comics, Childrens, Middle Grade

Mass Market Paperback

First published April 30, 2014

About the author

Charles C Dowd is a Baltimore based author, illustrator, and graphic novelist. He specializes in fast-paced, character-driven action-adventure stories that often cross over into the ridiculous. Charles’ biggest influences are 80s horror, pro-wrestling, Saturday morning cartoons, and MTV. Some of his comic works include Lilith Dark, and Kidthulhu: Tales of Madness (co-created by Martin E Brandt).

Charles has also successfully crowdfunded several book projects, including his acclaimed picture book The A to Z Guide to Jobs for Girls. Charles’ semi-autobiographical webcomic Big Fat Charlie entertains over 30,000 social media followers via Twitter, Instagram and Facebook each week.

In addition to creating comics and kid’s books, Charles administers the 3,000+ member strong Webcomic Creators Facebook Group, which offers a safe space for webcomic and webtoon creators of all skill levels to talk shop, share knowledge, learn from and support one another.

On his days off, Charles spends time with his wife and two children, their bulldog, chihuahua, and three cats.

Reviews

[Jenne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book. A darker version of the Princess in Black books.

[Karissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really excited to read this book because I love a lot of the middle grade fantasy graphic novels that are coming out by various authors. Unfortunately I was a bit disappointed by this book. I thought the artwork was a bit rough and unfinished looking and the story was kind of disjointed and confusing.

Lilith Dark likes to imagine herself as a great warrior fighting monsters; even when she’s just doing regular everyday activities. However, when she chases a kitten into the Beastie Tree things get a little bit too real.

The artwork had some nice coloration to it but I felt like it was inconsistent throughout; some of it was good and some felt really unfinished. Additionally I thought the story was a bit disjointed and confusing. It’s hard to follow if Lilith is making things up, if she’s in the real world, or if she’s dealing with a monster world of real beasties. Maybe that’s the point of the story but it felt kind of disjointed to me.

Overall this was okay but not great; I don’t plan on reading future books in the series. I gave it to my 10 year old son to read and he felt the same way about it, he said “It was okay but I don’t want to read any more of these.”

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lilith Dark is one of the toughest and most adorable monster slayers I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. She reminds me of Calvin with a stuffed dinosaur for her Hobbes. Together they act out elaborate and gruesome fantasies and sometimes they are depicted as Lilith sees them and sometimes the artwork shows that the dinosaur is really stuffed after all. But thanks to the longer format these fantasies can be much more elaborate and follow a full adventure cycle. Nothing is what it seems in this world where a cute kitten turns into a monster and a hideous creature ends up being a friend (Spoon, pictured at the left on the cover is actually my favorite character in the comic.) Lilith of course proves her courage while the babysitter proves clueless and a stinger at the end leaves the truth of the events up in the air in classic fantasy adventure fashion. While some elements are reminiscent of other stories the comic as a whole stands out. A treat for those of all ages with a macabre sensibility.

Read more of my reviews at http://auldschoollibrarian.blogspot.com/

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely adorable, exciting and awesome! Lilith Dark is a handful as she's always playing make-believe and fighting all sorts of beasties. Then one night she sees a beastie at her window and telling her brother about it going to school the next morning she ends up being lured away by a cute little kitty. But that's no kitten, it's Cat-Man-Du, a werecat. Lilith tumbles into the old hollow tree and becomes Queen of the Beasties, that is until they serve her big sister as the main course. One big rush from start to finish! Full of action, adventure and even "cannonbulls"! The humour is also wickedly delicious and this will please all ages from Lilith's six-year-old contemporaries to grammas and grandpas who get to read it aloud.

[Stacey Cross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lilith Dark is a young girl with an exciting imagination who enjoys 'fighting' beasties and having parties. I viewed this graphic novel via tumblepad from the tumblebooks.com website. Each short chapter has a quest for Lilith Dark and she usually saves the day. For example in one chapter she rescues her sister from the beasties, inside a hollow tree, all while her older brother is searching for them. The illustrations are very bright, colorful, and descriptive. The text is simple and engaging and very appropriate for 3rd graders and above.

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up at Philly Comic Con. I was just browsing the vendor area, and the cover jumped out at me as something I'd like. Bonus - the author/artist signed my copy. :>

It's a cute story. Not entirely what I was expecting, but a nice little action-adventure story which blurs the line between fantasy and reality. The art is more cartoony than realistic, but it works well with the story. I would've liked it to be a bit more fleshed out - but that's my only real complaint.

I particularly like the little Beastie which sided with Lilith.

I would read more if it continues.

[Ben Guilfoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great all-ages comic. Funny, adorable, and kinda badass. The art intriguingly avoids primary colors one might expect for a story like this, but can seem a little drab for it. But the action and dialog make up for it with an energy that's pretty dang fun.

[Lorrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heroic adventures sparked by one young girl's imagination. The coloring in this graphic novel is appropriately dark. Loved that.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really strange and not in a good way. I found Lilith very annoying.