Aquinnah

by Matteo Casali, Rachele Aragno (Artist), Clarissa Saccani (Letterer)

Haunted her whole life by amnesia and chronic pain, Amber may be on the brink of answers when a mysterious man arrives on her doorstep and introduces her to a world of mystery and monsters—a world that Amber could be the key to.

Amber has carried the question of her past for years. With no memory of her childhood haunted by chronic pain, she assumes it’s amnesia—until a strange man claiming to have answers appears.

And a story much darker, stranger, and more otherworldly begins to take shape. Amber and her girlfriend are caught up in a net of occult secrets and ancient monsters connected to the seaside town of Aquinnah, and as the town’s dark history is uncovered, Amber must decide if she will be the town’s salvation…or its doom.

Writer Matteo Casali ( Europa,  Marvel's What If) and artist Rachele Aragno (Mel the Chosen, Leonide the Vampyr) spin a terrible tale of history and injustice.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics

144 pages, Paperback

Published August 12, 2025

Reviews

[Courtney Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked this a lot and kind of dig that the beast was not a whale but a mermaid. I missed all the hints somehow.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sounded so cool and had some neat elements, but mostly just strange and confusing. Disappointing, alas

[Corrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aquinnah is a graphic novel by writer Matteo Casali, with art by Rachele Aragno and lettering by Clarissa Saccani, published by Dark Horse Comics.

Amber has lived for years with no memories of her childhood and constant chronic pain that she always chalked up to amnesia. Everything changes when a mysterious man shows up at her door, pulling her toward revelations she never expected. Together with her girlfriend, she gets drawn into a web of occult secrets and ancient monsters tied to the seaside town of Aquinnah. As the town's dark history unravels—echoing themes from Herman Melville's Moby-Dick in a fresh, queer-inflected horror take—Amber faces a brutal choice between uncovering the truth about her past and the heavy cost that comes with it. The story blends supernatural mystery, personal trauma, and monstrous forces in a tense, atmospheric tale.

I see this graphic novel not getting the stars it clearly deserves. If you take a moment to get into the story it will all make sense. And I enjoyed it.

4 Stars

[Maxie Froelicher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very confusing at the start with the time jumps but as it goes on it's clear that that was intentional. It still put me off of continuing for a bit, but once I picked it back up I couldn't put it down. Also I wasn't expecting Herman Melville to show up but I loved the tie in with Moby Dick.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first 2/3rds had way too many time jumps and the storytelling made things very confusing. The last 50 pages was just a big infodump where everything is spit out at us. You could literally skip the first 100 pages and have gotten the exact same story.

[Theodora · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found it confusing: it kept jump through time and places. Characters were crazy and unlikable.